How to Make Money From Your Event Without Feeling Salesy

Julie C. Butler [00:00:03]:
Welcome to the Virtual Summit show where we ditch the surface level and get real about what it actually takes to grow your list and income through powerful virtual events. I’m your host, Julie C. Butler, AKA the Summit Queen, and this is where the real talk happens. You’ll hear behind the scenes insight from my own Summit strategies, client wins and honest lessons learned. Plus candid conversations with guest experts who are in the trenches creating events that actually convert. Whether you’re just starting out or scaling your summit success, you’re in the right place. Let’s dive in. Hey there.
Julie C. Butler [00:00:47]:
Welcome back to the show. Today I have the beautiful Whitney Robinson on with me. And Whitney and I actually met through a mutual connection and so I was so, so happy and excited to make your connection. You’ve been part of our latest summit, which was so, so good. I’m excited to have you talk on the show today. Before we get started, I’m going to let you, Whitney, introduce yourself quickly and then we’ll dive right into it.
Whitney Robinson [00:01:15]:
Yeah. So thank you for having me. First of all, like you said, I’m Whitney Robinson. I am an event experience strategist. So what that means is I help event hosts make money from their events. So there’s, you know, this narrative that kind of events don’t make money. Events don’t make money if you don’t sell anything. So we work on having an offer to sell your audience because it’s truly like when you’re creating a transformation inside of that room, I believe it is your responsibility to keep that going.
Whitney Robinson [00:01:47]:
You don’t want to just leave your attendees high and dry trying to figure out what’s next. So. So, you know, we really work on having a good offer that matches the people that are there and then all of the different little bitty things that you may not think about being important that actually put your audience in a buyer’s mindset. So a lot of buyer psychology mixed in with, I like to say, some retail psychology and a lot of really fun nerdy things. So that. That’s kind of it in a nutshell.
Julie C. Butler [00:02:24]:
I love it. Well, and you primarily work with people who are hosting live events, right? Like in person events. But I feel like this would apply to also online events.
Whitney Robinson [00:02:37]:
Right? Totally.
Julie C. Butler [00:02:38]:
Yeah. Because here’s the thing, we are running a business not for fun, to make money. Right. Because we all got bills to pay and, you know. Exactly. So it, I think, is a disservice if we do not sell at the end of any type of event we host. Right, right, right.
Whitney Robinson [00:02:58]:
Because, I mean, like, I said, when you think about it, those people that are. That are in your room, they have spent money to be there. They’re taking time away from their families and their business to sit there. And so they. They obviously already trust you, or else they wouldn’t be there in the first place. Right?
Julie C. Butler [00:03:13]:
Yeah.
Whitney Robinson [00:03:14]:
And if you’ve started this stir inside of them, this transformation, if you are. If you’re changing something in them and they realize that they have a problem, if you’re able to solve it, you gotta be able to solve it. Like, that’s. And they don’t know if you don’t tell them. So that’s the important piece is like, having something that’s a natural next step for them and also saying it.
Julie C. Butler [00:03:40]:
Right. And I always say, like, when I’m. Whenever I’m talking to either teaching or whatever, I always say, like, what is it that you want to sell? Make your event about that. Like, it’s not, you know, I mean, if you’re.
Whitney Robinson [00:03:53]:
You.
Julie C. Butler [00:03:53]:
If you feel like doing an event for fun, go for it, you know, but at the end of the day, like, let’s make money at the end of what we are creating. We’re putting so much work and effort into this. Right.
Whitney Robinson [00:04:06]:
It takes so much. So much.
Julie C. Butler [00:04:10]:
Yeah. Like, let’s make some money while we’re like, let’s. Let’s get paid for our efforts of putting together. Like, I know, like, I. This was during COVID So that live event went. Went online.
Whitney Robinson [00:04:22]:
Right.
Julie C. Butler [00:04:23]:
But it had the same vibe as being live, and they were in a studio and everything. And it was all about, like, making you feel the feel. And it was so good, like, so organized. It was. It was at cost of $97 and. But then they were selling a. Then at like a $10,000 coaching package. Right.
Julie C. Butler [00:04:44]:
And there must have been a thousand people who signed up for this $97 thing. Yeah, it was like a big production.
Whitney Robinson [00:04:51]:
Yeah. I. Okay. I’m really glad you said that because that’s something. That’s something. And. And we talked about it in a mastermind that I’m in this week. We actually talked a lot about events, and one of the things was, like, your ticket price is going to.
Whitney Robinson [00:05:09]:
It’s going to attract a certain type of person, whether your ticket price is 97 or it’s 1297. Like, those are going to bring in two different people, and people will pay $97 to come network for a day, you know, so that ticket price has to correlate with the price of the offer that you’re Giving. Because I can tell you right now, unless they had real specific marketing that was really good. They probably did not convert a lot because a $97 ticket, those people aren’t paying the $10,000 package for a $10,000 package. So those are. That’s one thing that you really have to pay attention to when it comes to your event is that those two things have to correlate.
Julie C. Butler [00:05:58]:
That’s a really good point, actually. And I don’t know the numbers because I was like a participant, so obviously I don’t know the numbers. It was really put together. Really well done, though. I think they were just. They are used to doing in person, live events, and they just converted it to online because it was during.
