Deep breath. "Good morning, thank you for coming today...!"
Tomorrow (Tuesday) morning, I'm doing my very first REALTOR Convention speaking gig. In Colorado. At the Broadmoor Hotel & Resort, in case you'll be in the neighborhood. My topic? Oh, you can probably guess - "Selling to Your Sphere of Influence, No Sales Pitch Required!"
2.25 hours of scintillating discussion as to how to generate business and referrals from your Sphere of Influence without spending a fortune, jeopardizing your friendships or pestering a soul. If you follow my blog, you've no doubt read a thing or two about my feelings on the matter (NEVER beg, bribe or even remind for referrals, the best way to GET referrals is to EARN them, obligation is a dirty word when you SOI, etc., etc., etc.), but I'm pleased to say that almost all of the material I'm presenting is new. That is - I wrote it specifically for the convention, so while the philosophy hasn't changed, I'm presenting it in a fresh way.
My presentation was not marketed using my "subtitle" of "No Sales Pitch Required" so I'm mildly concerned my audience will be expecting a program espousing the use of formal systems, aggressive stay-in-touch campaigns or some other sort of agent-centric prospecting philosophy that completely disregards the feelings of the prospectee. Hopefully not too many will walk out in protest when they realize that I'm adamantly opposed to such nonsense and instead, propose a softer approach that attracts business rather than pursues it.
Ah well. We shall see.
I'm really excited about the opportunity, actually. And... I'm READY!!!!
I'll let you know how it goes... and thanks in advance for your good wishes!
Jennifer...You will do great...thanks for what you do...
Congrats to you. I have heard some of your seminars via the web and am sure you will be great.
Way to go Jennifer. What a great gig! I am sure you will be terrific. Let us know how you make out.
Thanks, Pat, Charlie & Debbie! Would love to see you in the audience - friendly faces ALWAYS welcome!
Good Luck Jennifer. i am sure you will do very well.
Jennifer - I know you will do great. You're speaking on your domain and when people do that, they could only do awesome. I'm cheering you on from Frisco, Okay?
Good luck J.A. That's pretty impressive.
I know you will be terrific!
Best wishes from your Florida Friends. They will love you! You'll do great!
Ah Jennifer, did you change your picture again. Anyway good luck but wow if your as good as your book (s) then you will blow them away. I know you will post how it went.
Wow! That is exciting... Wish I could be there to hear your presentation... I love your stuff!
Jennifer, good luck tomorrow, I am sure you will do just fine. If you get nervous just imagine everyone in the audience in their underwear - that usually works for me.
June - Funny, I don't get nervous about the actual presentation - I love being on stage. What I'm always nervous about is the hour leading up to it - did I remember to bring everything I need? Will the microphone work? Will my videographer show up? Will I get lost on the way to the hotel? Stuff like that. Once I get rolling, I have No Fear. The best speaking advice I ever got - "Memorize your first two minutes."
Myra - Thank you! Wish you could be there too! In spirit, k?
Charles - No - same picture for awhile now - well, maybe a month or two...! And THANKS for the kind words. They really mean a lot to me.
Dick & Dixie - Bless you!
Mike - And bless you, too!
Loreena - Thanks! Do you remember when we first started working together and you said you were jumping up and down in Frisco? I felt your excitement then, and I feel your good wishes now...
Pocono - I appreciate your confidence!!!
Sounds like a great learning experience.
Steve - Hope so!!!!
You'll do great! Give us a follow up on how it went...and of course pass along the info!
Break a leg....give us a follow up after you hit it out of the park.
Hi Jennifer. Sounds like you are going to have a great presentation.
Congrats and keep rocking,
Ken
Jennifer,
The best of luck to you! I am sure that you will do great. You have certainly been an inspiration to many of us out here. I'm quite sure you'll have that same eddect on your audience there!! Take care,
Joanne
You will do awesome after the first 10 min. the jitterbugs will be gone and you will be flying, just go with what you know and speak from your heart the same as in the book & you will do great!! Have fun ;)
Hi Jennifer, You will do a great job and your audience will be happy they came!
I know they are going to love you! Wish I could be there too.
What a great venue- that hotel is gorgeous. Perfect for Realtors needing a classy push in the right direction!
Break a leg, Jennifer. You will do great. Even the Type A personalities won't help but be swayed. Let us know how it went.
Have a great time; they will love you!!! And if not, who cares? All us soulful types will swoop in and pick up the business they leave behind. ;-) Break a leg!
a wise woman once said: "if you love what you do you will do well"
so I am sure you will do well! Have fun!
May all your appendages remain unbroken, but ENJOY THE MOMENT. You will be loved!
Your mic will work and your stomach will be solid. The be yourself approach will be a great success. Best Wishes!
Jennifer, I'm sure you'll be awesome!! This must be very exciting for you. Hey I know.....if you have a lull in the speach just give me a call....you know I just LOVE to talk. Not sure I could do it in front of people though. You are braver than I am. Just be yourself.
Jennifer, You will do great! I received your new book recently, and looking forward to getting into it!
Jennifer,
I always enjoy reading your posts and I am sure your audience is going to love you.
Please do let us know how you get on.
Best wishes
Sharon
I am sure you will be a big hit in Colorado. We need to shake things up a bit with more unconventional "systems" and new "out-of-the-box" ways to doing business. Kudos Jennifer!
Jennifer...you will knock 'em out! I wish I could be there to cheer you on.
all the best...
Jennifer, you'll do great! You're an old pro at this by now, you'll be fine. Let us know how smoothly it went when you're done.
Thanks everyone!! Getting ready to head out here in a bit! My conference room is sweeeeeet!
Good luck at the convention.
I just opened up an online CE class and lo & behold there was your picture as the author.
Julia - which class was that? I'm assuming Selling to Your SOI...
Okay, so the show is over - and I had a blast. Speaking to a crowd is not something that makes me nervous in itself- what drives me nuts is the time leading up to the program - worrying about this and that and that and this... most of which doesn't happen of course, although I did have one fun little glitch yesterday... I set up in the wrong ballroom and wondered why no one was there. It was a REALLY nice ballroom and I was flattering myself that they must have been expecting a huge crowd... and then it dawned on me that I might be in the wrong place.
Talk about an adrenaline rush - had to pack up everything and race across the convention center to my "real" room which wasn't quite as, ahem, spacious, but at least there were people there!
Anyway, the best part of the program was watching the light bulbs come on in the room as the attendees realized that they DON'T have to change who they are to effectively build their businesses. At least a dozen (maybe two dozen) thanked me afterwards for sharing that message with them.
I love this stuff.
Hope your 2 hour class went good, I am sure it was very informative. I didn't make the convention this year otherwise I would have come to the class.
Yep, that's the one. I enjoyed it. Glad the conference went well.
Sounds like you had a blast. I had to come back here to see if you left some feedbacks. Did you get a "friend" to help record a video of you?
Glad to hear that your presentation went well. As a fellow introvert, I can relate. I get a little stressed thinking about presenting but I love it once I get up there. I really need to do more of it. :)
Hi, Jennifer. Colorado should put you in the right frame of mind for your "Winter of Soul"....LOL. Did you stay at the Broadmoor??
Alan - sorry to have missed you! Next year, maybe!
Loreen - yep - I found someone to video it... we'll see how it came out...
Kevin & Monica - I just overthink the whole thing which is what makes me nervous. Once I'm doing it, I wonder what all the fuss was about.
Leslie - Nope, I'm too cheap to stay at the Broadmoor. But luckily, I have less-frugal friends to enjoy the amenities with.