Episode 180

The Psychology of Selling From Stage: Lessons from Mitch Carson

Mastering Platform Sales: Insights with Mitch Carson

Summary

In this episode, John Ball interviews Mitch Carson, a seasoned speaker and expert in platform sales, to explore the art of selling from the stage.

The discussion highlights the differences between keynote speaking and platform sales, emphasizing the competitive nature and high earnings potential of the latter.

Mitch shares his experiences and insights, offering advice to aspiring speakers on mastering the craft, the importance of energy, and effectively connecting with audiences.

Key takeaways include learning from industry veterans and the significance of practice and preparation in becoming a successful platform pitchperson.

This episode is a valuable resource for those interested in leveraging speaking engagements to sell products, courses, or services effectively.

Links

https://www.mitchcarson.com/

http://getinterviewedguaranteed.com/meetwithmitch

keywords

selling from stage, keynote speaking, platform selling, sales techniques, public speaking, event marketing, audience engagement, sales training, competitive speaking, online sales.

takeaways

  • Selling from the stage is about opening wallets, not just applause.
  • Keynote speakers and platform pitch people have different metrics for success.
  • The environment and audience are crucial for successful selling.
  • Platform selling is for risk-takers and competitive individuals.
  • Community and support among speakers are vital for success.
  • Understanding human psychology is key to effective selling.
  • Practice and preparation are essential for successful presentations.
  • Live events generally yield higher conversions than online.
  • Starting on other people's stages is a low-risk way to enter the industry.
  • Reputation and ethics are critical in the speaking business.

titles

  • The Power of Community in Speaking
  • Overcoming Sales Anxiety: A Journey

Sound Bites

  • "I live for wallets opening up."
  • "The job of a platform pitch person is to convert dollars."
  • "I sold 800,000 from a stage in Tokyo."

00:00 Introduction to Platform Sales

00:20 Meet Mitch Carson: Master of Platform Sales

02:38 Keynote Speaking vs. Platform Sales

06:15 The Competitive World of Platform Sales

11:59 Traits of a Successful Platform Pitch Person

26:10 Live Events vs. Virtual Events

32:37 Understanding the Events Business

32:51 The Challenges of Starting Out

34:07 The Importance of Networking

36:12 The Impact of Economic Downturns

37:11 Transitioning to Full-Time Speaking

39:42 The Ethics of the Speaking Industry

44:59 The Journey to Mastery

46:53 The Art of Platform Pitching

53:36 The Importance of Practice and Preparation

55:30 Learning from the Masters

59:29 Final Thoughts and Next Steps

Visit https://presentinfluence.com to find out more or go to HTTP://johnballspeaks.com for speaking enquiries. Thanks for listening and please give the show a 5* review if you enjoyed it.

Transcript
John:

Where do you go as a speaker, if you want to earn the big bucks,

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how is selling from the stage,

any different to keynote speaking?

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This episode is for the

speaker who wants to earn the

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biggest paychecks and speaking.

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And also for those of you who have

courses, books, and programs, but don't

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know how to sell things from the platform.

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My guest with this episode is someone

who's generated millions in sales

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from the stage and has mastered his

craft so well, that he's one of the

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very few people out there who is

teaching the skill of platform sales.

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Mitch Carson has been a pitch

man on a home shopping network.

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He's produced over 2000 live events.

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He knows how to sell anything

and craft a unique message around

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any product person or event.

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So, have you ever tried to make a

pitch from the stage and maybe not

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had it go so well or made many sales?

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I know I have.

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Do you lack confidence when

it comes to platform sales?

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Have you ever wondered?

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How important is it really to have a book?

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If you're a professional speaker.

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Well, Mitch has the answer

to all of these questions.

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So stay tuned.

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And welcome to present influence the

show that helps business leaders develop

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the skills to influence and inspire.

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My name's John Ball.

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I'm a keynote coach professional speaker.

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And your guide on the journey to

leadership level communication

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and presentation skills.

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My mission is to provide rising

leaders like you, with everything

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you need to maximize your impact

and present with influence.

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Follow the show on your favorite

podcast app for weekly episodes and

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interviews with influence experts.

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Well, welcome to this episode, which is

primarily about platform sales and the

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psychology of selling from the stage.

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It is a skill that is hard

to master, undoubtedly.

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And may find that this isn't

really for everyone, but, here's

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who this episode is really for.

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If you are thinking that you might,

at some point, want to be able to

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make sales from the stage, whether

that's a real stage in front of a

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live audience or a virtual stage, if

you are thinking of making sales of a

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course, a product or service, a book,

anything like that, then you will

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get some great value in this episode.

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If you're curious about where the big

bucks are as a speaker, and maybe even

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think you might like to venture into

the highly competitive red ocean of

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selling from the stage, this episode

is going to be very much for you.

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I have to say in advance of this,

there was a lot of stuff that we didn't

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get to that may have to see if Mitch

will come back again in the future.

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But what I really wanted to know

was what Mitch saw as being the

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primary difference between keynote

speaking I'm being a professional

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pitch person from the platform.

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Now I don't personally particularly

agree with Mitch's assessment of why

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keynote speakers do keynote speaking.

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However, he's entitled

to his opinion still.

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I think you'll get some great value

from the distinctions that he offers.

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So let's get into it.

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Mitch Carson: All right here.

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Now what I'm going to share might

offend some people, but that's

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been my personality my whole life.

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Okay.

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Keynote speaking is great.

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Many people aspire to live for applause.

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I live for wallets opening up.

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Therein lies the distinction.

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My measurement is not the

positive reviews I get,

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it's the amount of money I made per head.

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So therein lies another distinction.

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I couldn't give a wallop about

getting a positive review from

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Becky, Joan, Jim, or John.

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I don't care as long as they invest.

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Because the job of a platform pitch

person is to convert Dollars, pounds

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or euros per head and or buying unit if

it's a man or a woman in an audience,

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my metrics are very different than that

of someone who's out there keynoting.

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They may look at their measurement

as, Oh, I sold some people bought

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my books at the back of the room.

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Whoopie do.

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How many people bought your 10 K

program after speaking for 90 minutes?

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And that's, that's the value

that, you know, people like

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Russell Brunson, who sold 3.

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8 million at Grant Cardone's event.

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That is impressive.

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Mitch Carson was sold 800, 000 from

a stage in Tokyo eight years ago.

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That's impressive.

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Or 1.

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6 million that I sold in an

back in:

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Those are big numbers and I've also

fallen on my sword where I blanked.

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We were talking about T HARV

just a minute before we began.

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He was speaking at an event at LAX.

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This is going back, oh gosh,

this is the the late 90s.

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In Los Angeles.

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And I, I occupied the room after he

left, he had a group and he moved

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everybody into a free seminar.

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That was his old model.

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And the promoter that I was

working with promoted T Harv.

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Well, he didn't promote me.

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He forgot to do this.

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So I show up and there were

six people in the audience.

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Six.

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T Harv had 200.

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I came in to sell six.

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Now, do you think I cared about getting

an applause or getting positive reviews?

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No.

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And here's the, here's the truth, John.

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Four of them were my employees.

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Oh!

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And the other two were drunks

that we gathered up from the bar

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outside in the, in the hotel.

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John: Yikes.

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Mitch Carson: Yeah, but you move on.

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That's just the life of the speaker.

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And the same with any performer,

because it is a performance.

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It's the, you, the show must go on.

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I believe that was an expression

that came out of the UK back in the

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days of a Shakespearean theater.

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John: I can well believe that's

where it originates from,

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Mitch Carson: the show must go on.

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John: Like I mentioned, I don't really

think that the reason that I get up on

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the stage is because I want the applause.

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However, I do understand that applause

and audience feedback asked how about

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the metrics that we have as keynote

speakers that are very important to us.

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For someone who is selling from

the platform, the only metric

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that really matters is how much

money you're making at the event.

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I was definitely curious about the kinds

of events that Mitch would speak at and

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what the difference would be between

him and perhaps the keynote speakers and

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other people who are at these events.

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So let's hear a bit more from Mitch.

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Mitch Carson: let's look at environments.

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The keynote speaker has his or

her place in the speaker arena.

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I mean, if I can identify very

quickly, because it'll take me

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60 seconds to synopsize this.

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There are the people that MC.

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They don't sell necessarily.

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There are people that are panelists

and there are people that are trainers.

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Trainers is a whole separate category.

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So you have keynote speakers.

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The one person who's on stage

is the keynote speaker and

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or the platform pitch person.

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The pitch person, in my opinion,

because I've done everything in

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the speaking business, almost four

decades now on stage, everything

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I've done it all multiple times.

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Platform pitch people are the highest paid

because they'll die if they don't survive.

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You're there to eat what you kill.

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Very typically, you're not paid to come.

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You're not given room and board.

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And you're there to sell.

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And the environment you sell to is usually

people with the capacity to purchase.