Whitney Robinson [00:06:19]:
COVID was a weird time.
Julie C. Butler [00:06:20]:
Yeah, yeah, it was a weird.
Whitney Robinson [00:06:21]:
It was a lot of weird stuff.
Julie C. Butler [00:06:22]:
I don’t know how many people actually joined the program, but they did a really, really good job at like, all of the. Everything that was included. Anyway, that. That’s not the point. The point is selling at the end of whatever it is that we are putting together. So let’s talk first. Like, why. Why is it important to actually sell after hosting an event, whether it’s live, whether it’s online or whatever? Like.
Whitney Robinson [00:06:49]:
And.
Julie C. Butler [00:06:51]:
Yeah, and I’ll ask you a question following that up after. So I think that a lot of us, we go into hosting these events to grow, like, either brand awareness or grow our email list or, you know, get people to know who we are or whatever, like. And. But why do you think it’s important to actually sell, like, after hosting whatever it looks like? Right?
Whitney Robinson [00:07:17]:
Yeah. Yeah. Well, and like you said, we’re. We’re all running businesses here. Right. So one of the things that I always say, it kind of started as a joke, but it’s really not like you, if you’ve ever hosted an event before or you’ve even been to an event, like, you can pick up on things and see, like, there’s a lot of time, effort, money. Like, events are expensive in person specifically. I.
Whitney Robinson [00:07:38]:
I know that I personally haven’t hosted a summit type of event, like online, but I mean, there is expense that goes into that too. And so if you’re strictly depending on ticket sales, you may make a little bit on that, but not really enough to pay you for the time it takes you out of your business to plan this event. Right. So that’s. That’s number one, like, if you’re doing this for your business. And again, it’s not. I mean, if you want to host an Event just to get people together, like absolutely do it. But if you’re really wanting to use events as an income producing strategy within your business, like just part after your funnel, like that has, you have to have something to sell or else you’re just going to make pennies on each ticket.
Whitney Robinson [00:08:24]:
The other thing, and I’ve kind of, I’ve said it a couple times, but like it’s your responsibility to continue whatever, whatever transformation that you’ve started in these people. Because I’ve seen, I’ve seen events that were phenomenal and people like really clicked. They got, you know, they really got to know each other. It was, it was really one of my favorite events that I’ve been to. And the only way that people knew there was an offer was because it was in the back of the program. There was no mention of it, there was no. And like so many of those women in that room needed what was being sold, but they had no idea. And if, if they’ve already left your room, the chances of them buying from you are, I mean they tank.
Whitney Robinson [00:09:11]:
So letting you know, letting them know, making sure they know that there is a way that you can help continue this, this thing that they’re feeling, you know, this transformation after they leave is so important. And another thing is if, if you don’t tell them, they’re going to go find somebody else that can, that can help them that they may not, they may or may not mesh with, they may or may not work well with. But like they’ve already trusted you to be there in your room, so why not tell them that you are that person that can help them solve that.
Julie C. Butler [00:09:44]:
Yeah, you already warm them up, right?
Whitney Robinson [00:09:46]:
They’re, they’re a real hot lead at that point.
Julie C. Butler [00:09:49]:
Physically there sell to them, they’re expecting
Whitney Robinson [00:09:52]:
it and there is no faster way. And I don’t, I don’t mean this in like a, an aggressive way, but like there’s no faster way to close sale than in person. Like your content is going to do a little bit of warming up. You know, there we have voice memos and things that like make connection a little bit better when it comes to social media. But like nothing is better than belly to belly and getting in the room with people. You will be able to shorten that sales cycle so much just by being in person or having a virtual event online.
Julie C. Butler [00:10:29]:
I think especially as a host, if you are taking the time to go have conversations with people.
Whitney Robinson [00:10:35]:
Right? Yes.
Julie C. Butler [00:10:37]:
Like I’ve seen it. I’ve, I’ve converted myself into offers from being at events like this several times actually.
Whitney Robinson [00:10:44]:
And I’ve, I’ve seen, I’ve, I was at an event where the host literally sold a million dollars while we were sitting there. And it wasn’t a big event. I mean she had a very high ticket, you know, high ticket offer. But that’s what being in person does. Like they, they get to experience you unlike any way that they’re going to experience you on social media.
Julie C. Butler [00:11:06]:
Yeah. And you’re right, like a lot of times like the cost of the tickets pretty much just pays for the event itself. Right. And so you’re not like again, going back to the whole like, yes, we’re so passionate about, we’re doing what we’re doing and so we love doing it. And so it doesn’t feel like work, but we are worthy of getting paid for, you know, our work. But also like let’s, let’s make some money here.
Whitney Robinson [00:11:33]:
Well, in any, any amount of time. And like I said, if you’ve ever hosted an event, you know how much time, like hundreds of hours go into planning that is taking you out of your business directly. So that removes you from any client work, any, you know, reaching out, any, any other thing that you may be you, you know, doing in your business. So you really have to look at how much revenue is that costing you if you’re not making money on this event.
Julie C. Butler [00:12:01]:
Exactly. That’s true. That’s a good point too. I never thought about that. You’re right. Because even hosting an online event, you have to plan ahead.
Whitney Robinson [00:12:10]:
There’s so much planning.
