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8 Years later, Karin's "give great little talks" approach still feels authentic and fills my practice to 6 figures
Karin started me on the simplest of forays into little talks: A Ladies Night in the living rooms of friends, clients or colleagues.
I wasn't used to speaking that much and it was, quiet honestly, what felt would best match ME.
And it seemed like the gentlest way to test my message, test the idea of giving talks and see how it all lands with real people.
Since then, my little talks have continued for nearly 8 years now and have steadily evolved.
I've been invited to speak to school boards, associations, conferences and now, I'm exploring corporate settings in business and entrepreneurial fields.
I've even been leading a small group, in-person retreat each year, for the past three years.
And the best part: all of my talks, even my retreat, lead to clients! (Sometimes right away, and sometimes a bit later. All good!)
This didn't happen over night of course, but bit by bit.
My journey of giving great little talks has felt like an organic evolution, as each talk experience added another layer of confidence, courage and skill.
A few things really stand out for me about this "great little talks" approach:
- Each talk I lead is often in a smaller venue, and yet, the impact seems so BIG and tangible!
I once attended a few "speak from the big stage" conferences, in an effort to see if that is what I should move into, and I have to say, it was very entertaining but it was not for me.
In fact, it seems my simple, little talks make the difference I enjoy making and it feels big: for my audience, for the professional relationships I have cultivated in my community as a result of being visible, and of course, my own profitability.
- I no longer worry about where my clients are coming from.
I can look at my schedule and see where I have talks scheduled and can rest assured new clients will come to me from these events.
Giving great little talks have completely smoothed out the ups and downs of my client generation.
- I don't see myself as a "professional speaker" per se but as a service professional who educates her audiences.
This just feels simpler, easier and pressure free.
Or said differently, this way of seeing myself feels more like ME.
My talks allows me to share my work with others, provide an education and a unique experience, and I make it clear how people can take the next step with me, and that's it.
- I've realized I don't have to be like the great Tony Robbins (and others like him) in my talks. I can just be ME.
I appreciate all the different "Big Time" speakers that are out there, who light up the big stage and speak to auditoriums. I really do.
But through giving little talks regularly, I've been able to discern what works best for me, my personality, my energy and quite frankly, still have time for travel, friends and family.
- I have such conviction about my work, my message and the value I bring through my little talks
My marketing feels like me now. I don't do much else besides write two newsletters per month and a little social media here and there.
And it works.
If you have the opportunity to learn this from Karin too, and you also like simple, doable approach to giving talks, then you'll love working with her.
Ellie Ballentine
MBA, MA Psych
Mindset Mentor
Quebec, Canada
EllieBallentine.com
I wasn't used to speaking that much and it was, quiet honestly, what felt would best match ME.
And it seemed like the gentlest way to test my message, test the idea of giving talks and see how it all lands with real people.
Since then, my little talks have continued for nearly 8 years now and have steadily evolved.
I've been invited to speak to school boards, associations, conferences and now, I'm exploring corporate settings in business and entrepreneurial fields.
I've even been leading a small group, in-person retreat each year, for the past three years.
And the best part: all of my talks, even my retreat, lead to clients! (Sometimes right away, and sometimes a bit later. All good!)
This didn't happen over night of course, but bit by bit.
My journey of giving great little talks has felt like an organic evolution, as each talk experience added another layer of confidence, courage and skill.
A few things really stand out for me about this "great little talks" approach:
- Each talk I lead is often in a smaller venue, and yet, the impact seems so BIG and tangible!
I once attended a few "speak from the big stage" conferences, in an effort to see if that is what I should move into, and I have to say, it was very entertaining but it was not for me.
In fact, it seems my simple, little talks make the difference I enjoy making and it feels big: for my audience, for the professional relationships I have cultivated in my community as a result of being visible, and of course, my own profitability.
- I no longer worry about where my clients are coming from.
I can look at my schedule and see where I have talks scheduled and can rest assured new clients will come to me from these events.
Giving great little talks have completely smoothed out the ups and downs of my client generation.
- I don't see myself as a "professional speaker" per se but as a service professional who educates her audiences.
