As I recently ran an evening networking event in London I thought today’s post would be a great reminder of how to get the most out of any business event you attend.

So why should you make the effort to attend a business event?

There are 4 main reasons.

1. You can learn new skills
2. You can network with potential JV partners or colleagues
3. You can  get inspired for re-energizing your business
4. Or, if you are thinking about changing your corporate hat for an entrepreneurial one, an event is a great place to get ideas for starting off quickly and profitably.

Weekend events (such as my recent Professional Speaker’s Summit, my 3-day Presentation Profits Intensive or my upcoming Seminar Business School, are an investment in yourself and your business – one that you can easily offset with new contacts, strategies, and tools to boost your bottom line.

So next time you go to a business event, consider these top strategies to get the most from your experience well before you head out the door:

Research topics & speakers:

Always check out the website’s agenda or sales page for the event. If it’s a multi-speaker event, make a note of  who will be speaking and what the topics are.  Perhaps even go to their individual websites to find out more about them and how they can help your business. By doing your homework, you’ll be better informed, and be in the best position to get what you need from the training.

Know your business strengths and weaknesses:

As a speaker, you shine on stage and are an expert at selling your products or services. Or maybe you’re an ace networker and a dab hand at putting together a team . However, you also want to be aware of the areas where you need development, such as online marketing, the techie stuff, copywriting, etc. Before you attend any event, take a moment to consider what your current business strengths and weaknesses are.  This will then help you raise your awareness to what the event will present – either in terms of the content from stage or the people you meet!

Know your figures!

If you meet a potential joint venture partner, you may want to have a few relevant figures handy like your gross revenue or list size.  Be specific about your list – is it UK based, worldwide, what is the gender split, approx age etc.  Have your forecasts for next year handy as well.

Connect with your fellow attendees before and after

Seek out Facebook event pages or forums that have been created for your event. In our case, you can connect via either my Shift Speaker Training Facebook page or by Twitter. It’s a great way to virtually meet your fellow attendees before the event, so when you do meet in person, you’ll be best friends! Keep an eye out for any hashtags after the event Tweetups — impromptu gatherings of Twitter users — or better yet, organize one yourself.

Be alert for strategic alliances.

If you are just starting out in your business, you may want to form strategic alliances. For example, web designers and copywriters work hand-in-hand and refer each other clients. Consider what professions are your natural match, have them in mind, and you’ll be surprised how many of them you’ll meet at the event.

Plan your travel

If you are traveling from overseas, arrive at your event destination a day or two early to relax, get acclimated, get in the same time zone, and get accustomed to your surroundings. Stay at the hotel where the event is held to save time going from your room to the event, save money on car rental or cab fare, and increase your potential for connecting with other event attendees. (Your room is also a great place to get a little privacy and get a breather, so it’s nice when it’s close by.)

Dress for success.

For most events, business casual is the stated attire, but think about stepping it up a notch.  You’re representing you, your business, and your brand, and the better you look and feel, the more people will notice you and find you approachable.

Come prepared

You’re just about ready, but here are a few more must-haves: an empty water bottle for being “green” while you travel, a jacket, pashmina or coat in case the room gets cold, a few of your favorite health bars or snacks, and a method for jotting down lots of notes (I always suggest buying a special journal and pen for the occasion!) and your all-important follow-up list of action items when you get back home. Of course you’ll want to bring a stack of memorable business cards!

Be clever and memorable.

Do you have any event tips to add to this list? I’d love to hear more.

Today we’re talking about marketing and on the operating table I’ve placed a squeeze page (or lead capture page) for us to dissect. You must have heard the old internet marketing mantra that “the money is in the list” and the main role of a squeeze page is to build your list.

Here at Shift we prefer to call the list our ‘community’ because essentially it’s all about building a relationship between me and you. You may have joined our community via this blog, from one of my speaking engagements, or you may have opted-in to one of my squeeze pages.