Julie C. Butler [00:12:11]:
Say this all the time. Like there is nothing wrong with taking six months to plan a summit because a virtual summit or even bundle, you don’t need as much time. But, but because you still have to run your business. Right. Like you still have to do your, your daily or weekly or whatever tasks and keep on marketing and selling your offers in your business. Like that needs to show must go on. Right. But it can get really busy when you’re working on all of the things behind the scenes if you know whether you’re by yourself doing this or if you have a team.
Whitney Robinson [00:12:46]:
Right.
Julie C. Butler [00:12:47]:
Whatever that looks like, it doesn’t matter.
Whitney Robinson [00:12:49]:
I was about to touch on that too. Like you’re, you still have to pay your team. So it’s costing you money to, to take your, to take yourself or your team out of their normal daily, you know, day to day stuff that they’re supposed to be working on. So, so truly like events are such a great way to bring really, it can bring significant revenue in, into your business. Yeah.
Julie C. Butler [00:13:16]:
Okay. So obviously let’s not discount the fact that to sell your offer you have to obviously have a really good theme and topic and you know, trainings associated with that. But aside from all of the obvious things like, you know, like I say this all the time, even with a virtual summit or a bundle or whatever, if you want to sell your thing, make your event about that. Right. So same goes with live. But what, what do you say? Like, because you, I, I know like you did a training for my summit, so I, I know some of the things you said and you said an event doesn’t convert. It just a brand. It’s just.
Julie C. Butler [00:14:02]:
No, wait, an event, an event that doesn’t convert is just a branded party.
Whitney Robinson [00:14:08]:
Right.
Julie C. Butler [00:14:08]:
So what do you mean by that? And I thought, yeah, I just like, even the sentence sounds cool.
Whitney Robinson [00:14:15]:
Well, and, and that’s another thing that I started kind of saying as a joke and then I was like, well, I mean that’s, it’s not wrong. So what, what I really mean by that is again, you’re putting so much time, you’re putting so much energy into this. You’re going to get content out of it. So you as a host are probably going to brand it to, you know, your, your business, your personal brand, whatever it is that you’re hosting it for. But if you don’t make money, it’s literally just a party. You’re just getting people in a room and it’s not really doing anything for your business other than coming up with content, which we talked about is, is not the fastest way to bring people in or to get, excuse me, to get them to buy. So one of the things that I like to, to tell my clients is figure out who is in your room. Make sure that your offer that you’re selling matches who that, that person is.
Whitney Robinson [00:15:10]:
If they’re really early in their business, they’re probably not ready for really, you know, a five, six figure offer. If they’re later on in business, they may not buy a ticket for $97 because it’s not quite worth their time. So you, you’ve got to, to make sure that all these things align. But then even more than making the event about the offer, I really like, really get them to sit down and think like what do they need? Who do they need to be to buy this offer? For example, an event that I just worked on last month was she had a hundred thousand dollar day because she did this really, really well. She was selling a coaching container. That’s about visibility and Helping you become like that category of one, the go to person. And so all of her speaker lineup, all of her keynotes, all of this spoke to being that leader that your people need. And so once, you know, she spoke to that, that transformation and having all of her attendees, like seeing themselves in that next level version, making all of the decisions for her event based on that transformation and that identity is what got these people to convert.
Whitney Robinson [00:16:39]:
So not just making it about your offer, making about selling, but what do they need to be and feel in order to see themselves in that container as like, yes, this is the next step. This is where I need to go from here.
Julie C. Butler [00:16:54]:
And that goes back to really, really knowing your ideal client. Right. Like inside and out. But also messaging, like your messaging is so important here. Right. Because it’s not so much about telling them what they need anymore. It’s helping them make the decision to,
Whitney Robinson [00:17:14]:
to do the thing.
Julie C. Butler [00:17:16]:
Right. And not just think about it. Does that make sense?
Whitney Robinson [00:17:20]:
Yeah, no, totally. And you know, that’s getting them in that frame of mind, getting them to think about themselves in that container, whatever they need to be, to be there with you and to be ready for that next step. Like, that’s where all of your decisions need to come from.
Julie C. Butler [00:17:39]:
Yeah. So. So let’s talk about this because this is something that’s super common and I don’t know if you see this with your clients or. But it’s something that we’re just aware of. Right. Like we. Why do you think so many of us feel so uncomfortable pitching at the end of our events? Like, what is up with that?
Whitney Robinson [00:18:04]:
I think women specifically have, have trouble with this because we. There’s a lot of reasons, but I think ultimately what it comes down to, what I’ve seen a lot, especially lately, and my threads is full of this. And I don’t know everyone says, but I’m sure I have trained my algorithm well. But it’s. They think that just purchasing the ticket is enough of a transaction. They don’t want to ask for more, which I get. And it, you know, taking time away from their family. Some of these events are out of, out of town and you know, travel expense and things like that.
Whitney Robinson [00:18:43]:
They wouldn’t be there if they didn’t want to be. They wouldn’t be there if they didn’t trust you or trust somebody else that’s in the room that got them to buy their ticket. Right. And so I think, I think they get nervous asking for more. But then all of my fellow type A eldest daughters are kind of probably Afraid a little bit to fail and to not have these conversions that they expect. And they don’t want to put an offer in front of somebody that they may not want. But that’s okay. Not everybody’s gonna buy.
