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Un-Marketing
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| Jul 24, 2005 10:29 pm |
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How to conduct a teleclass |
Denise Michaels
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I just had a question asking step by step instructions on how to conduct a teleclass yesterday on my "Testosterone-Free Marketing" network and so I thought it would be useful to share the information here as well.
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There are different kinds of teleclasses - I'm assuming that what you're interested in is an instructional teleclass. There are sales oriented teleclasses - I do these very rarely. And interview teleclasses - where you interview another expert. I do three or four instructional teleclass a week and have been for about four years ago. I also do some interview teleclasses - they're a lot of fun as well.
I don't do many sales teleclasses because I believe I do a better job at selling with sales letters. Let's face it - if no one could see you and you can hear that the speaker is swinging into a sales pitch would you stay on and listen or would you hang up the phone? A lot of people hang up the phone.
Larger organizations will tell you that if you're interested to call a different toll-free number. They want to catch you right away while you're enthusiastic. There they will have a room full of experienced "closers" sitting there waiting for your call. They will ask questions and answer your questions - but make no mistake about it - they want your business - even if they say they have to "qualify you" first. I don't have that kind of infra-structure set up. It's just me (and Ernie helps me out - but as much as I love him - he couldn't sell himself out of a paper bag *wink*) Besides I'd rather give great value when I've worked hard to gather a group of people on the phone together.
It takes a certain personality to be successful conducting teleclasses. You have to be firm but gentle. By that I mean you have to be firm enough that people know you won't put up with guff or rude, inappropriate interruptions on the line - and yet gentle enough that you thank every person who is brave enough to speak up and share their thoughts or answer a question - and appreciative of their involvement. You have to be authoritative but not so much so that you're dismissive of what other people have to say. If you're rude or dismissive in any way everyone else on the call will be upset with how you treated that other person AND will shrink back from joining in. Patience is important.
I got training years ago from www.teleclass.com They used to offer several teleclasses in how to conduct teleclasses. Same with www.teleclass4u.com I don't know if they are still offered - I think they're in audio downloads now - not a live class - but still worth it if you can find 'em. I recommend this kind of training to learn to listen a little differently. I'm not sure how to explain it - but it's very different than when you're standing in front of a classroom and you can make eye contact, read body language, etc.
The last five minutes I will sort of review what the people on the call learned. "What did you get out of today's class?" I don't want a recitation of their notes - what I want is how it was important to them. What will they DO with the information? I want them to make it a part of their lives. This is part of integrating what they learned with their current brainload of information. Most of the time I give homework - but it's always sensible homework that helps them to move forward with what they want to achieve. Also, beginning with week two I will say - "Let's review. What did you learn on last week's call?" to bring them back up to speed.
You have to learn to read the tone of the voice and the silences. Generally the silence doesn't mean that they're bored. Most often a little silence when you ask a question is because the people on the call are busy taking notes. Also, at the end of every teleclass I thank them for joining me and taking time out of their busy day to be there.
The first thing to constructing a teleclass is to create an outline. Don't make it too complex. I suggest that you don't cover more than 4-5 major points in a one hour teleclass. Otherwise people will be confused. They'll say it was excellent information but they will have no idea how to use it. Don't use a script - they will be bored to tears and will drop off like flies. Aim to have a discussion with your teleclass participants. Get them involved in talking about how the information can impact them, their business and their lives. Let's say I'm preparing for a four week teleclass. I'll prepare what I want to cover for week one and then put together a looser outline for weeks 2, 3 and 4.
Why? Because sometimes attendees in the class will come up with a question or comment and you'll say, "We'll address that issue in next week's class" and it results in you adding a whole new piece to your week 2 outline that you knew about but (Duh!) you forgot to include it. Or maybe you want to do a little more research about it - if possible - between now and the next class. This will result in a better class - because it's responsive to what people want - and it's more well rounded than what you could've dreamed up for all four weeks on your own.
People on your class will gain a lot - but they will also contribute by helping you consider new ideas, new concepts through their questions and comments. For that reason I outline all the weeks of the class - but week one is the detailed outline and the rest of the weeks are a little loose to accomodate for changes and improvements that you couldn't have predicted or expected.
The next thing to do is to set up a bridge line. Go to http://www.FreeConferenceCall.com and you can get a phone number with - I think - 50 lines available for free for 90 days. Pretty amazing. If you want to go top of the line go with Eagle Teleconferencing. They charge $90 a month for a bridge line for a month and up depending on the extra bells and whistles you want. PM me if you want more info but honestly Free Conference Call is a great way to go to get started. Learn how to mute people out and use the features that are provided.
If you are charging for a teleclass it's a very good idea to have it recorded on a replay line or on an audio download so that people can access it if they can't be on the live call. People have busy lives and if you're doing an 8-week teleclass and they email you with, "Gee, I'm wondering if I should do this - I'm going to be out of the country week six," you'll be glad that you have the replays available. It can be a very good selling feature because it makes it more flexible for people.
Now a lot of people get the very smart idea to record their teleclass so they can then sell it as a separate product. Great idea - but chances are you won't want to sell your first teleclass - unless it's info you've presented a lot before. The first time you do a bridge line teleclass there's a very good possibility that you'll end up having blips and interruptions and you won't know what to do and you'll get flustered and upset. Welcome to the human race.
Usually the first time I present new information on a teleclass I'll offer it to people who've purchased from me before as sort of a surprise bonus. Yes, free. And believe me when you have technical challenges at times you will be thinking in the back of your head, "Oh, thank goodness I didn't charge these people anything."
Look at it as you're getting a chance to test run your information with a live audience before doing the real deal. But sometimes I say, "Just promise me that you'll share your story of how it helped you after the class is over." This means that when I start really marketing the class and charging money for it I already have some great testimonials, I've gotten wonderful i-put - from questions and comments to make the class better - and I feel more confident that the class is an awesome value - not just "another great idea."
Now write a great sales letter and market your class. Timothy, I suggest you let people know about it on your new network. Put a clever, pithy PS at the bottom of your posts that direct people to a sales letter page. By the way, I still use PayPal.com or let people mail me a check and I'm pretty happy with that. You can also announce your teleclass on websites like www.SeminarAnnouncer.com but keep in mind that they will take a hefty percentage of the teleclass fee - 50 percent is common.
I've set up an affiliate program at my website where people can get paid a percentage for helping me to sell my products. Go to http://www.MarketingForHer.com and click on "Affiliate Program." Btw, my affiliate program was set up by Steven Boaze and his son Chris and I've been very happy with their work. I figure having an affiliate program saves me time from marketing myself and allows me to connect with others who would've never known about me otherwise.
You can also place ads or articles or other things at websites that are complimentary and not competitive with what you do. And of course we all know that the big way people will reach you is on search engine strategies.
Most of the people who've been through my TFM teleclasses are people who connected with me on Ryze - so that may be effective for you. But keep in mind that I've been here for over two years now and have had my network since January of 2004 - so I might be a little different from the average Ryzer.
Hope this info is helpful to you Timothy - and to other TFM Network Members.
All the best,
Denise Michaels
Author "Testosterone-Free Marketing"
Moderator TFM Network on Ryze.
PS: Get the Book! To get a personally autographed copy of my myth-shattering book go to http://www.MarketingForHer.com and click on "Get the Book!" If you'd rather clean up baby spit-up or change diapers than market your home-based business - this book is for you.
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