Product Development

The Competitive Advantages Of A High Ticket Business System

December 27, 2019 by Dan Lok

One of the most profitable and effective business models is a high ticket business system.

The problem is that most business owners believe that low ticket is the way to go. They don’t understand how high ticket business systems work. When they run into the inevitable obstacles that hinder business growth, only then do they realize they made the wrong decision.

The Biggest Problem With Low Ticket Business Systems

Low ticket business systems focus on high volume and low prices. This is the most common type of system used in business and is driven by price. Low ticket business systems cater to the ‘discount’ shoppers, that value price over quality and features.

Image credit: ZDL / Shutterstock.com

The problem is that this kind of system is very saturated. Because their target audience caters to people who are most concerned with price, businesses use this motivation to steal customers from their competitors by pricing their products lower. This is why you sometimes see price wars between two businesses that sell similar products – constantly offering sales, discounts and BUY ONE GET ONE FREE special offers, because they are forced to do so in order to stay relevant to what everyone else is offering.

Low ticket business systems often have a lot of competition and many even go on to fail. The last one left standing is the business that can afford to price their products lower than everyone else, and must constantly be on the lookout for any competitors looking to offer their products at an even cheaper price.

Low ticket business systems win by pricing themselves cheaper than everyone else. Share on X

An In-Depth Look At High Ticket Business Systems

Low ticket business systems focus on high volume and low prices, whereas high ticket business systems do the exact opposite. Instead of having price wars every month with their competitors, high ticket business systems focus on branding, positioning, quality and expanding their following.

Image credit: joyfull / Shutterstock.com

High ticket business systems sacrifice volume for higher prices. While high ticket business systems may sell less products, their higher costs make up for the difference in volume and allow them to stay relevant to their competitors. Their target audience leans towards more affluent and wealthy customers, who are less concerned with getting the best deal and more concerned with quality and wearing something that is reputable and famous.

Low vs. High Ticket – Who Wins?

At a glance it may seem that low and high ticket are equally matched. One systems sells more volume at lower prices, and the other at low volume and high prices. The differences in revenue should be roughly equal.

However, when you compare a low ticket to a high ticket business system, the difference is shocking. Take Walmart for example – they use a low ticket business system and can be found all over the world, focusing on delivering the lowest price possible to their consumers. Their net worth: $514.405 billion.

Compare this to a company like Apple which uses a high ticket business system. Their branding and focus on producing innovative, top of the line products has made them famous international. Many of their products are over $500 and their net worth: $1 trillion.

Apple uses a high ticket business system, and has a net worth almost double of that of Walmart. This is because there is more going on behind the scenes than just price, sales and revenue.

Why I Believe In High Ticket Business Systems

I personally believe Apple has a much greater net worth than Walmart due to their business system.

The major benefit of having a high ticket business system is that you are able to sell less volume. In order for Walmart to generate $1,000 in revenue, they would need to sell $10 worth of items 100 times. For Apple, they simply need to sell one iPhone 11 to generate that same kind of revenue.

High ticket business systems require less sales to be made but generate the same revenue as a low ticket business system. Share on X

The other benefit of a high ticket business system, is that you are not influenced by the competition. As I mentioned earlier, low ticket business systems are constantly at war with one another when it comes to price. They are constantly forced to lower their prices and offer discounts, to cater to their audience and beat the competition.

However, high ticket business systems do not have to worry about price. Customers expect to pay those prices in order to obtain quality. A few dollars worth of discounts from a rival technology company, will not influence anyone in an Apple store line up to give up their spot on the launch day of the newest iPhone.

The Long Term Benefits Of A High Ticket Business System

Starting a business with a high ticket business system allows you to position yourself on a better level. High ticket systems allows you to maintain your prices or increase them without customer backlash as economic times change.

High ticket items rely on less volume of sales and more on what item is being bought. By doing so, they can reduce overhead expenses. That is why you see jewelry stores with small shops still operating even after many years. Their focus on selling high ticket items means they don’t need a large store size in order to operate. Whereas low ticket systems like a grocery store requires much more space.

