“I think I’m going to have to get a real job,” Angela sighed as we had coffee one afternoon last month.  “I’m not getting enough clients.  My pipeline is not even close to full, I meet people at networking events and nothing much comes of it, and I’m just not getting enough business.  I love what I do, but if I don’t have enough clients to make the income I need, then it really doesn’t matter.”

Angela is not alone.  I meet entrepreneurs every week who share her frustration. They’re investing huge amounts of time and money in marketing tactics that are not paying off.  They have limited time, limited budgets, and their marketing efforts are not bringing them enough sales. You might be one of them.

You might be struggling with getting the word out about your business, with building the “know me, like me, trust me” relationship with potential clients, with filling your programs and selling your products, with building your business without sounding “sales-y,” with having a bigger impact and making a difference in the world.

There’s a way to turn all of this around. Speaking in front of audiences made up of your perfect target market is one of the most powerful ways to grow your business. If you’re not using it as part of your marketing strategy, you’re leaving money on the table!

When you get up in front of a room of people who need your products and services, you have an opportunity to establish yourself as an expert in your field and as someone who can help them.  You can create demand for your services, get immediate prospects and leads, and even get sales at the event itself.

So how do you do this?  How do you create a powerful message that will bring people into your pipeline and result in more sales? Here are three tips:

1.  Know Your Perfect Audience

When I ask small business owners who their perfect target market is, they often say, “I can help everyone.”  No you can’t.  If you market to everyone, you market to no one. You have to know specifically who your perfect client is.  You need to know everything you can about them—their demographics, what’s important to them, what motivates them, what their values are, what problems and frustrations they have, what they’re focused on.

You can develop your ideal client profile. I actually found a stock photo of my perfect client. I gave her a name, and described her life.  She is who I market to.  She is who I think of when I develop new products and programs.  She is who I craft my messages for. You can do the same.

When you get out and speak, you want to speak to audiences who are filled with people who fit your ideal client profile.  Otherwise, you’re wasting your time, and you won’t have the impact you want.

2.  Laser-Focus Your Message

Before you get in front of an audience, know what you want the end result to be.  What do you want the audience to think, feel, say, or do as a result of hearing you speak?

Do you want to establish yourself as an authority in your field?  Then you want to create a memorable experience and message that will do just that.

Do you want them to buy a program or package that you’ve created? Then you want to establish the need, and make them feel “the problem” in such a way that they absolutely want the solution you offer.

Do you want to create a connection with the audience that makes them want more of you and to stay connected with you?  Then you want to share personal stories, create trust and intimacy, and make sure you are authentically you on stage.

3.  Have a Kick-Ass Speech

.  You want to make sure you have a powerful speech that will get the results you want.

Invest the time and energy to get good—really good.  Read books and articles, hire a coach, take a class—do whatever it takes to get good.  It’s not rocket science, but there is a craft that needs to be learned.

Here are some things to keep in mind:

• Know your audience. Do research on them in advance.  Talk to the meeting planner, send a pre-program questionnaire, talk to a few potential audience members.

• Begin with an “attention grabbing” opening. Don’t start by thanking your hosts, remarking on the location, or boring people from the start.  Begin with a startling statistic, an interesting question, an intriguing fact that is relevant to their problems.  The first thirty seconds are critical.

• Have a well-structured speech. Make sure you’re clear on your message. Make sure you know what your audience’s pain is and how you can be the solution for them.  Limit your major points—don’t try to tell them everything you know about the subject.

• Tell great stories. The audience will remember them long after they’ve forgotten the “facts” you’ve shared with them.  They are a way of creating a memorable experience, and of creating connection with the audience.

• Use powerful visuals. Props, PowerPoint slides with great images and few words, flipcharts, and other methods can serve as visual anchors to make your message stick.

• Never take Q&A at the end of your speech.  Engage with the audience and take their questions a few minutes before the end of the speech.  Then end powerfully.  If you end with Q&A, the energy you’ve built up fizzles.

• Have a power close. The last minute of your speech must inspire your audience. It needs to energize them, and to fill them with a sense of what’s possible for them. It needs to be memorable.  It needs to move them to action.

So stop leaving money on the table!

• How would your business transform if you were able to speak to your perfect prospects 50 or 100 or hundreds at a time?
• How much would your business grow if you had a steady stream of people who wanted to buy your products and services because they’d heard you speak, and they know, like, and trust you?
• How much would your business benefit if people knew you as an expert in your field?

Putting together a great speech and getting out there and delivering it to audiences of your perfect target market is a sure path to business success. 

What is the first step you will take today to make that happen in your business?

