You just delivered a fabulous speech. You got a standing ovation. Now what? Now you need to follow up to get that business! After your talk when people come up to you and say how great your talk was, make sure that you get their business card and tell them that you are going to follow up with them later. This is the moment that determines whether you get clients or not from a speaking engagement. Remember, anyone who comes up to you and the end of your presentation is interested and that means they are a hot lead. Do not let them go cold.
How to Set Up and Do a Profitable Follow Up
Normally, out of a group of twenty-five people, you should be able to get at least five hot leads that come up to you at the end of your talk. Those individuals are your potential clients. What you must do is tell them that you are going to call them. Then call them or email them your calendar link so they can schedule an appointment with you. You want to get them on your calendar immediately for a 30-minute strategy session while they are hot.
During this follow-up strategy session, you will find out exactly what their needs are and how you can help. Then let them know that you can supply them with what they want and fulfill their needs. Then close them. In other words, let them know they are a perfect fit for your service (if that is true) and ask them if they would like to jump in and get their needs fulfilled.
How to Prevent Yourself Failing to Follow Up
Most speakers do not follow up when they get business cards. They may lose them or forget why they have the card. Here is a little trick to help you identify the business cards who are the hot leads. You will never lose track of a hot lead again. When someone comes up to the end of your talk and they have a question, you cannot answer the question because you will miss connecting with the four or five other people who also waiting to see you. Simply ask for their business card, take the card and fold corner of card without them seeing it. That tells you that this business card is a hot lead, and you need to follow immediately.
For those people who come up and do not carry business cards, chances are they have a cell phone and prefer texting. Then you can ask them to text you their name and email right then and there before we get interrupted. Give them your number either verbally or on a card. You can even have them ask you their question in the text. Then you can let them know you will text them your calendar link so you can get their questioned answered.
How to Get Your Calendar Booked Before You Leave a Virtual Event?
When you are speaking at a virtual event, be sure to announce that you are putting your calendar link in the chat and ask attendees to schedule appointments to get their questions answered. Most people think that they might get bombarded and they do not want unqualified people. Well, you need to qualify them when you talk to them within the first 15 minutes of your strategy session with them. And if you never get them on a strategy call, you will never close them anyway. So, it is better to put your calendar out there.
Recently, I spoke to a virtual group of 20 people. I got seven appointments. The very first one I did close. Trust me, this works. Plus, they pick their own time that works for them and their calendar instead of feeling like they must fit into my calendar. So, they already feel good and in control and that helps set a positive tone and gets you that much closer to closing for the business.
Then when you get them on the phone or on a Zoom call, make sure you do the strategy session the right way. That is, you need to ask the right questions to pull out the right answers from them, that shows you what they need. And then you can let them know that you can provide them what they need. The fact that they showed up for the call, indicates that your 50 percent of the way to a home run.
Generally, people know what strategy sessions are for. They are there because they want to know more about your products and services. They are there because they are curious as to what the next steps are to working with you. In fact, many of them are hoping that you will sell them a solution to their problem.
Follow Up with Warm Leads by Email
When you make an offer during your presentation to get a free download (eBook, checklist, etc.), these people who take you up on that are warm leads. Here is what I do… As soon as I am done with a speaking event, for anybody who is given me their card or who has put their information in the chat, I put them on my email list. I send them a note to thank them for being there and make the offer to meet. For example, my email would say something like this, “I’m so glad you were at the event. If you would like to book an appointment and speak with me, here is my calendar link. I’d love to hear what you’d like to do with public speaking.” It is a bit of a stab in the dark when you send the email compared to when you put your link in the chat when you are still in the meeting and you get immediate results. But remember, these leads are warm, they are not cold. And they are warm not hot because they did not jump on the initial offer to meet.
Frequent Follow Up Matters
Nowadays, a speaker needs to follow up seven to nine times after an event. Most people give up to soon. They give up in two tries instead of seven. People today are busy. They really want to do business with you, but they may be on a project deadline during your first attempt or maybe a family emergency.
Do not give up on them.
Watch this quick video for a quick overview of how to follow up: