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That’s why I go to tons of seminars. To me nothing beats the ability to learn from someone who’s “been there and done that”, the opportunity to hang out with other like-minded people.

I think that I’ve seen them all. The big and the small. The free and the $25K per seat. The great and the shabby. And as I’m preparing to put on my annual Small Biz Marketing Summit for service professionals and business owners, I have been searching for a way to put on the best show an audience can ask for.

I could see it in my head: a well lit stage, big screens filled with images of larger than life marketing superstars, I could hear the music, the excited audience roaring with laughter and energized about the learning. I could hear the imaginary comments the attendees were going to give me afterwards… I could taste the fun…

You see, in my dream I’m not just creating another seminar – those are a dime a dozen. I’m creating a breakthrough experience. A place where million dollar businesses are born. And I want my audience to know what it feels like to be successful!

So I set out to find people who could help make my dream a reality. I came up with two names: Richard and the “other guy”.

Let’s just get the other guy out of the way, because this story is definitely not about him. His marketing materials were so confusing it took me ten minutes just to find his phone number. His outgoing voicemail indicated he was suffering from multiple personality’s syndrome trying to be in five businesses at the same time. His voice mailbox was full! It took days to track him down and then he missed our appointment...

When we finally got to talk he just wouldn’t shut up! Determined to tell me everything he knew about producing great events, this poor chap was so busy yapping, he never noticed that he talked me right out of doing business with him.

So this is the short story of “the other guy”. On the other hand…

Richard beat me to the punch and called me first.

“I heard you were looking around” he said “and I wanted to introduce myself and see if I could help by finding out about what you are looking for and pointing you in the right direction.”

Wow, what a new concept – he actually wanted to know what I WAS LOOKING FOR!

After a short conversation where I did most of the talking Richard suggested we get together and further discuss my needs. (Get it? MY NEEDS!)

It was obvious we both had a busy schedule and he made me feel like he went out of his way to meet at a time and a place convenient for me.

After the call it dawned on me Richard never told me exactly what he does. But he sure sounded like he knew exactly what I wanted…

When we met he didn’t rush into business. Instead he took a few minutes to get to know more about me.

When I got to talk about the Marketing Summit he just listened and asked questions to better understand what I really wanted. Encouraged by his attention, I kept talking, feeling he was really “getting” what I was after.

Richard got that I didn’t want to put on just another seminar. He really got my picture of a “breakthrough experience”. What happened next blew me away…

Richard pulled a photo album and proceeded to look through the pages. He plunked the heavy book in front of me pointing to a photo… Wow, there it was in front of me – pictures of MY EVENT! EXACTLY HOW I WANTED IT!

Was this for real or what? Here I was looking at photos of what was in my head!

Pictures of Richard and speakers for which he produced events in the past spoke volumes about his credibility. There he was with Tony Robins… And with Brian Tracy… And another photo with Zig Zigler… and Mark Victor Hansen…

If there is anyone that could produce my event the way I wanted it – at that moment there was no doubt in my mind Richard was my man.

When it came to price, the $15,000 he asked for seemed like a great deal! And he even offered to do a few extra things that would typically cost me more – as a first time client bonus. Wow, am I lucky or what! In fact, paying Richard seemed like a logical thing to do if I really wanted my dream to come true…

From a total stranger to getting $15,000 of my hard earned money in less than sixty minutes. And I felt thankful for being ACCEPTED AS A CLIENT! Now, that doesn’t happen every day, does it?

Would you like to know the secrets behind Richard’s getting my $15,000? Here is the scoop.

First, what Richard didn’t do:

- He didn’t talk about his philosophy of how events should be put together.

- He wasn’t trying to explain to me how sound mixers, video blenders, enhancers, equalizers, or whatever the heck he’ll be using works. After all I didn’t ask to get into his line of work.

- He didn’t bother me with details about how big of a crew it will take or how many and what type of microphones we need to run an event like mine.

- He never tried to sell his services, instead…

Here is what Richard did do:

He cared. He listened to my dream and helped me clarify and better articulate what I wanted.

He made me feel understood. Once I described my vision he “got” that at the end what I wanted had nothing to do with cameras, microphones, lights, stages or screens – it was all about how my audience will feel when it’s all over!

He demonstrated his expertise. Asking the right questions, pointing out things I was not aware of, and making simple suggestions that kept me going “yeah, that’s a great idea” made me feel he really knew what he was talking about. Plus, you don’t produce events for Tony Robins for six years if you don’t know your stuff.

He built his credibility. He used the tools that worked best for his business – photos. Pictures of sets he created and speakers he worked with in the past said more about his ability to deliver than he could have ever described in words.

He helped me see value of his work. The tips he gave me saved me time and money already. But more importantly, as I watched short movie clips of speakers and audience members talking about their EXPERIENCE of events Richard produced in the past I could already see my audience and my speakers saying those things about my event – and that was priceless.

Richard sold me a dream! He made me feel understood and ensured me that he can make my vision a reality! $15k for a dream? What a deal!

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