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Podcast Episode Round-Up: Learn From The Best This Holiday Season

holiday-playlist-BLOG-HEADER

We put together a “holiday playlist” for you, featuring 8 of our TOP episodes from Inside the Greenroom!

These episodes feature some of the world’s TOP meeting planners, and are LOADED with information you won’t find anywhere else – and the perfect playlist to listen to as you travel for the holidays! 

Our top 8 episodes from Inside the Greenroom…

Bari Baumgardner: “The Art Of Why – How Strategy Can Make Or Break Your Event

Get Bari’s 4-Part “Strategy First” approach to running profitable live events. Learn the key questions you must answer before starting to plan your events PLUS how to win stages as a beginning speaker.

Check out Bari’s Interview here! 

 

Michael Hyatt: How I Overcame Stage Fright (And How You Can Too)

In this episode, we discuss how to overcome the fear of speaking, avoid the “road warrior” trap, and how to host a world-class live event. Michael Hyatt also shares his “double win” concept, which shows how it’s possible to win in both business and life, without having to sacrifice your family. 

Check out Michael’s interview here!

 

Ryan Deiss: The Blueprint For Event Revenue

Ryan is the one who introduced me to the power of online stages, and he’s been a valuable mentor in my business. In this episode, we discuss the Top 4 Event Business models – and how you REALLY make money from events. 

Check out Ryan’s interview here!

 

John Ruhlin: The ROI Of Gifting Small Gestures With Big Impact

Learn how to create wins for both the meeting planner and the speaker. John also shares the prospecting strategies, bartering fees, building relationships with clients, and small “ninja tips” that ultimately make a big difference. 

Check out John Ruhlin’s interview here!

 

Chalene & Bret Johnson: Using Events To Create Raving Fans

Chalene and her husband, Bret Johnson, have built multimillion-dollar businesses and have been running events together for decades! In this episode, you’ll learn how they’ve created raving fans across multiple industries, how they select the perfect speakers for their events, and how to pick the right venue to host your own events. 

Check out Chalene & Bret’s interview here!

 

Roland Frasier: How We Sold Our Event, And How You Can Too

In this episode, you’ll learn how to build a company you can sell. We also discuss how to create your events so that they become an asset. 

Check out Roland’s interview here!

 

Jon Berghoff: How To Add A Zero To Your Paycheck Through Learning Environment With Jon Berghoff

Jon shows you how to run a new type of event that gets your audience engaged throughout the entire process, and has them leave wanting to come back for more. We discuss transforming the type of event from passive to active learning, crowdsourcing wisdom from event attendees, orchestrating the event to help people connect easier, and much more! 

Check out Jon Berghoff’s interview here!

 

Daniel Tardy: How Dave Ramsey’s Team Fills High-Ticket Events

In this episode, we dig into the nitty-gritty details of what it takes to both FILL and RUN a world-class event – creating an experience that leaves people enthusiastically wanting to come back again and again, year after year. 

Check out Daniel’s interview here!

 

Enjoy! 

How to Overcome Stage Fright

Studies tell us that there are people who would rather DIE than get on stage, and speak publicly.

At the start of my career, I may have been one of them…

I can still remember the very first time I spoke on stage in front of a few hundred people.

I was terrified.

Shaking.

Holding the mic with two hands, and sweating.

I was also afraid what everyone would think of me.

In short – I was suffering from crippling stage fright. After that experience, I knew I had to figure out how to overcome this.

Stage fright is by far one of the most universal human fears, and in today’s pos,t I will outline seven tips I personally use to overcome it.

Tip #1: Have Clarity on These 3 Things…

Before you hop on stage, you must know these three things…

1 – The problem you solve.

2 – Who you serve.

3 – Your Signature Talk to that audience.

Clarity must be formed around these three integral aspects before you even hop on stage. Knowing these will boost your confidence as a speaker and is the starting point to overcoming stage fright.

Tip #2: Own Your Story

My story is my story. Your story is your story.

No matter how much competition you feel is in your niche or industry, the one thing no one can duplicate is your personal story.

This is one thing that is unique to you, so make sure to OWN it and don’t be shy about expressing it.

Tip #3: Practice, Practice, Practice

This was crucial. Nothing makes you more confident than preparation.

I practiced in my home. I practiced in front of my kids, I practiced in front of my wife, I practiced in front of my team. I practiced in a one-on-one conversation. I practiced in a small stage with five people, low stakes, high practice.

The more you practice in a low-stakes environment, the more comfortable you’ll feel when it comes to the actual stage.

Tip #4: Have a Pregame Routine

I have a pre-game routine before I get on every stage, and it’s become a ritual ever since I started doing it a few years ago.

My pregame routine has me looking at my one signature talk and going through it and imagining it, the crowd in it, and just really focusing on delivering something powerful.

I then pray. I spend a lot of time visualizing the impact that I’m going to make on that crowd. I make sure to focus on the crowd because it’s about them, not me.

