Engage with your audience

How many times have you been to presentations that sound like a boring lecture? Perhaps they were formula-based and didn’t take your needs or interests into account. You probably used the time to daydream or make a mental “to-do” list rather than strive to listen to the message buried within.

As a speaker, have you ever been so intent on driving home your point that you didn’t notice the audience’s interest pique or wane? If they were engaged in what you were saying, did you smile to reward them? If you noticed the audience’s attention wane, were you nimble enough to insert a quick joke? Something like, “I see a few heads nodding, the caffeine must be wearing off.”

Pay attention to how the audience reacts to you so you can adjust your speech accordingly. 

Witnessing lots of yawns is never a good sign. If this happens, change the cadence of your speech or step out from behind the lectern and walk around. Make sure your mike doesn’t yank you back to home base.

Men are more likely to sit stone-faced than woman. Don’t take that as a bad sign, it often means that they are processing the information. When telling emotional stories, expect more facial reactions from women, who are more open in revealing emotions. Visual reactions from the audience can guide you to adjust your presentation to better engage with the unique individuals in front of you.

Don’t be afraid to use props – nothing outrageous, but well-timed objects that relate to the presentation allow for a welcome break. It also reinforces your message. If you’re talking about a general distain for cold calls when making a sales presentation, produce an old-fashioned receiver with a cord and pretend to make a call.  I did just that when I made a presentation to a group of mediators – including many lawyers – and it got a hearty laugh. It also reinforced the message: every professional needs to make cold calls periodically. 

Humor can make a strong connection with your audience. You don’t have to rattle off one-liners, but some of your graphics should have a funny picture or a quirky message. Lighten it up and the audience will be much more responsive.

You have a message to deliver but you don’t have to force feed it to your audience. Take their reaction as a cue to adjust your presentation on the spot and build a better relationship with them. Ultimately, you want your audience to not only remember your message but to remember you.

How to get started on a marketing project

Following my presentation on “Marketing and Sales Team up for Mediation Business Success,” I conducted a workshop. In one activity, I asked participants (approx. 6 at a table) with 5 tables to take a marketing tactic (brochure, newsletter, website, direct mail piece, and event) and determine these five things:

1. who has the information to do this project (if more than one person or source, list their general title or role. It could also be Internet, but specify where you would look).

2. Who will write it? Who will design it? If it’s a seminar, who will sponsor it?

3. How much time will it take to do this tactic?

4. What will it cost?

5. Who is your audience?

6. How will you get the mailing list together?

7. Who will you partner with or seek advice from to complete this project?

The groups enthusiastically pooled their efforts. The object wasn’t so much to get the job done before they left the conference, but to see that teamwork is essential in tackling major tasks. Also, participants had a reality check on the resources needed, advance timing and budget required to bring marketing projects to fruition.

Tip #7 - Do what you are best at

For professional service providers – lawyers, accountants, mediators, recruiters, engineers and others – there's a temptation to write your own brochure, set up your own website, and/or conduct your own media campaign. Resist that temptation. Do what you are best at – your profession – and hire help for the rest.

My company produces marketing materials such as newsletters, brochures and websites. We also provide writing, design and strategy for major print projects, case studies and presentations. We handle media relations for professional practices. We can also coach you when making statements or conducting interviews with the media. (I used to work in the media: radio, TV and print.) Allow Cezat Creative Resources to help polish your image, and let your expertise shine.

Tip #6 - Cultivate referral sources

Professional practices count on referrals for new business. Don't neglect this important part of your effort to bring in new clients. As you build a referral network, keep in touch with them.

• Communicate regularly through an e-mail or e-mail newsletters

• Call at regular intervals - perhaps monthly or quarterly. Tell them about your latest success and any new services that you have.

• Gain insight from them about the needs of prospective clients. Consider sending a survey.

• Send PDFs of white papers or case studies (let the results speak for themselves).

• Share media coverage, online articles or other news about your profession that will help your referral sources know who to refer to your practice.

• This may seem basic, but it helps to describe the type of client you are looking for. In my business, I seek out VPs of philanthropy departments at universities, health care systems and nonprofits so I can help them create case statements, donor information and proposals. For my professional service practice, I seek out owners of medical offices, other health care providers, lawyers, accountants and recruiters with practices of around 8 to 12 or more professional staff. Then I can develop a marketing plan and implement it. For marketing departments at corporations, I seek out the marketing director to produce community reports, annual reports, newsletters and brochures and write speeches.

Tip #5: Tell your success stories

Professional practice groups - mediators, attorneys, CPAs, engineers, recruiters – should tell their stories of success. You don't need to brag, just point out how your service has helped your clients - especially in ways that your competitors can't match.

• Let prospects and referral sources see how your service works for people in tough situations.

• Tell stories that show how you've dealt with a common problem or a specialty case - both types of stories can lead to referrals for similar types of business.

• If your story has enough impact (tell the truth), people will remember it. Add important details, such as how you streamlined a process, saved money for the client, solved a problem that perplexed other professional providers, brought about a quick resolution, etc.

• Educate prospects and clients; they often don’t know the full range of how and when your professional service can be applied.

Tip #4 - Seek media coverage

For professional service groups seeking new & repeat business, here's another tip.

What item of your business can you “pitch” to the media as a news story? Given the recession of 08-09, the media wants to know what’s coming down the pike in terms of job creation. Have you hired someone in your office lately? Or created a new position that you are filling with a contractor? Found a good niche market for your services? Why not share that with the appropriate media - maybe it’s not your daily paper but it could be good material for an industry journal or your local chamber magazine/online blog.

Small business news has its own panache. Consider teaming up with another professional service group or your association to report trends affecting your industry.

Tip #3-Find your trigger

This is the third of seven tips designed to promote your professional service practice - whether it's a law firm, accounting firm, recruitment firm, mediation practice or engineering group:

Tip #3. Identify the “triggers” that prompt your services. Leverage these and bake them into your marketing plan.

• A trigger is an event, occurrence or other identifiable item that provides a logical time for you to sell your service/product.

• It could be a time or season when an event occurs (e.g. back to school, tax season)

• Review your quarterly sales to see when peaks occur and why – these could reveal unknown triggers