Start by building up meaningful relationships with people and some will eventually become business relationships. Rather than looking for business or expecting business out of the relationship, look on it more as what you can do for each other. Look for ways on how can you mutually help each other. I’ve had some great relationships and business building happen with people who have complimentary services to mine which I’ve found purely by networking and taking an interest in what others do.

Here’s a few tips for you:

1. Look for the value in what the other person is offering. Really get to know them and how they feel about their customers. Do they love what they do? How do they help people? Sometimes by getting to know people on this level you are then able to connect them to others who will work with them, or to forge a business relationship with you. So focus on connecting and looking for the individual value the person is offering.
2. Don’t focus just on your target market.Let people connect to you because of the attraction in what you do and make that a complimentary connection in return. Relationships are built for a reason and I see it more as having as many contacts as possible so that I know where I can pass information on to when I need to. So that’s where I see this wok well for you too.
3. Give time.Be authentic, honest, open and take an interest in what others have to say. Ask questions. Keep your focus on the individual person you are speaking to or connecting with if online.

   I heard a story once of someone who’s husband had been invited to meet the president of the United States. His wife accompanied him. She remembers that when she was introduced to the president and he was shaking her hand that his eyes were looking over her shoulder to seek out the next ‘more interesting’ person in the room. She felt devastated that she wasn’t important enough for him. So, give your full attention and  focus your eyes on connecting with who you are speaking to. And if it’s a social communication, shut everything else out during  that communication.

4. What can I do for you? Go in with this attitude. How can I help you? What can I do for you right now? What might be helpful in future?

Above all else, remember that regardless of how busy you are, never dismiss people as unimportant. Every connection has a value. Sometimes we don’t recognize what that connection is for, but there will be reason. People come into our lives for a reason but often it’s not obvious at the time what that reason is.

Here’s why you need to use speaking engagements to grow your business?

People Meet You On A Personal Level

People have the opportunity to meet you in person and to give a face to the name. Today, much of what we do is hidden behind the computer screen. Online marketing tools allow us to reach many people without leaving the comfort of your desk. But by giving a talk it gives people the opportunity to gain empathy with you and to meet the real person.

Consider The Statistics

It is estimated that 8-10% of your audience will seek you out after a presentation. They will want more information. This is a great qualifier! And of that 10% who seek you out, they won’t view your follow-up call as a pest, but rather as a ‘guest’.

Project Your Personality

Speaking allows you to project your personality and your skills. People have the opportunity to see you in action and gain an overall view of what you can do for their business problems.

Raises Your Profile

Public speaking is one of the biggest fears many people face. So by giving a talk, you are already a hero in the eyes of most of that audience. It raises your profile and standing in your area of expertise as well as incredibly increasing your credibility.

Highest Form Of Leverage

Addressing a large number of people as against one to one is the very highest form of leverage. The larger the audience, the more sales communications you can have without increasing your time.

If you want to learn how to do this well, email me on: grow@spiritofvenus.co.uk and ask about our Powerful Sales Presentations module. It will be a great investment as well as giving you the confidence to overcome any fears you might have.

I soon realized that I’d have to change how I did things especially as I’d heard so many times that is at least 7 times harder and expensive to find new clients than it is to get additional business from existing clients.

So what I did was to put more effort into my existing relationships and also contacted my past clients too. This is how I did it:

Action Point 1

While in a training or coaching session, I’d slip in a number of questions to gain information from participants. I’d ask what had been helpful. I’d ask what their problems were. I’d ask them what they’d like more of? I’d ask what areas of their work were problematic. And I’d find out what changes were happening in the organisation. All of this information I would gain as part of the session.

At the end of the training, yes, I’d ask people to complete the usual happy sheet and rate the training 1-4 (not 5 because I don’t want anything to be in the middle).