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So if you are selling at the corporate

event of Exxon Mobil, Let's say for an

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example, and you've got a crowd of all

at the year end event or the sales event,

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the sales recognition event of all their

high level, they usually call it a round

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table or something of sales professionals

that sell a certain amount of oil and gas.

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And there are a hundred sales people that

are pumped and ready in the audience.

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They are employees.

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They may need motivation.

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They may need a system to help them climb

the ladder a little bit more in terms of

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sales conversions and, or recognition.

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A keynote speaker.

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Would be the solution because a platform

pitch person such as myself that I've sold

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sales trainings multiple times in events.

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It has to be the one that has

the capacity to pull out his

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or her credit card and buy.

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So if they're employees, the

platform pitchman has no place.

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Unless somebody, because a sale may

take place post event, but in an

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opportunity where it's salespeople,

it's usually a best selling author

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on sales, who's written a book, who's

invited and gets a fee of, 15, 25, 000.

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If it's a New York times bestselling book,

then they're probably going to get 25 K.

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If they're just an Amazon book,

they're lucky if they get 15 K.

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That's the reality.

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Okay.

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People think, oh, I want 25, 000.

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Well, what have you done to earn it?

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Are you a New York times bestseller?

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Are you in media all over the world?

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Do you have a column in

entrepreneur press or in Forbes?

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What justifies a promoter

to pay you 25, 000?

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Which to me is peanuts money

anyway, because if I'm going

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to go sell and I don't sell 25

K worth of product, I failed.

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I've failed because usually in

that environment, half the revenue

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is split with the promoter.

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Like we were talking before we began

about me meeting Sir Richard Branson at

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the O2 arena, which is a large arena.

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I think it holds

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40, 000 in London.

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Sir.

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Richard is a keynote participant.

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He's not really a speaker.

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He's he's someone that gets interviewed.

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So he's there.

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You know, Lord sugar was a keynote.

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And pissed off the entire

crowd because of his, his way.

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And then there were other, and then

the rest of us, those are the draws.

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Those are the reason people come

in to see the keynote speakers.

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The rest of us.

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We're there.

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We're sharks.

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We're there to eat the

meat off the people.

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They may be attracted to the beautiful

fish that's flashing, and that's

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Sir Richard, and, and of course, the

persnickety, uh, Sugar, Lord Sugar.

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He's a lord of some sort.

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They are the flashy fish.

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Then the piranhas and or the sharks

are people like me that come in and

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chew it all the way down to the bone

And that's how the seminar promoter

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makes his money, is the piranhas and

the sharks or barracudas, whatever

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fish you wanted that are carnivorous.

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And we're there to feed the promoter

He's got to make his money back

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off what he invested with sir.

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Richard and lord sugary

Who's not so sugary.

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I guess he's Lord persnickety,

but that's, that's the model.

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okay and It does and I love your story.

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Uh, so i'm curious whether

it sounds like it's a really

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highly competitive environment

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Extremely, extremely.

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John: Now, this could easily have been

a time to get into my story about having

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auditioned for the apprentice With.

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Alan sugar.

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Because you will never

have seen me on that show.

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You can guess I didn't

get through the auditions.

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It was very interesting.

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I didn't get to meet Sir Alan Sugar.

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Not a huge fan of his personally.

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However, moving on from that I can,

well, appreciate what he might've

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been like at, at a live event there.

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But what was coming up for me

whilst Mitch was saying this

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is was who's this really for?

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Are there people who are more

cutout for selling from the stage.

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And maybe people who really

just aren't cut out for it.

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I'm assuming that it's

probably not for everyone.

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Mitch Carson: No.

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John: Who are the people who are

cut out for it and maybe who's not?

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Mitch Carson: Okay.

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Again, this is just opinion

and it isn't always true.

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This is a gross generalization.

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I would say the people who are

cut out for platform selling are

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the people who like a challenge.

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And if you are living in the

world of safety and security,

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pursue keynote speaking.

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Because you will get a paycheck and it's

negotiated by either your speaker bureau

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if you're lucky to get hired by one and

they'll take their cut and they'll send

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you here, here and here, you can make

a nice living and you know, nice living

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is of course relative to whomever, but

most keynote speakers I know who've done

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well are making two to 300 K a year.

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They have a book, they've been in

media, and they have a relevant topic

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which they have to update regularly

because they want to get invited back.

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Otherwise, you're just

constantly on the treadmill.

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The platform pitchman is for

someone who is a risk taker, usually

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a former competitive athlete,

someone who loves competition.

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I was on the pro karate

circuit myself in my twenties.

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So I love the pressure.

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I love being in a ring opposite the

other man and it's knocking the crap out

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of each other and seeing who survives.

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It's no different.

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I don't hit anybody anymore.

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That was a sport, but in the world of, of

platform pitchman, let's take Mack Atram.

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For example, we talked about Mack

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John: Yeah,

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Mitch Carson: Mack's a fellow speaker.

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I respect him a lot.

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Yeah.

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He's also, I'm a six degree black belt.

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He's a fourth degree

black belt in Taekwondo.

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We talked about that.

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We met in KL at an event some years

back, he would be on the stage competing.

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We would ask each other,

how well did you do?

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A, to support each other?

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Because that's what good speakers

do who played the long game.

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We're there to support each other.

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You never know.

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Who you can refer or not because he

talks about a different topic than

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me And but we're also subtly going

on how well did he do versus me?

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That's the competitive spirit that

comes in us You know, it's like

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the knights come back from battle.

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How many heads did you lop off?

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You know, it's that competitiveness

that exists with the platform pitch

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person who wants to challenge himself,

herself because it's women too.

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Women are, are equally talented.

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I've seen some great women

speakers who are both get great

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keynotes and are good closers.

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They like that competition as well.

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Typically a sports competition background.

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John: If you've ever worked in

any kind of professional sales

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environment, you'll know that they

tend to be highly competitive.

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And so really it can feel very cutthroat

because it's always calm in competition

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with each other and people thrive of

beating each other and doing sales.

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Now sometimes that's in a very

healthy and respectful way, and

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sometimes it's, it's really not.

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So professional speaking as a

platform pitch person is undoubtedly

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much more challenging and

competitive than keynote speaking.

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It is very much for those

who thrive on competition.

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So what's Mitch's experience of this,

is it generally that the competitiveness

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in professional speaking professional

platform sales is one of healthy

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competition or is it more cutthroat

maybe more of a situation where you'll

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find yourself swimming with sharks.

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It's interesting, it sounds

like, even though it's very highly

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competitive, that it's pretty

healthy and respectful competition.

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Mitch Carson: Most of the time.

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Yes.

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Most of the speakers I've met in

my 30 plus years selling from the

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stage, I would consider most friends.

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Now, some are some arrogant asses.

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I don't want to get into their names.

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We'll talk off off camera about it,

but I, I would, but there are people

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who've earned asshole, you know,

Who've earned the asshole crown,

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but I'll keep them nameless and most

are good people or else they're not

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going to be in the world because it's

a very small universe, and we talk.

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As a seminar promoter myself, there

are certain speakers I'll never

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book because friends who were in the

events business have told me about

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someone and we don't want headaches.

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So it's important to get

along with the people.

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We're all playing in this pond

and you have to keep a positive

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vibe when you take the stage.

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You can't be distracted by drama,

personality clashes, all of this.

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You're there to support each other.

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If I saw Mac or other speakers that

I've shared the stage with, that we,

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we may have talked about, we're there.

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Hey, how's it going?

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Tell me something good.

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It's not, Hey, I'm sure

your health is bad.

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We're not there to talk about that.

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We're here to support each other and to

raise our vibration and our positivity

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because there's no more challenging

arena when you've got an arena full of

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people and you're there to sell them.

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You got to motivate them to

pull out their credit cards

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John: I can really imagine that the

heat is on in that kind of situation.

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And,

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Mitch Carson: huge pressure.

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John: probably the only thing I could

really compare it to my, in my experience,

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I've never really sold from the stage.

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But it would be maybe trying to make

people laugh from the stage and like,

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yeah, it's the same kind of pressure.

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It's a very intense pressure, very

different incomes, unless you

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really hit the big time, but , very

much the same kind of pressure.

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So, so I'm curious, I mean,

other than the sort of.

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The hunger for competitiveness

and things that you mentioned.

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Are there other, other traits

that you think do make someone a

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better, presenter or pitch person.

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Mitch Carson: Yes, there

are other key traits.

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Number one, willingness to

hear and implement feedback.

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Because if you are a robot.

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Who simply just does keynotes,

your presentation is typically

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similar event to event to event.

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If you, however, and you, but there

are some, many similarities as well.

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You know, when you connect to an audience

or when you don't, if your jokes don't

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hit, you then came, come up with a new

one, so there are many similarities but

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the dissimilarities, I would say the

uniqueness to the platform pitch person

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is that individual must understand human

psychology, must be very tapped into

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an audience dynamic, must be tapped

into cultural faux pas of being in an

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environment, and I'll be happy to share,

John, some of my biggest failures.