This just feels simpler, easier and pressure free.
Or said differently, this way of seeing myself feels more like ME.
My talks allows me to share my work with others, provide an education and a unique experience, and I make it clear how people can take the next step with me, and that's it.
- I've realized I don't have to be like the great Tony Robbins (and others like him) in my talks. I can just be ME.
I appreciate all the different "Big Time" speakers that are out there, who light up the big stage and speak to auditoriums. I really do.
But through giving little talks regularly, I've been able to discern what works best for me, my personality, my energy and quite frankly, still have time for travel, friends and family.
- I have such conviction about my work, my message and the value I bring through my little talks
My marketing feels like me now. I don't do much else besides write two newsletters per month and a little social media here and there.
And it works.
If you have the opportunity to learn this from Karin too, and you also like simple, doable approach to giving talks, then you'll love working with her.
Ellie Ballentine
MBA, MA Psych
Mindset Mentor
Quebec, Canada
EllieBallentine.com
Great little talks has become an effective and consistent way for me to get new clients
Karin has been instrumental in helping me use speaking as an effective marketing tool in my business.
I am a solo-preneur AND I am a mother of five and she has taught me how to create a business that is financially sustainable (and continues to flourish in this way) and gives me time to take care of myself and tend to my family without feeling burned out and resentful.
Before she coached me about using speaking as a marketing tool, I was already doing a few speaking things here and there, that sometimes would lead to clients but I didn't have any system in place.
Prior to her coaching I had just been happy to be speaking at any event even if it didn't get me any clients, and this often led to overwhelm and worry.
I actually didn't know that there could be a systematic way to use speaking as marketing AND that it this process could be done in a way that authentically fit my personality and lifestyle!
But with Karin's help speaking actually became an effective and consistent way to get new clients.
She helped me get clear on my message and my target audience, and helped me make sure that I was booking speaking events that would lead to clients and saved me tons of time by sharing do's and don’ts on this path.
I really appreciated how Karin broke down this process, of using speaking as marketing tool, so that I was professional, and effective.
And I am so grateful at how transparent she was with her own experience, especially when Karin shared the mistakes she made and how I could avoid them.
Of course, challenges still came up for me as I put myself out there.
Left to my own devices I might have let those difficulties convince me that I was "just not good at this" but Karin was always there to remind me of my courage and inner power AND to help me tweak my process if it needed tweaking.
Before Karin's help I was averaging maybe a couple of speaking events a season that sometimes led to clients.
Now I am regularly doing 1-2 speaking events a month that consistently lead to new clients.
I’ve even raised my rates at least three times since I’ve been speaking and it helps to know that I’m on my way to surely and steadily earning more and more for my family and our future, and that I finally have a little, but solid marketing system in place that feels simple, doable and good to do.
And because I have a little system in place I am speaking in places that are professional, can fill the room for me with my ideal clients and that I truly enjoy.
I’ve learned how to book speaking engagements months in advance, which really helps me to relax and enjoy my business because I know I have new possibilities for creating new clients on the horizon.
I am so grateful for Karin's help and I know that without her coaching I would not be where I am right now in my business.
Lisa Espinosa
Soul Guidance for Joyful and Uplifting Work
Chicago, IL
LisaEspinosa.net
I am a solo-preneur AND I am a mother of five and she has taught me how to create a business that is financially sustainable (and continues to flourish in this way) and gives me time to take care of myself and tend to my family without feeling burned out and resentful.
Before she coached me about using speaking as a marketing tool, I was already doing a few speaking things here and there, that sometimes would lead to clients but I didn't have any system in place.
Prior to her coaching I had just been happy to be speaking at any event even if it didn't get me any clients, and this often led to overwhelm and worry.
I actually didn't know that there could be a systematic way to use speaking as marketing AND that it this process could be done in a way that authentically fit my personality and lifestyle!
But with Karin's help speaking actually became an effective and consistent way to get new clients.
She helped me get clear on my message and my target audience, and helped me make sure that I was booking speaking events that would lead to clients and saved me tons of time by sharing do's and don’ts on this path.
