Maximize The ROI From Your Teleseminar Guest Gig

Have you been invited to appear as a guest on a teleseminar or webinar … and wondering how to make the most out of this opportunity?

Being a teleseminar guest is one of the best ways to accomplish many goals simultaneously. You get your name out to a live audience. You get a chance to showcase your skills and talents – your “Fab Factor” that makes you fabulous – without appearing to boast; after all, you’re just answering questions! 

For a service business owner, these opportunities are especially valuable because potential clients want to get to know you. They want to hear your voice and get a sense of how you communicate in conversations, not just on prepared “talking head” videos. 

For each teleseminar guest gig, you have two goals – to gain maximum exposure, to impress your audience and to leave your host thrilled with your appearance. You’re more likely to get a repeat invitation as well as invitations from those who listen to the broadcast who host their own shows. 

It’s important to make the most out of each opportunity. They don’t come often. Here are 3 tips to get the best ROI from your teleseminar guest gig. 

Tip #1:  Manage your introduction

If someone else introduces you, write out the introduction word for word. Your intro should include 3 W’s:

Why are you a good choice for this audience? What are your credentials? What do you deliver when you appear as a guest expert?

Be prepared: sometimes your host will lose the introduction or botch it completely. Have an extra copy and be ready if your host jettisons your carefully prepared remarks and says, “Why don’t you just tell us about yourself…”

If you introduce yourself, use the opportunity to share your “story of origin:” how you started your business and evidence of your success.  There’s no one best format. You don’t need a rags to riches story, especially if you never went through the “rags” stage and/or you don’t feel you are in the “riches” stage.

Tip #2: Give it your best shot, every time.

Recently I listened to a teleseminar on how to give great presentations – one of my favorite topics. The guest spoke in a monotone with lots of “ums” and “likes.” Whew … instant loss of credibility!

I’m sure the guest speaks more carefully when she’s “on” at a big event. But in my experience, it’s important to treat every communication carefully. You never know.

One business owner told me, “I would like to ask Tim to be on my teleseminar. But whenever we talk on the phone, he rambles on and he can’t express ideas clearly and simply. I can’t take the risk.”

Sure, this business owner might check out Tim’s seminars and be surprised. But he may not bother.

Some people benefit from speaking coaches and business groups like Toastmasters. You can also try recording your own calls and conversations. As you listen critically, you get better.

Most importantly, being confident and enthusiastic will help your overcome a ton of “ums.” And your audience will be less likely to notice when you’re projecting high energy. 

Tip #3: Respect the ground rules and the host.

Here are just two of the questions you need to ask:

Q1: “Am I allowed to promote a special? Will the host want an affiliate link to get a commission?”

If your host gets a commission, it’s a courtesy to promote *only* the product you talked about.

And never, ever promote other programs or shows where you are appearing, even if you’re scheduled for Oprah the next day…unless you’ve cleared with the host first.

Q2:  “Will the host need a set of questions?”

Some hosts want you to send ten questions before you appear. Others prefer to be spontaneous and a few will turn over the program to you.  There’s no right or wrong way to do this … just the host’s way.

One of my guests showed up with 17 pages of single-spaced copy, which she proceeded to read, word for word. She brushed me off when I tried to ask questions. I was appalled. People actually wrote in to say, “That was the worst teleseminar you’ve ever done.”

If you’d seriously like to become a stronger teleseminar presenter and guest, I’d love to work with you and create a whole strategy to promote yourself as fabulous. Learn more here.