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Which I've learned from.

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John: hear about them.

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Mitch Carson: Yeah, I have made so

many mistakes, but I have failed my

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way to success and you have, and it's

necessary to overcome and deal with

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the failures that you're going to

learn from if you don't, it's a tough,

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if I gave up when I first started

selling from the stage and I was awful.

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Awful.

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I could have very comfortably

gone the route of the trainer

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and or keynote speaker easily.

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I'm comfortable on the stage.

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I'm told I'm funny.

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People laugh, do all that.

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But selling is a

completely different level.

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It's a, it's riskier.

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Because there's no security of money.

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There's no security of

your travel in most cases.

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And when I'm running my events, if I have

a platform pitchman that I've invited

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in to sell a crypto course, for example,

which was hot now, it's not so hot

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anymore, but each time the, the ones that

are continually hot is how to make money.

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John: Yeah.

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Mitch Carson: People will

buy how to make money.

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:

It's either through today it's

share trading or, or options or some

368

:

type of real estate when it's hot.

369

:

All of these property investing,

those are evergreen speakers

370

:

who may have a unique solution.

371

:

If they show the case studies, those

people are the staples that those

372

:

of us who are seminar promoters

need to place on our stages

373

:

because they bring in the money.

374

:

Without them, we're dead, because it's

rare to make money before the doors open.

375

:

You make your money, you invest, you

lose, you go in negative, and then

376

:

at the end of the day, you realize,

okay, I spent 100k to put on this

377

:

event, and I brought in 100, 000 in

revenue, uh, after the split for the

378

:

speakers, I just broke even because

there's one thing return on ad spend.

379

:

And then there's the overall ROI

return on investment, which includes

380

:

the room and all the other things.

381

:

So it's all about the math.

382

:

You can't put your buddies on

the stage because you like them.

383

:

No, who's going to get you out of

the negative hole that you're in to

384

:

produce this thing in the first place.

385

:

You got to have platform pitch people.

386

:

John: Now you can probably pick up

somewhat Mitch's energy, even if you're

387

:

just on the audio version of this episode.

388

:

His energy is high.

389

:

So I was really curious about how

important is that energy aspect

390

:

of being a platform pitch person.

391

:

Mitch Carson: It's everything

got to believe in your product.

392

:

So it's passion, knowledge, and a

willingness to ask for the money.

393

:

First, you got to know your,

your product that you're selling.

394

:

You have to understand the framework

with what makes people raise

395

:

their hand and want what you have.

396

:

You don't teach too much.

397

:

You just give them the what, not the how.

398

:

The how comes because of my system.

399

:

How you implement this, this is what you

need because I've identified your pain

400

:

point and you deliver it in a passionate

way, so make making you believable.

401

:

So, yes, I am passionate about what

I do and I've been challenged and I

402

:

know what it can do for other people.

403

:

That's why I teach, you know, in my

speaking mastery, how to get people

404

:

to convert to buying what you have

to sell, and there is a process.

405

:

John: This whole topic is

super interesting to me.

406

:

Not just from the perspective of

being a speaker myself, but really

407

:

from, I just love the psychology

of influence and persuasion.

408

:

And this is an aspect of it

that seems super important.

409

:

This is where you're really going to

see a lot of the influence principles

410

:

in action at these kinds of live events.

411

:

And if you are going to be this kind of

speaker, you need to be able to implement

412

:

them effortlessly and naturally, in a way

that's going to seem completely normal.

413

:

But how do you get started with this?

414

:

Do you have to have your own

product or service to become

415

:

a professional pitch person?

416

:

Or could you be selling someone else's.

417

:

Mitch Carson: I've done both, John.

418

:

That's a great question.

419

:

I semi re I retired.

420

:

Then I went my, I put myself

in the position of semi

421

:

retirement, living in Bali.

422

:

There was an Australian gentleman

who I got connected with by who

423

:

needed, he had a great software

solution for SEO and it was a hack

424

:

using Google Hangouts some years ago.

425

:

And I was living in Bali, flip

flops, t shirts and shorts getting

426

:

bitten by mosquitoes daily.

427

:

But I loved it living on a motorbike.

428

:

And I got approached by this

fellow named Peter Drew.

429

:

Good fella.

430

:

Good bloke, as they say

in the, in, in Australia.

431

:

And he had a great product.

432

:

I then struck a deal with him

to be his pitchman, making

433

:

a percentage of what I sold.

434

:

So I, I got booked on all these webinars.

435

:

He was a software developer,

but not a pitch person.

436

:

I think he later went on for

subsequent releases that he

437

:

had and pitch his own products.

438

:

But I sold this program called hangout

millionaire some years ago while sitting.

439

:

In a small air conditioned box in a co

op workspace in, in Ubud, Bali, which

440

:

is the jungle area where there are

monkeys running around on the street

441

:

and it was a great experience, but I

had never sold someone else's product.

442

:

I'd always sold my own.

443

:

But I had sold off my company in America.

444

:

Retired, moved to Asia.

445

:

And I got connected to this guy

through another friend who was living

446

:

in in Chiang Mai, Thailand and said,

Oh, you got to talk to Mitch Carson.

447

:

He's a pitch person, the

classic sense of one.

448

:

So I got introduced to

him the very first event.

449

:

I think there were about,

I don't remember, I think

450

:

600 people on the webinar.

451

:

I did it on a webinar.

452

:

I hadn't sold on webinars before.

453

:

I'm used to a live audience.

454

:

The process is the same.

455

:

It's just a weird dynamic when

you're talking into a camera and

456

:

you don't know, but 600 people and

I sold 38 percent of the attendees.

457

:

That's a very good number

in the webinar world.

458

:

If you sell 10%, you're considered good.

459

:

On that particular day, my first time

out of the box was a beginner's luck.

460

:

No, it was 30 years of training to get

to that point to where I transferred my

461

:

skills from a live in person audience to

a live virtual audience and I was able

462

:

to sell them into this 1, 000 solution.

463

:

They'd never heard of me.

464

:

I wasn't known in the

software industry at all.

465

:

These are people that were geeks behind

that was their self annoyed title.

466

:

They're geeks that sat behind

a computer, not social people.

467

:

These are SEO freaks and they didn't

know me from Adam, but I came in and

468

:

just marched and I had no idea whether

I was going to be fired or invited back.

469

:

Well, I did get invited back and

that relationship lasted about a

470

:

year and a half until the software

become became antiquated or we flooded

471

:

the market and it was no longer.

472

:

But out of the box, I had a 38

percent conversion rate and I'd

473

:

have to go back to the money.

474

:

It was very good money.

475

:

I got a nice check.

476

:

We sold very well.

477

:

Next thing I know my PayPal is ding.

478

:

Nice amount of money.

479

:

He was happy.

480

:

I was happy.

481

:

And I realized I'm no longer retired.

482

:

I guess I'm semi retired because

a week later I did it again.

483

:

And then I did it again, you

know, two weeks later or something

484

:

else, all selling for 90 minutes,

presenting, creating the opportunity.

485

:

Here's the, what it

will do, how it does it.

486

:

You got to buy the solution.

487

:

And I did very well with that.

488

:

John: For our listener,.

489

:

If they're thinking oh this sounds really

interesting, but should I be thinking

490

:

about online sales or should I be thinking

about in person events and I'll say why I

491

:

ask this because Um when I first came into

the personal development industry, uh, it

492

:

was all live events Pretty much all live

events some webinars, but go to webinar

493

:

was in its early days and very few people

had No cap video on there and stuff Um,

494

:

so it was nearly always in person stuff

and the industry seems to be maybe moving

495

:

back to that again But what's your take?

496

:

When Mitch and I was speaking before

we hit record, we both started to

497

:

realize we had a lot of very similar

connections, a lot of pupil in common.

498

:

And we both been around the

industry now, it's very possible we

499

:

deeply connected before in-person

and just didn't remember it.

500

:

However, this was the time when we

really started to get to know each other.

501

:

What I started to get curious about at

this point, though, was whether Mitch

502

:

was doing more live in-person events or

whether the industry as a platform pitch

503

:

person was more virtual events these days.

504

:

And also, which was his preference.

505

:

Mitch Carson: I came from the

same world you're talking about.

506

:

It was all live in person.

507

:

Slowly webinars came in.

508

:

It was go to webinar.

509

:

I had an account with them or, or,

you know, people that I worked with.

510

:

And that was the, the chosen

platform until the pandemic.

511

:

And then everybody went to Zoom.

512

:

I haven't heard the go to webinar

name now in probably four years.

513

:

John: Still around but yeah

514

:

Mitch Carson: Well, you bring this

up in two weeks I'm going to be doing

515

:

three webinars in a row to fill my

speaking mastery program in Singapore.

516

:

how to sell from the stage to a group.

