The Workshop Leader's Resource

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So, what are you waiting for?  Get that product on the market!

(Need some help figuring out how to take your information and turn it into a product?  Call me!  This is what I help people do!  508-243-6257)

Profile of a Troll
I have recently had the same conversation with two different friends who are stepping into the public eye and are encountering those lovely, sneaky little energy vampires affectionate known as “trolls” on the internet. You know these people, the ones who come into a conversation and then take it into the abyss of hate and discontent. They argue just to argue. They say inflammatory things just because they can. They don’t know you, but they hate you anyway and they want everyone else to hate you too.

How to Identify a Troll
Some of these trolls are easy to identify, like the one who recently attacked my dear friend David Franklin Farkas. This troll went onto a major site and not only denounced David, he also denounced anyone who liked David or had found his work to be valid and valuable. This is a primary marker for a troll.  Some more examples are:

• The “I hate you and everyone who supports you” comment.
• The general “you suck” comment with no real, based-in-fact reasons to support it.
• Wild accusations of misdoings with no concern for truth or supportive arguments.

If any of these sorts of things happen to you, congratulations!  You’ve discovered a troll!

The Sneaky Approach
But some troll are more sneaky than this.  Another dear friend got into a conversation on Facebook a few months ago.  This troll clearly had some experience with being shunned and ignored for his actions, so he took the time to engage her in positive conversation for a few minutes to get her invested in the conversation before he turned on her.  Out of the blue the conversation went from friendly questions sincerely looking for answers to angry accusations and insults being slung.  My poor friend was so unprepared that she spent half an hour trying to talk this troll out of being upset.  Little did she know, he was just trying to steal her energy and he never had any intention of being talked down from his righteous perch.

What NOT To Do In Reaction to a Troll
Now most people will tell you that their first reaction is to refute, point-by-point, the issues presented by the troll.  They want to forward testimonials.  They want to have their friends come to their defense.  But this is the WRONG approach.  Why?  Because it fuels the fire.  By reacting at all, you are giving credence to the conversation – and prolonging it.  Remember, these people don’t want to be made to feel better, they want to make you feel worse.  That is their only goal.  So long as you engage, you are just making yourself available for more abuse.

STEP AWAY FROM THE TROLL
To both of these friends, I said the phrase above over and over again.  Step Away from the Troll.  Winning an argument with a troll is about as likely as winning an argument with a crazy person.  You’re not going to win the argument because it’s not rational, it has no basis in fact.  And, if the Troll (a.k.a. Crazy Person) did offer you something rational and solid to argue with them about, the minute you start to win the argument, they’ll change the conversation to another topic (without admitting defeat on the first one of course) and the whole process starts over.  There is no winning.  It’s like a nuclear war – the only way to win is not to play.  Step away from the troll.  Let me say that again – STEP AWAY FROM THE TROLL!  Do not engage.  At all.  Not even a little.  And tell your friends, family and clients to do the same.  Shun the troll.  Turn away and don’t look back.

Let It Go
You DON’T have to set the record straight.  You don’t have to do damage control.  Yes, the information is out there and indexed for anyone to see.  So what?  The person is a troll.  Any rational person who reads the information is going to see that and discount it based on the source.  If they don’t, do you really want them as a client anyway?

Contact The Moderator – Next Week
If the person has said things that are truly damaging and which aren’t obviously written by a troll upon first glance, then wait a week and ask the moderator to remove the thread of conversation from the list.  Why do you wait a week?  Two reasons.  First, you’ll be calmer and more able to make a coherent argument for why the thread should be removed.  The second reason is that trolls will come after you even more if they know they have hit a nerve.  So removing their thread immediately can result in them finding another avenue to attack you through.  If you wait a week, by then they are likely to have moved on to more responsive victims and they won’t even notice that their vitriol has disappeared.

Step AWAY From the Troll

This podcast is a little different than what we’ve done in the past.  This time, we’re doing a website review of Ruth E. Thaler-Carter’s website.  Ruth was one of the people I interviewed a few weeks ago and during the course of my research on her, I realized she could use my help on her website.  She was kind enough to allow me to post the recording of that session so that you could get the benefit of what I told her and so you could get a feel for what a website review is all about.

A website review is one of the services I offer as part of my work with speakers, trainers and coaches.  It’s 90 minutes long and it goes into detail on your website and how you can improve it for usability, search engine optimization (SEO), and lead conversion.  The depth to which we talk about your site is dependent upon how much work your site needs.  Ruth E. Thaler-Carter was kind enough to let me record her review and post it here.