Whitney Robinson [00:19:16]:
You’re never gonna have 100% conversion ever. And if you do, please come tell me because I need to study whatever you’ve done.
Julie C. Butler [00:19:22]:
No kidding.
Whitney Robinson [00:19:24]:
But like, again, it is your responsibility to tell people. And, and I think one thing that I, that I really try to get my hosts to do differently, don’t wait till the end of the day because you’re, you’re building this or the end of the event, like, you’re building this up in your head to be than it really is. And all you’re doing is presenting the next step for them and that’s it. Like, if they don’t need it, they can make their, their, you know, they’re big girls, they’re big boys, they can make that decision. But if they don’t know that you have a way to help them get to that next step in your, in their business, then like I said, they’re either going to find somebody else to do it or they’re just going to walk around knowing they have a new problem and not really know what to do with it. So you can make, you can tell them about the offer early in the day. You can say, hey, I have, you know, you’re going to hear a lot about X, Y and Z today. We do have.
Whitney Robinson [00:20:22]:
There is a way that you can help, you know, not help. I’m sorry. There is a way that you can, you know, continue this later on. I’ll tell you a little bit about it later. Take the pressure off. It’s not that big a deal. You’re not going to ugly combust because you told your audience that you have something to sell them. It’s not that big a deal, you know.
Julie C. Butler [00:20:40]:
You know, like, and I’m sure this has happened to you before, but you sit at a place and these, this, you’re feeling the transformation vibes and you’re sitting there going like, but, but do, are they, do they have something that’s gonna, that can get me to that next place? Right.
Whitney Robinson [00:20:57]:
So what do I do from here?
Julie C. Butler [00:20:59]:
Yeah, like, some people are sitting there waiting for you to like, wondering if you have that course or that program or that whatever to help you get to that place. Right. So, and I think also if you tell them about it earlier, it starts, it allows them to start thinking about it early. And also if they have Any questions about it, they can come find you. Or sometimes depending on what the offer is, you know, maybe they’ll just want to hang out with you for a couple of minutes to see if there’s a connection. And like, truly people want that connection piece. Right? Like, like, you know, there’s nothing like investing in a mastermind if you’ve had a moment with the host to connect to, know that you, oh, we have kids this age or that age, whatever. It doesn’t even have to be about the specific transformation.
Julie C. Butler [00:21:53]:
It can just be life in general. But that creates that bond already and it brings that level of trust. The next level.
Whitney Robinson [00:22:01]:
Yeah, because, I mean, you think about, like, being able to have those conversations and just, and not just conversations between you and the host, but like seeing how they interact with other people. You’re not getting that from reels. Like, you’re not going to see that. They’re. They’re just posting, you know, B roll of an event or like a talking head or whatever. You’re not really going to get to see and experience that outside of an event. So having those opportunities for people to see you in action, to see how you deliver, to see how you treat other people, to see the conversations you have, they’re going to decide in the moment if that’s right for them. But another thing that it, that it can do is you’re going to have your Die Hards there too.
Whitney Robinson [00:22:47]:
Like, you’re going to have your people that would literally buy dirt from you that are going to show up to your event. So if that’s, if they are already bought into you, they already know, okay, I’m in. Like, I know that this offer is going to be, this program is going to be super helpful for me. Like, let me go ahead and do this and then I get to enjoy the rest of the day. Like, they can talk you up too. Like, they can help other people make that decision. And see, like, oh, yeah, they, you know, they bought in. We like to do things that other people are doing.
Whitney Robinson [00:23:18]:
It’s, it’s a, it’s a. Something we’ve done since the Cave days. And it’s like just having that,
Julie C. Butler [00:23:28]:
that,
Whitney Robinson [00:23:28]:
that group culture, that community vibe, like it’s going to make other people buy. So the earlier you have it available in the day, it’s. It’s not going to do anything but help you.
Julie C. Butler [00:23:37]:
Yeah, that’s such a good point. And you’re right, like, like talking to other people who have invested or who are already in it or who have just extended. Right. Like it just, it gives you that, okay, like if they do it, I can do it. Like, like that’s a little bit of something you maybe get less with, you know, online stuff like virtual you. I think you can get it, but it just takes longer and it’s.
Whitney Robinson [00:24:05]:
Yeah. It just has to be intentional ways.
Julie C. Butler [00:24:07]:
Yeah. Like unless you’re in a community or something like that. But.
Whitney Robinson [00:24:11]:
Right. And I think to having people beta tested this, if it’s a newer offer, like have people there that have beta tested this with you and that can speak.
Julie C. Butler [00:24:18]:
Yes.
Whitney Robinson [00:24:19]:
You know, to.
Julie C. Butler [00:24:20]:
Yeah.
Whitney Robinson [00:24:21]:
To what they experienced inside the container too.
Julie C. Butler [00:24:24]:
Because like I recall being at a live event and making friends with these people that were already in that world. And so you’re just having the conversations with them and they’re like, they’re selling it for the host. Like, like people get excited about. You know, I always say, like sometimes I feel like I’m better at selling people’s stuff than my own.
Whitney Robinson [00:24:47]:
Oh, 100%, right? 100%.
Julie C. Butler [00:24:51]:
Yeah. So what if you have. What are some of the mistakes that hosts make that can hurt sales or, you know, in, in all of that.