517

:

I'm doing three webinars in a row.

518

:

We're testing different formats,

different variables on the sales page

519

:

to see which converts and I'm going to

show all of this to my attendees who

520

:

are future seminar producers themselves.

521

:

So I'm mentoring them in the process.

522

:

I'm also doing one preview event live

in person to a different group of people

523

:

and we will compare the numbers and I

will show them This is how much it costs.

524

:

I've spent X dollars on ads.

525

:

Here's how many people showed

up on the webinar how many

526

:

I converted on the webinar?

527

:

Here's how many converted

in the live preview event.

528

:

All of that will matter

and I'll show the numbers.

529

:

And this is what you can expect.

530

:

I'm a seasoned pro doing this.

531

:

So it might be different than someone

who is brand new at it, but at least

532

:

they'll have a template to compare to.

533

:

And I will reveal all my ads,

everything, to show them what it takes.

534

:

I prefer the live, in person model

because I've done that for so many years.

535

:

I like to meet people, shake their hands,

536

:

John: yeah

537

:

Mitch Carson: and Then I

have a greater connection.

538

:

Virtual is fine.

539

:

We got forced into that

because of the pandemic.

540

:

Subsequently now a lot of hybrid events.

541

:

I think today, if you're running a larger

workshop, you need to include virtual

542

:

attendance and P and they must pay for it.

543

:

Virtual attendance to bring in, because

I guess, for example, John, I produced

544

:

the world's first chat GPT live event

in Las Vegas, almost two years ago,

545

:

January of coming up with 25 will be

two years since I produced that event.

546

:

I had 300 people capacity crowd

in an audience live, in person

547

:

for a one day event in Las Vegas.

548

:

I also had 263 people who paid 200

to attend virtually that virtual

549

:

attendance, which is 263 people times 200.

550

:

Paid for my ad budget

before I opened the doors.

551

:

I was positive cashflow.

552

:

So when I sold 600 grand that to the,

to the attendees that day, I made money.

553

:

That was a good payday of

an upsell to the crowd.

554

:

Now here's the difference

that I want to share.

555

:

The in person people accounted

for most of the sales.

556

:

One person bought an 8, 000 package

from the virtual attendance.

557

:

That's a case study.

558

:

Why?

559

:

Because when I got around to

pitching, you don't know whether

560

:

they're paying attention or not

561

:

John: Yeah

562

:

Mitch Carson: in the virtual

environment, I can go up and physically

563

:

shake somebody if they're in their

phone, in the live environment.

564

:

And I do that.

565

:

I'll say, Hey, you

paying attention, buddy.

566

:

Everybody laughs.

567

:

Listen to what I have to say.

568

:

This will change your life.

569

:

I can physically go do that.

570

:

I have no idea what they're

doing when they're on camera.

571

:

They could be in the restroom.

572

:

Who knows?

573

:

They could be cooking a cup of tea.

574

:

I don't know.

575

:

And it's the conversions are

higher with live in person.

576

:

John: I guess because the people in

the room probably are more focused,

577

:

that would make a lot of sense, but

also the energy in live events, as

578

:

you mentioned, is very different.

579

:

It is very different.

580

:

Mitch Carson: Totally different.

581

:

John: I'm curious This maybe has two

parts to it this question as to whether

582

:

whether the events you mostly Speak

and present at are ones you create

583

:

yourself or whether there are events

That you do that are not stages that

584

:

you have created for yourself And

how do you end up on those stages?

585

:

Mitch Carson: All right.

586

:

John: mean two parts

587

:

Mitch Carson: Great.

588

:

T Harv Ecker was, I think he sold his

money, his, his business to SR Success

589

:

Resources, some years ago before.

590

:

He used to invite outside speakers.

591

:

I was not one of them.

592

:

I was running my own events and I

was speaking on other platforms.

593

:

So I think it's a balance of both.

594

:

When you start out, I would recommend

getting on other people's stages

595

:

and you're a, basically a parasite.

596

:

You're piggybacking on the hard

work of the promoter to make money.

597

:

You're also building your list.

598

:

It's all risk and reward

based on what you sell.

599

:

You don't have any say in the layout

of the room or you just show up, you

600

:

pitch and you leave, or you pitch and

stay, and maybe you'll convert more

601

:

people, which is also a wise tactic.

602

:

I stick around if I can, unless

I have another event to go to.

603

:

So I've done both in my career,

in my early years while I learned

604

:

the event business, I was pure

parasite, pure parasite leach,

605

:

leaching off someone else's event.

606

:

May sound like a crude metaphor,

but it's a realistic one.

607

:

You were there to support and or but

you're grabbing on to you're leeching

608

:

on to their effort their crowd.

609

:

You're benefiting and they're

benefiting and that's the way to go.

610

:

And then you learn the overall

scope of the events business.

611

:

John, I'd be curious to hear

what your take is on that.

612

:

You know, you, you have to crawl before

you walk and you learn the crawling

613

:

techniques before you go and embark.

614

:

There's so many things to know

to create your own events.

615

:

It's scary.

616

:

It's financially.

617

:

A scary, you know, it's, it's

not an upward slope necessarily.

618

:

Most fail.

619

:

It's a, it's a scary investment

because you better know your shit.

620

:

John: I think this probably isn't going

to be the first time in this episode that

621

:

I'm going to stand up comedy in terms

of when you're getting started in stand

622

:

up, you're going to do open mic nights.

623

:

You're going to do,

you're going to get it.

624

:

You're going to get on stages

where no one knows you.

625

:

You're going to maybe even have

your joke cards in your hand because

626

:

you need to test your material

and make sure that it works.

627

:

It's the lowest risk way of doing it.

628

:

So it sounds to me that the lowest risk

way of getting into becoming a pitch

629

:

person professionally is to get on other

people's stages, create relationships

630

:

with promoters and get yourself into

some of those events before you have

631

:

the even bigger risk of getting onto

your own live stages where there's

632

:

much bigger costs and, ads associated.

633

:

Maybe less.

634

:

Maybe it's a bit easier now with the

online events to do that because probably

635

:

you've only really got the ad risk in

that Of like you might not get full return

636

:

on your ad investment, but even so yeah

other people's stages where they're

637

:

even where they're doing the advertising

that has to be a much lower risk way

638

:

to ease yourself into the industry,

639

:

Mitch Carson: 100%.

640

:

And it's a great way to start

because you'll learn the

641

:

ins and out of the business.

642

:

You'll learn what it takes

in order to attract speakers,

643

:

because it's all about networking.

644

:

In my career, I've never had

to market myself as a speaker.

645

:

It has always been referrals from

somebody seeing me in the crowd or

646

:

a fellow speaker who promotes her

own events and says, Mitch, I'd like

647

:

you to come and speak at my event,

648

:

and then I speak there and then it's,

Oh, I've got an event coming up to my

649

:

group of people, my audience of people.

650

:

You're terrific.

651

:

You're funny.

652

:

You're nice.

653

:

Come speak at my event.

654

:

And it went like that for years, John.

655

:

I didn't create my own events

right away for more than a decade.

656

:

I was a leech speaking on other

stages because I also had an

657

:

ad agency that I owned in LA.

658

:

And that was my core job.

659

:

Speaking was a way of me

bringing in clients and it

660

:

worked and it was a good model.

661

:

I wasn't full time as a speaker.

662

:

It grew into that over time.

663

:

I was once a month, then it

became more like twice a month.

664

:

And then sometimes I would speak two

or three times over a weekend in the

665

:

same city, speaking in the morning

here, afternoon, they're traveling

666

:

over to another side of the city.

667

:

Speaking of somebody else's event on

Sunday morning, hopping on a plane and

668

:

going home Monday night or Sunday night.

669

:

That happened, that started to happen.

670

:

And then it became very lucrative.

671

:

And I, I started to look thinking,

my gosh, why am I fighting

672

:

employees and doing all those?

673

:

I'm making all kinds of money

as a speaker and I'm busting my

674

:

hump at running an ad agency with

complaining, whining employees.

675

:

And that's a babysitter job or

here I come in, I'm celebrated.

676

:

I get people that want

to take pictures with me.

677

:

I am, you know, the,

the celebrity speaker.

678

:

Uh, And all I have to do is come

and speak for 90 minutes, make

679

:

good money, very good money.

680

:

I covered my own expenses.

681

:

This was the life.

682

:

But then something happened.

683

:

The crash happened in 2006.

684

:

John: right

685

:

Mitch Carson: Everything shut down.

686

:

So when the times are

good, they're really good.

687

:

But when they're bad, the peril of

running a business like that is if you

688

:

don't have money while you sleep income,

as in courses that are online, which is

689

:

a smarter way to go, you run the risk of

sinking very quickly when times change.

690

:

And they will change unexpectedly.

691

:

The only thing that's

guaranteed is there is change.

