Six pointers on making an offer in a talk or webinar

Here’s something that can feel really awkward: how do you transition folks from attending a free talk of yours, whether in person or on a webinar, into becoming a client? How do you make that invitation?

On one hand, you don’t want to have a free talk and NOT invite people at all, and lose all chance of getting clients. Because without a clear invitation from you, I can promise they will leave without becoming clients.

But, on the other hand, you don’t want to make a hard sales pitch, because they came to learn something, not to be sold to. Those webinars that are thinly-veiled sales-fests feel horrible. You don’t want to do that.

So let me give you some pointers on how to do it effectively, with integrity.

Pointer One: Set up the expectation that you work with clients.

When you present on a topic, make sure you are telling stories that illustrate the principles involved, and make sure those examples aren’t just personal examples from your life, but that many of them are examples from clients.

“I was working with a client, and this exact issue came up, and this is how we walked through it and the result they got.”

It ends up being a teaching point, but it also makes very clear, “I work with clients!”

Pointer Two: Put the invitation before any Q&A

I tend to structure my free talks in this way:

1. Start with an intro story that frames/explains why the topic is important.
2. Explain the structure of the presentation, so people can relax into it.
3. Teach (and there’s more detail to how I break this out)
4. Make an invitation
5. Q&A with participants.

People tend to drift off at the end of a presentation, and if the first question in a Q&A isn’t relevant for them, they may just hang up, or stop paying attention. Even if it’s live, at the end of the program, some people rush off.

So I make sure that the invitation happens before the end of the program.

Pointer Three: Give the invitation the space that it needs.

You don’t want to take 20 minutes out of a 60 minute presentation to make the invitation, but you don’t want to rush past it in 30 seconds either.

Take the time to explain who you help best, what kind of results people can expect, how someone would know they need your individual help, and how to get started.

Pointer Four: Make the offer a free personal assessment of some sort.

Don’t try to sell people directly into a long engagement of some sort. Instead, leave it open for a deeper exploration. “If this topic feels like it’s impacting you personally, and you’d like some help, let’s talk! I’d love to take 30 minutes or so and do a free assessment of your situation, to pinpoint what’s going on and what it would take to make progress. If I’m the right person to help you, we can talk about what it’s like to be my client in that conversation.”

Pointer Five: If possible, let them sign up right then and there.

Whether it’s online or in-person, you can set up a system (online calendar, or sign-up sheet with dates and times) for people to take a free assessment session right then. Make it easy.

Pointer Six: Everyone who signs up gets homework.

Make it clear to them that anyone who takes a session has to be willing to answer some questions ahead of time about their situation, so you can dive right in with them. You can make it a part of the sign-up process, or you can require them to answer questions in order to confirm the appointment.

The real heart of making an offer

All of those pointers are helpful, and structures and systems definitely make things easier on you and on your potential clients.

But the real heart? If you do all the above half-way or otherwise imperfectly? To stay in service to your people.

Your clients are adults, and they know your services cost money. They are happy to pay you, really they are. So don’t let your heart focus on trying to “get” from them, or otherwise “make” them clients.

Instead, drop into a real sense of empathy for how they are struggling with whatever you help them with. Feel your desire to have them fly, to do better, to move past challenges, to heal and transform and do better, in whatever way you help them.

Then put yourself in service, at their feet, with a real desire to serve. Come from your heart, in your invitation, with care and love in your heart.

That’s the heart of the invitation. If they feel cared-for, given to, they will feel great about giving back.

A little less awkward, right?

It will probably still feel awkward until you’ve done it a few times. But here’s what will carry you through: stay in service to them.

If you get caught in thinking you are trying to “get” clients, the energetic of trying to get something from them will be palpable.

Instead, stay as centered in your heart as possible, connect with your sense of empathy about how people in your audience struggle with the topic you will be presenting on, and how you want to help those folks fly.

Free talks and webinars can be a great way for folks to get taste of your presence and expertise, to build trust and connection with you. Make it easy for the right people to take the next step, and become your client.

How do you do it? Anything you would add to this list? Or questions?

With love, Mark Silver, M.Div. Heart of Business, Inc. www.heartcenteredbusinessbook.com Every act of business can be an act of love.

P.S. Please celebrate the release of my new book, “Heart-Centered Business: Healing from toxic business culture so your small business can thrive” this week!

This book is a distillation of twenty three years of helping thousands of business owners heal and then successfully do business from the heart.

The effects of global business have brought devastation and injustice that no one wants. Instead, we yearn for beauty and real vibrancy in the world around us, and healthy heart-centered business must be part of the healing.

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A free except and links to order the book can be found at www.heartcenteredbusinessbook.com.