© 2011 Feisty Woman Productions

You can read all of the excellent posts from March Marketing Madness here.  http://www.sanerapdc.com/category/march-marketing-madness-2/

Free download of Ava’s e-book: ROCK YOUR SPEAKING: Seven Secrets to Creating and Delivering Powerful Speeches that Grow Your Business, Make You Money, and Increase Your Impact

http://www.feistywomenrock.com/buy-download-rock-your-speaking-now.html

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I was interviewed on the radio yesterday.  Because I’m the author of Great Quotes from Feisty Women, the interviewer asked me what my favorite quote was.  That’s a tough question.  I have three on the bulletin board next to my desk.

Here’s my favorite:

“When I dare to be powerful—to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.”  Audre Lord

For me, it’s the “get out of your own way” quote.  It’s the “it’s not about you—be in service to others” quote.  It’s the “don’t let fear stop you from going after your dreams” quote.

There’s great wisdom in these words.  They remind us to get clear, really clear on our vision, on what we really want.  They tell us to identify our strengths, and then to use them to move toward our vision. And most importantly, they tell us to move beyond our fears.

When I work with people who want to learn how to speak from the stage and get their message out, it’s often fear that’s stopping them. It’s that little voice asks, “Who would want to listen to me?”  It’s the part of them that keeps them from playing big and going after what they really want.

The truth is, you’ll feel fear when you try something new. It’s just part of the process.

Instead of letting it stop you, how about this?  How about telling yourself, “This is awesome!  I’m at my growing edge. I’m trying something new, so I’m feeling some fear.  It’s just a message that I’m taking a big step forward. Yay, me!”

Then take that next step forward—and watch yourself and your business grow!

So where have you let fear stop you?  And where have you decided that it’s less important that you’re afraid, and have moved forward anyway?

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“Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.” My eyes had glazed over.  My mind was racing, trying to find a graceful way to exit this conversation without hurting the woman’s feelings. I was so done!

I was at an event filled with women business owners, and had asked this woman to tell me a little bit about what she did and what she was passionate about.  About four long minutes into her response where she did not even stop to take a breath, all I was hearing was “blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.”

She had not learned to laser focus her message. She had not learned to share who she was in an engaging way. She came across as tedious, boring, and desperate.  You’ve met people like her, haven’t you?

And somehow, she was the second woman in a row I’d encountered that evening who did exactly the same thing!

Whether you’re a business owner or you’re employed, it’s important to get really good at self promotion.  When I tell my audiences this, they often ask, “Self promotion, Ava, isn’t that kind of sleazy?”  Not at all.  It’s only sleazy if you do it in a way that’s obnoxious.

Effective self promotion is an art and a skill.  It’s turning the spotlight on yourself in a way that’s authentic and comes from a place of helpfulness and being of service.  It’s a way of connecting and of sharing who you are and what value you can bring to the relationship.

Often, when I ask women what they’ve accomplished or what they’re excited about in their business, they are at a loss for words.  They’ve been taught not to “brag.”

Whether it’s at a networking event, a presentation, an interview, or a speech, it’s important to sell yourself.  It’s important to be able to articulate who you are and the value you offer. And it’s important to do it in a way that’s engaging and leaves your audience wanting more.

So how do you do that? How do you find a way to talk about your business and your accomplishments in a way that differentiates you, instills confidence, and begins the process of building the “know, like, and trust factor?”

Here are four tips:

1. Know your audience.  Whether it’s a presentation or a networking event, it’s critical to know your audience.  Know the demographics, their interests, their challenges, why they’re there. Target your message to your audience.  Make it relevant to them.

2. Laser-focus your message. What do you want people to know, think, say, or do as a result of this encounter with you?  If you’re not clear about that, you’ll tend to ramble, go on and on, and try to tell them everything you know. Be focused. Be on target. Be brief.

3. Don’t be a robot. We’ve all been taught to have a “30 second elevator speech.”  We’ve written it down, memorized it, practiced it in front of the mirror, and could say it in our sleep—even after two sleeping pills. There’s only one problem. It sounds like our well-rehearsed elevator speech. It’s not authentic. It doesn’t connect.  Think connection.  Think “real.”  Think sharing who you are.

We’ve all seen presenters that are over-rehearsed. We can’t “feel” them. They don’t connect to the audience.  Being prepared is great. “Performing” rather than connecting—not so much.

4. Be focused on them, and on what you can give. People will think you’re a brilliant conversationalist if you’re a good listener.  Ask questions.  Be fully present and really listen when they answer. Focus on how you can be of service.

For speeches and presentations, be audience focused.  Concentrate on giving great information and great value. Give them tools they can implement immediately.  It’s not about you.  It’s about how you can serve them.

In today’s world, it’s all about relationships. Whether you’re at a networking event, a business meeting, or delivering a presentation, it’s about the connection between you and the other person, or you and the audience.

So get skilled.  Get good.  Then go out and build relationships!

Have you met someone like her?  What did you do in that situation?

Do you have some good tips to share about building connection with an audience of 1 or 100? Please share them with us below!

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