Good news: economists are pointing to a recovery next year. Unfortunately, this rising tide won’t lift all boats. In the meetings industry, buyers are gearing up to use content as a major marketing tool in 2010. That means you better have the goods; fluff is dead. Bottom line: how you describe who you are and what you do will be the deal breaker. I’m unveiling the top five predictions for 2010 on Tuesday’s Here’s the Deal call. Click here to learn more and to register.
Posts Tagged ‘Here’s the Deal’
Why the recovery won’t help everyone
Thursday, December 3rd, 2009Standing out in a noisy market
Tuesday, December 1st, 2009Another thing to be thankful for: no one threw anything during my speech at the National Speakers Association Fall Conference before Thanksgiving. What I heard outside the sessions: folks are gearing up with huge “get out there” plans for 2010. Expect competition to heat up and for a noisy market to get just plain deafening. I’m cooking up a plan for cutting through the clutter at next week’s Here’s the Deal call. Click here to join me.
Need leads?
Thursday, November 12th, 2009Another great call on Tuesday about generating leads. The big takeaway: the issue is not lack of opportunities. There are plenty of places to “get out there.” Lead generating is about how to take advantage of what you are already doing. How to convert your efforts into leads of qualified buyers.
And the big secret that no one talks about: converting publicity and other outreach efforts has a lot of moving parts. So when the campaign goes south, there can be many reasons why. I untangled this web on the call. Click here to get the mp3 file — only $59.
Famous but not rich
Thursday, November 5th, 2009My heart cracks a little every time I get one of these calls. Some well-known expert laments, “But I was on (insert prominent media show here). But the leads just didn’t come in!” And I have to break the bad news: it’s the publicist’s job to generate the media mentions. It’s your job to get leads from all the attention. I can just see all the money they paid for “getting out there” just go up in smoke.
The truth: fame doesn’t always translate into fortune. The key: you have to know how to make your media create leads. The secret: it’s the little things that matter most. Get ready for some “you can do this tomorrow” tactics on Tuesday’s Here’s the Deal call on lead generation. Click here to join the fun (and profit)!
Not the time to make this mistake
Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009In this “who moved my cheese” economy, finding buyers who are willing to invest has become priority one. That’s why I am shocked when turbo charge client Amy Showalter reached out to National Speaker Association members regarding their availability and fees for her Innovate to Motivate Conference coming up in February. What she heard from these self-decribed professional speakers: eight days of radio silence.
Don’t call her now — the slots are taken. Here’s my guess on what happened: these folks didn’t realize she was a qualified buyer. That’s why I’m drilling down on how to separate the serious buyers from the fishing expeditions at the next Here’s the Deal call on Tuesday, November 10th. Click here to join me.
New definition of a cool speaker
Thursday, October 15th, 2009My favorite part about the Here’s the Deal call this last Tuesday: how community is driving the new definition of “cool speaker.” Yes, association buyers still want our community to promote attendance. What’s happening now: speakers are being judged by how fast they light up the Tweet Deck. Example: one of the Video Marketing Expo’s speakers got so much buzz via Twitter that they immediately rehired the guru for a second session — for the same meeting. Now that’s spin-off business.
I reverse engineered this dynamic on the call — one of my favorite things to do. Also dissected another way to use community in real time during the event. Here’s the link to get the MP3 file: http://www.sullivanspeaker.com/HTDcommunity.htm
Get out of the box
Thursday, September 17th, 2009Another great call on Tuesday on advocates. My favorite point: your relationships with advocates are driven by the first experience you’ve had with them. If they hired you to speak, then they see you as a speaker. If you coached them, then all you are is a coach. That perception sets up an either/or construct that gets in the way of brainstorming new opportunities. A typical response: they’re not hiring consultants right now, so when you leave a voice mail message, there’s no need to return the call. After all, times are tight and everyone’s out marketing.
They know you’re talented. Many advocates just limit how to use your talents based on what they’ve done with you before. You have to tread lightly here or you’ll give off the air of desperation. I shared some ways to get out of the box from a position of power. Here’s the link if you want the mp3 file for only $59.
What can you do for me NOW?
Thursday, September 10th, 2009Working with advocates is a tricky business nowadays. In booming times, approving more work was easy. With Corporate America still cutting budgets, advocates know they need help but can’t pay. Awkward situations arise. Key question: what do you do to maintain the relationship? How can you be generous without giving away the store?
The answer: combine creativity with your benchmarks. Know what you have to have and then get creative in making that happen. I’ll unveil my unique approaches at next Tuesday’s call on working with advocates. Here’s the link to join the fun. And fasten your seatbelt…
Why your advocates can’t help
Tuesday, September 8th, 2009When the going gets tough, the tough start networking. I see a lot of experts reaching out to their advocates this year, but not a whole lot of deals coming through as a result.
Here’s the deal: Many budgets moved up the food chain, so advocates who could hire you in the boom times no longer have that option. Many experts punt by asking for referrals or to “pass along” the information to the new buyers. That rarely works. New buyers have their own sources. And when they don’t know you, the first question becomes about price. And in the heat of competition, bargains can be had.
Bottom line: advocates play a variety of roles now and going into 2010. And that’s what I’m drilling down on in next week’s Here’s The Deal call. Here’s the link; hope you can join us.
