I just finished producing a freemium telesummit for one of my clients. Freemium telesummits are ones where the attendee gains access to all the live sessions with just their email address.

I know, I know, I can hear you now….

“But Leesa, don’t you frown upon the freemium telesummit model?”

Yes, I do and my client had to really twist my arm to produce his third telesummit using the freemium model.

But I’m glad I did…

Because I was able to experience firsthand the differences between premium vs. freemium telesummits.

Now, this doesn’t change my view of hosting freemium virtual events, but I do believe that there are some wonderful benefits to hosting a freemium one. So, here are the disadvantages and advantages of hosting a telesummit based on the freemium model.

Advantages of the Freemium Model

The Freemium Model Encourages a Higher Level of Access on the Live Calls

My client only offered the live session for free which ended up being a REALLY smart idea. If the attendee missed it and wanted to access the replay, they had to invest in the package that contained the recordings.

There were no 24-hour or 48-hour access to the replay. You had to be there to listen and if you missed it, invest in the recordings.

When I checked my client’s numbers in InstantTeleseminar, he had 10x the number of people listening in via the phone or webcast compared to the premium telesummit we hosted in 2010 and 2011. Ten times! I was SHOCKED at what I saw.

With that many people listening to the live session, it results in a higher percentage of attendees taking action on offers the speakers or the host make. One speaker emailed us to say how delighted he was to see a bump in subscribers to his list after making an offer during the live session.

My recommendation: If hosting a freemium telesummit, offer free access to the live sessions only. Save the recordings for the package that people need to invest in.

The Freemium Model Removes Money as a Barrier to Participation

Money can sometimes dissaude someone from participating. We all know that. There are many excuses why someone just won’t pay for education or training. The freemium model removes the barrier to participation and gives the attendee access without putting limits on their enthusiasm.

In fact, I believe this loving move – to offer access to the live sessions at no cost – does more to encourage the attendee to take decisive action on any offers the host makes. They’re not in a penny pinching place. They get valuable content for free and thus, can make the upgrade to whichever offer meets their budget.

However, for this free access, email is not enough. I firmly believe that if you’re going to give away all this great content at no cost, the attendee must give you more than just their first name and email address. There has to be some effort on their part.

My recommendation: Gather, not just an email address, but mailing address too. Or, take the opportunity to have attendees fill out a survey for a coupon that’ll give them free access. But email and first name are just not enough in my book.

The Freemium Model Helps Attendees Commit to a Higher Level of Investment

The psychology of a telesummit attendee is to get information and results fast. They will listen to the free sessions and if there’s an opportunity to work directly with host, they’ll jump at it.

This is the pyramid model that Kendall Summerhawk encourages her students to use. You get them on your list with a free offer, typically an invitation to talk to you through a breakthrough or discovery session, then you invite them to invest in a high-level coaching day. If for every 10 conversations, 3 say yes, this means that your coaching day is priced well. If more than 4 say yes, it’s priced too low.

My recommendation: With the freemium model, you’ll have a captive audience who want results fast. Don’t be tempted to offer them just access to the recordings. Invite them to sign up for a breakthrough or discovery session, then move them into a coaching day with you.

Disadvantages of the Freemium Model

The Freemium Model Brought Out Brokeback Entrepreneurs

I wrote about the Brokeback Entrepreneur a few years ago and this term applies to some of the people we met during my client’s freemium telesummit.

My team and I dealt with a higher number of tickets compared to years past. The first day of a telesummit is the busiest, but I found we were more busy than normal. And the type of tickets we got were from people who were ANGRY that they missed the free session, wanted us to make the recording available, then “stormed” away when we shared that they could get the recording if they invested in the package.

I’ve learned that when people get angry about not getting access to the FREE offer that you’ve pretty much insulted the god in their life. It means that even if you bend over backwards to appease the person’s anger with an extra, unadvertised offer, they’ll pretty much spit in your face in the form of demanding more.

Getting emails that say “you don’t know what your mission is, do you” all because they had tech issues accessing the free session doesn’t make us feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

My recommendation: Put together a list of FAQs so you’re clear right up front what your boundaries are. Share that link in every email sent to attendees.

