When you're paid to speak, aggressive selling from the stage is often inappropriate. Instead, offer a valuable freebie like your presentation slides via a QR code to capture emails. This allows you to follow up later in their inbox, where you can make your offer in a more suitable context.
Related Insights
Instead of asking for time, a winning call-to-action offered to send product samples. The CTA, "Can I send over a couple of our Patty samples?", is a simple, value-based request that is easy to accept. This approach lets the product sell itself and avoids the high commitment of a meeting.
For content like a product brochure, don't force an email submission. Instead, allow an instant download while offering an option to also receive it via email. This respects user intent while still capturing high-intent leads who value the convenience of an inboxed copy.
Instead of offering free webinars or guides to build an email list, charge a small, 'no-brainer' price like $27. While this may result in a smaller list, the audience will be more engaged, more valuable, and more likely to purchase future offers because they have already demonstrated a willingness to pay.
A common fear of offering free value is attracting unqualified leads. The solution is to gatekeep the lead magnet. Use a simple form or dropdown to qualify prospects based on key criteria *before* giving them access, ensuring your time and resources are spent only on potential customers.
A 'free' or 'pay-what-you-want' offer creates enough goodwill to ask tough, confrontational questions upfront. This allows businesses to filter for genuinely committed long-term customers, turning a lead generation tool into a qualification test.
Instead of only negotiating your speaking fee, offer to bundle access to your digital course for all attendees. This tactic increases the total value for the event planner by providing long-term engagement and can be used to justify a higher overall price or help close a deal.
Eliminate the "send me a proposal" stall by defining the next step as a valuable, paid engagement, like a diagnostic or workshop. By charging for this, you force the money conversation early, filter for serious buyers, and avoid creating free documentation that can be shopped around.
Don't hoard your best material. Turn content that paying clients receive into free lead magnets. Prospects aren't paying for information, which is commoditized; they are paying for the applied insight and implementation of your ideas. This generosity builds trust and attracts more high-quality prospects.
When speaking, instead of a direct sales pitch, offer a free resource (e.g., the presentation slides) to attendees who complete a brief survey. The survey asks qualifying questions about their needs and challenges. This generates a list of warm, qualified leads who have self-identified their problems.
Asking for a prospect's time or interest is less effective than giving them something valuable. Emails that include a tangible offer (e.g., a benchmark, an audit, a unique insight) see a 28% higher reply rate. You get their time by not asking for it directly.
