sold by Flickr user Sean MacEntee

Just as professional paid speaking is an art, so is learning how to speak to sell. Most paid professional speakers are not good at selling because they feel uncomfortable with it. If you aren’t comfortable selling, or don’t think you are very good at it, get over it and learn how! Okay, I will admit that selling from stage made me uncomfortable at first too. But it’s just like anything else that you attempt for the first time. You may need to feel uncomfortable at first and fall down a few times before you can run.

As an expert you must know how to ask for the sale. It doesn’t matter if you plan to speak on a stage to sell or sell from a teleseminar; it’s still selling. The key to selling from stage is preparation. When you are informed and prepared with the right phrases and the right practices, it becomes easier and more comfortable. Verbal rehearsal and practice is one of the most effective ways to remove discomfort from a sales approach.

Your audience will seldom think you are being pushy when you ask them to make a buying decision, unless you use manipulative sales tactics, aggressive closing lines or the wrong tone of voice. When done effectively, selling from the stage doesn’t have to be pushy at all; it’s simply a conversational offer that can support the success of others. When you look at it this way, it takes the “pushy” out of being “sales-y.”

The key to setting yourself up successfully for the close is to ensure that you have effectively identified a potential problem, and you have offered a solution in terms that make sense to your audience. When you’ve done this well, your audience will be ready to “buy.” Important: Also keep in mind that you are NOT selling “items” such as books, CDs or even services. You don’t sell “items,” you sell results, solutions and support!