Sarah Fejfar 0:00
This is where I got on my soapbox, so get ready. It is so important to internalize the fact underline that one star it the fact that a portion of every audience is ready and willing to invest in more, and they want it to be with you, because they've just spent all this time with you.
Sarah Fejfar 0:18
How are entrepreneurs like us daring bravely to build a stage? Ditch the sweat pants? And step up to the mic? How do we create our own transformative events? So we can get our message out into the world in a bigger way. It's not only profitable, but it's actually something we can be proud of.
Sarah Fejfar 0:38
That's the question. And the answers are inside this podcast. My name is Sarah Fejfar. Welcome to greenroom Central.
Sarah Fejfar 0:46
If you've ever wondered whether it's possible to authentically sell at your event without compromising your values, this is for you. Today, I thought we'd chat about striking that perfect balance, right between sales and service in your event strategy. There is an art and a science to creating a transformative event experience that leaves your guests both inspired and ready to invest, but also staying true to your mission. And so I thought that we could dive in and talk about aligning your values with your business goals. How's that sound?
Sarah Fejfar 1:23
Alright, so I was on zoom with a prospect last week. And he was really stuck on the idea that selling at an event that he would host is not for him. And I felt like that was a missed opportunity that we needed to kind of dig into a little bit more. And what I uncovered is that he had never, ever seen it done. Well. He had never been to an event where he'd seen it a sale happening. And he'd felt good about how it was done. And he'd only seen it in a salesy icky way. And that was the problem that he couldn't see it.
Sarah Fejfar 2:09
So if you're like me, and you're really visual, you need to see it. I think I've told you the story before, right, where when I was getting ready to select a college, my parents, God bless them took me to seven different universities. And we toured them all over the Midwest. And when I got to the, the university that I selected, I could see myself there, I could see it happening. And I could just picture the whole collegiate experience. And it turned out better than I imagined it. I will say that. And I, I tell you that story, because I I feel like it's a perfect example of it's so hard to do things without certainty, right?
Sarah Fejfar 3:09
Uncertainty is such a beast. It's one that I'm working to tame myself was that like, being comfortable with uncertainty, I'm reading this book right now, the subtle art of not giving an F. I recommend it. And it is talking about that whole concept that everything is uncertain. And you know, you're not right. And yes, we're just getting less wrong as we grow up, and try and do new things. And I thought, Gosh, it's so helpful for all of us who are CEOs who are hosting our own events. And we're struggling with this topic of selling inside the container of event perhaps fulfillment events feel really good running those masterminds you've already sold.
Sarah Fejfar 4:03
And now you're at the event and all you're doing is fulfilling. There's no upsell, there's no offer being made. But there is huge amount of value inside of enrollment events. Do you agree? And so we need to get comfortable with the sales stuff and get comfortable with what balance of sales and service feels right to us. Because it has to feel true to us otherwise, we're not doing it. Kind of like my kiddo since the day they were born. It has been if I don't see the value in it for me or if it wasn't my idea it's not happening as our first day care provider said on the first day at pick up a lot of skills that are going to serve them later in life challenging now.
Sarah Fejfar 5:01
But that if, if we can't see it, if, you know, like this, like my, like my prospect, he had never seen an elegant sale before happen inside the container event. And so his worldview is it's not possible. And so how is he going to go and take steps towards making that a reality for him and really harnessing the power of enrollment offense and making money. And so I wanted to have a conversation today about the value of service inside of an event, which I know you're already if you're hanging out here with me right now you're already super service oriented and value driven. And a really heart centered entrepreneur.
Sarah Fejfar 5:55
And I honor that in you. That's who I am, too. I really believe in helping people. That's my love language. And so we're going to talk about that value of service. We're also going to talk about recognizing the sales opportunity that's inside of events. And we're going to talk about that balance between sales and service, and leveraging post event opportunities. So first thing, the value of service, it's important to be valuable inside the container of your event. Yes, I think we're all nodding our heads right now agreeing, I want you to not underestimate the power of providing a really, truly valuable experience to your guests.
Sarah Fejfar 6:45
One that helps you build trust, helps you build credibility helps you build loyalty. I want to encourage you to reflect on events that you have been to where you've felt well served. And and think about how did that impact your perception of that the event host and the offers that they made at the event? I know I've brought it up before, but I feel like it's such an elegant, beautiful, wonderful example of selling and service is every time that I've gone to a Brendon Burchard event it I think he is a true master at that balance between sales and service and truly serving like being so focused on providing value being valuable, helping the room find value in each other.