Then I’d make a point of following up with feedback to the person who had booked the training. I’d call and set a ‘1 to 1’ session with them. And I’d begin by asking what positive effect the training had had on their organisation. Then I’d take them through (readily prepared) feedback on what I’d learned from the session ‘that would be helpful for future training’. And I’d make a suggested progression plan with them.

By the end of the meeting we were more often than not working together on a future training plan … and booking that next session.

In addition, if I needed to bring in any associates to do other training alongside what I would be offering, then I’d also offer to do that on their behalf. For instance, if it was technical training that I’d identified as being needed – I’d know someone else who could fill that part.

My feet were firmly under the table as the ‘go to’ trainer.

 Action Point Two

With past clients, I made a point of contacting them with a short telephone call, email or letter. I’d apologise for not getting in touch for a while. Then I’d explain that as part of my increased customer service I was re-connecting with them and could we meet up to exchange notes on their current training needs.

More often than not, this would lead to a phone conversation and a meeting to discuss in more depth. Plus, more bookings and continued work.

So try this out for yourself . It does take a little effort, but it really does work!

Here’s some of the nightmares often experienced as a freelance trainer – and how to deal with them when they arise:

Nightmare No.1

Only 1 person has booked your training day. Do you cancel and lose credibility by owning up to a low booking?

Solution: Offer your course as a ‘1 to 1’ coaching programme to the person instead of having the training day. They don’t need to know that they were the only person booked on the course. Sell the benefits of your new solution instead.

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Nightmare No.2

A number of late-comers haven’t arrived yet. Do you wait for them before starting and risk over running the session and ending it late?

Solution: Always start on time. It is not your fault that people don’t arrive on time. When late-comers do arrive, don’t allow them to take centre stage by bombarding the group with their late reasons. Keep the focus on the activity in hand.

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Nightmare No.3

You have an argumentative and disruptive person in your training group. Others are getting agitated. How do you deal with the situation?

Solution: Thank the person for sharing their point of view (this is not agreeing with them) and say something like ‘that doesn’t work for me, I’d suggest trying this xxx’. Then open the discussion up to the group by asking the other participants to share their solutions to the problem. If this is particularly difficult situation, then stop the session and ask what the issue is. Then facilitate a session whereby the group works on the problem/issue to find a joint solution. This keeps the group together and on your side while sorting out the disruptive person too.

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Nightmare No.4

The power-point presentation doesn’t work and the internet has gone down preventing you reaching your information online. What do you do?

Solution: The well prepared trainer always has a back up plan. Keep a copy of the power-point presentation with your notes as a printed off copy. You can refer to this when you need it.

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Nightmare No.5

You’re running out a newly prepared training day but the activities you’ve prepared are being completed by the group in double fast time. You haven’t got sufficient material to extend the session.

Solution: As a trainer, always have a ‘box of tricks’ with a number of relevant activities to involve the group you are working with. And of course activities relevant to your subject specialism.

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Nightmare No.6

They’re clearly bored with your material and starting to lose interest. How can you re-ignite energy into the session.

Solution: As an accelerated learning facilitator part of my training is to manage the energy in the room and to be aware of any energy dips which might indicate disengagement. So, observe participants at all times. At regular intervals throw in an activity that is an immediate action they have to take or a problem to be solved within a few minutes. For instance, “How To Bring £1m Into Your Business Within 30 Days – How Will You Do this?” 15 minutes to come up with a plan. If a large group, break them into groups of 3-5 to work on the problem having made sure they’ve also had to move area within the room to join each other. Keep people on their toes and engaged at all times.

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Nightmare No.7

You have taken a booking for in-house training for a number of delegates. You have already spent days preparing for the 3 day sessions when you receive a call from the organisation to cancel the training. They want to re-book for next year when they have a healthier budget.

Solution: Prevention is better than cure. Take a non-refundable booking deposit at the time of booking which covers you sufficiently for the amount of preparation work you will do. You can honour the organisation the deposit paid and forward this amount toward re-booking the event next year – providing it won’t add to any additional preparation time.