What Does A Website Review Cover?
Ruth had some basic core issues that needed to be addressed on her site, so we stuck to the basics on this call.  Your site may be a little further along in development in which case we’d talk about fine-tuning using your existing statics, Pay Per Click (PPC) advertising and social media integration.  It’s a custom review for each person.  It’s designed to give you a manageable amount of work to be done on your site.  When you’re ready for the next step, we do it again.  I start with the things that will make the most improvement and then we fine tune from there.  Cost is $350 for 90 minutes and includes a recording of the conversation so that you can go back and review it later.

To schedule your own website review:

Click Here To Download Podcast

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I’ve been surfing a lot of speakers’ and coaches’ websites recently and there is one thing that I am seeing consistently.  There’s no clear direction for your viewers to take on your site.  There is no way for them to know what they are to do and, in a horrifyingly large number of sites, no way for a potential client to contact the person whose site they are on.  I have been to multiple sites in the last month that literally had no way to contact the person other than going through a social media site like LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter.  Not good.

What’s the Goal?
When I coach speakers, trainers and coaches about their sites, one of the first things we talk about is “what is the goal?”  I always get a blank stare at that question and that’s because in transitioning from the world of paper to the virtual realm many people have confused websites with brochures.  They’ve been told that they no longer need a brochure because they have a website and so they see their website as a glorified brochure serving the same passive purpose.  But this misses all of the best opportunities in an online presence.  A website isn’t just a place to tell people about your services, it’s a place to get into relationship with your prospect and get them to contact you.

It Shouldn’t Be All About You
In fact, it shouldn’t be about you at all until the prospect knows that it’s about them.  You have 2.3 seconds to catch a prospect’s attention when they are surfing.  If you don’t put, front and center, exactly what it is that they are looking for, then you won’t get a chance to tell them anything else.  This is the ultimate form of the “me” generation.  If they don’t see what they want, they’re gone.  So your landing pages should be all about the prospect initially.  It is when they stay a little longer that they get to learn about you.

Have a Plan
Once you have a prospect’s attention, you had better have a plan for what you want to do with it.  Have a funnel that you take them through, a series of places you want them to go to learn more, go deeper, and get connected with you.  Think of it like a blind date.  First, you want to make a good first impression (let them know they are in the right place on your landing page), then get them to smile (get them to look around and read more about you), then maybe flirt with you a little (sign up for a white paper, newsletter or autoresponder program).  Eventually, you’re hoping for a second date and perhaps even a goodnight kiss (and their phone number).

Be Personable and Interesting – Not Arrogant and Self-Centered
The way you get these things on a date is to take an interest in the other person and show them the parts of yourself that you think they might find attractive.  Instead, what most people are doing on their sites is being the boorish date who talks incessantly about themselves and says how great they are.  No one wants to date that person – or hire them.

To Buy Or To Engage?
And I’m going to come back to the goal again.  Are you someone that people need to talk to before they exchange money with you (like speakers for hire)?  Or are people buying programs on the web in CD, ebook, teleseminar, or download form?  If it’s the former, then your goal is to get a phone call or a request that you call them.  If the latter, then your goal is the sale.  Your site should be set up with those things in mind.  People should know what is expected of them to take the relationship to the next level and your call to action should be clear.  Simply putting your phone number on your site doesn’t say “Call me” (but it does help, people!)  You have to ask for the sale or ask for the call if you want to get it.

Creating Relationships On The Web
The best way to move a prospect forward is to create a relationship with them.  To learn more about this process, join my class that’s running on April 12,13, & 14 “Creating Relationships On The Web – How to Dive Deep With People You’ve Never Met“.  The course normally runs for $299.00, but for my readers here, save $100 and get it for only $199.00 by following the link above.

We all have a mind, an imagination and words which are produced from combining language, syntax and grammar. This is mechanics. We put stories down on paper, offer metaphors for hitting a point home and in the process, we hope to get a moment of a totally silent audience. This is finesse. Embracing the art of authentic public speaking is a magical mixture of both.

Before I dive into this most fascinating topic, I wish to offer a disclaimer: my approach is unconventional. It will not work for those who enjoy their successful comfort zones – and more power to them. I am a fan of many things “guerilla”, doing things differently and realize that often, I am speaking to an already rather SAVVY audience. I am always refining the message and offering new twists on conventional wisdom. I keep it fresh not only for the participants, but also to remain engaged myself. Otherwise, I would get bored with my own words. I call this Going Off Script.

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In this information-packed podcast, Roger Harrop shares with us his insights on speaking to CEOs of corporations about branding, opening new speaking markets overseas, getting the focus you need to create a successful speaking business, resources to help you be the best speaker you can be and branding yourself.  You will absolutely love this episode.

Roger Harrop - The CEO Expert

Speaker Bio
Roger is an International Speaker who inspires and entertains his audiences with his acclaimed Staying in the Helicopter® series. Over 10000 CEOs, Business Leaders and managers have achieved transformational change
through his thought provoking and entertaining talks laced with real-life stories, anecdotes and humour.

