Create a Product
Revenue Stream
A business acquaintance once asked me to speak at her luncheon of 100 attendees, and quickly added that she could not pay me to speak. This
is the classic situation when a potential
client says, “But you will get great pro-
motion—everyone speaks here for free.”
I told her that if I could put an offer
together and hand out that information
at my display table, I would be happy
to speak pro bono because I knew I
could generate some revenue with
product sales.
At the event, my bright yellow table
showcased my bright yellow books
and workbooks bundled in cellophane
bags that also contained chocolate bars
and a coupon for 30 minutes of very
“laser” focused, phone-based coaching on a specific date. What a great
value to attendees for only $119! My
well-designed flyer, included in the bag,
focused on the offer.
The talk went extremely well and
incorporated examples from my book
and workbook. After the presentation, I sold 40 packages. In a room of
100 attendees, that was nearly half of
the audience. I also gained three long-term corporate clients because my book
was a “sample of me,” giving a client a
taste of what I can deliver to audiences.
This is not unusual for many speakers
who can really tie in a message to those
looking for a solution to their business
or personal woes.
Give Audiences a
Piece of You
Your revenues as a
speaker/trainer/consul-tant are limited until
you develop a robust
library of products,
including books, audio,
Webinars and multimedia offerings, to
supplement your speaking fees.
After you give a great
presentation or speech,
some attendees will
want to take a “piece of you” back to
the office or home with them. You can
satisfy their need for more information
by selling your book or a companion
workbook and training program at the
back of the room, as I did, to reinforce
your message, position yourself as an
expert and increase revenues.
Can’t Write?
Speakers usually are not prolific writers,
so you should devise a simple plan for
creating your product offerings. One
way is to dump your content knowl-
edge into a single document and then
hire a professional writer or editor. If
you don’t write, then speak into your
digital recorder or download an app
on your Smartphone. When you’ve
recorded your “story,” a graphic
designer can produce a well-designed
layout and the cover of your dreams.
Lori Richardson speaks, trains, blogs, teaches and consults on increasing revenues through sales growth and on fundrais- ing throughout the United
States. She is author of 50 Ways in 50 Days
to Score More Sales (book and workbook),
and co-author of 360 Degrees of the
Customer. Follow her “Fabulous 50-50-50-
50” project at www.scoremoresales.com.