The ability to be flexible with your price, expenses, target audience, and business location is invaluable in business. You are not restricted by any external factors, and have the freedom to run your business the way you want.

HTC Platinum – The Closing Methodology For High Ticket Items

Because high ticket items target a different kind of customer, a different approach when it comes to sales is required. Where aggressive and pushy sales tactics would be involved when it comes to selling low ticket items, influence and persuasion is used with high ticket items.

The key to selling high ticket items, is being able to lead the customer to a close. Most often the customer is already ready to buy, and is simply looking for reassurance about their decision. They need someone who knows how to ask deep questions, reinforce their desires, and lead them to the sale. The kind of personality and mindset necessary to succeed in high ticket sales is a high ticket closer.

HTC Platinum teaches entrepreneurs how to become high ticket closers and master the B2B sales processes. Applicants also learn inbound and outbound techniques, advanced business acumen, and connects them to the highest caliber coaches that will raise their performance in both life and business. What they develop is the same skill sets that the “elite” learn to become high performers. They receive a holistic, synergistic, and foundational training to become a well-rounded person, leader, salesperson, business owner and closer.

High Ticket Closing Is Only For The Elite

However, not everyone is cut out to be a high ticket closer. Just as some businesses opt to use a low ticket business system because there is a lower barrier to entry, high ticket closing is reserved for people who are able to tolerate a higher degree of failure.

The true nature of life is that only a few people will become successful. Only those that are absolutely committed to achieving success in their life and business, and are willing to do anything it takes to get there will make it happen. If you are someone who does not invest in themselves but buys luxury items without hesitation, believes that you should succeed because you “paid” for it, or does not have the resolve to endure failure, high ticket closing is not a good fit.

However, if you are someone who knows success is a result of hard work, who knows the value of investing in their own skills and has an unshakable drive to make your dream lifestyle a reality, you just might be able to become a high ticket closer. For those that are looking to use their newfound skills to secure deals and business agreements to set themselves up for life, HTC Platinum provides a community of high performers who can help you get there.

Become A High Ticket Closer Today

A high ticket business system focuses on low volume and higher priced items. They cater to more affluent and wealthy customers, and have much more leeway when it comes to doing business. By focusing on quality over quantity, businesses can use superior positioning and branding to maintain their prices even during times of economic change without lowering the values that govern their business.

If you are interested in learning how to become a high ticket closer, to learn how the high ticket sales process works and how you can transform your life into that of a high ticker closer that uses their skills and status to become successful, click here to watch the video.

How To Reduce Customer Churn and Get More People To Care About Your Business

December 25, 2019 by Dan Lok

Customer churn is one of the biggest influences that causes businesses to stagger in growth or outright go bankrupt.

Without customers a business cannot survive. And the problem is that more and more business owners are focusing on their bottom life instead of an old age saying that is true even to this day:

The customer is king.

What Causes Customer Churn?

Customer churn occurs when a business does not value their customers. This is a common problem among businesses that have employees. The owner may do everything in their power to ensure customer satisfaction, but their employees may not feel the same way.

They may hate their job or be overwhelmed by stress and project their emotions onto the customer. As a result, customer service and overall experience goes down, making customers feel unappreciated and motivated to go somewhere else. Overtime, through repeated negative experiences the customer becomes fed up. And when the time comes that they are presented with an experience that treats them much better, they will happily accept it as their new go to service provider.

Customers no longer base their loyalty on price or product. Instead, they stay loyal with companies due to the experience they receive. If you cannot keep up with their increasing demands, your customers will leave you.

Customers no longer base their loyalty on price or product - they base it on the experience they receive Share on X

Understanding Your Customers

In order to avoid customer churn and retention issues, the simplest and most effective way is to place yourself in your customer’s shoes. The interesting part is, you are already doing it.

When you visit shops, stores, and are provided with customer service, how do you feel? You and your customer are both human beings – and the experiences you have with the employees you interact with tell you how other customers feel as well. The same goes for your business – to identify and solve inconsistencies that are causing customers to go somewhere else, go through the process yourself.

Have your own employees serve you. Take note of the entire experience – how do they make you feel? Do you feel rushed and ignored? Are they attentive to your needs? Do they go above and beyond to ensure your satisfaction?

