Book Out Your Services With A Virtual Summit

Did you know a summit is a great way to book out your services? My custom development services have gotten booked out 6-months in advance after each of my summits and it's possible for you too.

In this episode we'll cover:

• how promoting services after a summit is different than products
• the main thing to focus on in your early summit planning
• my simple strategy for booking out my services once the summit is over.

Selling Services vs Products After a Virtual Summit

Let's start by talking about how selling services after a summit is different from products. When it comes to profiting post-summit, product-based business owners have it relatively easy.

Of course, it's not easy, but when compared to selling services, it's a little bit easier because these product-based business owners have this new list. They can do a launch just like they've done a hundred times before and see big profits. There are no limits. Attendees are more likely to be ready to dive into their offer.

But for service-based business owners, that tends to be a little bit different. While it's totally possible to do a launch of your services, depending on your offer, it might not work as well.

For example, I offer WordPress development services for designers, and I can launch those services to my audience all day long. But if those designers don't currently have a client project lined up that they need a developer for, my pitch is not going to matter to them because they literally don't need the service - even if they might want it.

I know that's a problem that comes in often with different types of service-based offerings.

Another way that selling services after a summit tends to be different from products is that usually you can sell an unlimited number of products, but with services, we can only book so many clients.

What to Keep in Mind During Summit Planning

Before I get into any specific strategies, I want to talk about what you need to keep in mind during the early stages of your summit planning.

You’re only going to book out your services after a summit if your summit was positioned correctly and to the right audience.

If the goal of your summit has nothing to do with the goal of your services, it won’t convert well.

My Simple Strategy to Book Out My Services Post-Summit

After my summit is over and I'm done selling my all-access pass, I send an email to all my new subscribers letting them know what to expect moving forward. For them, it’s a biweekly email from me. I'll be talking about working with a developer and simplifying your design business. And then, I also let them know my current availability for my services.

For the next at least two months, I craft my blog posts and newsletter content to be related to my services. Everything for me is related to working with the developer in one way or another while providing value. I'm focused much more on the value than pitching.

But each time I send this content or put out this content, they're thinking about the option of working with me even more. And for me, that's been all it's taken for me to book out their services.

Another Option

The other option is to send a specific email sequence. Craft an email sequence to pitch your services just like you would if you’re selling a product.

So many people feel like you can't do that for services, that you can't launch service, but you can. You can offer some kind of bonus. I wouldn't necessarily do a discount, but add a bonus inside of your package so it's a time-sensitive offer.

Capitalize on the fact that you only have a specific number of openings, but focus on the benefits of your service in that email sequence. Mix in some value add emails and lots of testimonials.

Monetize Beyond Your Services

Something else I want to talk about here is the fact that you can also monetize beyond your services. Create a super simple offer that you can put together easily and then pitch. But again, this should relate to your summit.

For me, it would be a live workshop series. Chose a live workshop because it's not a ton of work upfront. Outline the content and then you can deliver it live. And live trainings also have more perceived value than like prerecorded trainings or workbooks or something like that.

It’s easier and has a higher perceived value.

Focus on your Summit Topic

Your #1 focus should be on your summit topic. Make sure that the topic relates to your services and that you can also give a great presentation related to your services.

Resources

• Episode 6: How to Position Your Virtual Summit for Success
• Episode 4: Discover Your Ideal Virtual Summit Audience
• Summit Host Hangout Facebook group

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