The Freemium Model Increases Costs

Due to the high number of people accessing the page to get the handouts and call-in details, there were some server outages. With the premium model, we never had this problem since the numbers were lower. Only those who paid got access to the handouts and call-in details. With the freemium model, my client encouraged those who signed up to share the call schedule page with people in their office, so we really couldn’t anticipate our numbers.

The good news is that the intermittent outages only happened when the first session was set to begin each day. And as there were no complaints from attendees, my team and I were slapping each other on the back that the outages were not noticable.

Also, we experienced higher than normal access to the video that’s on my client’s front page. I hosted it through AudioAcrobat because it has a prettier interface compared to YouTube, but after getting an email stating that I was over my allotted bandwidth (which means a higher bill), my team moved the video over to YouTube.

My recommendation: Free is not really free, so make sure your server can handle your newfound popularity and that you’ve budgeted for any increases in the use of online tools.

The Freemium Model Produces Smaller Conversion Numbers

What’s very attractive about the freemium model is that it can build your list fast. I’ve seen people add up to 10,000 people to their list in just a matter of days. But there are 2 issues:

1. The conversion from free to your recording package is low. It ends up being as low as 2%. Hence, you need a high level of sign-ups in order to break into 5-figures on admissions alone.
2. The unsubscribe rate will be higher. Most people who sign up for a free giveaway will unsubscribe as soon as you send your first non-telesummit ezine. I’ve heard one internet marketer state that you’ll lose 70% of your list within 13-months. He’s not that far off. I participated in a free giveaway in April 2011. Nearly a year later, only 50% remain on the list. Some email services will penalize you if you lose too many subscribers in a 30-day period. One of my Certified Virtual Event Managers who participated in a giveaway got emails from her email delivery service stating that losing too many email subscribers may get her classified as a spammer and they’ll close her account if the trend continued.

My recommendation: Just be aware that you’ll have a higher than normal unsubscribes. If you’ll fall apart seeing that many people leave your list, either don’t use the freemium model or send those unsubscribe notices to an email you never check.

Final Thoughts

I still much prefer the premium model, one where people pay for access to the live sessions and the recordings. However, there are some compelling reasons why one could use the freemium model, however, consider both the advantages and disadvantages before hosting your next or first telesummit for free.

When I was planning my very first Social Media Telesummit in 2007, I was a little nervous about hosting it. You see, I was known as a podcasting expert and while it is part of the social media toolkit, I wasn’t sure I should be the one hosting a virtual event on the topic of social media.

I went ahead with it and after hosting the Social Media Telesummit in 2008, 2009 and 2010, it helped to boost my income and raised my credibility in the marketplace which made it so much easier to attract clients and joint venture partners.

If you’re waiting for someone to give you permission to host a virtual event on your topic, you need to shake all your doubts aside and just go for it.

Here are a few reasons why you’re the best person to host a virtual event on your topic:

You know ALOT about the topic.

You studied it for years, you have a degree or certification in it or you have experience working with a process, tool or procedure. For example, I started my first blog in 1999. I could easily host a virtual event about blogging due to the number of years I’ve used this tool. So, what do you know really well? Whatever it is, you can definitely host a virtual event on that topic.

You are your own success story.

Maybe you were once bankrupt and are now a self-made millionaire. Or, maybe you were angry and then, you developed a unique system that led you to a life of peace. If your mess is now your message based on a step-by-step system that you created, you are in a great position to host a virtual event.

My friend, Milana Leshinsky is an excellent example of this. When she first migrated to the United States from her native Russia, she started doing mini-websites for people. Eventually, she focused on helping coaches create multiple streams of income online. She went from making $100 here and there to a multi-million dollar business. She was more than qualified to host the Coaching Telesummit in 2005, 2006 & 2007.

You have a community of people who listen to everything you say.

You may have spent months building a membership website or an online association and now, you have hundreds and hundreds of members who hang on to your every word. One of my clients, British Hill, was in this position. She spent a couple of years building an online community that numbered in the thousands and now, she was wondering how to monetize this attention.