I then dance. I dance a little bit before I get onstage, I loosen up and I get excited.

And then, it’s go time!

My pregame routine does not have to be your pregame routine. The important thing is that you should have one that works for you!

Tip #5: Find the SMILES 🙂

Once I’m on stage, I find someone on the left side of the crowd with a smiling face. I then find someone in the middle on the right who also are smiling.

From there, whenever I look in that direction, I look at that specific person in the crowd and talk as though I’m having a one-on-one conversation with them. I talk to them like I’m talking to my wife or my best friend.

I find the people who are radiant. Those who are “leaning in” and have great body language, and I make sure to focus on them the entire time.

Tip #6: Just Breathe

I am so grateful for one of my coaches who taught me this, which is to BREATHE.

It sounds simple, it sounds like common knowledge, but it’s something a lot of us forget to do. One of the reasons you get shaky and your knees get shaky is because you’re not breathing, you stop breathing.

Remember to always breathe on stage.

Tip #7: Own the Stage

The last thing I do is own the physicality of the stage. When I step on that stage and I look right, I look left or I look in the middle my physicality is confident.

Whatever you feel, your audience will feel.

If your physicality is confident, then they’ll be confident in what you’re saying.

Bonus Tip: The Root of Stage Fright

Since stepping out on stages myself I’ve realized, that ultimately the root of stage fright is that we’re in our own heads thinking about ourselves and what other people are going to think about us – INSTEAD of focusing on how we are going to serve the audience.

If you want to overcome stage fright, get out of your own head and start thinking about those who you serve!

Now, you might be thinking – this is all GREAT Pete, but what do I say when I’m on stage?

You need a Signature Talk.

If you don’t have one yet (or wish to improve your current one), click here to download our Story Braid Framework, and find out how you can get my team to help map yours out for you – FREE!

Best,

-Pete Vargas

 

How to Land Your Dream Stages

So, what is a Dream Stage?

A dream stage is not about the number of people in the audience, but rather about the quality of the audience. It’s a stage where the majority of people sitting in your audience are your ideal customers. Being able to identify and seek Dream Stages has been a total game-changer for both us as at AYR, as well as our clients.

Now, you may be wondering how you can identify your dream stage…we’ve got you covered. The first step is answering a few questions.

QUESTION #1: What problem do you solve?

This should be something that is keeping people up at night.

Hint: This ISN’T your solution.

Example: If you’re a health coach, a nutritional plan is part of your solution –not the problem. As a health coach, the problem you solve could be: trouble losing weight. Can’t you hear people saying “I’ve tried everything and nothing works! I can’t lose weight”.

It’s important to isolate the problem you solve because THAT is what people are looking for – and what will help you stand out to Meeting Planners, who directly or indirectly control stages.

QUESTION #2: Who do you serve?

Who do you solve this problem for? Busy working moms? Fortune 500 executives? Who are your ideal customers? What is your sweet spot?

QUESTION #3: Where do they gather?

Once you identify your audience, you figure out where they gather. Which events, conferences, and social gatherings do they attend? Where do they “gather” online? This may take some research, but if the previous two steps were done properly, the outcome will be you identifying your dream stages!

We’ve created a simple worksheet to help you answer these questions, you can download it here.

I remember the first dream stage I put a client on… they generated more business from that ONE stage than they had in the previous 12 months. Watch the video above for the complete story!

You see, there is nothing better than being on dream stages, and quite frankly, there’s nothing worse than being on the wrong stage. 70% of the success of an offer is matching the right offer with the right audience – this is true in any circumstance, stages are no different!

WHAT’S NEXT?

After you’ve defined your Dream Stages… it’s time to find them! And we have the resource for you! When you CLICK HERE to download our “Dream Stage Worksheet,” you also get access to our Ultimate Stage Guide. Instant Access to THOUSANDS of stages.

I can’t wait to hear all about YOUR Dream Stages… share in the comments below!

Best,

-Pete Vargas

How to Win a Stage by the Weekend!

Yep, you read that right.

YOU can win a stage by this weekend! Or even FASTER.

Whether you’ve been on no stages or 500 stages (or more) – or anywhere in between, this process will work for you.

In the video above, I break down the 4 steps to winning a stage by this weekend. There are times for a more complex campaign to win a stage, and there are times to book the low hanging fruit. This process is how we book “low hanging fruit” each and every week.

We’ve seen that people get really stuck in the research phase – this simple process will get you unstuck and ON STAGE.

Step 1: Find 5-10 Stages You’d Like to Be On

This isn’t the time to go after Oprah or the White House. This is the time to go after lower stake stages – think about local stages in your backyard or podcasts.

The secret is to simply use Google.

Simply use your particular niche as a keyword in your search. Some examples of terms you may search are:

“Top health and wellness podcasts”

“Top entrepreneurial stages”

“Top faith-based podcasts”

Now – there is an alternative strategy if you want to bypass Google and make your chances of success even greater, and it will shortcut your success.