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Nightmare No.8

Cash-flow is a problem. You are still waiting for payment of invoices, which could take up to 60 days for cash to come through.

Solution: Be upfront with the organisation at the time of booking that payment is due prior to the training taking place. If they insist on a 60 day invoicing system then ask them to forward a cheque in advance of the training taking place in line with your policy – not theirs. Believe me – this works.

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Nightmare No.9

An organisation asks for a discount. You feel reluctant to do that.

Solution: Never discount. Always have a policy in place even if it’s as simple as ‘No Discounts’. And stick to it. Offer value added instead. Can you increase your offer to make it more valuable to them? How about sending participant’s additional e-books or other products you already have available?

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Nightmare No.10

A potential client asks to meet with you to discuss their training needs. This will mean you travelling a number of miles at great expense to you. And you may not even get the work. What do you do?

Solution: Set up an initial ‘virtual’ meeting via Skype or telephone with this client to discuss their training needs. Be prepared with a number of ‘qualifying questions’ before committing further to attending a meeting. You may also put in place a standard fee to cover a ‘1 to 1’ meeting and your travel expenses.

Then you have a major dilemma. What do you do? It would be easier if no one had booked at all as then you just wouldn’t need to run the course.  But what happens if you call that one person and tell them you have to cancel it due to lack of bookings? You will likely lose credibility and most certainly, they won’t trust you to book onto a future course you might offer.

So, what do you do?

The best way to deal with this in my experience (yes, it has happened to me too as it’s all part of the trainer’s journey) is to do this:

1. What other options could you offer to this person instead of the training day they’ve booked? For instance, could you offer the content as ‘1 to 1’ coaching? Could you take your power point presentation and offer it as a webinar to them (and then have it available as an online course)? Could you give them a ‘1 to 1’ session on helping them with a specific problem they were hoping to resolve as part of the training? Think of every other option you can offer them.
2. Ask yourself, ‘what can I do for them that is going to be of even greater benefit?’ and ‘what little extras can I come up with that will surprise and even delight them?’
3. Put all your options, extras, surprises etc. together.
4. Give the person a call and explain that the course bookings have not been sufficient to run the course. Be honest and authentic. Then tell them that you don’t want them to be disappointed and that you want to offer them an alternative. Go through each option with them. Be sure to point out the benefits to them and offer that ‘surprise’ factor as a ‘wow’ moment.
5. Ask them which of the options they want to take instead.

This way, it gives you the opportunity to overcome the problem, retain your integrity and credibility. It also builds a solid relationship whereby they will know you are trustworthy and took the time to think of them above all else.

Sometimes it’s the creative thinking around the problem that makes the biggest difference to your business … and your bank account.

Here’s 21 easy ways to do just that:

Teleseminar – These are quick and easy to organize, and easy to deliver. That’s why they’re one of my favourite ways to generate leads and if you can record and transcribe the teleseminar then you have an instantly downloadable product you can sell from your website.

Telecoaching – This is delivered in a similar way to the teleseminar except there is a combination of content delivered via telesminars and interactive questions and answers.

Webinars – These are easy once you know how. You can work from pre-prepared powerpoint presentations and add the audio or record yourself live as you roll the information out.

E-course – a series of lessons delivered via email. Each lesson needs to contain an assignment that is submitted to the tutor (you), who will review the answers and comments and give feedback. It’s quick and easy and allows you to create the lessons as you go which is an added bonus.

Workbooks – every time you deliver training or develop coaching with your clients, turn it into a workbook. This can be delivered online with an audio added for additional value.

Live events – record a video and add this to your website. Doing a series of talks or seminars? Make sure you record these and you have an instant product. You can even offer these to your immediate audience when you speak and send them out after the event.

Audio CDs/MP3’s – these are one of my favourite ways to record training because CDS and MP3s are so portable. I can listen to them in the car, on an aeroplane via my ipod or even listen to them as I laze by the pool on holiday. A great way to learn and a great way to offer your knowledge.

