This week I have an awesome guest post from my friend, and colleague, Amy Lippman. Amy is going to share some of her top tips for giving a successful talk, so you can turn your attendees into paying clients.

Here’s Amy…

When I started health coaching, I was still working full-time in another job. I was eager to leave my 9-5 so I could focus on health coaching, and prove to myself (and others) that “I could do this!”

I used a number of different strategies, but speaking proved to be the fastest and most effective way to get clients.

It wasn’t always glamorous… My first talk was to a group of about 20 people at a local gym (not a fancy one), in their group fitness room.

Speaking doesn’t come naturally to me, and boy was I nervous!

But here’s the great news: Two of my very first clients came from that talk.

I continued to give talks each month, and this was how I attracted at least 50% of my clients.

Where To Give Talks

Ideally, you want to give talks at places that attract the types of clients you want to work with. When I was health coaching, I was primarily interested in targeting women in their 30s who were somewhat healthy and active, but were struggling with weight or energy.

Here are 5 places I targeted:

• Yoga studios
• Pilates studios
• Gyms
• Acupuncture clinic
• Local mother’s club

How to Book Speaking Gigs

I’m more of an introvert, so I have to admit that I always found it intimidating to pick up the phone and cold call a potential group or venue – so I found other methods of reaching out that were just (if not more) effective.

 

1. Use Networking to Your Advantage

I attended regular networking groups for business owners and at those meetings one of my main goals was to connect with people who might host me as a speaker. I also used networking to meet people who could connect me with other people/places that might be interested in hosting me.

This is how I connected with chiropractors, a large acupuncture clinic, and mother’s clubs where I gave numerous talks.

2. Send a Simple Email

Sometimes it’s as simple as making a list of places you’d like to speak and sending them an email.

Here’s the exact script I used to land several speaking engagements at yoga and pilates studios in the course of one month.

Dear xx,

My name is Amy Lippmann. I am a Certified Holistic Health Counselor offering Nutrition workshops. I specialize in helping busy, professional women lose weight naturally.

Do you accept outside speakers? My signature talk is called: “How to Conquer Your Sugar Cravings and Take Back Control of your Diet.”

If so, please let me know…

Warmly,
Amy

Super simple, right? This short email worked well because it’s short, to the point, and I made a specific offer.

3. Use Your Personal Connections

While you may not personally know a lot of people who can host you as a speaker, you definitely know people who can introduce you or connect you with places/groups where you can speak.

Who do you know that sees the acupuncturist or takes a spin class? They could make a personal introduction to start the relationship. You’re going to find that you can tap into way more connections than you realize! (And, by-the-way, this introduction can be done by email.)

I booked 2 corporate talks simply by getting referrals from friends.

Turning Attendees Into Paying Clients

If you’re going to put time and energy into giving talks, you want to be sure those talks help you enroll clients into your programs. After all, that’s WHY you’re giving talks, right?

Start with the end goal in mind.

This means, as you start planning, be clear about what you want to happen at the end of the talk.

Do you want more private coaching clients? Or do you want to enroll attendees in an upcoming group program – like a challenge, cleanse, or jumpstart program?

Make your talk content relate to the program you want to promote. And then, at the end of the talk, make a specific time-limited offer.

It sounds simple, but this is one of the rookie mistakes I made in my early days. I made an offer, but it wasn’t super enticing and I didn’t make it time-limited.

If your offer is for a group program that’s starting in a week or two, that will create urgency. You can also sweeten the deal by offering a discount or special bonus they’ll get if they enroll on the spot or within 24 hours.

If you want to enroll attendees into a private coaching program, promote a breakthrough or strategy session at the end. Give that session a dollar value and make the offer time limited. For example: “I have a limited number of openings over the next 2 weeks for a free strategy session call. If you schedule that today before you leave, you’ll be able to grab one of those spots.”

Having a specific, time-sensitive offer (that relates back to your talk topic somehow) is KEY to successfully enrolling new clients.  You’ll want to practice this a few times before your event to get comfortable with your own verbiage.

If you’d like to learn exactly how to give talks that get you more clients, and you’d like to have the actual presentations and script to make it a breeze, I have great news.

If you’re like a lot of the coaches I have spoken to, you know that speaking is a good strategy, but you have a lot of questions, such as…

• How should I structure the call or talk?
• How to get people to show up?
• What do I do if no one shows up?
• How to I convert attendees to become paying clients?

You probably have these questions and more. This is why I’ve developed done-for-you speaking kits that you can use to get in front of your ideal audience and potential dream clients.

>> You can find out more about the speaking kits HERE <<

You’ll get everything you need to market, fill and deliver a successful talk!  There are different topics from which to choose, so select the one(s) that are of most interest to you, and you’ll be ready to rock your next workshop!

Amy Lippmann

After 5 years as a health coach, Amy Lippmann merged her marketing roots with her passion for wellness by launching her company, Marketing for Health Coaches, where she’s helped thousands of health coaches and nutritionists successfully get clients through speaking, launch online programs, create high-converting websites, and grow their lists.

 

 

 

 

Have you joined our FREE and AWESOME mastermind group for heath coaches yet?

 CLICK HERE to request to join!

[For certified health coaches, nutritionists and other licensed wellness professionals.]