With my team’s help, British hosted a wildly successful telesummit which led to speaking engagements and a renewed relationship with her tribe. If you have a membership website, Ning group or online association with a membership in the hundreds, a virtual event is definitely something you are more than qualified to host.

You’ve written and spoken on the topic.

If you’ve published a book, a series of articles, a column or if you’ve produced a television show, radio program or podcast series on your topic, then you’re fully qualified to launch a virtual event in your industry or niche.

When I wrote my book, Podcasting for Profit, I interviewed just over 50 podcasters and did tons of research to make sure all my data was correct. People really appreciate this dedication to a topic and if you write or speak on a topic often, this qualifies you as an expert.

Which brings me to my last point…

Others call you an expert

If the media quotes you often or if a journalist, colleague, best selling author or one of your clients calls you an expert, then you should wear this badge with honor. As an expert, people will listen to you and take your opinions more seriously. When you have this platform, it’s a perfect time to host a virtual event.

My final thoughts

You do have what it takes to host a virtual event. You do not need anyone’s permission to do so. Just remember that if you know as much as you do about your topic or if others believe you’re an expert, it’s a fine time to produce a virtual event.

Want to get started with your telesummit, video summit or webinar series? Why not invest in the Telesummit Success training. This content rich audio program, plus downloadable transcripts and handouts, will get you started with planning your telesummit.

I presented this material at a closed door event hosted by Kendall Summerhawk. Over 250 coaches gave me a standing ovation after the session was over. Telesummit Success will teach you the four things you need to do to get started with planning your telesummit. Click here to get more info on this program.

Photo by René Piamont

I read an article in Canadian Business magazine written by Andrew Potter about the halo effect. It’s the perception that objects or people are better because of certain traits. For example:

• People are willing to pay more for organic foods because the perception is that it’s more nutritious.

• Or, that tall people are more likely to be hired because the perception is that their height makes them more competent.

The halo effect got me thinking about telesummits and virtual events…

Only Live Is Good Enough

I’ve noticed a curious habit when setting up telesummits and virtual events for my clients. Most attendees will wait until the last minute to register (70% to 80% of new sign-ups come through in the few hours before the first live session begins), then panic if they don’t get the call-in details before the first live session starts.

Despite the fact that the attendee can catch up with the recording, they will ask for a refund because they missed the first session as it was playing live.

Many treat telesummits and virtual events as a rock concert…

We grew up in an age when live was a better experience than the recording. If your favourite band came to town, you had to be there live to have something to remember for the rest of your life.

If a recording of a past concert was available for sale on DVD, you’d buy it  on your way out of the stadium knowing that the recorded experience could never compare to what you consumed live.

Another example is the series finale of Star Trek: The Next Generation…

When the 2-hour finale was shown on television, I didn’t record it on my VCR (remember those) so I could watch later on. In fact, I climbed on the subway and made the trip to the Rogers Centre (then called the Skydome) to watch the series finale in a stadium with over 30,000 other Star Trek fans. When the episode is shown today in syndication on television, I reflect back to what I was doing when I saw the episode live.

We have been socialized to believe that the live experience is way better than the recording. The halo effect with telesummits and virtual events is that only the live session is worth investing in.

Use On Demand Language

As telesummit and virtual event hosts, we need to use different language when referring to live vs recorded content. If the halo effect gives the perception that live is better than recorded, then we have to change the perception with what we say.

On demand content is the language we should use.

• On demand helps us sell choice to the attendee.

• On demand helps to lessen the hierarchy of consumption.

• On demand helps to democratize how attendees interact with the content.

• On demand helps to remove the stigma that one consumption style is better than the other.

How would you reflect this new reality on your sales page? How would you position on demand content so attendees understand what they’re investing in? Leave your comments below.

Most people have no clue what to do with attendees after their telesummit is over.

I’ve been teaching my clients a powerful strategy to move attendees into their high-income programs so they make-money BEYOND admissions, but sometimes, they get stuck on how to have that conversation to enroll them as a paying client.

I think of it as a “moment of truth,” because this is the time that your potential client is hovering on the verge of saying yes to a big positive change in their life.

And if you didn’t make much on upgrades with your telesummit or virtual event, the next chance to recover your time & expenses is to move attendees into a mastermind, coaching or consulting package.