The easiest way to know what the customer wants, is to go through it yourself. After all, you are a customer as well, and how you feel is a good indicator of how your customer will feel as well.

The simplest way to know how the customer feels is to go through it yourself. Share on X

Making Customers Feel Like Royalty

Your customers are the lifeline of your business. They provide you with revenue, repeated business year after year, and either recommend you to their friends and family, or inform them to stay away. Taking care of your customers should be the most important priority if you want to avoid customer churn.

In Japan, they take this concept of customer satisfaction extremely seriously. They have a saying called Okyakusama wa kamisamadesu – which translates to “The Customer is God”. Forget being treated like royalty – the Japanese take it to a whole new level, literally worshipping their customers as someone they cannot bear to live without. Which in business is very true, because without them you would have no business.

Understanding your customers is the first step to making them feel like royalty (or omni-potent beings). Every human being has a desire to be understood and accepted, and if you are able to demonstrate that kind of care and compassion for your customers, they will feel exhilarated from the amount of attention being provided to them.

When your customers feel you understand and care for them – something that your competitors may slack out on, you’ll gain their trust and loyalty. That results in more and more business overtime, to allow your business to grow and thrive.

How High Ticket Closers Create Genuine Customer Loyalty

To create the same kind of customer service that makes customers revere you as their dream service provider, think of every interaction in your business process as an opportunity. In sales, this is known as being a high ticket closer.

The difference between a salesperson and a high ticket closer, is in their approach. A salesperson is concerned with closing the deal, and getting the customer to buy something. They may use pushy or aggressive sales tactics to get this result, and in the process make the customer feel turned off and unwilling to return. This increases customer churn.

A high ticket closer however, is in no rush to get the sale. They focus more on customer interaction and building a solid connection with them, because they are aware that genuine customer relationships pay off much more in the long term. A high ticket closer asks questions to understand the customer on a deep level, and uses that mutual understanding to make the customer trust and like them. High ticket closers know that a customer that knows, likes and trusts them, is much more likely to buy than someone who doesn’t.

The 3 Long Term Benefits Of High Ticket Closing

Because customers buy from people they know, like and trust, being that kind of person has many long term benefits.

The first way is that they are more likely to buy from you over everyone else, which increases your sales and revenue.

The second way is that loyal customers are going to keep coming back to you year after year, because of how you make them feel. They are going to recommend their friends and family to do business with you, because of the excellent service you provide. This compounds on itself, bringing you more and more business overtime and growing your base of loyal customers.

The third way is that you will never have to sell again. There is no customer churn, because your customers are loyal and like you – they already want to do business with you. When the time comes that you have a new product or service to offer, you already have a list of customers who are willing to buy from you. You don’t need to spend time doing cold calls, using hard sell sales tactics or even trying to persuade them into doing anything – they are already interested in what you have to offer and willing to buy.

Customers buy from people they know, like, and trust. Share on X

Why High Ticket Closing Is Not For Everyone

Unfortunately, this way of doing business is not cut out for everyone. As high ticket closing is more focused on creating relationships, using influence to close deals and developing genuine customer loyalty, there is a bit more work involved.

In order to be someone that people know, like and trust, you need to develop the kind of skills that make people flock to you. This means taking the time to improve your communication abilities such as speaking, storytelling and listening in order to establish trust at the highest level. In the world of business, this is known as personal development.

Personal development is a lifelong process that never ends. Humans are capable of much more than they think they can do, which is why most people fall short of their abilities. They think that investing in themselves to become the best version of themselves takes too much time, and would much rather settle to be a mediocre version of who they truly are. Some examples of this are are people saying things like:

“I was born this way.”

“I’m too old to learn anything new.”

“That takes too much time. I’d rather enjoy life”

“I’m lazy”

As a result, many people live below their means and never truly realize their fullest potential. They never discover what they could become, and instead opt to make excuses to make up for their shortcomings.

Why Successful People Never Stop

The opposite kind of person, is someone who never stops. These kind of people never give up, who take every single day as an opportunity to improve their life, skills, abilities and mindset in order to become the best version they possibly are.

