The two hardest things to do in business are to get your audience’s attention and to hold their attention.
It’s a very busy world. Between Facebook Live, Snapchat, Twitter, Instagram, etc., there are many ways to get in front of your audience.
And although we think that social media makes it easier to get there, it actually makes it more difficult.
People’s streams are constantly filling up, and often we need to stand out more than others to make an impact.
So they key is to do whatever it is you are doing consistently.
I don’t always do enough video, and I don’t do it consistently.
I LOVE doing it, but quite honestly it’s work – the makeup, the hair, the planning what to say. These are common barriers for video marketing.
There is also mindset stuff. What will people think? What if they don’t like it?
It’s all bullshit.
You know that, and I know that. But it still goes through our heads, doesn’t it?
So I wanted to do a video for you and be real and honest with my journey in the last six months.
I have rebranded and am refocusing with a new website, and I am able to do that because I took some time to do a deep dive into my own WHY, and did some real work on the inside.
I took a break from doing events and seminars. I am starting over again, but with focus and clarity – and of course I am not really starting over because I built a bit of a platform previously.
But one major thing I realized is that we struggled to get people’s attention and hold it.
Our window of opportunity is around 5 to 7 or 10 seconds – it doesn’t matter what it is specifically, but it is measured in seconds, not hours. We need to get and hold the attention and then do something with that attention.
We have to move people into action whether it is to think differently or do differently.
You have to do all three of those things well and consistently and then rinse and repeat so you are constantly visible in the online world.
One of the things I did in my rebuild/rebrand is to grab people’s attention, hold it and then move them into action.
How did I do that?
I put together an event called Speak From Your Soul and Sell in Six Minutes or Less.
Those are the three things we need to be doing in our business, consistently, daily weekly – share our story, speak and sell.
We need to share our story. I never used to share my whole story – just the good stuff! Not the ups and downs. At 50 I have a lot of stories. We need to share those and be able to share it in a way that grabs attention and holds it and moves people into action. Your story is a platform of inspiration and motivation for other people. Your pain and challenge is someone else’s pain and challenge. Your experience, when told in the right way, can move people into a better life or business. Whatever your story is about, it will help somebody else. It’s a service that we need to do. It’s a disservice not to share it. It’s mandatory that when we share the raw and real and heart, we do it with authenticity and vulnerability. We need to engage and connect with our audience and move them emotionally. That is the key – to take your story and move someone in a better direction emotionally so they can transform.
We need to speak. We need to communicate with our audience on a regular basis. We all communicate all day long – on the phone, to the neighbour. We need to speak on a platform, and share our story in a way that moves people. We need to get them to say, ‘Wow, I need to do something different in my life. I feel stuck. Something isn’t working, and I need to listen to this person who is sharing that very vulnerable story, who is speaking on that platform as an expert.’ You are an expert at the story, the challenge, the transformation you have had. That helps the person think wow ‘If he/she can do it, then I can too.’ That’s the power of speaking your story in a way that gets and hold attention and moves people into action.
We need to sell ourselves. Selling people is conveying your message in way that they recognize that what you have to say is so vitally important that they should listen to it. You know it is, because you have experienced the transformation in your own story. You have told it enough times that you are comfortable sharing your story in a way that motivates people into action. The selling part is not selling a product or service for exchange of money. You are selling people on the idea that they can think differently, they can be different because of the experience you had.
When you put those three ingredients together, sharing your story, speaking from your soul from a platform that elevates you as that expert, and learning to sell properly, you will move people into action!
Successful selling comes from confidence, experience and practice. You can sell people on the idea that what you have will make their life or business bigger, better, or bolder. You can let them know you have the amazing cocktail for success that they need – and others like them.
I put together program called Speak From Your Soul and Sell in Six Minutes or Less.
The key result to this program is developing a micro talk that involves your story, that elevates you as that expert, and does it in a timeframe that you can get the attention, hold the attention and move people into action so that they hang on your every word.
They will be with you minute by minute, but you can wrap the whole thing up in less than six minutes.
What does that mean?
It’s a marketing miracle called the micro talk.
The micro talk allows you to share a glimpse into your life and experience, tell them how you have transformed because of it, give them something to chew on. Offer them something, a way to think or do differently or buy something from you.
It is a powerful combination that will elevate you and your business.
But how do you capture the story?
How do you become a speaker or use it in your business if you have never done it before?
What if you are afraid to sell?
The reality is it’s not really natural to just know how to do the three things together. You have to learn it.
When you invest the time and energy to learn how to harvest your story and tell it in a way that moves people into action and then make an offer at the end of that action, you have taken yourself and your business to the next level. More importantly you have taken your audience to the next level.
Let’s forget about you for a minute – your fears, your excuses – why you can’t speak and why you can’t share your story and why you are not a good salesperson.
You need to be able to say: this is what I need to do, this is my purpose here on Earth, to share this story and get it out there in a big way.
People will come up to you like they do for me. They say they loved my blog, or my story, or my video.
They tell me how it made them think twice about the way they were leading their life.
Or how it taught them a few tips and strategies on how to grow their business a little bit faster.
Or it inspired them and motivated them to take the next step.
That’s the power of you sharing your story and learning how to speak and how to sell.
When you make it about the people you are meant to serve, it’s not really selling at all, is it?
I invite you to take a look at Speak From Your Soul.
I guarantee you when you make $20,000 for a talk that is a few minutes long (like I have!), you will absolutely be able to catapult your life and the lives of those that you serve.
I hope you’ll join me! Apply here.