Whitney Robinson [00:25:03]:
Yeah. So there’s a couple different things that I touched on a little earlier from a different angle, but one of them is having an offer that doesn’t match who’s there. So one, one event that I went to, she was selling, I think it was somewhere between a 2 and $5,000 off product. I can’t remember or program.
Julie C. Butler [00:25:29]:
Yeah.
Whitney Robinson [00:25:30]:
But the women in the room and there were a lot of people there. So I mean, it’s very. Their, their business experience was very varied. But ultimately the people who were there for the most part were very new in business or not quite bringing in the income that they wanted. So they were kind of there to mix and mingle and like meet other people, whatever. Nobody really bought that offer because they weren’t ready to make that type of investment yet. So knowing, like you said, really knowing your, your people and knowing who’s there and knowing what they need from you. If they don’t need a $10,000 offer or like a VIP type day, like don’t offer it because you’re not going to convert.
Whitney Robinson [00:26:12]:
There’s no way that you can outsell an audience that doesn’t match your product. Right. Another thing, and I’m really big about this, I was at one time I was a story brand guide. If you’re familiar with Donald Miller and the Building a Story Brand is his book. But I was a certified story brand guide and one of the things that I really. And I’m. I still harp on this. Really talk about a lot.
Whitney Robinson [00:26:39]:
Stop using jargon, please.
Julie C. Butler [00:26:42]:
Yeah.
Whitney Robinson [00:26:44]:
Now, if you’re in a room, if you’re presenting a tech product and you’re in. In a room full of tech people and you know that they’re tech people, okay, Use some of your jar, your, Your lingo. Like, I get it, but there was one event I went to who, I mean, There were probably 60 people there who were very good leads for this, this host. And when it came time to tell them about her offer, it was a fantastic offer. I mean, I think almost every person in that room could have converted. To be truly honest, I still don’t know what it was about. I mean, I generally do now because I’ve gotten a little more familiar with the platform, but there was so many words that, like, I didn’t understand. And I would just kind of look around and see if I was supposed to.
Whitney Robinson [00:27:31]:
If, like, if I was looking around, seeing if there were heads nodding, like, am I just missing something? It. Honestly, it made me feel a little dumb because I didn’t know what she was talking about. And I’m not going to buy something if I feel.
Julie C. Butler [00:27:41]:
If you don’t know what they’re talking about. You know what I mean?
Whitney Robinson [00:27:45]:
And then after we left, I talked to a couple of my friends that were there and they felt the same way. So really making sure that, like, even if your audience is not in your world and they’re not, they don’t know the back end of how you’ve built this thing. You need to be able to speak to what it does and what it can offer them without using these million dollar words that none of them are going to.
Julie C. Butler [00:28:09]:
If you’re using jargon, at least explain it before you start using it. Yes. Yeah, it’s like, it’s like I used to be a photographer. So going to a conference of photographers and they’re using the language, right? Like, but if I talk like that to normal people, they’re like, what is. What are you talking about?
Whitney Robinson [00:28:26]:
I have a pretty decent camera and I still don’t know what aperture is, but whatever. Tell me what I need to do. Tell me what to put.
Julie C. Butler [00:28:35]:
So, yeah, that makes so much sense. But also I feel like that. And I say this all the time, like, don’t use fancy words for your event. Like, you don’t need to keep it simple.
Whitney Robinson [00:28:44]:
There’s no need to.
Julie C. Butler [00:28:46]:
To the point, right? Like, information, make it clear.
Whitney Robinson [00:28:50]:
And a little bit of. I’m going to nerd out a little bit on this one, but like, to speak to your customer’s brain, like, our brains are real lazy. They still are worried that there’s some sort of tiger coming across the, the hill over here that’s going to come eat us. And they, they just want to rest until they have to work. Right. So the harder you make your audience’s brain work, the less likely they are to buy.
Julie C. Butler [00:29:12]:
Yeah.
Whitney Robinson [00:29:12]:
So if you can just go ahead and take out any kind of guessing, any kind of like, translation that they need to make, you’re already going to be ahead. Like, you’re going to set yourself up better that way.
Julie C. Butler [00:29:24]:
I love that. Such good points. Okay, so now let’s talk about preparing the attendees to buy before the pitch happens. Yeah. Now you talked about pitching before the end and at the end too, obviously.
Whitney Robinson [00:29:41]:
Oh, for sure.
Julie C. Butler [00:29:41]:
Usually how we close. Right. Like, would you say that that could apply to online events too? Like pitching before the end. And it’s kind of like a master class, but it’s. So it’s, it’s done differently, right?
Whitney Robinson [00:29:53]:
Yeah, absolutely. Like, so there, there are a few things. Like, like I said, go ahead and tell them. Like, you know, there is going to be a way that you can continue this. So, you know, just go ahead and throw that out there. You’re going to decide whether or not you want it. It’s not like this isn’t a major decision by any means. It’s.
Whitney Robinson [00:30:10]:
It’s there for those of you who, who know that this is where you need to go and if, if it’s not right for you, it’s not right for you, and that’s okay. Um, and I think giving yourself and giving them that permission to know that it’s okay, it’s going to build more trust. So you’re probably going to get more people buying when you give them that permission to know that they can decide that it’s not right for them. And it kind of takes the pressure off of you too. But there, there are so many tiny little ways. And honestly, it starts from the moment they buy their ticket. So how are you prepping them for the event? How, you know, going back to. We don’t want to use our brains more than we have to.