I really appreciated how Karin broke down this process, of using speaking as marketing tool, so that I was professional, and effective.
And I am so grateful at how transparent she was with her own experience, especially when Karin shared the mistakes she made and how I could avoid them.
Of course, challenges still came up for me as I put myself out there.
Left to my own devices I might have let those difficulties convince me that I was "just not good at this" but Karin was always there to remind me of my courage and inner power AND to help me tweak my process if it needed tweaking.
Before Karin's help I was averaging maybe a couple of speaking events a season that sometimes led to clients.
Now I am regularly doing 1-2 speaking events a month that consistently lead to new clients.
I’ve even raised my rates at least three times since I’ve been speaking and it helps to know that I’m on my way to surely and steadily earning more and more for my family and our future, and that I finally have a little, but solid marketing system in place that feels simple, doable and good to do.
And because I have a little system in place I am speaking in places that are professional, can fill the room for me with my ideal clients and that I truly enjoy.
I’ve learned how to book speaking engagements months in advance, which really helps me to relax and enjoy my business because I know I have new possibilities for creating new clients on the horizon.
I am so grateful for Karin's help and I know that without her coaching I would not be where I am right now in my business.
Lisa Espinosa
Soul Guidance for Joyful and Uplifting Work
Chicago, IL
LisaEspinosa.net
My first talk under Karin's guidance created 6 new clients
I was relatively new in business, with less than a dozen clients under my belt when I met Karin. I told her I was drawn to speaking as my marketing strategy and we got to work to make that happen.
We started by building out my talk and a strategy for booking talks.
And then the real work happened!
From helping me handle my frustrations when I felt I couldn’t find one place to speak at, to landing my first presentation that was designed to invite people to work with me, to how to rebook the successful ones and learn from the ones that weren’t so hot, to even how to deal with objections and all manner of challenges that would have left me spinning my wheels should I have gone about this on my own.
In fact, my first talk under Karin's guidance created 6 new clients at my brand new rate.
To top it off, she helped me work through asking to be paid for my speaking too!
Now I know, when I keep it simple and use giving great little local talks as my ONE focus like she suggests, I book talks and clients successfully.
Karin was instrumental in helping me build my practice with talks, and what I learned still works. If you have the opportunity to study with her, I recommend it.
Andrea Archambault
Helping Moms Break Free of Constant Stress, Anxiety and Fatigue (That makes you no fun to be around!)
Redondo Beach, CA
AHealthyRhythm.com
We started by building out my talk and a strategy for booking talks.
And then the real work happened!
From helping me handle my frustrations when I felt I couldn’t find one place to speak at, to landing my first presentation that was designed to invite people to work with me, to how to rebook the successful ones and learn from the ones that weren’t so hot, to even how to deal with objections and all manner of challenges that would have left me spinning my wheels should I have gone about this on my own.
In fact, my first talk under Karin's guidance created 6 new clients at my brand new rate.
To top it off, she helped me work through asking to be paid for my speaking too!
Now I know, when I keep it simple and use giving great little local talks as my ONE focus like she suggests, I book talks and clients successfully.
Karin was instrumental in helping me build my practice with talks, and what I learned still works. If you have the opportunity to study with her, I recommend it.
Andrea Archambault
Helping Moms Break Free of Constant Stress, Anxiety and Fatigue (That makes you no fun to be around!)
Redondo Beach, CA
AHealthyRhythm.com
Karin taught me how to be more streamlined and intentional in my talks and now it's my go-to source of new clients.
Before working with Karin, I was filling and organizing my own little talks.
I'd do ALL the ground work for getting people there, and charge per person.
This was a way to make a little scoop of cash, but oddly enough, in my mind it wasn't related to client creation.
In fact, if I ever got a client from my presentations, I thought it was a bonus!
You see, I thought that the goal of the talk was to give as much information as I could, and make a little bit of money on the side. That's it!
And since I never knew if I would ever see my attendees again, nor did I have a way for inviting them to work with me, I felt a lot of pressure to "tell them everything I knew."
