Creative Impressions Press » Speaking

Trade Shows

Sharyn — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 05:47:54 +0000

I always loved doing trade shows just because of all the people I get to meet. But once I started speaking at trade shows, it was a whole new game. When you are the one in the lime light, you are the one who gets all of the attention. And the attention comes in the framework of new clients.

So a part of this author program is to encourage my authors to become speakers at trade show events, have a display table and use the other vendors as a resource to sell their books in bulk. It is one of the greatest resources there is for an author generating mass amounts of income.

Getting the first trade show as a speaker is the most difficult. Once you’ve secured your position as a speaker and insist on having a table to display your books and CDs. People love to come by and talk with you after you have been the speaker. It is a great way to build rapport.

The ideal is to have a trade show booked at least six times a year. You’ll be able to get an average of two to four new clients, two to three new speaking engagements, sell an average of 200-300 books and sell four to six new bulk sponsors. All in all, the average income will be about $20-30,000 on each trade show.

You will find an unlimited list of potential trade shows just by searching Google.

Trade Shows

Sharyn — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 09:46:13 +0000

I stumbled into speaking at trade shows when I was asked to participate in a trade show for a franchisors. Various Franchises had exhibit tables and those who were thinking of buying a franchise were the attendees. I was asked to do a breakout session for sales skills. It was right after I had developed my Street Smart Sales Training program. I prepared a 60 minute presentation and the handouts to go with it. Fortunately I was scheduled for the second day. That gave me the whole first day and the morning of the second day to talk with the attendees and gain more of an audience. My goal was to get enough people to attend so that I would be able to get enough leads to gain at least one client for private training. The fee for the breakout session was $5,000. I decided to give away one of my business books and that was how I was able to collect business cards from everyone in the audience who wanted to participate. From the 35 who attended, I was able to pick up three new clients and charged $7,500 for a four hour training plus a 2-hour follow up session. Trade Shows are very lucrative! I found a resource a couple of years after that where Trade Shows are listed for as much as two years ahead. It’s TSNN.

Multi Level Marketing

Sharyn — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 07:22:15 +0000

There are many Multi Level Marketing (MLM) companies in which you can set up speaking engagements with.

The first MLM I spoke at was Nikken. They had monthly training meetings and I was invited to deliver a presentation on networking. It was just after I published my first book Mixing it UP! They allowed an hour for me to do the presentation and it was not only well received but I sold about 15 books to the audience of about 200. I was thrilled to have sold $225 in books. It was the biggest one day of sales I had to that point.

The MLM groups were very fruitful for me. I learned to think like the MLM strategies. I began to understand why it was important to offer unique concepts to help inspire those who were about to venture out on their own, sometimes for the very first time. They had no idea of how they were to develop a business.

Speaking to an audience carries a responsibility. I have seen many speakers who only talk about promoting their interests. A speaker has to know how to create an interest in their work it’s true but it is more important to know what the audience needs to hear.

Breakout Sessions

Sharyn — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 06:36:19 +0000

One of the best ways to increase your revenue as an author is through speaking. There are many ways to speak as an author and one of my favorites is to be a breakout session leader at conventions.

One of the websites I use to find potential speaking engagements is TSNN.com Trade Show National Network. Once you fill out your profile, you can get information about expos and conventions as far as two years in advance.

The sessions usually require about an hour to 90 minutes and they typically pay between $3,500 and $7,500. You will be able to attend the entire expo and meet the attendees by attending other breakout sessions.

It is one of the easiest speaking engagements because it takes so little time.

When you approach a trade show organizer, you’ll want to have a topic that is in line with their event. It must add great content to their line up of speakers.

It might be more difficult to break into the expo and convention arena, but it is well worth the effort.

The first thing you want to do is make sure you have a website or blog promoting your name as a speaker. Make the site specific to your expertise and notoriety as a speaker.

When you approach the event planner, don’t leave a voice mail, keep calling until you reach them live. They typically do not return calls until they know who you are.

Look to see who might already be booked as a speaker and try to contact them to see if they can offer any insights on presenting to the event coordinator.

Keep trying! It will be well worth your effort.