Here are 2 examples of squeeze pages I use:

http://www.shiftspeakertraining.com/blueprint – This page offers a free chapter from our speaker blueprint and grows our Shift Speaker Training Community

http://www.shiftlifestyle.com/laws – This free gift is 7 video tips on lifestyle design and is designed to grow our Shift Lifestyle Community

Note they are entirely different communities, both with separate needs, frustrations, desires and wants and so have 2 completely different gifts.

Tip: Take the time to check them out yourself and if you haven’t already got your free gift, why not opt in so you can dissect the email sequences we use too!

Should You Use A Squeeze Page?

Squeeze pages are used by internet savvy business owners, solo-entrepreneurs and anyone with a free online product they want to give away in return for building a list. This online community then represents a readymade and targeted audience for your paid products and courses so it’s a must-have if you are serious about creating financial success.

Tip: As a speaker, I 100% recommend a squeeze page because when you build your community you can then promote your speaking gigs to them. Did you know most of our speaking gigs are filled by our own community? You see when you create a good relationship with your community, a relationship based on value, they will love the opportunity to see you live.

The Anatomy Of A Squeeze Page

There are three components every squeeze page should possess:

1. An powerful and alluring headline that gets the prospects attention, promises great benefit and forms a connection with the target audience;

2. The benefits are outlined in a bulleted-list with a strong and compelling description which incites the reader to complete the opt-in form

3. A call to action where the reader provides their contact data in response to your initial promise and the relationship building process can commence.

Tip: When you are creating your own squeeze page, the more targeted the audience the better your conversion rate will be. As a giveaway, you might choose a free report, an ebook, a series of video tips, an interview with an expert etc. All too often I see people giving away free products that have NOTHING to do with their ongoing products! Make sure there is a connection between your free giveaway and your paid products.

How You Create A Squeeze Page

Even though the general structure of a squeeze page is quite simple, the copy-writing to prepare the headline, benefit bullets and even the call to action can have a huge influence on the conversion rate. Therefore before actually making a squeeze page, stop and consider:

1. Who are your target audience

2. What problem are you attempting to solve for them and how you can reflect this in your headline

3. Create at least four benefits to be offered via the bullet points

4. The nature of your offer when creating the call to action.

Finally . . .

Two final points to consider as you create your first lead capture page:

• Though many early lead capture pages were “text-oriented” there is a growing trend to use a video (usually between the headline and last two sections) with the author adding a personal message that is often far more compelling. Video lead capture pages usually have higher conversion rates. As a speaker you should be experts at this!

In Shift we pride ourselves on  providing excellent customer service.  Our motto is simple but effective – we want to leave the customer in a better mood than how we found them.

But . ..

But sometimes as humans we make mistakes and sometimes as humans we like to complain.  And this can cause some emotional ripples in your team if you are not careful.  You see, one of the commonest problems I see in my team is the not the actual complaint itself . . . but the feelings the complaint induces.

If one of the team members has made a mistake this can cause them to waste emotional energy on beating themselves up about it.  Also if someone complains against us – and it’s obviously a totally irrational complaint -  we can still feel hurt and upset.  We have a tendency to take the complaint personally, as if ‘we have done something wrong’.  Our feelings around the complaint range from anger, frustration, anxiety, tears and panic.  Believing as I do that the world is the perfect mirror for our projections, often the complaint taps into our buried insecurities from childhood – we’re not good enough, we’ve been caught out etc etc.

So with this in mind, I thought I would share our 7 point plan for handling customer complaints:

1.  Separate Yourself From The Complaint

It’s hard not to take it personally but often the complaint says more about the client more than it does about you!

2. Figure Out What The Complaint Is

If you receive pages and pages of information from your customers about why they are not happy with you and what you have done wrong, read through them and try to get to the heart of their problem.

3.  Don’t Answer Straight Away!

When you do receive a long-winded tirade from a customer, remember to take a step back and realize it’s not all about you! Sometimes their demands are overly emotional or blatantly excessive.  These are the times you should advise your team to sit on the response for a day or two before replying.  This way you take the heat out of your response.