Which I've come to find out actually pushes clients away!
And to top it off, I was always "reinventing the wheel" and coming up with new talk ideas, which on one hand was fun, but it was kinda exhausting because it wasn't doing much for my practice.
Now I know better!
Karin turned this "hope for the best" approach on it's head and showed me how to keep speaking and connecting with others, but do it in a more streamlined and effective way.
Now my little, local talks are very intentional.
I only speak at places where my ideal clients, gather. Before, I'd be happy to have anyone with a pulse in the room. LOL!
I have a clear next step that I invite my attendees to, giving them a clear path for truly solving the problems I know they are facing. This feels great for me and for them!
And instead of speaking on all manner of topics, I have a "signature talk" that I can almost do in my sleep now. This saves me a LOT of physical and mental energy in preparing.
Now I almost always create new clients from every speaking gig.
In fact, Karin taught me how to track every part of the process so I can run the numbers and know if I'm on track or not.
In less than 4 months since starting this strategy, I've turned my occasional speaking to something real, reliable and doable.
And I've even been invited to do webinar versions of my signature talk to other locations outside of my neighborhood (which is exactly what Karin said would happen).
All of this is saving me so much time, energy and effort, in addition to bringing in steady stream of new clients that I love working with.
And best of all, since my business is steadier and more reliable, I can more powerfully contribute to my family, including sending my young daughter to a private pre-school in the fall.
I've been so thrilled with Karin's practical and yet emotionally astute coaching that helps me navigate not only the nuts and bolts of how to do this speaking thing, but also the mindset challenges that naturally come up when you are learning a new skill set.
If you like speaking, and want to turn it into something real, without overcomplicating things and still have time for family life, I highly recommend you learn from her!
Meredith Brisson
Equine Sports Performance Psychology
Mendon, MA
MeredithBrisson.com
I'd do ALL the ground work for getting people there, and charge per person.
This was a way to make a little scoop of cash, but oddly enough, in my mind it wasn't related to client creation.
In fact, if I ever got a client from my presentations, I thought it was a bonus!
You see, I thought that the goal of the talk was to give as much information as I could, and make a little bit of money on the side. That's it!
And since I never knew if I would ever see my attendees again, nor did I have a way for inviting them to work with me, I felt a lot of pressure to "tell them everything I knew."
Which I've come to find out actually pushes clients away!
And to top it off, I was always "reinventing the wheel" and coming up with new talk ideas, which on one hand was fun, but it was kinda exhausting because it wasn't doing much for my practice.
Now I know better!
Karin turned this "hope for the best" approach on it's head and showed me how to keep speaking and connecting with others, but do it in a more streamlined and effective way.
Now my little, local talks are very intentional.
I only speak at places where my ideal clients, gather. Before, I'd be happy to have anyone with a pulse in the room. LOL!
I have a clear next step that I invite my attendees to, giving them a clear path for truly solving the problems I know they are facing. This feels great for me and for them!
And instead of speaking on all manner of topics, I have a "signature talk" that I can almost do in my sleep now. This saves me a LOT of physical and mental energy in preparing.
Now I almost always create new clients from every speaking gig.
In fact, Karin taught me how to track every part of the process so I can run the numbers and know if I'm on track or not.
In less than 4 months since starting this strategy, I've turned my occasional speaking to something real, reliable and doable.
And I've even been invited to do webinar versions of my signature talk to other locations outside of my neighborhood (which is exactly what Karin said would happen).
All of this is saving me so much time, energy and effort, in addition to bringing in steady stream of new clients that I love working with.
And best of all, since my business is steadier and more reliable, I can more powerfully contribute to my family, including sending my young daughter to a private pre-school in the fall.
I've been so thrilled with Karin's practical and yet emotionally astute coaching that helps me navigate not only the nuts and bolts of how to do this speaking thing, but also the mindset challenges that naturally come up when you are learning a new skill set.
If you like speaking, and want to turn it into something real, without overcomplicating things and still have time for family life, I highly recommend you learn from her!
