How to Sell From The Stage Without Feeling Sleazy

9 Key Steps That Ensure You Make Money From Speaking

“If you aren’t selling, you aren’t serving.” I always tell the women entrepreneurs in The Passion Project Incubator.

One thing that is critical to getting your brand out and bringing in new clients is speaking – whether at an in-person speaking event or through online webinars, selling from the stage is critical to your success.

It makes sense, right? People buy from people they know, like and trust and in order for people to know, like, and trust you, you need to be seen and heard.

I’m working with one of my clients on this skill. I met her at an event I was hosting and I brought her in as a speaker. She did an incredible job with her topic. People were taking copious notes and asking a lot of questions. She did at great job.

At the end of the talk I approached her and asked, “you didn’t make an offer, why?”

“I find that people who want to work with me just approach me.” she said.

Except, that didn’t happen. No one approached her. No one asked to work with her.

“You need to learn to sell from the stage.” I said.

And that is exactly what I am working on with her now–along with the rest of my clients in The Passion Project Incubator.

If you don’t sell from the stage, you won’t fully serve your ideal client and you’ll likely be out of business before too long.

Learning how to sell from the stage is a critical skill that every entrepreneur must master. Every conversation is a sales conversation. Every speaking opportunity is an opportunity to convert.

And I’m not talking about slimy snake oil salesman type of approach. This is for people who are providing excellent education and insight, who have valuable skills to share and who can make a significant difference in someone’s life or business.

But self confidence and self esteem combined with not knowing the formula prevents them from achieving success.

How do you sell from the stage without sounding sleazy?

Here Is A 9-Step Formula For How To Sell From The Stage Without Feeling Sleazy

I’m sure you have been there. In a conference or on a webinar and the speaker is making a long-winded sales pitch. The story starts with the speaker’s rags to riches story. Then there’s slide after slide of not teaching much of value. You aren’t really learning anything new and for the entire talk, you are just waiting for the punchline – the pitch – when the speaker unveils whatever it is they’re selling.

That’s not what I mean by selling from the stage.

When you are effective at selling from the stage you are doing these 9 key things:

1- You are teaching real content based on what your audience wants to know.

2- You are transparent that you will pour into them as much as you can and then, for those who are interested, you will share how to get more.

3- You ask for their permission to make an offer. This releases the anticipation that they will be “sold” and instead sets the expectation that you have something to offer IF they are interested in going deeper with you.

4- You teach 2-3 concepts (depending on your timing) where you share what to do and why this is important to get right, without going overboard and teaching how to do it all (what would be the motivation in working with you if you did?).

5- You share case stories so they can see themselves in other’s shoes and see the success potential that is available to them.

6- You fulfill your promise of making an offer – whether that is an offer for a 1:1 conversation after your talk or an invitation to purchase your product or program.

7- You preemptively handle objections in your talking points.

8- You offer an incentive for them to act now.

9- You have helpers in the room on on your webinar who will provide them with the forms or web links to sign up

“If you are not selling, you are not serving.”

To fulfill your mission and your revenue goals and to bring about the change you want to see in the world, you need to get very good at sales conversations – in particular, selling from the stage.

Was this on the mark for you today? Post your insights below.

If you would like to learn more about The Passion Project Incubator, click here.

Here’s to your success!