Sarah Fejfar 7:57
That it, it elevates my trust and my feeling of how credible the he is and then also my loyalty to him as a personal brand as a business. And so I'd encourage you to reflect on do you have experiences like that where you felt like it's been extremely valuable? And how did that make you feel about the event host about what they had for sale? And if the answer is Sarah, I don't I'm not coming up for me. Then you need to go get in a room where somebody is authentically delivering so much value and authentically selling in a way that doesn't feel salesy Nikki, two examples, right at the top of my head are Brendon Burchard and James Wedmore.
Sarah Fejfar 9:03
Go get in their rooms, and feel how that feels. Okay. So that's the value of serving, little short conversation on that. Second thing I want to talk about is recognizing the sales opportunity. And this is where I got on my soapbox, so get ready. It is so important to internalize the fact underlying that one star it the fact that a portion of every audience is ready and willing to invest in more and they want it to be with you because they've just spent all this time with you. And gosh, it would be so hard to have to go out and find someone else to feel that connected to and that aligned with and get help from figuring out like, do they offer what they're looking for and they need that next step.
Sarah Fejfar 9:57
And like where do they get it? You know, come on That's so hard for our audience to put that pressure on them to go find it somewhere else, when we know that it's a fact that there's a portion that are ready and willing to invest in more, like really sit with that, and believe that it's true because it is. And when we're in community, with our audience, for a full day, multiple days, that no like trust factor, it just goes through the roof. The it's such an intimate time that we're spending with our community, with our guests during that event. And that intimacy creates a prime opportunity for showcasing your expertise, your products, your services, to an audience, that's really receptive.
Sarah Fejfar 11:05
Like, it's just, this is going to be the easiest sale you make. But you have to get past the part where it feels hard to you to speak up. And so I want to encourage you to reflect on events, again, where offers were made. And how did you feel about that sales approach? And did it feel too genuine or too salesy? Not too genuine, did it feel genuine, or too salesy. And if you haven't, again, back, do my homework for you go get in a room, go ask around in your circle, who's been to an event where it has felt so authentic, and so value driven, and felt so good about the offer that was being made, ask for suggestions, and then go get in those rooms. And if you need suggestions, like I said, Brendon Burchard, or James Wedmore.
Sarah Fejfar 12:14
Those are ones that I know, like and trust, will deliver on what I'm talking about here that really value driven content, and a sales approach that felt genuine, and just the right time, right place, right person. Third thing I want to talk about, is that balance between sales and service, because I think some people might already be in the camp of Yes, selling, it's the right thing. But I was at a thing where all they did was sell and that didn't feel right, either. Let's talk about balance, it is a thing. In the world of sales, and service, I want you to think about your why times two. So that's the first thing we dive deep into inside of live and Academy is that why are you doing this event for your business?
Sarah Fejfar 13:13
And why are you doing this for your community. And obviously, it's so important that you're aligning your event goals with what your audience needs. So aligning what your business needs, but also with what your audience needs. But first, you have to know what they are. Right. So then I want to give you some tips now about how you structure the event. And I didn't want you to go back there is a whole event on structuring your event for a sale and we talk more in detail on this. I'll link it up in the show notes. But what I want you to know now is that you do need to strike a balance. And it'll come back to those reflections that you did earlier on events where you've been to that felt really value driven, what felt good about that to you, events where there's been an offer, and it felt genuine what felt good to you.
Sarah Fejfar 14:06
And because some people do feel okay with maybe a handful, three, four offers over the course of three four day event. And some are only comfortable with one offer and the offer that they're making, or some are comfortable with offers, but they have to be under a certain price point. To balance out the higher ticket thing that you're going to sell. There is no rule here. There is no right way. But I but know that yes, you do need to strike a balance. Because if it's all sales, you're likely not going to want to come back. But it also needs to feel right to you when authentic to you. Definitely use those past experiences as a guide to determining the right balance for you.
Sarah Fejfar 14:50
And then consider this other option that perhaps you don't sell. You're like wait, Sarah, what I thought you just told us to sell. Well, there is another way to do it. So you could not sell your whole event and not have anybody else. No other guest speakers sell at your event, but drive them to something that's free. So perhaps you're launching a new podcast. And so you want to drive everybody to subscribe to your new podcast or subscribe to your new YouTube channel. And and then you know that you've already strategically placed bumpers or ads on those platforms that will sell the thing that you really want to sell, which is maybe your membership or maybe a group coaching or one on one coaching, whatever your thing is, that is an option.