Meredith Brisson
Equine Sports Performance Psychology
Mendon, MA
MeredithBrisson.com
My first "on message" presentation with Karin's help created 3 new clients
I'm a relatively quiet and contemplative person, so at first, speaking as my core marketing tool seemed a bit of a stretch for me.
But I knew that my ideal clients, US and European Expats living in Asia and the Middle East, gathered in local groups - online and offline - and so it made sense to go where my ideal clients gathered and giving talks could work to reach them.
I already had a presentation that I had been giving occasionally, but this time, with Karin's help, I made sure to organize my talk a bit differently and very strategically invite people to a special first session with me.
To my surprise, I created 3 new clients for my boutique coaching program from my first presentation and received an invitation to write a monthly column for a local expat publication.
I've continued to book presentations, and so far, I can safely say it's working well. In fact, upon returning home after a summer off, I found more clients asking to work with me, from that same first talk, just by following up and keeping in touch like Karin taught me.
Recently, I have been invited to speak to other groups, that mirror my ideal clients, based on my emerging reputation in my area for my unique niche and that's exciting too.
Now I am focusing on repeating this, over and over, and getting better and better at it.
If you have an opportunity to learn how to do this with Karin by your side, do it.
Monique Jhingon
Helping Expats in Asia and the Middle East Get and Stay Healthy While Living Abroad
Manilla, Singapore
MoniqueJhingon.com
But I knew that my ideal clients, US and European Expats living in Asia and the Middle East, gathered in local groups - online and offline - and so it made sense to go where my ideal clients gathered and giving talks could work to reach them.
I already had a presentation that I had been giving occasionally, but this time, with Karin's help, I made sure to organize my talk a bit differently and very strategically invite people to a special first session with me.
To my surprise, I created 3 new clients for my boutique coaching program from my first presentation and received an invitation to write a monthly column for a local expat publication.
I've continued to book presentations, and so far, I can safely say it's working well. In fact, upon returning home after a summer off, I found more clients asking to work with me, from that same first talk, just by following up and keeping in touch like Karin taught me.
Recently, I have been invited to speak to other groups, that mirror my ideal clients, based on my emerging reputation in my area for my unique niche and that's exciting too.
Now I am focusing on repeating this, over and over, and getting better and better at it.
If you have an opportunity to learn how to do this with Karin by your side, do it.
Monique Jhingon
Helping Expats in Asia and the Middle East Get and Stay Healthy While Living Abroad
Manilla, Singapore
MoniqueJhingon.com
Giving great little talks is all I do to create clients, and it works.
When I first met Karin, I was giving occasional workshops and presentations, whenever the opportunity came my way.
Since working with Karin, I've turned speaking into a reliable and simple way of creating clients. Let me explain...
First, before working with Karin, my presentations where THE event.
Meaning, I'd work super hard to prepare for my presentation, perhaps make a little money from it, and then when it was over.
After each presentation, I would experience a kind of energetic drop-off.
There was the high from speaking and engaging others and working so hard to be my best, and then the low from not much coming of it.
It was actually quite emotionally taxing and draining, since I often was left wondering how I would ever turn this into a real, profitable career.
In fact, I often had to take a long break to recover from each talk with all that energy going out when I was doing talks "the old way" or "before Karin" as I like to lovingly say.
It’s no wonder I didn't speak that often!
Now, things are different.
Karin helped me restructure my presentations, my outreach, my follow-through and more so that my talks were actually organized around creating clients IN ADDITION to giving great information.
It's like I've had to learn how to include my needs in my own talks! (Hey, I'm not a non-profit! I need to earn a good living!)
Now each of my local talks is financially profitable in multiple ways:
First, I'm often paid to speak.
Even when a speaking gig can't pay me, as it's quite common (especially when I first started speaking), Karin showed me how to navigate that and get paid in other ways through introductions, referrals, email list sharing and more.
Then during my talk, I invite attendees to book sessions that are for a small fee. This bumps up my speaking fee quiet a bit and can often be paid in total of $1000-$1500 in total per gig, just for little, local talks. (That's before the new clients sign up!)
