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Archive For: Sales
Be Easy to Try, Easy to Buy, Easy to Say Goodbye
Riding the Sales Wave and Without Getting Dumped
Stop Telling Us How Good You Are and Show Us. Here’s Why
Your Delegates Want More (and so they should!)
It Is Not As Obvious As You Think!
You could have knocked me over with a feather!
Last week I was talking with a couple of clients. They had used me before on several occasions and I thought they knew what I did, particularly with my shift to online event production and hosting. I was certain I had even talked about with them directly.
Both of them didn’t realise that I was producing events (pressing buttons, mixing audio and video, showing slide decks, highlighting speakers) as well as being the MC for that online event. Following these conversations I have booked two gigs with them.
I thought I was talking about events too much. If it is even possible, I was almost getting tired of my own voice! I was certain that I had mentioned what I am doing several times.
Still, they didn’t really know. Hence, here I am talking about it again.
What about for you? What do you do that your customer doesn’t know about? Maybe they only know you for ONE of your services or products. How can you share with them some of the successes that you have achieved for your other customers? How can you let them know you do more than what you are doing for them?
From personal experience, your clients are busy. They often don’t hear your message – not because they don’t care but because they are focussed on THEIR customer. So how can you make it easy for them to hear about what else you do?
Meanwhile, I will keep spreading the good word about Online Events. (He says, warming up to tell you what he does).
So if you need me, I will be here in my studio. With my four computers, two cameras, vision switcher, audio panel, sound panels and green screen. I will be running my weekly live stream on events (sign up to my YouTube channel to keep in touch WarwickMerry.tv) , sharing content on LinkedIn, and coaching people with their Online Presence.
Let me know if you need help with your next online event!
If you want your next online event or meeting to shine, get in touch with Warwick for some ideas or assistance on how to make it energetic and engaging.
Simply email Warwick [at@] WarwickMerry.com or call +61 408 592 158
𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜𝘀 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗦𝗲𝘁𝘂𝗽 𝗙𝗼𝗿 𝗢𝗻𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝗦𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀?
So many events people and speakers are looking for amazing tech setups. Some have amazing looking setups like the ones in this image.
But never forget, you are alone in your room as your audience is alone in theirs. Having their pictures on the screen is meaningless if you are not engaging.
The best setup is a camera and a screen. That’s it. (and the camera can be a webcam, smartphone or even the one in your laptop.)
The difference is what you do with it.
You have to truly connect with the camera. Because the camera represents the people. You need to look at them.
It doesn’t matter your setup if you can’t connect or engage.
To many people try and create an online experience and end up making an Average TV Show. And an Average TV Show is just too easy to turn off.
Let go of the tech. Get better at presenting, engaging, playing, laughing, connecting, inspiring, energising and delighting those on the other side of the camera. That is the best setup you could ask for!
PS Need help with your set up or online engagement skills?
Get in touch.
How Can You Have A Virtual Sticky Note Board?
How do you brainstorm with digital sticky notes?
How can everyone access the sticky notes?
Can you move them, comment on them and do it all – for free?
Everyone loves brainstorming with sticky notes or Post-It Notes ® but when we go online, how can we do it virtually?
This is a question loads of people have asked me. And there are some fantastic apps and programs that can help you do it.
I don’t know about you, but I am tired of paying $20 a month for this, $15 a month for that or $400 for an annual license. Surely there has to be a better, cheaper way for something you may not use a lot?
Well there is. It is called Google Jamboard and Laurie Brown showed it to me so I want to show it to you and show you how easy, effortless and FREE it is.
I got so excited that I recorded a video on how to use it when I was all bearded and horribly unprofessional, but in a COVID19 age, that boundary is shifting.
It is only 7 minutes, but I think it will shift your perspective on using sticky notes online.
Enjoy!
Exhibiting in the Age of the Corona Virus
What happens when the Expo or Tradeshow you are supposed to be at is still happening but you can’t fly?
How can you have a presence at the Expo when you can’t be present?
What can you do to show your product but not show your face?
There are plenty of options, and most of them do not include Holograms!
With many governments banning visitors from China, South Korea, Italy, Singapore and other countries, it can be a challenge to represent your brand and your company and the events that are still happening.
