Many of us have blocks around selling from stage – when this is one of the most sure-fire ways to make money! So let’s look at the 4 common fears around selling from stage:

Summary

Don’t let your fears be the reason you don’t get out there and give these things a shot.  You will always have doubts and reservations about things, but let that be the reason to get out there and do it; rather than stopping you.  Until you actually start, you will never really learn these tools. You will never do it perfectly, I have never done it perfectly and I doubt I ever will. There’s always more to learn – but the fastest way to learn is to do!!

How is Business like Learning a Language? No it’s not a riddle – there are three basic steps…

• There are phases you pass through when learning business, just like learning a language.
• Being successful in business is really as simple as learning the language of business.
• First you need to get the basics and learn the foundation skills.
• Second you must apply what you have learnt and get feedback – Take Action.
• Third you enjoy the fruits of your labour. Keep practicing and improving and enjoy your successes.

It’s all in the mind this week.  We’ve all heard the saying that success breeds success but where does success start?  It starts with a mental attitude and a willingness to step outside the comfort zone.

You see it doesn’t matter what level of game you are playing right now- there is always another level you can go to.  And what usually holds you where you are is this thing called a “Comfort Zone”.

Have a read of this by Bob Riggs.

Do Something Outside Your Comfort Zone

So, by taking yourself out of your comfort zone you begin to expand.  In that expansion comes self confidence, in self-confidence comes a successful mindset and finally a successful mindset begets success.
You are currently inside your own comfort zone.  So am I.  But the good thing about a comfort zone is that every time you DO SOMETHING outside of your comfort zone, your comfort zone expands in all directions. As soon as you take a step outside of your comfort zone in any direction, your comfort zone expands in all directions to include all sorts of different possibilities.

• So for you, speaking might currently be outside your comfort zone.
• Perhaps speaking is inside your comfort zone but selling from the stage is outside your comfort zone. 
• Perhaps selling from stage is inside your comfort zone but hitting 30% conversions is outside your comfort zone.

Take a Mini Risk

It doesn’t matter what level you’re at, there’s always another level to go to.  It’s just a matter of stretching your comfort zone.  And this is just a matter of taking a series of little risks. Not huge risks, just little steps outside your comfort zone.  As your comfort zone expands, so too does your definition of yourself.  

So if you’re feeling comfortable right now – perhaps it’s time to expand yourself, and commit to something new.  What mini-risk can you take to step outside of your comfort zone and start cultivating that successful mindset?

• Packdown is a good opportunity to prepare for your next event.
• It is a good idea to have packing lists and storage categories so you can pack down quickly and effectively.
• If you have a system where everyone is responsible for their own part of packdown then the whole thing happens much faster.
• Systems are Good!

Summertime is traditionally the time when businesses pack up and go on holiday.  But why does sometimes taking something as simple as a holiday actually cause stress?  Because it means time away from the office and all your to-do lists.  Greg and I are taking a late holiday this year to catch the end of the summer, so I thought I’d share with you 5 hot reasons why taking a holiday is the best thing you can do for yourself and your business.

So have a think about the kind of holiday you want this year if you haven’t already had one and what you want to get out of it.  Get yourself onto the internet and book yourself some time out before those winter evenings start coming in…  Not only will you benefit, but your business will too.

• What do you find yourself saying over and over (and over) to clients?
• Instead of delivering that information one-to-one why not deliver that information once to multiple clients at the same time at an event?
• Invite your clients to bring their guests
• They get to network with each other and make new contacts,
  and you get to build your database.

My Mum has 3 Golden Rules.  I’m sure she’d never be able to teach them to you – but they are things I’ve noticed over the years that apply as well to business as they do to mothering.

1. Never show up to a party empty handed.

It’s polite, thoughtful and just good form to take a bottle of wine, flowers or a gift of some sort.

Similarly in business, if someone has given you the gift of their time to help you out in business – what can you give them to say thanks?

2. Happiness is more important than financial reward. 

My Mum never expressed too much concern when I wanted to leave medicine and become an actress.  She continues to support me no matter what I want to do, as long as I’m happy. 

I think we should all “mother” ourselves in this way in business.  Take your own happiness “temperature”.  Are you still happy doing what you’re doing? If not, perhaps you should nurture and support yourself and let yourself do something you enjoy for a while. (Who knows it might make you more money like mine did!)

3. Relationships first.

No matter what happens, or what someone does or doesn’t do – the most important thing is to maintain the relationship.  If there is love and trust in the relationship people will be empowered to make the right choices.  There’s no room for judgment. 

I notice this holds true with dealing with staff.  People don’t come to work to do a bad job.  If you empower people, and love them enough, they are more likely to achieve than if you berate them.

As I write this I think I could write a million things I learned from my Mum that impact my business, but 3 will do for today.  What did you learn from your Mum?  Was is it empowering?  If not, turn it around – there’s some great life lessons in there if you look.

Thanks Mum.

• You can use a statistic to grab your audiences attention.
• Or, if you are good at humour use it – but if you are not then
  don’t!
• You have between the first 30 seconds and two minutes to capture your audience.
• You are aiming to get your audience to say “Yes” in their head.

For me, the importance of passion in selling is probably the most powerful piece of advice I can give to new speakers.  I always try to speak from the heart and connect with the audience in this heart-felt way.  When I bring my heart into my speaking, it always follows that my sales increase.  And believe me, this isn’t about trying to create more sales; it’s simply about being passionate about what I do. 

Bring Your Heart Into Your Sales
Think about it.  Children are some of the best sales people around, not because they know all the tips and tricks on creating a masterful close, but because they are undeniably passionate about their view point and their outcome.  They will not take no for an answer and they are not afraid to show it.

Likewise your passion for your product, service or message will shine through over and above any techniques you learn.  I’m not saying don’t learn the techniques:  you must.  But technique without passion is fruitless.

Passion on stage comes from being passionate about what you do in life.

The Attractor Factor
In the Attractor Factor, Dr. Joe Vitale cites a study where a group of 1500 people were given the option of joining two groups.  Group A was a group of people who were going to pick a career they believed was going to be a practical way to make a lot of money and then they were going to follow their passions after they made enough money.

1255 people joined Group A.  

Group B was a group of people who were going to pick a career that they were interested in and passionate about and just trust that the money would come.  Only 245 people joined Group B.

20 years later there were 101 millionaires out of the 1500 people who signed up for the study.  100 of the millionaires came from group B, the group of people who followed their passions and just trusted that the money would come.
 
Only 1 out of the 1255 people who picked a career because they believed it was a practical way to make a living actually became a millionaire.

This study shows that you do not need to have a plan or know how you are going to make money by following your passion.  All you need to do is to follow your passion.  Remember the great Dr. Martin Luther  King Jr. said,

       “I have a dream! . . .”
 
 He did not say:

       “I have a plan.”

The Key
Discover what you are passionate about.  You may already know this exactly.  What is it that lights you up?  How can you use this to inform your sales presentations? Try asking yourself some of the following questions to connect with your passion:

·    What did you love to do as a child?
·    What do you love about your product or service?
·    Why do you want the world to know about it?

Summary
It’s clear from this that living from that heart-felt passion will not only give you a sense of purpose in your career – and on stage – but it will also attract more abundance to you.  There’s no more compelling call to action from an audience’s perspective than watching someone come from a place of true authenticity and love.  Forget about getting ‘it’ right next time you speak, just try connecting more with your passions in your next presentation and see the effect on the audience this has.