Get two people on your team to review the response before sending so it doesn’t contain anything inflammatory.  Remember, you do not want to inflame this conversation by defending why you are right and they are wrong.  Like a bouncer at a night club, you want to calmly diffuse the situation and strip it of all emotion.  Give them nothing to fight back with and respond purely to the problem alone.

4.  What Does The Customer Need?

Before you respond, brainstorm ways of how you can respond to their needs.  If you know you’re in the wrong, i,e, messed up their payments or not send them their product on time, think about what you can offer them to make up for it.

It’s surprising though because often times a person just needs to feel listened to so they can let go of what they think was a problem.  So either call them yourself or find the most patient person on your team who can call them and simply listen to where they’re at and send them lots of love. You can transform complaints into miracles this way!

5.  Write Down What You Want To Say Before Calling

It’s much easier to make those difficult phone calls when you’re prepared for them.  If you’re making the call yourself write down everything you want to say. If one of your team members is making the call, make sure they are confident and have all the information they need.  Remember to tell them to stay calm and listen with love.

6.  Put It In Writing

After a phone call it’s always advisable to put a record of what happened either in their client file (if you have a client management system) and /or send them an email of what you covered.  This way if the client ever raises the issue again you are properly covered.  Overall at this point, you want to put something in writing to indicate the customer is happy with the solution and again this is another opportunity to send them lots of love.

7.  Don’t Waste Your Energy

A complaint is not there to get riled up over, to take personally or to spend hours trying to prove why they are wrong and you are right.  Similarly if you know you have made a mistake, don’t waste time beating yourself up about it.  Apologise, make up for it and move on.

Overall, complaints are all learning experiences. But they’re also opportunities to review your customer relationships, give someone some much needed love and provide you or your team member with the opportunity to grow.  Make it a challenge to transform complaints into miracles and you’ll be surprised at how your biggest enemies become your greatest fans.

I bet you’ve heard the old saying . . .your network is your net worth.  In other words, who you hang out is a reflection of where you are right now in terms of career and finance.

Are your friends and colleagues high achievers, entrepreneurs, millionaires and massively successful people with a vision and a purpose?  In short, are they the people you aspire to be?

If not, never fear. . . . it doesn’t mean you have to ditch all your poor friends! But maybe it is time to widen your circle of influence.

Expand Your Business
Whatever stage of business you’re at, you can never stop learning.  I get so much out of my time in my mastermind group.  I might discover new tricks or techniques that can save me thousands of dollars or I make a mindset shift that takes me to the next financial level.  And I always meet key contacts who I can JV with later down the line.  If you’re wondering how to meet these people, then it’s easy:

Never waste a single opportunity.

Talk To People And Tell People Your Purpose
That’s right, every opportunity with people is a chance to communicate your purpose on earth.  That person might be able to help you facilitate this goal or they might know someone else who can help you.  In my years of training events, I’ve seen countless moments where people were synchronistically connected to the right person at the right time – just because they shared their purpose.

How To Network
Networking is like dating.  You don’t want to get too heavy too soon, not unless you want to scare them off.  The key point to remember, it’s not all about you and what you want.  It’s about forming a natural friendship where both of you can offer value to each other.  A great way to make a long term contact is to find out what value you can offer them first.  Think long term trust not short term grab.

Where To Meet New People
It’s never been easier in this day and age so here’s some suggestions you can follow right now:

• Social Media – Facebook is not just about playing games and chatting to friends, it’s about meeting new people and forming friendships with them online.  Just like when you meet someone at an event, don’t bombard them with what you want, offer something to them first.
• Networking Events – a chance to face to face meet new clients.  They even do speed networking now so the structure is there in place for you to meet as many people as you can.
• Seminars and Trainings – always take a business card and make the effort to meet new people, not just stay within your comfort circle.  Often they have networking boards, so post your business card on this.
• Random – networking is not a setting you have to switch on or off. You always can be networking, in a queue, on an airplane, in the supermarket, on a bus, round a swimming pool.  You name it!

Network It, Baby!
So networking has never been easier and the benefits are priceless.  This week, make the commitment to go to at least one networking event and see what rewards you can reap just by rubbing shoulders with people who can help you raise your game.