Sarah Fejfar 15:42
It works best with larger sized audiences. Because, right, it's a, it's a numbers, game conversions. But consider that as another option for balancing that sales and service. Now, the last thing I want to talk about is leveraging post event opportunities. So the post event experience is a whole nother place where you can extend the value the service that you're providing, and also extend the sales window. So really, have a conversation with your team about what is post event follow up look like?
Sarah Fejfar 16:31
And how can we use that valuable opportunity to continue serving our guests and continue nurturing those relationships, and potentially even continue the sales conversation. So ideas are providing free resources post event, providing perhaps its office hours calls, perhaps it is checklists, or guides that dive deeper into the topics that were covered at the event, perhaps it's helping people create connections with each other and accountability groups, perhaps it's offering offers that offer ongoing support, or it's perhaps it's closing down the offer, continuing the sales window of whatever you had at the event, I like to do your best to to close that window at the event.
Sarah Fejfar 17:36
And then if you have to reopen it, adjust that bonus stack or the offer just a bit. So it feels authentic. But there is a way that you can continue that sense of community the sense of driving towards new goals. workshopping continuing to flush out the ideas and, and work that was done inside the container of the event. And so I'd encourage you to leverage it because there is a lot of money to be made in the weeks and months following an event with that segment of your community who's definitely warmer, right. So definitely go into that post event follow up period with a true service oriented mindset.
Sarah Fejfar 18:33
And, I mean, we've talked about how the service oriented mindset is happening during your event, but you continue that on in the post event. Because those are your warmest leads right now. They feel so good about you, and the experience they just had and the community that they're a part of. And so help them continue that. I I do think it's one of the biggest stones unturned biggest opportunities that's untapped is that post event experience. Most business owners have just totally expended all of their energy on the event in the lead up to the event filling it that all next almost zero effort happens afterwards. But telling you that time is magic.
Sarah Fejfar 19:31
It's absolutely magic. Like those people are paying attention and helping coach their reentry in ways that are both free and paid. This is valuable. So again, reflect on your past events that you've attended, where there's either been a lack thereof, or an intentional post event strategy that resonated with you and you go and figure out what pieces you would like to model and bring into your own event strategy. So I hope this conversation that we've had about the value of serving your audience inside of your event, the recognizing that there is huge sales opportunity of balancing sales versus service, and in leveraging the post event opportunity has been valuable and shed some light on how you can sell and serve.
Sarah Fejfar 20:33
Because I believe we can do both. As homework what I'd like for you to do, as follow up from this episode is step one, I want you to journal on your past event experiences, specifically how you felt when there was a lot of value delivered how you felt when there was an offer delivered? What felt good and what didn't feel good to you. This isn't a standardized test where there's a right answer, like just jump in. This is you doing you and like checking in with your heart and your gut and what felt good to you. What do you want to model.
Sarah Fejfar 21:14
And then homework step two is, is I want you to extend that conversation from you and your notebook to you and your team about how we can use what's come up for you to shape the next event strategy. So that was a lot. I hope it was so helpful. And I want you to drop me a DM on Instagram, if you had an aha or if there's a piece of this that you're still struggling with. I want to I want to encourage you to get into service, and also sales at your next event. So thank you for hanging out with me today. I've enjoyed it very much. I wish you an outstanding rest of the day go make it so take care.
Sarah Fejfar 22:09
Thank you for listening to the greenroom central podcast. If you love this episode, then please take a screenshot on your phone and post it to Instagram. And be sure to tag at zero Fejfar and let me know why you liked it and what you'd like to hear or who you'd like to hear from in the future. That'll help me know what to create for you. Also, if it's on your heart to host your first or next event this year and you need a jumpstart. Let's connect for a strategy session.
Sarah Fejfar 22:35
Just go to green room central.com in a two hour intensive, private session, I can help you pivot scale or start your event vision from scratch. Together. We will build an actionable plans that you feel competent and clear on your next steps. Go to green room central.com right now to sign up.
Sarah Fejfar 22:55
I appreciate your commitment to leveling up and learning the mindset and strategy of live events. Keep going, keep learning if you want more head over to Greenham central.com For show notes and all the links from today's episode.