692

:

John: I certainly remember the

industry thinned a lot around

693

:

the 2006 2009 sort of period.

694

:

Yeah,

695

:

Mitch Carson: sure.

696

:

John: I'm interested.

697

:

I mean based on your journey Would you

say it's the that a better way to approach

698

:

this for people who are looking to get

into this area would be to transition

699

:

from what they're doing or do you think

you can set yourself up to be able to

700

:

Just take the leap and fly straight away

701

:

Mitch Carson: Oh, I've seen people do both

hindsight looking back over my career.

702

:

I mean, I'm probably in the sunset

phase coming up here at some point.

703

:

Now I just teach others for the most part.

704

:

I don't really take on too

many speaking gigs on occasion.

705

:

I'll do well now that we're out

of the pandemic, who knows, but

706

:

I'll, I'll do three or four.

707

:

If the audience is right, I can be

quite selective at this point in my

708

:

career, but if I know the audience is

good, I'll come in and if I can swoop

709

:

in and make some money, I'll do it.

710

:

Otherwise, I don't care about keynotes.

711

:

I, you know, you throw, if you offer me

money to go do something, I can go do it.

712

:

It's just not my game.

713

:

So I like to help other

people achieve that.

714

:

And without any training, without having

your knees skinned and falling down and

715

:

seeing it as a speaker, can you jump

immediately into creating your own events?

716

:

Yes.

717

:

But if you lack the skills of

converting an audience, it all

718

:

comes down to selling, John.

719

:

It's all money you wanna go.

720

:

And if you're, you come from a

wealthy background and you're

721

:

sitting on cash and you wanna

make your own mistakes, go for it.

722

:

You'll learn.

723

:

I would suggest a prudent way is

watch your money, get your experience.

724

:

And here's the risk though, if you go

on to a stage and you fail miserably,

725

:

without being trained properly,

how to sell and had create value.

726

:

And there is a science to it, a

very clear science to selling.

727

:

And if you go and risk, to go sell.

728

:

Guess what?

729

:

They gossip.

730

:

So I know the seminar

promoters around the world.

731

:

And if they ask me about,

can John Ball sell?

732

:

And I say, yes, he can.

733

:

He was on my stage.

734

:

Not only did he engage the

audience, people really liked him.

735

:

He had a crowd.

736

:

Everybody wanted to take pictures with him

and had their credit cards out, waving.

737

:

Yes, I recommend him.

738

:

And he wasn't a pain in

the ass to deal with.

739

:

John: Right.

740

:

That's

741

:

Mitch Carson: Okay.

742

:

That matters a lot.

743

:

There are the egomaniac speakers

who are difficult to deal with

744

:

and they'll deal with me one time.

745

:

After that, I'll never have them back.

746

:

I don't care how much they sell

because there are some outstanding

747

:

sales people from the stage.

748

:

But if they have a, a, a personality that

grates on me, I'll never invite them back.

749

:

I don't want the stress.

750

:

I don't want the stress.

751

:

And there are some of those that

are incredible egomaniacs, and

752

:

there are some that are unethical.

753

:

I'll tell this one story, which can

get you blackballed very quickly.

754

:

John: Well, I will side bar.

755

:

I would say there are a lot of

egomaniacs in the speaking world.

756

:

And keynote speaking and, and

professional paid speaking.

757

:

However, the majority,

pretty wonderful people.

758

:

That has generally been my experience

with the speaking world as well.

759

:

So, yeah, a few bad apples out there,

but that's the same everywhere.

760

:

Right?

761

:

In the next segment, Mitch does

talk about someone in particular.

762

:

Now you might figure out who it is.

763

:

If you know stuff about this guy.

764

:

I did.

765

:

And I mentioned the name.

766

:

However, I have blanked it out because

I don't really think it's appropriate

767

:

to contain that in the podcast.

768

:

But it felt right in the

conversation that we were having.

769

:

If you don't know the name and you

want to know it, contact me and I'll

770

:

tell you in a private message, but

probably most of you can figure it out.

771

:

Mitch Carson: If I may,

there's a well known speaker.

772

:

I don't want to, I might mention his

name because I don't, you know, it's, he

773

:

was a, he had a movie written about him.

774

:

He had a movie produced about him.

775

:

He had a book.

776

:

He went to prison.

777

:

John: right?

778

:

Mitch Carson: I didn't say it You did he

spoke on the stage for some friends of

779

:

mine in Thailand and he spoke on the stage

He was supposed to speak for four hours.

780

:

Everybody came to see him So

he was the keynote speaker

781

:

who also sold a sales system.

782

:

He showed up Arrogant, Spoke

for only two hours, so people

783

:

in the audience were pissed.

784

:

He sold his product.

785

:

They had already wire transferred

to him I think it was a hundred

786

:

thousand us for him to show.

787

:

This was when he was high in his career.

788

:

The movie had just been released.

789

:

Been out of prison now, cause he's

a felon, uh, and a deserved felon.

790

:

This isn't a guy that got victimized.

791

:

He, he's a, he is who he is.

792

:

He then said to the, to my friends

who are the biggest promoters

793

:

in Thailand, you know what?

794

:

I didn't make enough money here.

795

:

You're going to have to wire me

another 50, 000 or I'm not going to

796

:

deliver what I sold from the stage.

797

:

You're going to have to

refund all those people.

798

:

Do you think he'll ever get invited back?

799

:

Do you think I will ever put him

on my stage on any level ever?

800

:

Never, ever, ever.

801

:

You just don't do that because you

have things that go around about you.

802

:

It hurts your reputation.

803

:

And I never mentioned his name.

804

:

I didn't, and I

805

:

John: may or may not be the person who

806

:

Mitch Carson: may or may not be.

807

:

It could be Joey Goldberg.

808

:

I don't know, or Joey Smith, Smith,

I, whomever that individual will never

809

:

get invited back, egomaniac, unethical,

didn't speak the agreed about time.

810

:

And then, and blackmail people blackmailed

the promoters to have more money.

811

:

These are like the, they were

the nicest, kindest people.

812

:

They brought me out of retirement because

then I retired again after this issue

813

:

I was living in Chiang Mai Thailand and

they came and found me through another

814

:

referral Oh, there's this guy up in Chiang

Mai an American that's living there.

815

:

You got to bring him on stage So they

me out of retirement back in:

816

:

and I've been at it now full time since.

817

:

But they were the nicest people, and

they had just run this event where

818

:

some other American speakers were

there, who did very well for them,

819

:

who did not have the big name, who

were ethical people that I knew very

820

:

well, these people, and did their job.

821

:

But when you get bent over like

that, and forced, and forced into

822

:

compliance, and that wasn't your deal.

823

:

That's awful.

824

:

Just don't do that.

825

:

Be honorable.

826

:

Your reputation is all you have.

827

:

John: So did you figure it out?

828

:

Did you know who we were talking about?

829

:

If you did, then this is

going to make sense to you.

830

:

And if you didn't say, let me know,

I'll tell you in a private message.

831

:

But I can remember a number of years

ago when this person's events were

832

:

starting to be sold and I was involved

in working with the events company who

833

:

were promoting these events as well.

834

:

And so a bunch of my friends were, some

of them are working at these events,

835

:

some of them were just wanting to go and

attend and were very excited about going.

836

:

I point blank refused.

837

:

It's better not to be around and

not be learning from these people

838

:

who, you know, are not ethical.

839

:

You know that even, yeah.

840

:

Okay.

841

:

They may have served their time for

what they've done, but they may still

842

:

be unapologetic as this particular

person is, and not particularly changed.

843

:

I just think it's a good idea, if

you are someone who cares about

844

:

your integrity, to protect it and

not spend your time going into

845

:

environments with people who have none.

846

:

Because who you spend time with,

who you learn from, is important.

847

:

And I want to learn from ethical people

and I want to be an ethical person,

848

:

which is why I want to learn from them.

849

:

I want to be around people

who walk their talk.

850

:

When you do find those people who

really do walk their talk, you'll

851

:

find that those, that the environments

you will want to be around as well.

852

:

And if you're the kind of person who's

out there wanting to be doing this kind

853

:

of talking, you showing up in that way is

going to create those environments too.

854

:

how do you get people over

their stuff with sales?

855

:

Mitch Carson: you just get over it.

856

:

And how do you do it?

857

:

You just do it over and over again.

858

:

You get good.

859

:

I taught martial arts for years and

people would come and I could see

860

:

the fear in their face when they have

to step in the arena and realize.

861

:

You're gonna get punched.

862

:

You're gonna get kicked in the gut.

863

:

You're gonna get bruised and battered.

864

:

Get in there, get punched in the

face, next time you'll, you'll block.

865

:

You'll move your head out of

the way versus eating a jab.

866

:

You're going to get better

with this over time.

867

:

You guys play soccer in the UK,

or you call it football, okay?

868

:

You weren't good, John, when

you first kicked the ball.