Sometimes, it is not the government banning the flights. Maybe it is your company, your family or you just aren’t willing to travel because you feel the risks are too high.
If you have already paid for exhibiting space, how do you take advantage of it all while not being on site?
Here are a few ideas:
1 – A Virtual Delegate
While you may not be able to get a robot or drone to carry around a table and be you at the event, it is very likely you could hire a local person to be virtually you. Have them wear a large name tag and image of you and carry the tablet around as you direct. You could then see the sessions, have the conversations and almost be there. All from the comfort and safety of your home or office.
2 A Virtual Product
Arrange with the expo or event organisers to have a smart tv or tv and tablet at your stand. You can show video, interactive website, 3D imagery of your product or service. Some remote printed posters or documentation can easily represent you.
3 A Virtual Presence
This is a combination of the first two. Set up your virtual product (or actual product if it is available locally) and then have your virtual representative on site to give the tablet to interested people so you can have decent conversations. As you are having conversations with people on the tablet, your virtual person can be booking further appointments.
4 Hybrid Convention Presence
With a Hybrid Convention, you can combine the Virtual Presence with the conference software and have meetings in break out room. Even delegate some of your teams to take the hybrid meetings while you do the live one.
5 Something Else
No doubt there are a plethora of other options available to you. These were some that came up in discussion today. Naturally each of these options is scalable. All you need is to add more members of your team or more onsite representatives with tablets to represent you.
What’s Next?
There is no doubt that face to face meetings are superior to virtual meetings. But the events industry is being disrupted by forces beyond our control. It is a great time to get creative and work WITH and AROUND our physical limitations.
If you are looking for some alternatives for your next event, expo or conference, get in touch and let’s talk about what may be possible.
Are You Focussed On Your Target Market?
I love a well thought out piece of marketing in the right market. This Techbox is particularly awesome.
Last week I was hosting COBA2019 trades how floor at the Gold Coast Convention and Exhibition Centre and right outside the main doors was this Tech Box. If you look closer you will see Hi Vis Vests, Gaffer Tape, Power Boards (that have been tested and tagged), phone chargers, USB Adapters, thumb drives, extension cords… all the things you need at an expo but can often forget. All at a reasonable price (for the convenience).
They know their market well, they know their price points well, and they are offering a fantastic service with low operating costs. There were also a few people at this Expo happily purchasing things from it!
How well do you know your target market and how well do you position your products and services?
How To Open Up And Reap The Rewards
Why does it feel like we are shutting down?
We seem to pay more attention to our phones than the people around us. Admit it, who do you connect with first thing in the morning? Is it your phone or your partner or your pet?
Countries are shutting down. The debacle that is Brexit, Trade wars between USA and the rest of the world, rising nationalism that seems to echo to the chant of “mine, mine, mine”, even today when I offered to contribute to a white paper being put together by a sister association, when they discovered I was from a different country, I was un-invited.
How did we get it so wrong?
At a time when we have less wars than ever before, more global trading than ever before, more immigration and global citizens than ever before, more global problems than ever before, why are we not connecting more?
It seems we have forgotten how to connect and maybe even play nicely with others.
On a recent power session I ran on How to Connect with People, some of the participants were amazed at the simplicity of how to connect. Basic things that they don’t do that they used to do.
To re-connect on a global level, why not connect more on a personal level. Look up from your phone, your desk, your immediate concerns and go and connect with others. Prospects, customers, colleagues, friends, family and also your pets.
You will be better for it!
If you want to get access to the How to Connect session, head here.
How to Connect (and Mean It!)
With the rapid rise of digital, one of the skills that people seem to struggle with is how to connect with other people.
Whether it is meeting prospects, networking, making new friends, socialising or simply trying to connect with a salesperson and not feel like you have to be on guard, connecting with others is such an important skill.
Let’s face it, how many people do you know who will avoid a phone call? They will email, text, message and seem to spend half the day going back and forth rather than spend the 10 minutes on the phone with the person.
Truth be told, so many people have asked me about this lately that I am running a 30 minute power session on the 5 Keys to Connecting this Thursday. Click the link and register to join us or access the recording.
The first key is the easiest, use the persons name.