This only works because Karin showed me how my talks should speak specifically to a unique group of people and showcase how I can solve a specific problem they have.
Next, from the sessions I booked at my talks, a portion of those become private clients, paying me again. This is where the real "bread and butter" income comes from.
So you see, when I speak now, the speaking event is just the beginning.
But there's more too! Now I no longer experience that dreaded "post-talk drop off".
I'm busy with sessions (I did them for free for quite awhile and Karin showed me how to start charging for them when I had too many!), creating clients and rebooking my talks.
While the practical and financial benefits of doing these little talks in the right way is important, what's really wonderful is now, I no longer get queasy when I think of marketing.
I've been surprised how simple this single-point-of-focus marketing strategy is, and how doable it is.
What has felt challenging isn't actually the action steps per se to book and lead talks, but staying focused and not giving in to temptation and go back to chasing after my 800 new ideas I have every day. :)
I've had to unlearn that old notion that more is better!
Once again, Karin showed me how to stay the course in a world that tells you need to do everything and be everywhere. (Not true! And besides, that's exhausting!)
These days, my life is truly richer.
While I'm a deeply "woo woo" kind of gal, and enjoy focusing on "manifesting", I'm also a practical person and it feels good to know I have a specific plan to create clients.
This way of speaking has taken a lot of the pressure off my spiritual practice because I'm no longer "hoping" and "praying" for clients to show up.
Karin taught me what numbers to track, so that makes me feel more confident that this is a real thing for my very real business.
I should also add, that at first, I thought just doing little talks would be limiting or constricting. But it's quiet the opposite.
Giving little local talks has allowed me to go deep and get really good at ONE THING, instead of dispersing my energy across so many ineffective marketing channels.
I've been surprised how little I need of anything else but speaking. Yes, I also regularly connect with my email list and do a little social media, but that's IT.
The last thing I'll share is this: Working with Karin to learn the ropes of giving great little talks as the means to fill your practice is all about keeping it real.
She's honest, coaches fiercely for you to stay the course, but in a tender way that makes you feel like you're talking to a good friend.
There's no pretension, posturing, or trying to be perfect, and in fact, with every concern, worry or objection I had about either speaking, my professional image or my mindset, she showed me how to turn it into an asset.
So if you're ready to get focused, and turn your speaking into something real, reliable and enjoyable to do as your single point of focus marketing, then study with Karin. You'll be glad to have her on your side. I am.
Karlee Fain
Helping Women with a Business Be Their Best by Thriving in Their Mind, Body, and Spirit
Creator of the Daily Thrive Practice for Emerging Women Leaders
The Berkshires, MA
EverybodyThrive.com
Within 30 days of refocusing on Great Little Talks as my marketing strategy, the transformation is concrete.
When I look back to just six months ago, I remember feeling like all of my marketing was connecting with no one.
I was exhausting myself trying to create a following on social media, wondering what to write in my newsletter, and pretty much guessing my way to creating clients.
What was frustrating was that I never felt that I connected with ANYONE in the Twitter-sphere or Facebook world.
It was like my words just would get lost in the social media landscape.
Within 30 days of refocusing on giving Great Little Talks (I started doing this at the end of October of 2017), the transformation is concrete:
My days are structured and organized and I know exactly what to do with my first hour of my workday to create clients. What a relief!
I've already booked one talk for February where I know I'll create clients. I have two other talks in the works for New Year as well, and another one for later in the year where they'll fly me down to do my presentation. Incredible!
I now know what to do with something I have been including in my coaching (attending my clients’ performances). This informal networking is now a source of booking new talks! (I never knew how to use those networking opportunities but Karin showed me how to make that be a natural extension of well, booking more Great Little Talks.)
Best of all, with nearly every single email I send out to a new talk location, I actually hear back from REAL people! I'm actually having conversations about my work each week instead of staring at my Facebook page.
If you’re thinking of working with Karin on giving Great Little Talks as your marketing strategy, I highly recommend it provided you are ready to start speaking right away.
Elizabeth Sullivan
Success and Wellness Coach for Pre-Professional Ballet Dancers
NY, NY
EASullivan.com