869

:

John: I'm still not

870

:

Mitch Carson: Well, all right.

871

:

Well, that's your all

right, but you get my point.

872

:

You're probably better even though you

may not have been the star on the team.

873

:

You're better at kicking the

ball than you were when you

874

:

the first time you kicked it.

875

:

We all fell down on our bicycle.

876

:

And you know where you had maybe

training wheels at some point you

877

:

take the training wheels off and

you're able to balance and And march

878

:

and and continue to pedal forward.

879

:

That's the metaphor with selling to.

880

:

Go fail your way to success Go make your

mistakes cut your teeth on failure and

881

:

your teeth will be really sharp later

So you can chew down and eat that beef

882

:

John: Yeah

883

:

Mitch Carson: and you just you

gotta you gotta go in the water

884

:

John: I would honestly say yeah, I don't

believe that there is any other way to

885

:

success I don't think you can get to

success without going through the failures

886

:

Mitch Carson: you gotta you

gotta risk Or no reward.

887

:

You can live the safety of being an MC.

888

:

You can live the safety of being

a trainer, which is content that's

889

:

dispensed over two, three days.

890

:

And it's follows a workbook format.

891

:

There's no enthusiasm necessarily,

or it could be enthusiasm, but it's

892

:

fill in the blanks and teaching this.

893

:

That's not risky.

894

:

Keynote semi risky because you

may not get great evaluations,

895

:

ultimate risk and ultimate reward

is the platform pitch person.

896

:

You aren't paid you better perform or

you're not eating and you gotta fail

897

:

I failed in the beginning several

times I kept and how did I handle it?

898

:

I sought out coaching from the best

in the business I sought out coaching

899

:

and I spent a lot of money investing.

900

:

It wasn't an expense.

901

:

It was an investment because I made

that investment back many, many,

902

:

many times over, and now I'm in

the position where I teach others

903

:

John: Which is incredibly high

value so I don't know if this is

904

:

going to be the same thing or not.

905

:

But what do you find most fulfilling

and or most exciting about

906

:

being a platform pitch person?

907

:

Mitch Carson: that table rush.

908

:

The table rush is the ultimate, John.

909

:

When people sign up and you see

those numbers, it's the table rush.

910

:

Alternatively, when I sold on live

television on a channel in America

911

:

called Home Shopping Network, we knew.

912

:

Instantly, whether we're selling

and connecting or not, because there

913

:

was a, a turning, there was a, a

number that kept rolling on screen.

914

:

So I would see 50 sales,

60 sales, 70 or flatlining.

915

:

I better change or re energize because

if I don't sell a certain amount

916

:

over an hour or not, not an hour,

I didn't have that long of a spot,

917

:

but in let's say 10 minutes, if I

didn't sell 3, 000 units of a widget.

918

:

I'm going to get a talking to, it's

all about the numbers and selling.

919

:

And it takes a while.

920

:

I sucked the first time I went on live

TV to sell, I threw up in the bathroom.

921

:

I was so embarrassed.

922

:

I, that was it came back,

threw up less third time.

923

:

I started to do well, you got to go

through that pain in order to realize.

924

:

The game, you know, you know,

there's fear and I love the metaphor

925

:

or the acronym I created out of

fear, face everything and rise.

926

:

John: I

927

:

like that

928

:

Mitch Carson: face that fear, get through

the pain, go through the bootcamp.

929

:

At the end, you're going to be

a strong soldier, go through it.

930

:

You're going to, you're going

to feel good about yourself.

931

:

Your shoulders are going to be back.

932

:

You're going to be in

that starched uniform.

933

:

The same holds true for platform pitching.

934

:

Go through the pain, get

screamed at in your own head by

935

:

your own judge, which is you.

936

:

Or possibly the promoter will say, Hey,

what the F happened out there, Mitch?

937

:

What happened?

938

:

Or, great job, man, I can't wait

till we do this again next year.

939

:

You're gonna get one or the

other, or you, or the scary

940

:

is, you don't get any feedback.

941

:

It happens.

942

:

You learn.

943

:

You pick up your bootstraps,

and you continue.

944

:

And you learn from it.

945

:

If you don't learn from it,

get into another business.

946

:

Get out!

947

:

It's not for everybody.

948

:

It's the ultimate

challenge, in my opinion.

949

:

A live audience on the stage,

you're walking around naked.

950

:

They're looking at you.

951

:

Oh, he's got, you know, this

or that they're looking at you.

952

:

You're not wearing any clothes.

953

:

They're looking at you.

954

:

You are on display to this audience of

hundreds, if not thousands of people.

955

:

Get off the stage, get

down from the stage.

956

:

I don't sell on the stage.

957

:

I'm in the audience.

958

:

I work the room.

959

:

Another technique.

960

:

I'm shaking the hand of Bill in

the front because Bill is the Is

961

:

then my conduit to shake hands

with everyone else in the audience.

962

:

Little techniques like this, making

sure, making small tweaks, connecting

963

:

and getting people to buy in, you

know, through the use of trial closes,

964

:

can you see yourself implementing

this system to have the life of X?

965

:

X being the one that I just

played the testimonial or there's

966

:

somebody live in the audience.

967

:

John, when you implemented this selling

system, you went from zero to now

968

:

10, 000 profit each time you speak.

969

:

Is that good?

970

:

Would you like to have

the results that John had?

971

:

Raise your hand.

972

:

If you can see yourself doing what John

did with no training, no expertise in

973

:

selling from the He was a keynote speaker.

974

:

He made.

975

:

The transition.

976

:

He made the change.

977

:

He chose to welcome money

in his life abundantly.

978

:

Who likes abundant money?

979

:

These are all tie down techniques.

980

:

You know, everybody has

different ways of doing it, but

981

:

I'm using you as the vehicle.

982

:

You're in the audience and able

to sell more or somebody I just

983

:

played on video who said, Oh,

after attending Mitch's course, I

984

:

felt this way, this way, this way.

985

:

I got.

986

:

Uh, why, why, why?

987

:

And I did it over 90 days.

988

:

So putting all these parameters in

there, make it achievable, believable,

989

:

and if they look like the guy I

just played in the testimonial, they

990

:

can relate to him or relate to her.

991

:

Ethnicity, age, all of

those things matter.

992

:

John: For our listener who may be in

training or maybe doing keynoting,

993

:

what elements of those are transferable

into platform pitch selling?

994

:

Mitch Carson: all of them.

995

:

Because if you are exposed, here

are the people who make the best

996

:

platform salespeople, in my opinion.

997

:

Now, I already mentioned competitiveness.

998

:

Okay?

999

:

If you've played organized sports

or individual sports, even better.

:

00:52:32,353 --> 00:52:35,003

You're competing against

yourself and you've done that.

:

00:52:35,003 --> 00:52:40,563

If you are a boxer, you are an

individual, a bowler, somebody

:

00:52:40,563 --> 00:52:45,093

who likes to keep score and that's

already ingrained in your psyche.

:

00:52:45,603 --> 00:52:49,133

If you are a trainer, you

have the ability already.

:

00:52:49,798 --> 00:52:52,578

If you aren't an entertainer, if

you're not an actor or comedian,

:

00:52:52,578 --> 00:52:56,898

those people also have an easier

way to transition in because they

:

00:52:56,898 --> 00:53:00,688

know how to connect with an audience

emotionally, mentally, make them laugh.

:

00:53:00,688 --> 00:53:02,968

Laughter is a great

bridge, great connector.

:

00:53:03,628 --> 00:53:09,508

So if you are an actor or a comedian,

musician, Who also can feel what it's

:

00:53:09,508 --> 00:53:11,068

like to connect with an audience.

:

00:53:11,358 --> 00:53:14,338

You've got an advantage over

someone who is an accountant.

:

00:53:14,812 --> 00:53:18,672

Who's behind the scenes and

doesn't have that ability yet.

:

00:53:18,712 --> 00:53:19,932

It can be developed.

:

00:53:20,202 --> 00:53:21,362

It can be developed.

:

00:53:21,642 --> 00:53:25,742

Takes a while, but you then learn

techniques to connect with an audience.

:

00:53:25,893 --> 00:53:27,513

Virtually or live and in person.

:

00:53:27,863 --> 00:53:29,293

I think those are good skill sets.

:

00:53:29,303 --> 00:53:34,303

So they can do it, they've just got

to study people who are doing it

:

00:53:34,683 --> 00:53:36,133

and have the numbers to support it.

:

00:53:37,933 --> 00:53:42,073

John: how, how practiced do you need to be

to be able to get up on stage and do this?

:

00:53:42,373 --> 00:53:43,033

Mitch Carson: Extremely.

:

00:53:44,163 --> 00:53:45,163

Extremely practice.

:

00:53:45,163 --> 00:53:48,983

If you think you're just going to

walk up and wing it, you're going

:

00:53:48,983 --> 00:53:50,723

to wing yourself right out the door.