But in reality, this is what happens most of the time:

• They go away telling you “I need to think about it” and you never hear from them again. (And the thought of chasing after them feels yucky)
• Your prospective client says “I don’t have time right now” and gives you some excuse as to why
• They tell you “I can’t afford your services” – and it’s frustrating not knowing what to say in response

It really doesn’t have to be that way.

With the right approach, you can learn how to increase your success with consultations while being your authentic self – without feeling pushy or awkward.

That’s why I want you to meet my friend, Bill Baren, who has a proven step-by-step method to enroll high fee clients from 1:1 consultations and EVEN from teleseminars and speaking engagements.

I invited Bill to reveal his most powerful strategies for getting people to say YES! to your services in a special teleclass.

By using these strategies, 80% of the prospective clients Bill talks to say YES to hiring him as a business coach. That’s what led Bill to dramatically expand his business (with 4 coaches on his team) AND have a waiting list to get in to work with him.

Join us for a one-time FREE teleclass called…

“How To Enroll New High-Paying Clients Without Doing Any Selling”

Wednesday, August 31st at 11:00am Pacific / 2:00pm Eastern

Click here to register your spot for this FREE call.

Here is just some of what Bill will share on this content-rich teleclass:

• Bill’s most powerful step-by-step formula for leading prospective clients to “YES” – it works anytime, anywhere. (This is the true key to radically increasing the number of people who hire you during consultations)
• How to turn the dreaded response of “I can’t afford it” into the perfect opportunity for you to enroll a new client right on the spot.
• The #1 thing you need to do in your consultations so that clients say yes to your services (it’s not what you think).
• Is fear of rejection or lack of confidence stopping you from getting clients? Bill will show you a simple fear-busting technique you can use right away.
• Bill’s super easy method that you can use during free consultations that can DOUBLE the number of prospective clients who hire you.

If having consultations that turn into clients is a skill you know you need to learn (or improve), I highly encourage you to make time to be with us on this call.

Bill will show you EXACTLY what to say to enroll new clients 80% of the time or more. And it’s not pushy, so it’s perfect if you have an aversion to having to “sell” yourself or your services.

One of the things I so appreciate about Bill is how much value he gives in his calls.

So register now so that your place on the call is reserved, OK? (You’ll get the call recording too, so be sure to register if even if you might have to miss the call)

As a thank you, you’ll also get Bill Baren’s “5 Steps To A 6-Figure Income Through Masterful Enrollment Conversations” Guide, which shows you how to use masterful enrollment conversations to create a 6-figure business. Click here to get your complimentary copy of this ebook (a $97 value).

(BTW, if you can’t make the call live, register anyways as only those on the list will get access to the recording)

I don’t cover nearly enough webinar success secrets on this blog and I get alot of questions inquiring about webinars. So, in a Getting Acquainted session a few weeks ago, Roberta Budvietas asked me what is the best way to choose a webinar service and with her permission, I recorded that part of our conversation.

Choosing a webinar platform isn’t easy to do, but if you ask the right questions, you’ll choose one that fits with your needs and that of your target market. Take some time to listen to the 16-minute non-downloadable audio recording below for my tips.

After listening to the audio clip above, what other advice can you give about choosing a webinar platform? Please provide your responses in the comment area below.

One of my favorite coaches and good friend, Louise Crooks, asked me some questions about telesummits. With her permission, I recorded a portion of our conversation to make it available to you.

Here are the questions Louise asked me:

1. How successful are telesummits that rely on upsells to make money? I shared numbers that you’ll find quite interesting
2. Everyone and their mother is doing telesummits - and for free. How do I make mine stand out? I shared one powerful tip that I got from telesummit pioneer, Milana Leshinsky
3. How should I price my telesummit? What is the range that I should consider? I provide the 3 things you must consider when pricing your telesummit registrations

Click on the play button below to listen to this 7-minute audio interview.

If you’d like more tips on how to make money with your next (or first) telesummit, I have 10 copies of Multiple Streams of Virtual Event Income that I brought back from my trip to the Meeting Planners International World Education Congress. Not only will I pick up the tab on shipping, but I’ll personally sign a copy. Click here and use the coupon code FREESHIP to get a copy of the book.