Whitney Robinson [00:30:51]:
Like, are you telling them, you know, this is the overall vibe, this is what, you know, attendees generally wear. This is, you know, what you can expect. This is the speaker lineup. And you don’t have to give them that months in advance, but just giving them a little bit of a sneak peek peak before they get there is going to take so much anxiety, especially off of your super introverted people who are probably not people already.
Julie C. Butler [00:31:19]:
Right. Like, I feel like it’s all about the onboarding. There’s nothing like good onboarding.
Whitney Robinson [00:31:24]:
Absolutely.
Julie C. Butler [00:31:24]:
You don’t even have to give them anything. It’s just.
Whitney Robinson [00:31:28]:
Yeah, yeah. And I mean, you think about what you do, like how much you put into onboarding a new client. Like your, your attendees need to be given that same type of respect and like that same. Just like you said, it can just be words, like just a general idea what to expect. It’s going to make a big difference. And like we talked about too, having those people there who can help you answer questions, I think is something that’s kind of overlooked a lot because the host either thinks that their sales page can do it for them. If you’re. Especially with like really big events, either their sales page can do it for them or with smaller events, you know, they can come talk to me.
Whitney Robinson [00:32:12]:
Well, yeah, they can, but you’re also going to have people who are pulling you in 8,000 different directions, asking questions, wanting to take pictures, wanting to just talk to you and like be around you because you’re the host. And so having those couple of people who can help answer questions is really, is really helpful because also if people have questions, they might be a little intimidated to talk to the person who is selling the offer.
Julie C. Butler [00:32:38]:
So this is true. Yeah.
Whitney Robinson [00:32:40]:
Giving them like a more of a peer to talk to is something that I think is overlooked a lot.
Julie C. Butler [00:32:46]:
Yeah, that makes total sense. Because you’re right, like sometimes, like also sometimes you’re just shy to talk to the host. Right. It’s intimidating or you don’t want to bother them even though we’re all just the regular people.
Whitney Robinson [00:32:59]:
Right.
Julie C. Butler [00:33:00]:
But I, I get that how it can be intimidated. I’ve been intimidated by hosts before.
Whitney Robinson [00:33:04]:
I like to be.
Julie C. Butler [00:33:06]:
If I’m completely honest.
Whitney Robinson [00:33:07]:
Oh, same.
Julie C. Butler [00:33:08]:
Just you’re just like shy about going talking to them. Even as an extrovert, I know I’m
Whitney Robinson [00:33:13]:
painfully extroverted and I’m still like, so,
Julie C. Butler [00:33:16]:
so that makes sense. That makes sense. And also going back to everything we talked about, making sure that the theme, the topic, the speakers, everything is aligned with the offer and that it all makes sense as a package and like in an, in a package. A package deal.
Whitney Robinson [00:33:33]:
Package deal. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Even if you. We all have really amazing friends, especially in the business world, who can talk about really cool things if it doesn’t match what you’re with that, that transformation that we talked about. You’re trying to please don’t have them on your stage. Let them be there to be your hype, you know, your hype person. But if, if their topic doesn’t make sense to your offer, it’s distracting your people from, from what you’re there to do. So, you know, the speaker lineup is, is a very important piece of that puzzle too.
Julie C. Butler [00:34:11]:
Yeah, but the, the topic. And also, like, I think vetting them is important too, because you want to make sure that, that they are going to bring value. But also bring what? Like, you said, like, bring, like, even for an online summit, it’s the same thing. Like, do you want them to bring content or workshop or whatever the case might be, a talk that’s going to help bring them to that place of knowing they need your offer.
Whitney Robinson [00:34:40]:
Right, Exactly.
Julie C. Butler [00:34:43]:
Okay, let me see. What else do I have here for you? Okay. Do we want to get into, like, how to create an event experience that feels supportive and authentic? I think we’ve touched on a few things already, like the whole onboarding thing. And while still leading sales, I think
Whitney Robinson [00:35:05]:
we’ve, I think we’ve covered.
Julie C. Butler [00:35:07]:
I think so too.
Whitney Robinson [00:35:08]:
A lot of it.
Julie C. Butler [00:35:09]:
Yeah. Sometimes I’m like, looking at my questions and I’m like, we’ve already talked.
Whitney Robinson [00:35:13]:
Well, and I’ll, I’ll go off on a tangent somewhere too. So I don’t know what question’s coming next. I don’t see save anything. I just kind of go for it. I know.
Julie C. Butler [00:35:21]:
And sometimes I have questions lined up and I’m like, they. But sometimes, like, it’s so easy to answer other questions in one. Sir. Yeah. Okay, so let’s talk about what. Okay, let, let’s talk about this. What’s the difference between an event people enjoy versus an event people actually buy from? Right. Like, but also I think it has to be both.
Julie C. Butler [00:35:47]:
Like, it has to do the, the good. Like, there’s nothing like going to an event and you’re like, oh, my God, this is so boring. Right.