:

00:53:52,453 --> 00:53:55,843

Do you think a Shakespearean

actor practices?

:

00:53:56,443 --> 00:54:01,663

To deliver that to the live stage,

going back to Queen Elizabethan with her

:

00:54:01,663 --> 00:54:06,653

neck thing, you know, all those, those

people are well practiced to deliver.

:

00:54:06,673 --> 00:54:09,013

This is a performance,

ladies and gentlemen.

:

00:54:09,673 --> 00:54:10,973

It is a performance.

:

00:54:11,103 --> 00:54:15,523

If you believe, because you know

your subject matter, and you've done

:

00:54:15,523 --> 00:54:21,573

this before, the best speakers I know

are practicing and iterating in the

:

00:54:21,573 --> 00:54:23,523

hallway before they take the stage.

:

00:54:24,878 --> 00:54:25,548

All of them.

:

00:54:26,648 --> 00:54:33,308

The ones that were bound to fail are,

you know, playing grab ass or maybe

:

00:54:33,318 --> 00:54:37,228

chit chatting to their wife on the

phone before they take the stage.

:

00:54:37,248 --> 00:54:39,038

No, it requires total focus.

:

00:54:39,038 --> 00:54:42,968

I meditate before I take the stage

every time, 100 percent of the time.

:

00:54:44,138 --> 00:54:46,988

This is my business.

:

00:54:47,693 --> 00:54:48,863

I treat it as such.

:

00:54:49,313 --> 00:54:51,173

Without this, I don't eat.

:

00:54:52,113 --> 00:54:55,223

I focus 100 percent on the delivery.

:

00:54:55,833 --> 00:54:58,313

I practice, I'm rehearsed, I'm ready.

:

00:54:58,613 --> 00:55:02,833

Mentally, physically, I make

sure that my physical is all

:

00:55:02,863 --> 00:55:04,593

put together, my hair is right.

:

00:55:05,158 --> 00:55:06,818

My shoes are shined.

:

00:55:07,308 --> 00:55:08,708

My nails are clean.

:

00:55:08,968 --> 00:55:10,348

All of these matter.

:

00:55:10,368 --> 00:55:12,598

All the small distinctions matter.

:

00:55:12,628 --> 00:55:14,348

Little hinges swing big doors.

:

00:55:14,958 --> 00:55:17,548

And I am in total alignment.

:

00:55:18,468 --> 00:55:20,438

And this wasn't an overnight process.

:

00:55:20,638 --> 00:55:21,928

I learned this over time.

:

00:55:22,148 --> 00:55:24,318

Small refinements along the way.

:

00:55:24,748 --> 00:55:26,248

So yes, it's preparation.

:

00:55:26,248 --> 00:55:27,118

It's practice.

:

00:55:27,668 --> 00:55:29,538

And be the best professional you can.

:

00:55:29,883 --> 00:55:34,343

John: On average, how long does

it take people to go from learning

:

00:55:34,353 --> 00:55:35,993

these skills to being good at them?

:

00:55:36,293 --> 00:55:37,890

Mitch Carson: It's not time.

:

00:55:38,270 --> 00:55:39,060

It's quantity.

:

00:55:39,690 --> 00:55:44,630

I would say after 25

live stage appearances.

:

00:55:45,000 --> 00:55:49,270

Of selling, and then going back

and measuring, looking at your

:

00:55:49,270 --> 00:55:56,020

footage, watching yourself, you,

you must record every presentation.

:

00:55:57,650 --> 00:56:01,920

It doesn't matter if it's a camcorder,

something simple, you park it at the back

:

00:56:01,930 --> 00:56:07,560

of the room on a tripod, you put your

own speaker, receiver system in place,

:

00:56:07,810 --> 00:56:09,246

if they don't give you the footage.

:

00:56:10,000 --> 00:56:11,750

Don't rely on them or expect them.

:

00:56:12,210 --> 00:56:16,550

Analyze the audience, look at the

audience, and look at yourself when

:

00:56:16,560 --> 00:56:18,280

you connected and when you didn't.

:

00:56:18,610 --> 00:56:22,370

There's no greater judge and

consultant than yourself.

:

00:56:23,100 --> 00:56:27,660

You can pay somebody like me or pay

somebody else to look at your footage

:

00:56:27,660 --> 00:56:31,170

and tell you this is what I would

say here, this is where you connected

:

00:56:31,170 --> 00:56:32,510

well, this is where you didn't.

:

00:56:33,540 --> 00:56:37,055

But you doing it yourself,

Will yield the greatest result.

:

00:56:38,475 --> 00:56:39,200

In my opinion,

:

00:56:39,500 --> 00:56:42,550

John: Mitch, this is, this is

such a fascinating conversation.

:

00:56:42,550 --> 00:56:46,220

I could go on all day, but

I have to respect your time.

:

00:56:46,580 --> 00:56:50,290

I know that there's going to be

people listening to this thinking

:

00:56:50,290 --> 00:56:53,910

there's something to be like, how

do I learn from somebody like you?

:

00:56:53,940 --> 00:56:55,990

Like, do I have to fly

myself out to Singapore?

:

00:56:56,000 --> 00:56:58,730

I mean, how can I come and learn

from a master like yourself?

:

00:56:59,975 --> 00:57:04,415

Mitch Carson: I am going

to create a course online.

:

00:57:04,525 --> 00:57:09,785

I'm going to record this upcoming

event because this is a topic I have

:

00:57:09,795 --> 00:57:13,035

only shared with private clients

that have paid me a lot of money.

:

00:57:13,705 --> 00:57:16,585

I don't make this public because

I don't want to water down.

:

00:57:16,685 --> 00:57:20,625

And it's something I've acquired over

years and years and years of doing this.

:

00:57:21,245 --> 00:57:23,595

And it's, uh, something I take seriously.

:

00:57:24,065 --> 00:57:25,345

Because it's the highest level.

:

00:57:25,345 --> 00:57:29,235

It's not some cracked product that

you can buy on the internet for,

:

00:57:29,455 --> 00:57:31,935

you know, or on Udemy for 20 bucks.

:

00:57:31,985 --> 00:57:32,925

No, no, no, no, no.

:

00:57:33,005 --> 00:57:35,835

This requires total scrutiny.

:

00:57:36,485 --> 00:57:42,235

And I have a, an event coming up

in late October and then another

:

00:57:42,255 --> 00:57:43,850

early November in Singapore.

:

00:57:44,150 --> 00:57:49,180

To a group of my high level clients who

are serious about going to the next level.

:

00:57:49,260 --> 00:57:51,430

Most of them don't have

the speaking experience.

:

00:57:51,690 --> 00:57:55,355

So I'm then taking them through the

process of creating their own events and.

:

00:57:56,185 --> 00:57:58,975

Augmenting that through getting

on other people's stages, which I

:

00:57:58,975 --> 00:58:00,415

also present, which is important.

:

00:58:01,215 --> 00:58:04,135

So I, I will have an online course.

:

00:58:04,515 --> 00:58:11,025

And in some cases, if someone is

interested, I can coach them virtually.

:

00:58:11,498 --> 00:58:11,928

John: Awesome.

:

00:58:12,248 --> 00:58:14,918

What's going to be the best way for

people to connect with you so they

:

00:58:14,918 --> 00:58:16,708

can stay updated on what's on offer?

:

00:58:16,821 --> 00:58:20,041

Mitch Carson: They can go

to getinterviewedguaranteed.

:

00:58:20,451 --> 00:58:22,791

com forward slash meetwithmitch.

:

00:58:23,361 --> 00:58:25,251

And we can chat and see

if I'm the right fit.

:

00:58:26,006 --> 00:58:26,436

Real simple.

:

00:58:26,436 --> 00:58:30,666

You can put it in your show notes, get

an interview guarantee, or I can share

:

00:58:30,666 --> 00:58:32,466

with you when my next live event is,

:

00:58:33,381 --> 00:58:34,051

John: Fantastic.

:

00:58:34,671 --> 00:58:37,611

Mitch, I've really thoroughly

enjoyed this conversation today.

:

00:58:37,611 --> 00:58:39,781

I hope you could tell I've been

completely wrapped in everything

:

00:58:40,091 --> 00:58:40,771

that you've been saying.

:

00:58:40,846 --> 00:58:41,846

Mitch Carson: well, you've lived in it.

:

00:58:42,296 --> 00:58:43,276

You've lived in it.

:

00:58:43,406 --> 00:58:44,776

You know what I'm saying?

:

00:58:44,786 --> 00:58:46,376

You've been in this environment.

:

00:58:46,376 --> 00:58:47,656

You've been immersed in it for what?

:

00:58:47,656 --> 00:58:48,416

20 years.