Of all the words in the world, the one word people love the most is their name. So why wouldn’t you use it? It is personal, so make sure you weave it into the conversation. Don’t worry if you forget it, just ask for it again!
If you want to know the other 5 keys, join us on Thursday. Head here for more info. Then you can connect and truly mean it.
How You Can Easily Add More Value To Your Prospect
I just got off the phone from a prospect who is looking for someone to host their annual industry awards and dinner.
Her colleague had seen me host an event and had been part of my Sponsorship Workshops, so it was a lovely phone call to get.
She was talking to me about some of the concerns she had, the unique industry issues they have, the history of their events and was looking for solutions and ball park pricing.
It would have been very easy for me to give a ball park price and have a limited conversation and not give her too many ideas before they sign me up. In fact, some of my colleagues tell me I am too generous with my information.
But I know something they are yet to work out. This prospect even admitted it!
She said she was a little concerned about the event – because of it’s history, their limited budget and the pressure to get it “right.” But after speaking with me, discovering that my dad worked in the industry, hearing some of the suggestions and possibilities she could do so shift the focus of the event and make it more positive for everyone, she felt far more comfortable.
That is worth the risk of giving away too much.
When your customer or prospect feels better or more comfortable about an event because of you, you are becoming part of the team. Some of the PCO’s I work with have said to me, “Now we know you are the MC, we know we don’t have to worry about that anymore.”
If you can make your customer or prospect “feel comfortable”, the value is immeasurable.
So how can you make your customers and prospects feel more comfortable?
What can you do, what information can you share or what ideas can you give them so that you are strongly embedded as part of the team?
All relationships start somewhere. If you can add comfort to the relationship as swiftly as possible, the value is priceless.
Your Product is AWESOME, So Why No Customers?
You can barely tell from the outside but this is the old State Savings Bank in Clunes, Victoria. It is a beautiful old town that I had the pleasure of staying at over the weekend.
The town sprung up in the early gold rush and has some fantastic buildings, great old oak trees and a plethora of rose bushes all over town.
Serendipitously it was also the Clunes Agricultural Show, so we went along to check it out.
Along with farming in the area, Clunes is also trying to establish itself as a tourist down. This is one of the B&Bs in the main street.
Like many small towns and many small businesses, Clunes has so much to offer but without people it will slowly dwindle away and die. Two of the three mechanics in town have closed down, there are empty shops and one of the pubs is for sale half way through a renovation.
Like many small towns and many businesses, Clunes is trying to attract fresh interest and repeated interest in itself.
Every May it has an International Book Festival, some use it as a satellite town for the nearby regional centre of Ballarat, and old wares and art can be seen and purchased every weekend.
Kevin Costner’s statement in Field of Dreams, “Build It and They Will Come” is a massive lie.
Like Clunes, you not only have to build it, you have to let the right people know about it, you have to give them a reason to come and you have to make it easy for them to come and engage, get informed and buy from you.
So many business have amazing products, awesome services, fabulous prices but they flounder and die without people.
What are you doing today, and every day, to let people know about the value you bring?
How You Can Tell If Your Event Is A Success
Too often we focus on the cash flow or the ROI of an event when we are measuring success and not the ROO and ROE. Whether this event is a corporate conference, a party with friends or your child’s next birthday party, the intent of this is the same.
Don’t get me wrong, a financial analysis (Return on Investment ROI) of your event is imperative, but it is not the only thing. You have to look at your Return on Objectives (ROO) and Return on Energy (ROE) as well.
ROO is important as once we know our objectives, it will change the focus of the event and what we do at it and with our attendees.
ROE is so important as we only have a certain amount of energy to contribute so we want to put that energy in the right spots.
The problem with this is that most events do not have well considered Objectives or they are not measured appropriately. All too often people write of the cost as a “Branding effort” without even attempting to measure how it impacts the brand.
For your next event you need to ask yourself some key questions:
- How will we determine if this event is successful?
- How will we measure it?
- What systems do we need to put in place today to help measure it?
Sometimes your measure of success is long term and you can be willing to make a financial loss in the short term for a much greater return down the track.
Whatever you decide, you have to measure it. As the old saying goes, “What get’s measured, get’s improved.”
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