It’s something I do every month, and it involves identifying a champion. A champion is someone who’s in your network of people you know who believes in what you do.

A champion can be a past or current client, colleague, or strategic partner or a someone’s Stage you have already been on.

Think customers, donors, subscribers, raving fans, mastermind groups, past stages, social networks, board members, associations you’re apart of, professional clubs, online groups or forums, bloggers, podcasters, authors, experts you know.

Make a list of your champions and reach out to a particular champion over the phone, let them know what type of stages you’d like to be on, and see if they know any stages you can be on. Every month we get 10 to 20 new stages based off of this strategy alone!

Step 2: Download Our Stage Winning Video Script (Normally Only Reserved for Workshop Attendees)

The next thing that you’re going to do is you’re going to download our “Stage Winning” script. Normally, we only share this with attendees that come to our $9,800 workshop that we put on every single month for about 20 business owners. But we are sharing it with you today!

Click here to download it now!

You’ll see there are six parts to this video script. Using video is one of the most powerful ways to get people’s attention because you connect with them on a deeper level AND they can see you in action.

Step 3: Download This Incredible Tool! (Link Provided)

I’d like to introduce you to this incredible tool called “BombBomb.”

It’s one of the many tools we use, but it’s also one of the most used and most effective of them all.

It allows you to record a video and send it via email to a meeting planner automatically. This saves the time of uploading it to YouTube or Dropbox and even tracks email statistics such as open rates.

You can go to bombbomb.com/reach, and get a two week trial for free. No credit card needed.

Step 4: Record a BombBomb Video Using the Script Provided!

Here’s where all the “pieces of the puzzle” come together.

Take the script we provided to you in Step 2, and shoot a BombBomb video to the 5-10 stages that you found in Step 1!

Keep these videos under 2 minutes.

I shoot about a thousand BombBomb videos a year.

A thousand BombBomb videos a year, and it’s the tool that I use every single month. It can work for you too!

Watch the video to see how I used this script to win Debbie Phelps’s stage (yep! Michael Phelps’s mom!)

And now… It’s your turn!

Here’s your challenge: Use this process to win a stage by this weekend! Then rinse-and-repeat.

And SHARE YOUR WINS! Let us know in the comments how this worked for you!

Best,

-Pete Vargas

So…why stages?

You might already know we are “all about stages” at Advance Your Reach.

BUT do you know why?

It is not to be “business famous” – though there is nothing wrong with that.

It is because time and time again, we have seen it be the most effective and consistent customer acquisition channel. Over countless niches. Since 2003.

Want more proof? Here are our top 3 reasons why stages are the FASTEST, most dependable way to grow your business.

Reason #1: Stages are Timeless: They Have Been Around Longer Than Any Other Marketing Channel

Stages have been here for over 2000 years, and they are here to stay! From the ancient Greeks and the apostles in the Bible to people like Steve Jobs and Todd Herman today. Stages have launched movements and businesses.

There are countless “trendy” marketing mediums that come and go – remember the yellow pages, radio, TV, faxes, cold-calling? Today the “hot” way to grow your business is through Facebook and Instagram. I’m not saying Facebook is going anywhere – but it grows more and more competitive by the day.

On any given day, there are multiple stages in a 50-mile radius from your house that can help you grow your business. No complicated sales funnel. No tech team. Just you, on a stage.

Reason #2: People Are Far More Likely to Pay Attention to You On Stage

Online, people are being bombarded with distractions such as emails, RSS feeds, push notifications, a dozen open tabs… the list goes on. It is HARD to break through the noise. No one is paying attention to you. 

If you put an hour worth of content out online, it might take a person 6, 12 months, maybe two years to consume an hour worth of your content – but when you’re in a room with a captive audience and you present for one hour, they’re consuming ONE HOUR of content in ONE HOUR. Do you realize how powerful that is?

Reason #3: Human Connection and Trust

Being on stage has a certain element of human connection and trust that no online platform will ever have the capability to replicate. It’s the reason people still attend conferences, events, and concerts despite the ability to watch a recording. Human connection in a physical room builds trust with your audience and because of that…

Each lead you get from a stage is worth more… as my friend Jeff Walker says: “The value of a lead from stage is 10 times greater than any lead that you can get online.”

Leads from stage convert higher. I’ve seen this in our business, in the businesses of our clients and many of my friends have said as much.

Having a systematic, reliable way to acquire customers is a cornerstone of a successful business. If you’re interested in using stages, we can help!

So… what do you do now?

1st: If you haven’t watched the video above – watch it now. I share how even I got distracted by “bright shiny marketing trends” – and how we recovered and grew faster than I imagined. And I share a bonus 4th reason stages are the fastest way to grow your business. 

2nd: Download the Ultimate Stage Guide – instant access to thousands of stages. We’ve done the research so you don’t have to!

3rd: Find 3 “Dream Stages” in the guide – stages that you want to be on in the next year, and let us know what they are in the comments below!