:

00:58:48,791 --> 00:58:54,251

So you understand, I've lived it,

my, my adult life, this has been my

:

00:58:54,251 --> 00:58:57,351

life, I'm not young anymore, I've

been doing this a long, long time,

:

00:58:57,731 --> 00:59:00,821

and that's, and I appreciate and I

feel privileged to be on your show

:

00:59:00,821 --> 00:59:02,201

today, John, wanted to tell you that.

:

00:59:03,096 --> 00:59:06,206

John: I just think she shares so much

value and I know there's a lot more

:

00:59:06,206 --> 00:59:09,636

there as well so we may we may have

to discuss bringing you back again

:

00:59:09,636 --> 00:59:13,206

in the future to discuss a few more

things Mitch, but seriously, this has

:

00:59:13,206 --> 00:59:17,916

been an incredibly interesting episode

And I don't think anybody could listen

:

00:59:17,916 --> 00:59:20,786

to this and not come away at least

be curious about wanting to know more

:

00:59:20,786 --> 00:59:22,690

about how to do selling from the stage.

:

00:59:22,690 --> 00:59:25,900

Thank you for being my guest

and sharing all this wonderful

:

00:59:25,940 --> 00:59:27,120

knowledge on Present Influence.

:

00:59:27,638 --> 00:59:28,638

Mitch Carson: Great, John, thank you.

:

00:59:29,118 --> 00:59:33,348

John: So here are my final thoughts to

be a bit Jerry Springer about it all.

:

00:59:33,798 --> 00:59:36,558

For me, this was a fun

and fascinating interview.

:

00:59:36,738 --> 00:59:40,728

And the world of selling from stage is a

little different to the keynote world that

:

00:59:40,758 --> 00:59:45,798

I'm more used to, but I have been around

enough of the selling from stage world to

:

00:59:45,798 --> 00:59:48,948

have some sense of what it's like, I've

even been trained to some degree in some

:

00:59:48,948 --> 00:59:50,868

of the methodology of selling from stage.

:

00:59:51,318 --> 00:59:53,118

Just not particularly experienced on it.

:

00:59:53,478 --> 00:59:59,028

I do think that if this is something that

is enticing to you, I've had those clients

:

00:59:59,028 --> 01:00:02,868

who've come to me and said that they're

on their first coaching session they've

:

01:00:02,898 --> 01:00:05,088

said point me to the money as a speaker.

:

01:00:05,118 --> 01:00:05,988

Where's the money.

:

01:00:06,888 --> 01:00:09,318

If I get that and I've always

kind of said, oh, that's not

:

01:00:09,318 --> 01:00:10,398

the right attitude to have.

:

01:00:10,548 --> 01:00:14,388

Well, look, if I ever get that question

again, this is what I'm going to say.

:

01:00:14,688 --> 01:00:17,508

If you want the big money in

speaking, you're also going to be

:

01:00:17,508 --> 01:00:22,308

going into the most competitive

arena, which is platform sales.

:

01:00:22,488 --> 01:00:25,998

If that's what you want to do, master

your speaking skills and master the

:

01:00:26,028 --> 01:00:27,468

art of selling from the platform.

:

01:00:27,738 --> 01:00:31,088

And I can think of few people

better to learn it from than Mitch.

:

01:00:31,418 --> 01:00:33,918

I know that T Harv Eker who

I've worked with for years.

:

01:00:33,948 --> 01:00:36,618

He is an expert at selling from the stage.

:

01:00:37,218 --> 01:00:39,918

One of the things that Mitch said

earlier in our conversation was

:

01:00:39,918 --> 01:00:41,448

that he learned from the masters.

:

01:00:42,048 --> 01:00:44,988

And you have to do that to the

degree where you can actually then

:

01:00:44,988 --> 01:00:48,558

become one of the masters and then

you become someone to learn from.

:

01:00:48,588 --> 01:00:51,948

So I do think Mitch is a great

person for you to learn this from.

:

01:00:52,518 --> 01:00:54,258

He may not be for everybody,

:

01:00:54,318 --> 01:00:56,928

you know, we all have our different

tastes of who we like and who we don't.

:

01:00:57,358 --> 01:01:01,108

If you are one of those people who has

a product or a service, maybe an online

:

01:01:01,108 --> 01:01:06,968

course or may be in an in-person course or

program, and you want to be able to sell

:

01:01:06,968 --> 01:01:09,488

that whilst you're at a speaking event.

:

01:01:09,758 --> 01:01:12,428

Or you may know, you may be, have that

arrangement with the people you've

:

01:01:12,428 --> 01:01:16,058

set up your speaking about with, or

you get invited somewhere to speak

:

01:01:16,088 --> 01:01:17,408

and maybe things, something for free.

:

01:01:17,648 --> 01:01:20,828

And part of the arrangement is that

you can sell a product or service.

:

01:01:21,188 --> 01:01:21,728

Great.

:

01:01:22,118 --> 01:01:25,268

You want to be able to do that in a way

that isn't going to be cheesy, that isn't

:

01:01:25,298 --> 01:01:27,158

going to turn everyone off from you.

:

01:01:27,518 --> 01:01:29,978

And from everything that you

may have said, that's of value.

:

01:01:30,518 --> 01:01:33,218

Learning how to do that really

effectively is going to be

:

01:01:33,218 --> 01:01:34,598

incredibly powerful for you.

:

01:01:34,608 --> 01:01:38,598

So if this is a skill that you

don't yet have in your speaker,

:

01:01:38,628 --> 01:01:42,828

arsenal and would like to have, then

I suggest reaching out to Mitch.

:

01:01:43,518 --> 01:01:46,238

Or, if you feel that maybe Mitch

isn't for you find someone else

:

01:01:46,288 --> 01:01:48,148

who is an absolute ACE at this.

:

01:01:48,178 --> 01:01:51,958

Those people are out there and

selling from the stage is undoubtedly

:

01:01:52,018 --> 01:01:53,638

an incredible skill to have.

:

01:01:53,918 --> 01:01:58,508

Now, my next episode is going to be

a continuation of my keynote creation

:

01:01:58,508 --> 01:02:02,528

process, where I'm taking you through the

process that I'm going through, that I've

:

01:02:02,528 --> 01:02:06,728

been coaching people on for a long time

now, on how to create a keynote talk.

:

01:02:07,088 --> 01:02:09,256

That's going to be my

new keynote presentation.

:

01:02:09,306 --> 01:02:12,396

If creating a signature keynote

presentation is interesting to

:

01:02:12,396 --> 01:02:14,946

you, you may want to go back and

check out the first few episodes.

:

01:02:14,946 --> 01:02:15,816

They're not super long.

:

01:02:16,206 --> 01:02:19,836

The next episode, we're going to

be getting much more into the talk

:

01:02:19,866 --> 01:02:23,276

creation element of it, where I'm

going to be taking you through my

:

01:02:23,276 --> 01:02:27,116

process of creating the outline of the

talk and starting to put stories and

:

01:02:27,116 --> 01:02:28,586

metaphors and things like that in there.

:

01:02:28,976 --> 01:02:32,756

And also one of the tools that

I use to help me create talks

:

01:02:32,756 --> 01:02:34,136

that you may not want to miss.

:

01:02:34,436 --> 01:02:35,876

So I hope you'll join me for that.

:

01:02:35,926 --> 01:02:38,418

If you're not already following the

show, please make sure you subscribe

:

01:02:38,656 --> 01:02:40,156

on whatever platform you're on.

:

01:02:40,456 --> 01:02:42,976

If it's YouTube nice and

easy to do hit subscribe.

:

01:02:43,006 --> 01:02:47,146

If it's Spotify or apple podcasts, all

you have to do is hit the plus button

:

01:02:47,166 --> 01:02:51,796

or the follow button and you'll get

notified for all future episodes.

:

01:02:51,966 --> 01:02:54,736

I do have some incredible interviews

coming in the future as well I'll

:

01:02:54,736 --> 01:02:56,626

tell you more about those next time.

:

01:02:56,846 --> 01:02:59,456

But wherever you're going right

now, whatever you're doing, have an

:

01:02:59,456 --> 01:03:01,676

amazing rest of your day and week.

:

01:03:01,766 --> 01:03:02,486

See you next time.

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About the Podcast

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Present Influence
The podcast that helps professional communicators learn the skills that increase influence, impact and authority.

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About your host

Profile picture for John Ball

John Ball

John Ball is a keynote coach and professional speaker on a mission to help upcoming leaders master their communication, create impact and stand out as experts in their field.
John left the high life of his flying career to do something more meaningful to him and has since worked with several leading personal and professional development organisations as a lead coach and trainer.
The heart of everything John does involves helping people shift to personal responsibility and conscious awareness of how they show up and perform in every situation, whilst equipping them with the tools to be exceptional.
John also co-hosts The Coaching Clinic Podcast with his great friend and colleague Angie Besignano.
He lives in the beautiful city of Valencia, Spain with his husband and often visits the UK and US for speaking and training engagements. When he's not speaking or podcasting, he's likely to be out swimming, kayaking or enjoying time with friends.

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