Oh my Gosh, if I had a cent (or a penny) for every time someone asked me ‘how’ to speak on stage . . . I’d be living on the Bahamas and swinging in my hammock on a daily basis.

(And perhaps supping the odd cocktail . . .)

So enough already!

Because get this – I’m not so concerned with the ‘how’ to speak but much more so with the ‘why’ to speak on stage.

And the absolute number one key to speaking on stage  is  . . .

Passion.

Listen very carefully because this is probably the most powerful piece of advice I can give to new speakers – Follow Your Passions!

When I am stood up  on stage I always try to speak from the heart and connect with the audience in this heart-felt way.  And funnily enough, when I bring my heart into my speaking, it always follows that my sales increase!

But get this – I don’t speak from my heart to create more sales. That’s counter-intuitive. Selling more is just a byproduct of what happens when you are passionate about what you 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?

Passionate Summary
If there’s one thing that’s clear from this . . . it’s that living from your 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!

The thing is it takes courage to follow your passions and just trust that the money will come.  But having been both a speaker and an audience member, believe me when I say, there’s no more compelling call to action from an audience’s perspective than watching someone come from a place of true authenticity, love and passion.  You simply shine like a lighhouse and everyone wants to be in your beam.

So, forget about getting ‘it’ right next time you speak, just try connecting more with your passions in your next presentation and see the magical effect this has . . . .

This week it’s all about image.

You Can’t Judge A Book By Its Cover

When it comes to speaking, we like to think that what we say and how we say it is more important than what we look like and how people see us. . .

But the truth is that people do judge us by our appearance and by our offstage behavior.

When you are portraying an image that fits in with your brand, you will have the audience in a place where they’re going to be very receptive to what it is that you’re talking about.

Your Brand: What Everything You Do Says About You

The most important thing in terms of making the right first impression is brand.  How do you decide what your personal brand is going to be?  Well, it takes a bit of research and it takes a bit of digging.

But here are  some simple things that you can do first:

Personal Research

Research the brands that you are attracted to is the first step in recognizing your brand. What brands do you like, what brands do you resonate with?  What brands will accurately represent the image that you want to have?

When you start to get clearer in that, you can get some clarity around how you’re going to position yourself.

Magazine Research

Grab all different kinds of magazines: lifestyle, beauty, business. Go through and tear out images that speak to your values and your brand. Create a “Brand Board” around what look and feel you want to project into the marketplace based on images. Then create a list of value words around those images.

Words that Define Your Brand

So for us, that is Shift Lifestyle, and the words that define our brand are fun, anything is possible, looking for the bigger pie, contribution, lifestyle, freedom, and a myriad of other words.  And around these words that’s the brand we created.

Your Dress and Image

What you wear is going to be influenced by your brand.  You rarely see Richard Branson wearing anything other than a sweater, a pullover, a jumper and looking unshaven with unkempt hair. He’s got that relaxed look around him at all times. That’s his style.

On the flip side, you never see the royal family, for instance, wearing anything other than expensive tailored suits.  There’s a certain look and feel to what you wear if you’re a royal.

It’s the same for a speaker. When you start your speaking career you need to choose your brand. And then everything you wear onstage and off needs to reflect your brand.  So you need to get really clear about that.

Your clothes = Your Brand

Get Stylish!

So this week, have a think about your personal brand.  Who is it you would like to model?  Create a ‘brand board’ and look at the words which describe your brand.  Also look at what it is you are wearing onstage and make sure that your clothing backs up your brand.  And remember, have fun!

Picture this.  The phone rings and it’s a hotshot speaker on the other end.  Not just that, but she’s someone you’ve admired for ages.  And then . . . she asks YOU to be her MC!

Your heart palpitates and your mouth goes dry.  Could this be true?  You get to share the stage with someone as amazing as her?

Of course you say yes and then do a crazy silly dance around the room to celebrate.

Because being an MC is a great way to get noticed, build up your exposure and get asked back to other stages . . . . next time to speak!