Whitney Robinson [00:35:53]:
Right. This is a good question. I like this question. So the first thing is you cannot make decisions as a host based on yourself. If you are doing things, of course you’re going to want things there that you know, you enjoy, you like to do because you, you’re, you’re the host. You need to be in your element. And that’s, that’s good, great and wonderful. But every decision that you make has to be from, what is this going to do for the experience of my audience? And same thing goes with, with when when you make your pitch, like when you tell your audience about the offer you’re selling, like, you can’t just, you can’t just make an offer because you’re excited about it, because it’s your highest ticket offer.
Whitney Robinson [00:36:43]:
You’re. Because you know it’s brand new and you want to just launch it. Like, you have to make sure that it makes sense for your people. You have to make sure that every decision, speaker lineup we talked about, all of the little, I mean, activations is a big word in events right now. So like all of the, all of these experiences or benders or whatever, like all of it needs to ultimately come down to that transformation that you’re building. When you make decisions from honestly a selfish place, like just because it’s something that you want to have there or that you think would be really good and without taking your audience into consideration, they see right through it and they know it and they, it kind of gives, gives people kind of an icky feeling. Yeah, yeah, I think that’s, that’s one of the biggest things is like, make sure that you’re making decisions as an audience member, not as host, which we
Julie C. Butler [00:37:48]:
should do all around anyways.
Whitney Robinson [00:37:50]:
Right.
Julie C. Butler [00:37:51]:
No matter what we’re doing. Okay, cool. So I love all of that. We’ve talked about so much. Let’s close with how much time. And this is like giving people permission. I don’t know if it might be slightly different for an online event, but like for in person or online or maybe we can touch on both. How much time do you think one should spend on pitching? Right? Like, like you’re like, okay, well, how much time, how much do I say? How much do I talk about? What do I give them? Right?
Whitney Robinson [00:38:23]:
Yeah, that’s a good question. I think part of it depends on the length of your event. So obviously if you have a half day event, you don’t want to spend half an hour talking just on your, your pitch. Right. And when it’s spread throughout the day, it seems like, you know, like we’ve talked about it, it’s not quite as intimidating. It’s not, it doesn’t make it quite as big of a deal
Julie C. Butler [00:38:50]:
if it’s
Whitney Robinson [00:38:51]:
a two day event. I still say start talking about it on the first day. You know, that, that, that just gives them more time to experience you and see you as that leader that they’re going to get in this offer. I think, I think it really comes down to just make sure it’s enough time to speak to that transformation and make them see the put like, like we talked about, put themselves in that position. Don’t get too much into the logistics. A, it just takes up more time and B, we don’t make buying decisions from the logistics part of our brain. That we’ve got these two different parts of our brains. We’ve got our logistics, our, you know, that’s the part of our brain that really thinks.
Whitney Robinson [00:39:38]:
That’s the part of the brain’s use for language. Then we’ve got our emotional part of the brain. It has no capacity for language.
Julie C. Butler [00:39:45]:
Yeah.
Whitney Robinson [00:39:46]:
It doesn’t think in bullet points. It, it. See that’s where we buy from. Especially higher, you know, higher ticket offers. That’s where you need to spend your time. So whatever it takes for you to get them in that emotional part of their brain. For, for my logistical people, I, I would say, I mean if you’re, if you have a, a one day event, break it up into like you have a five minute little overview in the very beginning, another five minute maybe close to lunch or, or shortly thereafter, a longer, maybe 5, 10 minute if I like the, at the end of your keynote and then another five or six so minutes at the end of the day. These don’t have to be long periods.
Julie C. Butler [00:40:35]:
Yeah, I think that so long as you’re intentional and I think it’s all going back to the, the, the transformation then the, the getting them to a place where they can envision themselves with that result. Right.
Whitney Robinson [00:40:56]:
And that you’ll start seeing people kind of sit back a little more and you’ll start seeing them like put their stuff down and actually like lock in and pay attention to you. And those are, those are really good signs that like they’re there. Like they, they are seeing themselves there. So just fun little side note as a, as a presenter, like look for those signs. If you see somebody, you know giving you those signs, those are buying signals and you need to be talking to them as soon as you get off the stage.
Julie C. Butler [00:41:27]:
Okay, that’s good points. Yeah, all of it. All of it. So good. And I’m sure we could probably continue all day.
Whitney Robinson [00:41:36]:
Oh yeah.
Julie C. Butler [00:41:37]:
So I, you have a great freebie actually that, and that’s the link for, that’s going to be in the show notes. But tell us about the freebie and tell us like a little bit more like if people are interested in knowing more about you and, and maybe working with you. Maybe like some of the listeners are like oh my God, I so want to do an like in person event. But like that whole thing about, about selling at the end yes. Like, like, let’s make bank at the end of our event. Right?
Whitney Robinson [00:42:04]:
Right.
Julie C. Butler [00:42:04]:
Yeah. So let’s talk about your freebie, the event revenue scorecard. Tell us what that is, why they need to download it and, and then we’ll talk about where people can get to know more about you. And I know you just did a, and I think you, you have a new website and it’s so nice.
Whitney Robinson [00:42:20]:
Thank you. That’s, that’s going to forever be a work in progress. I think it is a forever.
Julie C. Butler [00:42:25]:
And if you’re listening to this, we always have tweaking our websites. Right?