(Note: If you’re using Internet Explorer (64-bit) browser on Windows 7, or if you’re using an Apple handheld or tablet device, such as an iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch, the play button may not be visible above. Please use another browser, such as Chrome, Firefox or non 64-bit Internet Explorer on a laptop or computer to play the audio above)

Article from One+ Publication

While reading the onsite daily publication for the Meeting Planners International (MPI) World Education Congress (I’m going to speak at 3pm Eastern today, July 26th, on How to Enhance Your Meeting Planning Offerings Managing Virtual Events), I came across a story that admitted failure.

A room was set up where 600 were expected to attend a session called the Solution Room. Only 20 showed up. Because of this, other sessions were packed, creating a “standing room only” in some rooms and frustrating attendees who couldn’t understand why a big room sat almost empty.

While MPI could’ve easily NOT addressed this oversight, they chose to the opposite. The article in the publication is about 300-words and in it, MPI apologized for the oversight and promised to do better next time.

I applaud MPI for being bold about putting their problem in print.

There’s no shame in admitting an experiment went wrong. Nothing at all. Too often, telesummit organizer, virtual event managers and those who set up virtual events give the world the impression that their virtual event “was a hit.” I roll my eyes whenever I see this. In my mind, if you have no social proof to prove that your virtual event was a hit (sample of Twitter tweets or blog posts from attendees), then chances are it wasn’t.

I know that it’s not easy to admit failure in a public way.

It took me awhile to admit that my 2010 Social Media Telesummit – the last one I hosted – was a bust. Only 15 people signed up and I took in just over $5,000 (a far cry from the $40,000 I pocketed when I hosted the virtual event a year earlier).

I was flabbergasted at the results and completely embarrassed. I’m supposed to be the “virtual event go to person” and I couldn’t even replicate my own success.

Looking back, I can see where I went wrong. I have used this experience to help my own clients avoid costly mistakes. It’s better for me to make those mistakes on my own dime than to do it while getting paid by someone else.

I recommend that the veil of untruth be peeled back.

There’s nothing to be ashamed of when you don’t attract the number of attendees you thought you would, or if you don’t earn the type of money you planned for.

• Document what went well and what could be improved.
• Get feedback from speakers and attendees.
• Hire the right type of help so you avoid the mistakes the next time around.

Failure is okay if you learn from it.

When I hosted my first telesummit in 2008, my virtual assistant (VA) was ill equipped to help me. To be honest, both of us were pretty much stumbling in the dark.

While I was able to earn just $200 shy of $20,000 from my first telesummit, I really needed someone who could manage the entire thing for me. Because when my telesummit was over, I was too tired to be bothered with the next product launch in my funnel.

A year later, I hosted another one, but my VA was frank with me stating that she couldn’t dedicate the hours that it’d take to help me put it together. It wasn’t that she was incapable. Not at all. It was because she would have to work the equivalent of another work day during her family time to help me out.

And I totally understood.

That’s why after I hosted my second telesummit in 2009, I trained 3 people on the methodology I use to run telesummits. They became known as the very first Virtual Event Managers. I combined my 15-years experience in project management with complex world of virtual events and came up with the term virtual event management.

I mentored and coached these 3 ladies and now, the team has grown to 12. This fall, I will open the doors to train more VAs, meeting planners, Online Business Managers and project managers on how to set up telesummits for others using this step-by-step process.

Based on my early experience, VAs can definitely do the job and help you run a telesummit.

The only issue is that you, the business owner, still needs to be involved in the process as a project manager. You may have to instruct your VA on what to do, but if you have no clue what goes into setting up a telesummit, and your VA doesn’t have that experience either, then this may be a case of the blind leading the blind.

