Cathy Stucker - The Idea Lady

Attract Customers and Make Yourself Famous

Teleseminars for Fun and Profit

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Teleseminars can educate prospects before the sale, and support customers after in an easy, user-friendly way. Not only can they help you attract and retain customers, teleseminars can themselves be a profit center.

Teleseminars are, as the name implies, seminars provided over the telephone. Special conference calling lines are available that will handle hundreds of callers at once. You simply provide the call-in number to everyone you wish to invite. At the scheduled time, they dial in and everyone is connected in a giant conference call.

As the host of the call, you have control. For example, you can mute everyone except yourself, or yourself and a guest you are interviewing. This helps to keep background noise down. At times during the call, you can open up the line for questions, or you may choose to take all questions via email or instant messaging.

A teleseminar is different from an in-person seminar in that you do not have the visual cues between presenter and audience as you do live. However, with just a little practice, you can become very comfortable presenting teleseminars.

You can use teleseminars to:

Provide information about your products and services to prospective customers. You can present information to educate prospects to help them make a decision to buy.

Support customers after the sale. Regularly scheduled teleseminars can answer customer questions, or address things that will help them to get more from their purchase, such as explaining how to use features of your products they may not currently be using.

Create new revenue streams. Instead of (or in addition to) using free teleseminars to educate and support customers, charge people to participate on the call. Typical pricing for a one-hour teleseminar ranges from $20 to $97 or more. A series of several one-hour calls could range in price from $59 to well over $500. Doing one fee-based teleseminar a month can add hundreds or thousands of dollars in revenue.

Create new products. In addition to selling access to the live call, you can produce audio products that you can sell on CD or as online downloads. Pricing is usually the same as for the live call, although some consultants offer free teleseminars, but charge $10 or more for a download of the recording.

You can get a free conferencing line that will handle up to 500 people. Many free services offer a web panel for managing the call, and most allow you to record the teleseminar. You can find several suggestions on this list of free conference call services.

Get a feel for teleseminars by attending a few (search for “free teleseminars”) then start using free and paid teleseminars to grow your business and your revenue.

Profit from “Free” Speeches

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Giving free speeches to professional and community organizations will generate visibility and build your reputation as an expert, helping you to grow your business. But you can also make money – directly and indirectly – from speaking for free.

First, create or obtain products you can sell after your talk. If you do not already have your own products to sell, the fastest way to do this is to buy products from someone else. For example, if you are a expert on personal security, you could offer a few security devices (such as hand-held alarms or pepper spray).

You can also develop information products. Put together booklets of personal security tips for women, security for travelers, keeping your home secure, etc. They don’t take long to write, and can be produced in small quantities for about $1 each. Additional information products would include books, posters, audio and video, t-shirts, etc. An audio program can be created simply by recording one of your talks.

Always provide a handout when you speak. One page is fine. Include some of the important points from your talk, or some tips related to your topic. Make sure you include information about how you can be contacted. On the back, put a brief bio and/or information about your products and services. Include a special offer or coupon, with an expiration date, to encourage the audience to contact you.

Customers often need to see you more than once before they make a buy decision, so keep in front of the audience. Collect names and addresses of the audience members, and mail to them after the talk. Remind them when and where they heard you talk. The organization may give you a list of attendees if you ask. Or, you can collect the information. Offer a drawing for a prize (such as one of your booklets or other products) and collect business cards for the drawing. Or offer to send additional information to those who provide a business card. (Note: Do not add people to your email list without explicit permission.)

After you have been speaking for free for a while, you will get asked about your fee to speak. This opens the door to a whole new set of opportunities. If you are asked about your fee for speaking, it means you are ready to become a professional speaker – a professional expert on your topic.

Build an Expert Reputation--From Scratch

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Clients sometimes tell me that they want to build an expert reputation by becoming visible through speaking, writing articles, getting publicity in the media, etc.; however, they believe that these things can only be accomplished if they are already seen as an expert. Every expert started somewhere, and you can begin building your credibility and expert reputation from wherever you are today.

Be patient. Even if you can’t get on Oprah, deliver the keynote address at your professional association’s annual convention, or get your articles in national publications right now, you can have successes. Target your efforts to the organizations and media where you are most likely to be accepted, then expand outward from that core. Use each success as a stepping stone to the next level.

Where can you start? Offer to speak to the professional associations to which you belong and other local and regional organizations. Provide articles for their newsletters. (Most newsletter editors are starved for submissions. They will appreciate your articles.) Propose a class to a local college or learning center. Start sending media releases to local media about your speaking appearances and other events.

Do a project as a volunteer (or barter your services) to build your portfolio and get a customer reference. Get active in your professional associations. Don’t just go to a few meetings. Get on a committee or run for office. You will meet the movers and shakers in your industry. If you only associate with people who are at the same level as you, it will be harder to get to the next level. Industry leaders are in the position to mentor you and open doors to new opportunities.