Whitney Robinson [00:42:32]:
I know. And that’s so not my, my forte. I spend way too much time. I need to just hire somebody. So the event revenue scorecard, what that’s going to do, it’s going to look at three different places in your event. So we’ve, we’ve talked on all three of those. But your, your audience, who’s, who’s there in front of you? What, what type of person is there? What type of, you know, buying patterns do they have? Things like that, your offer, so we’re seeing how well that matches who’s, who’s there and then your stage moment. So really preparing you for, for pitching that offer, you know, throughout the day or if you decide to wait till the end of it, whatever.
Whitney Robinson [00:43:09]:
And so what it’s going to do is show you where you may be leaking revenue. So maybe, you know, your offer and your stage moment are really strong, but your audience doesn’t quite match. So you can see exactly where you’re, where you’re missing the, the mark. Yeah. And then I do have, I have a couple of different offers. My favorite is being on site. So I am able to come on site and really be an extension of the host. I do have a new baby that will be here probably in the next three weeks, so I’m not doing a ton of on site in the next couple of months, but baby on board,
Julie C. Butler [00:43:43]:
hey, there’s nothing wrong with that. We see babies at conferences all the time.
Whitney Robinson [00:43:47]:
Oh, yeah. Oh, for sure. Yeah. But I do have a VIP day, so we can, we can go through each of those sections for your event. Specifically, it’s broken up into three different, like many days. But we can go through and really look at the strategy behind your event, your offer, you know, your stage, things like that, and really dive deep.
Julie C. Butler [00:44:07]:
So that’s, that’s amazing. And I actually think it should be like everybody who’s, who’s doing online in person events. I think that that should be Part of your plan. Mandatory. Unless you know what you’re doing. Which, you know, if it’s your first or even your second or even your third. Like sometimes like just the psychology behind all of it. Like, I wouldn’t.
Whitney Robinson [00:44:30]:
Second and third are really the sweet spot to get that stuff figured out and then.
Julie C. Butler [00:44:34]:
Yeah.
Whitney Robinson [00:44:34]:
Make iterations, you know, from there.
Julie C. Butler [00:44:36]:
Exactly. But even if you think you know what you’re doing, I think it’s still like having that other person is always so good. It’s like, it’s like you know what you need to do, but. But a coach is still good because you have those other eyes on your stuff.
Whitney Robinson [00:44:50]:
Right.
Julie C. Butler [00:44:50]:
But like, like making sense of, like just making sure that everything fought. Like, I think it’s just. And I think. I don’t know if I knew that this was a thing before I was introduced to you in the first place. Like, I’m like, oh my God. Like, that’s such a good.
Whitney Robinson [00:45:08]:
Like, honestly, I don’t know if it is. I just. Right. I’ve had experiences with events and I like, I’ve done work with biopsychology. I’m a nurse by trade. So like, okay. The mind, the body, like all of this stuff is. Is something that I.
Whitney Robinson [00:45:24]:
I’ve studied for years and years. And so seeing other events really miss the mark and seeing other women, like, not do what they could have done. Like, not.
Julie C. Butler [00:45:37]:
Yeah.
Whitney Robinson [00:45:37]:
Form how they should have because they had a wonderful event and it just didn’t convert. Like, I just kind of saw this gap that needed to be amazing. So I love it.
Julie C. Butler [00:45:48]:
I love that. I love that. So you’re the go to Whitney.
Whitney Robinson [00:45:51]:
I am. I’m the one.
Julie C. Butler [00:45:53]:
I love it. Well, thank you so much for being here today and talking about this and saying yes to being on the last summit I hosted.
Whitney Robinson [00:46:01]:
Oh, it’s been awesome, I should say.
Julie C. Butler [00:46:02]:
Yeah. And I’m sure we’ll speak again in the future. And you know, best of luck on the new baby number two. Right?
Whitney Robinson [00:46:10]:
Baby boy number two. Yep.
Julie C. Butler [00:46:13]:
I have two boys too. They’re older though. I’m long gone. The baby days.
Whitney Robinson [00:46:17]:
Oh, yeah. No, I’ve got a. I’ve got a three year old and then baby brother will be here.
Julie C. Butler [00:46:22]:
Yes. Yeah.
Whitney Robinson [00:46:22]:
My only in about three weeks difference.
Julie C. Butler [00:46:24]:
It’s a good gap.
Whitney Robinson [00:46:25]:
Yeah.
Julie C. Butler [00:46:25]:
Yeah, it’s a really good gap. Well, thank you so much for being on the show.
Whitney Robinson [00:46:29]:
Thank you, Julie.
Julie C. Butler [00:46:30]:
Yeah. And if you are listening to this, I will chat with you in the next episode. Thanks so much for listening to the virtual summit show. I’m so glad you’re here. If you’re ready to grow your email list or build a real community through a virtual event but you’re not quite sure where to start or even what kind of event would work best for you, I’ve got something to help. Head on over to juliecbutler.com GPT and try my free Event Idea Generator. It’ll guide you through choosing the right format, finding your theme, and even naming your summit or bundle. If this episode gave you a spark or some clarity, I’d love it if you followed the show and left a quick review.
Julie C. Butler [00:47:16]:
It helps more entrepreneurs like you find us. Can’t wait to see what you dream up. Talk soon.