A Certified Virtual Event Manager (CVEM) may be what you need so you remove yourself from the picture altogether. In fact, here are 5 reasons why hiring a Certified Virtual Event Manager will be better for you in the long run:

1. They are totally dedicated to your project. I recommend that CVEMs work on no more than 2 virtual event projects at once. That’s how many hours goes into setting up a telesummit. Some CVEMs have closed down other areas of their business just to focus on virtual event management. This type of focus is critical when trying to see a return on your investment.
2. No long term contracts. When you work with a CVEM, your relationship lasts anywhere between 3-4 months. That’s how long it takes to plan, launch, promote, produce and close-out your virtual event. Once the telesummit is over, so’s your relationship with the CVEM. You can now divert your financial resources to other areas in your business.
3. They make fewer mistakes because they’re using a proven process. CVEMs follow a very clear methodology and use scripts, templates and checklists so they’re not re-inventing the wheel each and every time. This helps to reduce errors and remove the guesswork.
4. They are continually upgrading their skills – in how to run telesummits. CVEMs take a series of continuing education courses so they understand the best practices in setting up virtual events for others. CVEMs also connect with each other and share lessons learned from real world project experiences. CVEMs are also encouraged to tweak the process based on new discoveries so that more efficient ways of producing telesummits are being used by all.
5. Finally, they free up your time. How? By removing you as the project manager. Too often, you end up spending an additional 6-10 hours per week (one business was spending this per day – in addition to running her business during the day) following up with speakers, sending instructions to your VA, getting the status on the sales page and other aspects of the virtual event setup. A CVEM takes your place and manages all these pieces for you. That way, you can focus on the tasks that actually help you make money.

So, what’s the next step?

• If you’re interested in talking to a CVEM about your virtual event needs, click here to fill out the Request for Help form.
• If you’re interested in becoming a CVEM so you can make money running telesummits for others, click here to find out when the next training session begins.

One of my favorite guys, Robert Metras, invited me to Google+ about a week and I’ve been having a ball trying to get up to speed about this new social networking platform. While clicking around, I saw a post by Bryan Person:

Intrigued, I decided to test out the hangout myself.

I created a public hangout (what’s known as a room in Google+), then invited others to join me. Robert and Andreas joined me at different times, so I was able to try out a bit of the functionality.

Here’s what I liked…

Public vs Private Hangout

If I want the whole world to join my hangout, I simply start it. But if I want to make it private, I can choose which circle I want my hangout to be visible to. So, in Bryan’s case, because he only wanted his co-workers to join, he created a circle in his company’s name, added his co-workers (who have to be a member in Google+), then used the drop down as you see in the image below to choose which circle to invite to his hangout.

YouTube Videos

I was surprised and pleased that if I wanted to show a YouTube video, I can. I simply press the YouTube icon which appears at the bottom of the hangout screen and then, I’m taken to a page where I can search for the video I’d like to play. I chose the video review that Amethyst Wyldfyre did of my book, as you can see in the image below, and played that into the hangout. While the video plays, all participants are automatically muted.

Interactive Chat Tool

In all the webinars I’ve ever hosted, participants crave the need to pass notes in the virtual classroom. The Google+ hangout offers a chat tool (red arrow in the image below) where participants can share information with each other. That’s me and Andreas Duess in the image below.

Mute/Unmute Participants

When Robert joined me, I took a screenshot of the icons that appear below his picture (see red circle in the image below). The green microphone means that Robert can speak into the hangout. If need be, I can mute him by clicking on the green microphone and turning it off.

As for what I’d like to see improved:

• The ability to host more than 10 people – the hangout has a maximum attendance of 10 people.
• The ability to upload other media, such as slides, images, photos and audio.

If you’d like to see the Google+ hangout in action, check out this 21-minute video featuring Bryan with Kami Huyse, Neville Hobson, Lionel Menchaca, and Shel Holtz.

Do you like the possibilities of using Google+ Hangout as a virtual event platform? If you’ve used it, what other improvements would you like to see? What marketing possibilities do you envision using Google+ Hangout?

Update: Amy-Mae Elliott provided tips on how to record your Google+ Hangout conversations.

Paying Less Doesn't Remove the Aggravation

When I asked why, he said that his coach, a well-known internet marketer, told him that I’m very expensive. His coach referred him to one of her students who charges 4-times less than I do to set up telesummits.

At first, I was pissed. A well-known marketer was stealing business from me. How dare she?