Roger is also an Author, Non-Executive Director, Business Advisor, Mentor and Consultant focused on business success.

He has extensive experience across a broad spectrum of businesses – from small start-ups to large multinational corporations; from high tech manufactured products through basic commodities, to people based services
businesses.

Roger spent seven years as Group Chief Executive of a fully quoted, high tech Industrial Instrumentation Group with 12 operations over four continents. The company was listed in the UK Government’s ‘Competitiveness’ White Paper and gained a reference in the US Forbes magazine as one of the top 100 overseas companies and has been used as a
benchmark case study by two business schools on Culture Change and Business Re-Engineering.

He has run businesses for major multi-national corporations and has been a tutor with one of the leading Leadership and Teambuilding programmes for over 25 years.

Roger is a Fellow, Member of the Board and Past President of the Professional Speakers Association, a former Vice-President of The Institution of Mechanical Engineers, and a Liveryman with The Worshipful Company of
Marketors.

He is a Speaker of the Year with The Academy for Chief Executives, an accredited SME business advisor and a trained Assessor and Coach.

For more information about Roger, visit his website at:  www.RogerHarrop.com

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I recently received an email from a trainer in the real estate industry looking to branch into training in some of the smaller offices locally.  She didn’t give me a lot of information to go on, only that she was trying to figure out what to charge.

I spent a fair amount of time giving her a detailed answer that I thought might be useful for others out there as well. (I think it’s good to share what you know on the web. The more access we have to a global source of knowledge, the better – from the simple, but useful Credit Card Comparison to Wikipedia – my personal favorite for beginnings of research.)  Keep in mind that you’ll make a lot less speaking in the real estate industry than in pretty much any other industry I know of, so don’t take the actual price I quoted literally unless you’re also a real estate speaker.  Here is the answer I sent:

It’s hard to say how to charge for brokers. Each one is very different. The question you have to ask yourself is what are you trying to accomplish? Are you trying to bring new people into your training business where you can sell the agents individually into coaching or additional training or products? If so, then the program should be free to the broker with a strong sell close at the end for the agents.

If you are just looking to get paid for your training, then I would highly encourage you to get certified to give CE credits in your state. You will get many more, higher-paying gigs if you can offer CE credits with them. Also, you can get certified to teach GRI, ABR, etc. These aren’t great paying gigs, but they establish you as a professional in training and open doors for other speaking events, plus they build your mailing list which is key if you hope to develop products and agent-centric training sales later. (Which is where the real money is in this business – that’s why I keep coming back to it.)

If you just want to do a little training on the side, then charging anywhere from $100-$250/hr for a training that takes you no longer than half an hour to travel to would be appropriate depending on your experience level. If it takes longer than that, then you should charge for travel time as well.

I run a consulting business teaching speakers and trainers how to develop their businesses. If you’re serious about growing your business, then give me a shout. I’m happy to help.

You’ve done everything you’ve ever been told to do.  You’ve built a brand, you’re promoting yourself, you’re getting the word out, but nothing is happening.  No matter what you do or how hard you work, you keep coming up empty (or at best, half-full).  There are keys to getting past this place.  There are small details that can make big differences.  There are ways of approaching things that can mean the difference between a raging success and a horrible failure.  When you’ve looked everywhere else and nothing is working, look here.  In this free teleseminar we’ll explore the underpinnings of why some people make it and others don’t.

Sign up to be notified of upcoming teleseminars!

Register Now To Get FREE Access to Future Calls

Kelle Sparta, your host, is an experienced speaker, trainer and coach who is at the top of the real estate training industry.  She had a book published by the American Management Association in her first year, became a regular columnist for Realtor Magazine in her third year, and moved up to a six figure income in just under 36 months.  Learn how she made the transition from nobody to guru and how you can do that too.

Show Notes:

Visit Kelle’s Website – www.KelleSparta.com

Cauldron Retreats – Where Women Who Lead Come To Be Held

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Chellie Campbell, author of The Wealthy Spirit: Daily Affirmations for Financial Stress Reduction and Zero to Zillionaire has been leading high-end workshops for many years.  She has a unique model where she runs classes from home and never has to travel.  She’ll talk to us about the business of being a workshop leader and the choices we make about how we create our business models.

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Today’s audience consists of multiple generations each with their unique expectations from the speaker.   For the first time in history there are five generations in your audience.  One generation likes lecture style, another likes to share expertise.  The next generation likes you to ask their opinion & the youngest two generations prefer role play, videos, & other media. 

How can you tell who is in your audience?  Your best approach is to do an on the spot survey by show of hands.  A quick way is to ask:

• How many of you found work in job ads that said help wanted male, help wanted female? (Boomers & Veterans). 
• How many of you were latch key kids or your school mates were latch key kids? (Gen X)
•  How many of you prefer IM/ texting? (Gen Y & Gen M). 