Put together a booklet or audio program related to your topic. When you are published, you have more credibility (yes, even if you publish yourself). Be sure to mention your publication credits in your bio sheet and other marketing materials, along with your other accomplishments.

Use the Internet to create awareness. Build a website that mentions your availability to speak to community and professional organizations, and include information for the media, such as your media appearances and the topics on which you can provide expertise.

Publish your own online newsletter (ezine), and/or provide content to other ezine publishers. It is easier than ever to get your articles published extensively through article directories such as http://EzineArticles.com/.

Now, use the fact that you have done these things to get to the next level. Write an article proposal for a major magazine, get paying speaking appearances, solicit that big client and keep building until you can go after Oprah–or better yet, ‘til she comes after you!

There is a Chinese proverb that says, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” It may seem that credibility and fame as an expert are a thousand miles from you, but in reality they are only a few steps away. Start today with your single step.

Be a Resource

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A key marketing technique is showing people that you have something they need, and being on their minds when they realize they need it. 

When you find ways to repeatedly get in front of potential customers repeatedly, you will be on their minds when they need what you offer. You can accomplish this by becoming a resource for customers, media, others in related fields, and even your competitors. Here are some ways to do so:

Create a useful web site. Include a discussion board, links, articles, and useful tools. Make your site a place people want to return to time and time again. A real estate agent could list service providers needed by homeowners, such as painters, roofers, handymen and others. This would attract both people who are planning to put their houses on the market (and need to fix them up) as well as homeowners who may one day need a Realtor to list and sell their homes.

Let the media know about your expertise, and that you are available as a source. Send an email or letter to editors and producers listing the topics on which you can comment, and your qualifications as an expert. This helps them by giving them access to information they need, and you, by giving you media exposure. If they call you looking for a source about a related topic, give them names of qualified people. You’ll score points with the media and the people to whom you referred them.

Have a network to which you can refer customers for products and services you don’t provide. If one of your customers has a need you can’t fill, but you can recommend someone who can, you’ve found a way to keep that customer coming back to you. You have done something good for both the customer and the person who got their business.

The same thing goes for suppliers. Do you know where to find products your customers need? Either become a supplier of those products, or tell customers where they can get them. Publish a directory of resources. It doesn’t have to be fancy—a trifold brochure will work.

Start a speakers bureau. Become a resource for meeting planners by maintaining a list of speakers available for free speeches. It can be as simple as a page on your Web site or a small booklet or brochure listing people and topics. Speakers may be members of your professional association, your employees and associates, and others in your network.

Get to know others in your field. If you are not in direct competition (e.g., you are targeting different markets with similar products or services) there may be times when you can help them or they can help you. For example, providing back up during vacations or especially busy times, or making referrals of customers who are a better fit with the other business.

Being a resource is about sharing your knowledge to help others get what they want. In doing so, you get what you want: a positive reputation as a helpful expert, leading to more business.

Reach Out and Teach Someone

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Want to make money while you’re building your credibility and being exposed to hundreds of thousands of potential clients? Teach a class.

Here in Houston, Leisure Learning Unlimited http://www.llu.com presents hundreds of interesting classes in cooking, business, computers, travel, relationships, crafts, and just about everything else. Classes are also offered by many colleges and other organizations.

If you have an idea for a class, come up with a snappy title and list the topics to be covered and the benefits students receive. Then call a class provider and ask how you can propose a course.

Now the bad news: You won’t get rich. You may get paid a set hourly rate as low as $15 – $20 per class hour, or you may receive a percentage of the class fees. These rates may be negotiable, but there is usually not a lot of money available. You may be able to increase your profits by offering required or optional texts.

There are very good reasons to teach, though, even if you don’t get paid much. One, you get exposure in the catalog. Leisure Learning sends out more than 600,000 catalogs a year, and my information is in every one of them. I meet people who already know who I am, because they’ve seen me in the LLU catalog.

Two, many of my clients come from the classes I teach, or from seeing me in the catalog. If someone likes your class, but needs more help, they will turn to you.

Three, you can learn what is important to customers. The feedback you get from students will help you to develop new products and services, and refine your marketing message.

Of course, you can put on a seminar yourself. However, you will have to absorb the cost (in time, money or both) of marketing and registration, as well as the cost of booking a room. And, if the class doesn’t make (which happens), you are out that money with no offsetting income. If you are hired to teach, you don’t have to deal with that. And, the credibility of the sponsoring organization transfers to you, too. My bio includes the names of many of the colleges where I’ve taught continuing education courses.

Look for other opportunities to teach. A professional association may be willing to host your seminar as a fund raiser, and you share revenues. You might even consider doing a free workshop for a community college, library, hospital or other organization, if the exposure you receive is worthwhile. For example, a realtor might offer a session on what a first-time home buyer needs to know. Although the point is to give valuable information, not self-promotion, to whom will students turn when they need a realtor? Probably that knowledgeable person who taught the seminar. How much is that worth to you?

Teaching gives you an expert reputation, increases your income, and it’s fun! I love to teach because I love to learn–and I always learn new things from my students.