So, I continued asking questions. My anger soon turned to sorrow…

I asked him what he gets for the money he paid. He said that his virtual event organizer is contacting the speakers, getting their bios and session information and handling customer service issues. Then he said sheepishly:

“But the website isn’t done yet. I have to do that. And I have to write the copy, which isn’t done yet.”

Confused, I asked him why his virtual event organizer didn’t do it for him. That’s when he shared that that was a separate cost and he’d rather find someone overseas to get it done for cheaper. When I asked if his virtual event organizer was going to prepare the recordings and get them delivered to attendees, he said “maybe.”

I told him that I was saddened to learn that he still had to do so much on his own. I was equally sad that his business coach had set him up for failure by not clearly communicating what he would get from me at my price compared to what he’d get at the cheaper option.

I don’t normally justify my pricing because I don’t need to. I’ve been setting up virtual events since 2001 and Choice Magazine has called me “the go to person for virtual event know how.”

But I need to clear the air…

I know what it takes to set up a virtual event.

If you want to host a virtual event that helps you fill your database with quality leads (not just any leads), PLUS get you known in the marketplace, PLUS makes you money, you need to hire a team that can do it all for you.

My “expensive” pricing is all-inclusive.

I charge a flat fee and a percentage of revenue (and I teach my Certified Virtual Event Managers to do the same) because we do everything. In other words, I price my packages so you show up, tell my team your goals and desires, then go away until the day of your virtual event.

We don’t just reach out to speakers, we set up the technology, write the copy (and all of it, including the website copy and the countless emails), coach you on how NOT to sound or look like a newbie while facilitating the sessions, everything so you’re a success.

Then, when your virtual event starts, you show up, faciliate the sessions, go away and my team manages all the recordings and emails that go out to the attendees. We also answer the customer service issues that come through so you’re energy is in a positive place (have you ever tried to facilitate a session after seeing an email requesting a refund? Yuck!).

Plus, there post-virtual event stuff that need to be done that can take up your time and energy if you cheap out on virtual event help.

While chatting with my mom about this, she said that my pricing reminds her of vacation packages.

• You can choose a cheap vacation where your airfare and hotel are covered, but you’ll still need to pay out of pocket for food, activities, ground transportation and even to access the pool while you’re there. Of course, if you run out of money, then you’ll have to sit in your hotel room the rest of the trip.
• Or, you can pay a higher price for an all-inclusive package where you simply show up and enjoy everything without ever pulling out your wallet again. Activities are covered, food is covered, drinks are covered, so too is your hotel, airfare, ground transportation and you get 10 free coins for the slot machine in the games room.

In one scenario, you relax. In the other, you panic.

This is similiar to my all-inclusive virtual event pricing. After setting up virtual events for those in countless industries, I know that it takes ALOT of time, time that busy business people should be spending turning connections into cash, not fussing around with virtual event tasks.

One of my Certified Virtual Event Managers, Cindy Morus, put together a virtual event project plan detailing every task that needed to be done. When she was finished, she documented just over 200 tasks over 90-days which covered almost 8-pages.

Although the guy I spoke to saved money by hiring someone who charged 4-times less than I do, he was only getting 1/4 of the 200 tasks done for his telesummit. It meant that he has to still spend his time managing his own business, finding clients, PLUS doing the remaining tasks for his telesummit, such as writing the copy and setting up the website.

And really, who has time for that?

His coach isn’t comparing apples to apples. I’m a mango and her student, who charges 4-times less, is an apple. My solution is tastier to the non-price conscious business owner who totally understands that outsourcing what they’re not good at helps them to focus on what they’re good at – which is growing their business.

Or, as Carrie Wilkerson shared with me on Twitter:

“The ones that begrudge the money don’t value the results.”

How would you respond if someone says you’re too expensive? Would you recommend that I reach out to this Internet marketer, or simply let it go? What say you? Do you have any resources to share on how to handle price objections and how to handle those who think you’re charging too much? Do share below.

Further Reading

• Carol Roth’s The Info-Crap and Slimy Internet Marketer Not-So-Secret Decoder
• My Questions to Ask Before Hiring Virtual Event Help