So once the celebrations are over, you’ll be wanting to follow these golden MC rules:

Keep it Brief

Keep your introduction to around one or two minutes long, but not much more than that. The focus is on giving a succinct, punchy intro of the speaker.

Be Enthusiastic!

I always think of myself as the host of the party. Remember to smile and come across as a warm person when introducing speakers.

Know Something About The Speaker’s Subject

Even if it’s something that’s new for you, you still need to understand it enough to be able to convey the information correctly.

Don’t Read Word For Word!

It’s going to sound really boring, really flat, unenthusiastic… and it can also give the impression that you don’t know what you’re talking about – that’s the last thing you want.

The Speaker’s Presentation

Make sure you get really clear on exactly what that is because people need to know what they can expect from the presentation.

Build Credibility Of The Speaker

If the speaker has appeared on television, in the press, or written a book, make sure you include that as part of your introduction. It will capture the attention of the audience. As a MC it’s your job is to boast about the things that the speaker might not boast about themselves.

Don’t Use Slides or Overheads

You need to remember that you’re not the speaker,

you are the facilitator. You’re not the leading act, so don’t try and upstage the speaker or don’t try to steal their thunder. It’s a fantastic idea to include a personal relevance about them that will have the audience receptive to the speaker before they have even got on stage.

Being Professional Is Key

An MC at speaking events is not an invitation to try any stand-up comedy routines! If you’re tying in little personal stories, make sure it’s relevant to the subject and to the audience and it needs to be inspirational, and to build the credibility of the speaker.  Remember the big picture and make sure whatever you do or say serves the overall event.

Now It’s Your Turn, MC!

Now you have all the guidelines for being the most fantastic MC ever, why not go out there this week and try to book yourself as an MC.  You never know what doors it might open…

Emcee or MC . . .  However you choose to spell it isn’t the important part.

The important part is getting the right MC to introduce you in a way which supports you correctly.

In fact, the role of the MC is actually a lot more important than most people would assume. . .

You see, knowing how to introduce a speaker is a learned skill and although it seems very simple and straightforward, there’s a lot more to it than meets the eye.

So if you are an MC in the making or if you are looking for an MC for your next presentation . . . read on!

The Purpose of Introductions
There are three main reasons to introduce a speaker correctly. The first is to grab hold of the audience’s attention, the second is to entice the audience to pay attention, and the third is to build up the credibility of the speaker. A successful MC will have the audience wanting to buy from this person even before they’ve stepped onstage.

Profiling The Audience
People who attend seminars come from diverse backgrounds, and have different purposes and reasons for being there.  It’s the job of the MC or the person doing the introduction to pull the audience together to be present and focused.

Engaging The Audience
It’s important also to establish the credibility of the speaker. The MC needs to build the speaker up and make them look fabulous. It’s their role to make the audience to be feeling really, really great and very blessed to have this particular person in front of them. The aim is to get an audience wanting to work closely with the speaker even before they go on stage

Audience
An MC also needs to build rapport with the audience to capture their attention.  They need to let them know what’s coming and why they really should listen to this person.

The Plot
Once the introductions are prepared, you don’t want the MC to just be reading out notes on stage necessarily. As an MC, you need to have the basics written down and an awareness of what key words the speaker wants you to use in their introduction. It’s that information the MC will be using to connect with the audience.

Tell The Audience Who You Are
I see this mistake a lot – the MC will get up and forget to introduce themselves.  If you are the MC, it’s important to tell people who you are and why you’re up on the stage. The only exception to not telling the audience who you are is if it’s all ready been done.

Our Next Speaker Is…
If you’re the MC, make sure before you go on stage that you know the speaker’s name by heart and you know how to pronounce it!  There’s nothing worse than pronouncing a speaker’s name incorrectly.

Go On . . . It’s Your Turn Now!
This week, why not pretend you are MC-ing for another speaker and see you can start to practice the above points. Or if you happen to be at a multi-speaker event check out the MC and see how good a job he/she is doing!

To be continued next week . . .