Now you know who is in the room.

If you are speaking at a conference you can include these questions in your pre-program assessment.  Often the meeting planner can inform you who the audience is.  In the event that is not a viable option, the above on the spot survey should suffice.

Armed with these results you can instantly customize your program to ensure you speak the language of your audience.  By providing information in the manner your attendees desire, you will engage and wow them.

2. Verifying facts during your presentation 

There was a time when speakers were looked up to as the experts who brought knowledge to the marketplace and helped people to be more successful. While this is still true the game has changed significantly. 

With the ubiquitous access to the Internet speakers now have a new type of heckler to contend with. 

For example, at a recent conference for the medical profession in Las Vegas the speaker referenced an article on the industry and mentioned several items for the audience. 

After the lunch break when the audience returned, an attendee raised his hand.  Thinking there was a question, the speaker acknowledged him. 

The attendee then said, “I thought the speaker’s remarks were incorrect earlier.  So while at lunch I surfed the Web, found the article, and verified what was said.  Sure enough the speaker is wrong.  By the way, here’s the URL to get that article yourself and get the facts right.”

Gone are the days when your audience simply took notes and accepted your expertise without verification.  So today it is vital to not only verify your material, but to also confirm you have the most up to date information prior to stepping on the platform. 

Today the audience not only expects information, they expect the most up-to-date information possible along with where they can learn more if they desire.  So the night before a presentation, be sure to check online to ensure you have the most current information.  While you’re at it, check article links as they may have been deleted or the website removed.  Google often has a cached version though and that helps.

3. I want role play – not to listen you go on and on 

Forget about slide decks with 30 – 50 slides.  To really connect with today’s audience you must have fewer slides and more interaction. 

Presentations should be lively so that the audience is energized.  They want to interact and role playing helps them connect the dots and have a more transformational experience.

Many members of today’s audience are Gen X or younger.  They are the highly stimulated generation from gamers to video creators.  Sitting in a chair listening to you drone on through a PowerPoint presentation makes their eyes glaze over.  They used PowerPoint for their school projects in second grade so they need more.

Here are three ways you can engage them:

1. After explaining a point, provide them with a case study that they can solve.  Then have them role play the techniques they used to solve the case study.
2. Create a reality game or play “Jeopardy” with the clues including the tips you are teaching them or speaking about.
3. Give them an exercise to create something or think outside the box.  They are very inventive and sometimes create something that knocks your socks off.  I once gave a group straws, staples, scotch tape and colored markers.  They could build anything they wanted.  The winning entry was a “Bridge over Troubled Water.”

Time will fly by and you will find yourself in the role of facilitator.  When the attendees want the speaker back they actually request it.  This technique gets them really jazzed up and energized. 

Your job is to research and find fun examples for your role play.

4. Downloading during your presentation

In a recent presentation I recommended a book that would be helpful to the participants.  As I spoke, I noticed a young man who was very focused on his iPhone.  This is a normal occurrence during today’s presentations.  There’s even a term for it “Absent Presence.”

As I left the room for the break, he called me over to show me his iPhone.  During the presentation, had downloaded a free Kindle® app for his iPhone, visited Amazon, purchased, and downloaded the book, and was already reading it. 

What’s the point of this pitfall?  To inform you that just because they’re on their iPhone during your presentation, doesn’t mean they’re tuning you out.  Maybe they’re taking action on the recommendation you just made.

This brings us back to Pitfall #2 ‘verifying during your presentation.’  Today’s audiences are used to instant gratification and have the tools to get it.  So it is crucial that your recommendations and suggestions are correct.

5.  Tweeting & Texting during your presentation

A new occurrence for speakers today is tweeting during your presentation.  I know how you feel when that happens.  That’s why I have resorted to asking attendees to get in their one text before we start and during their breaks.

If you are speaking at a conference, be aware that the tweets and texts might be sent to the people currently in your audience or on their way to the workshop. 

One conference speaker experienced this pitfall when they had low turnout for a seminar that previously had blowout attendance.  Evidently attendees tweeted “don’t come to this workshop, the speaker is not very good.”  On reading this many attendees decided to attend a different session and the speaker’s credibility was crushed.

Conversely, if you are a good speaker with an engaging style, the tweets would be “hurry up and get to this session.  The speaker is fantastic.”   This could turn a low turnout session into a blowout session and it’s all happening in real time.  

Take them seriously

These five pitfalls are just the tip of the iceberg when speaking to a cross generational audience.  Yes, I know, today all speaking engagements are cross generational.  However, speakers who do not take these pitfalls seriously, may find themselves with an empty calendar wondering what happened?