Free Presentations: What NOT to do!

By: Sonia Di Maulo, Founder and Lead Feedback Enthusiast
This article was originally published here: http://readytofeedback.com/?p=4334

You are invited to a Tupperware party!

It all started when I decided to host a Tupperware Party at my home, to encourage my sons’ French tutor who was starting a Tupperware sideline job. Mothers, Fathers, and lots of kids are invited this Sunday to talk kitchen, eat yummy food, and drink wine!

Does Free = Irrelevant?

On Tuesday evening, I brought three of my invited Tupperware guests to the head office for a friendly Tupperware chat! I have to admit, I know nothing about Tupperware… only that I am in dire need of good containers. Every morning, creating litter-less lunches for our two young boys is becoming an increasing challenge!

The meeting started at 7:15 pm and we left at 9:15 pm. Notice I said “we left”, as it had not ended yet! This two hour presentation was led by a passionate woman whose mission was to convert us into Tupperware entrepreneurs. She did a pretty good job of conveying the information that was provided for her… and in inspiring the people present.

Here is where the presentation failed for me:

1. She focused very little on the products themselves, only to explain some benefits and features. We didn’t touch, we didn’t play, we didn’t interact with each other.

2. She focused on stories that described her life before and after Tupperware, what she brings her clients, how to run a party, and how much additional wealth this new career has afforded her.

1 hour of this would have been plenty, 2 hours was overkill. I lost the Tupperware high after 45 minutes.

My performance and motivation tanked and the same happened for my guests. From the looks of most of the women present, they wanted to go home too!

Presentations NEED to be:

1. Relevant

2. Valuable to the audience

3. Interactive

What To Do

I have attended many free presentations over the years… interestingly, like my Tupperware experience, the presentation is often focused on the sell, and not on the product, service, or attendees. Sell first, show later. This is so wrong! I tune out and rarely buy-in!

If you are thinking of offering free presentations, don’t do this! Instead, shower them with relevance… make it about them, not you! Sell yourself, your passion, your product through relevant content, relevant activities, and relevant take-aways. Make it worth their while and they will return!

I have been Training Trainers in large organizations for 11 years. I have a deep passion for (1) showing trainers the art and science of crafting training that works and (2) facilitating amazing programs that transform! My focus is on performance and passion and cultivating trust and collaboration.

Here is a comment from Sagar Manjarres, a past attendee of my workshops and trainer for Cargolux in Luxembourg:

I wanted to thank you for the great training session we had, call it “instructional techniques”, call it “it’s nice to talk to a real professional about the beauty of this job” or call it “come back home motivated to be better”… it was interesting and meaningful. Now I think much more about them (the participants) and, as a side effect, I enjoy much more what I do. My training material is right now around 70% different compared to before the training I had with you, so I guess we can all say it was a success.

In January I started working with a fabulous new author, Vanessa Simpkins, who is preparing for her book launch on March 1, From Bankrupt to $900 a Day Selling Mops! Following her launch she will be delivering presentations based on her book. For her free presentation, she was advised to convince attendees for 2 hours to get them into the year-long mastermind group. She didn’t know where to start and how to organize her new training offer.

Within 3 hours, Vanessa and I were able to create a training strategy and a 2-hour presentation design that provides, ACTION, VALUE and RELEVANCE without the hard sell. What better way to cultivate trust and collaboration! She was amazed with the results!

Here is what Vanessa Simpkins, Author of “From Bankrupt to $900 a Day Selling Mops” had to say about the experience:

Sonia is an ANGEL! I had been struggling to figure out how to put an engaging program together around the topics of my book for a long time and then I sat down with Sonia and in less than 3 hours, we had the entire workshop laid out. Not only that but Sonia’s extensive experience in building educational programs is remarkable. I am so happy with my new workshop, the M.O.P Mindset on Prosperity 2 hour Workshop. I feel confident that my students will get a kick out of the material and remember it. If you get the chance to work with Sonia, don’t pass it up, she’s a genius, and I am forever grateful for her help and experience!

It's time to add value! Respect your future clients' time! Make your Free Presentations worth their while.