Videos - are so valuable because they show you in action, sharing your knowledge and expertise. They are a great way to generate leads or to sell from your website. You can also offer a copy to participants who have attended the event too.

Templates – make it really easy for other people to use rather than having to design their own. A great resource for your followers.

MP3 recordings with an e-book – (or e-books on their own) are great ways to generate additional income or as lead generation tools

Subscription Website – Very popular providing you keep adding content and give subscribers lots of value.

Manual – These are useful if you want to share a ‘small chunk’ of your expertise that can be offered as a stand alone solution. You could create a series of these if you have a number of different elements of a particular subject to share.

Special Reports – These can be highly profitable. Usually these are on a specific topic and go in-depth to help people. They are not usually as in-depth as a manual but give people the steps they need to take action on the subject.

Self Study Course – Can be delivered online as a webinar, videos, audios, workbooks or a combination of all of these.

Books – Writing and publishing a book is great for credibility. Aim to use this as a marketing tool rather than a huge source of income. It’s very easy to publish ‘on demand’ these days.

Resource Guide – If you’ve collated a lot of information and places you can direct people to, then put it together as a resource guide. It is acceptable to add affiliate links too whereby you can sell the resource guide and also gain a small income from through any affiliate promotions too.

Coaching/Consulting – on a monthly ‘fixed fee’ basis. You can office support, critique and offer other help on a regular basis so you are there when your clients needs help. This is regular income.

Interviews – with experts who are able to offer their expertise to your client list. These can be collated and sold as a series of interviews.

Interview your clients – on a ‘before and after’ shot of their business and what you did to help them. Share tips and techniques that made the difference for your client and will be really helpful for others in business.

Fixed length programme – for a short period of time offer a series which will appeal to your target audience. This can be repeated online after you do the first series live.

Critiques – Offer a 45 or 60 Minute critique session. This gives people a taster of what you can do and helps to build trust. You may have a set lower fee for this as an introductory session or do this as a free session which gives you the opportunity to find out whether you are compatible as a coach and able to help with their problems.

I do hope this has given you some great ideas, but you know, the best is always to take just one or two of these and put them into action.

Want a free 60 minute session with me? Go right here to book this online – http://www.grow-training.com/specialoffer/questionnaire.html

This exercise works with any size group, any age and may be adapted to the type of training you’re offering.

Brief to participants:

Each and every one of us has unique emotions and feelings which are triggered in different ways. We see the world differently and experience things differently. But we do not always think that other people will see things differently to ourselves. We often presume that people will see the same thing as us. When they don’t we can often mis-communicate or misunderstand each other. Good relationships in Management and outside of work however, depend heavily on our being able to understand the other person’s point of view and where they are coming from, and why they view things differently to ourselves. To illustrate this, do the following exercise:

1. Sit back, relax… then think of the days of week. Monday all the way through to Sunday …
2. Imagine each day as a different colour. What colour is each of your days?
3. When you’re ready, open your eyes and write down the colour you saw for each of your days of the week.
4. Write down your reasons for seeing that colour for that day of the week.

Now, have a discussion between participants or team members as to what colour they saw related to each day of the week. Where people are willing to share their reasons, explore this in more detail.

If anyone sees all the days of the week as the same colour, or even if they see no colours at all, then this is equally a worthy viewpoint and difference in perception.

The days of the week are a straightforward, simple, fixed pattern. Yet, we see them in different ways and experience them differently. Therefore there is greater potential for even greater differences if we are working together on complex situations at work, or dealing with relationships at home. The aim of this exercise is to try to get us to understand each other’s views far better. When we do this it minimizes conflict and maximizes cooperation.

In a competitive Coaching and Training market place there is always the temptation to focus entirely on getting new business. Yet, research has shown that it is so much easier to get work from existing coaching clients than to find new ones.

When you know you have completed a great piece of work for a new client and you know they are satisfied with the service you’ve given them, why let it end there? You want them to see you as the expert they will naturally turn to when they require services that you offer. Repeat work makes lots of sense, as it’s greatly beneficial for your business – and you.

If you think about it, the amount of work that you have to put into a new client takes so much time and energy that it’s soul destroying to just let it end after all that initial effort.

So how do you keep the relationship growing?

You have to be seen as part of their team. Getting your feet planted firmly under their table so they see you as part of their organization. This means that you have to:

1. Understand everything about their business, their problems and any challenges they are facing. You have to help them see the opportunities available to them and how you can help them exploit these.
2. Get to know everyone in the organization, not just the people you initially work with. Take an interest in everyone at every level.
3. Continually offer additional value to them. Perhaps you can do some research on site. Follow up with any work you’ve done and give feedback on that. Make their life easier by offering do more.
4. It’s not just about you and your services either. Think of other services that you might recommend that they would benefit from. They will welcome you for doing this.

Building strong relationships will keep you in business. But a couple of things to remember are firstly not to rely on just one or two major relationships because if anything changes in their business, you may be the first to go. Secondly, don’t neglect looking for new clients and continue to nurture them in the same way.

1. Choose your niche carefully and have one strong message so that you will quickly become known as the go-to expert in that field.
2. Learn everything you can about your area of expertise. Become hungry for knowledge. Get a mentor and learn from them. Put into practice what you have learned.
3. Choose networking events where you will make greater impact due to the value you have to offer.
4. Being passionate about what you do shines through, so choose something you really care about – but will also make you money.
5. Recognize only about 3% of your market is in a position to buy at any given time. You do not need to try to sell to every single person you encounter.
6. Concentrate building relationships with the people who have already expressed an interest in what you do.
7. Don’t waste time trying to convert people who clearly are not interested. Concentrate on those people who are pre-qualified either via your list, or previously have bought from you.
8. Be committed to incredible customer service and aim to deliver more than your client expects.
9. Surprise your clients with additional bonuses or appreciation gifts from time to time.
10. Maintain a positive attitude and be aware of your energy. The right energy attracts, negative energy repels.
11. Use the ‘one to many’ methods for connecting with clients and to offer your services as much as possible.
12. Concentrate on building a list. If you haven’t already got the systems in place to do this, then do that as a priority.
13. Nurture joint venture partnerships and affiliates. Never underestimate the power of these
14. Write articles and submit to directories or get someone to submit these regularly for you such as http://ezinearticles.com
15. Offer an upgrade with every sale you make. Think Amazon as they do it really well.
16. Offer ethical bribes, such as a free report, but make sure you have the processes in place to handle responses.
17. Use tele-seminars, webinars, tele-summits and social media to increase your following and gain expert status.
18. Incite a call to action by creating a sense of urgency for people to sign up with you or purchase your offer. Set deadlines, these work well.
19. Be consistent. Systemize and automate processed so that you can make money even when you aren’t working in your business.
20. When you attend networking events, make a point of following up the very next day. It can make all the difference.

Just by implementing some of these strategies you will add many more prospects to your list and move closer to a more profitable business. The more of these you implement, the faster you will get results.

Want a quicker and easier way altogether? Then sign up for my free audio masterclass here

How do I define a successful trainer? Well, it’s someone who is constantly and consistently in work for a start. But its also someone who has a regular income stream and is therefore able to enjoy life when they are not working in their business. In other words, they can take time off for holidays or to spend time with their families and loved ones – without the nagging worry of when the next money is coming in.

To enable you to get into a position where you are able to do that can be far more critical than developing more skills as a trainer. Those accreditations you’re going after won’t do the selling and marketing for you at all. Yes, in certain cases you will be asked if you have them. But no, they won’t do the selling and marketing for you. But tried and tested sales and marketing skills will.

So spend time investing in your sales and marketing skills to grow your business. Then when you have the time, you can go for as many accreditations as you like – but only if you want to. You may find you don’t really need them after all …