They have the mindset that anything is possible as long as they are willing to put in the work to make it happen – and often do. As Steve Jobs said, “The people who think they are crazy enough to change the world, are often the ones who do.”

They don’t make excuses for their shortcomings, and instead find ways to overcome them. Instead, they turn their weaknesses into strengths, and use them to enhance their life, business and relationships. As a result, they are able to experience everything life has to offer.

That is the mentality of a high ticket closer – someone who never stops trying to make themselves better in any way possible. They are constantly learning new skills, trying new things, and getting out of their comfort zone. They understand that it is the only way to develop the skills and habits that make other people gravitate towards them. As a result, people find themselves naturally drawn to these kind of people, without knowing why. Often the reason is because of all the work this person does behind the scenes, to get them to where they are.

HTC Platinum – A Long Term Business Strategy

That is why our newest program, HTC Platinum reflects this. In order to accommodate for the philosophies that create highly successful individuals that are able to build trust and loyalty with people, HTC Platinum embodies these principles into it’s training’s.

Applicants are taken through a rigorous 7 week program that teaches them the fundamentals of business acumen, B2B sales, inbound and outbound sales techniques and closing ultra high ticket deals. They receive a holistic, synergistic, and foundational training to become a well-rounded person, leader, salesperson, business owner and closer, with an additional 4 weeks of valuable B2B content afterwards.

Inside our community, members are given special access to trainings that help them develop their leadership skills, personal coaching at the highest caliber, as well as group classes to hold themselves accountable to ensure success. Additional resources include productivity sheets and goal and progress tracking to ensure every member is performing at their peak level, to turn them into the type of people who possess the skills and abilities to secure deals and business agreements that set themselves up for life – such as celebrities and public figures.

Bonuses also include priority access to the “Discord Batline” – an exclusive communication platform that allows them to connect with the internal members on Team Dan Lok.

Implement High Ticket Closing In Your Business

High ticket closers use their skills and abilities to create trust and loyalty with customers. They reduce customer churn and make customers more likely to do business with them year after year. Customers also recommend them to their friends and family – resulting in more repeat business over the years. This increases customer retention, and increases their overall experience to influence them to choose you over the competition.

If you are ready to implement high ticket closing into your business, relationships and life, click here to watch the video now.

TED Talks For Entrepreneurs: 10 Tips On How To Deliver Your Dream Speech

August 3, 2019 by Dan Lok Leave a Comment

I’ve had the privilege of giving not one, but two TED talks. One is called The Invisible Force, a talk about self image. The other is The Real Difference Between Success and Failure, a motivational speech I gave at SFU, a prestigious local university.

If you’ve been nominated to speak at a TED talks event, what do you do to prepare for it, from working on your speech to the final moments before getting onstage? How do you deliver a rousing speech that moves thousands of people if your greatest nightmare is public speaking? What if you want to rise to the level of confidence and leadership of CEOs, presidents, entrepreneurs, and valedictorians when you speak… but you become tongue-tied when you’re asked a question?

It can happen to anyone. Losing your voice when you wanted to propose. Or breaking out in a sweat when you were presenting an idea at work. Fear of public speaking can become an inconvenient wall that gets thrown in your way.

Approximately 25 percent of people say they experience glossophobia – fear of public speaking – at some point in their lives. But consider the impact this fear can have on a person’s lifetime success with these statistics:

10% impairment on college graduation
10% impairment on wages
15% impairment on promotion to management

That means if your income is $50,000 a year, for example, then an inability to present your ideas at work or communicate clearly in general would reduce your income to $45,000. That’s a difference of $5000. Over a lifetime of shyness, those losses will add up, especially if you’re looking for a promotion.

If overcoming fears of public speaking can significantly change our level of achievement in life, what can we do to start building our confidence?

Most people aren’t born with the ability to deliver polished speeches and presentations. Instead, they make a conscious effort to improve their public speaking skills. A popular method is by joining Toastmasters.

How Toastmasters Improves Public Speaking And Leadership

Joining Toastmasters was a pivotal point in my professional career. I’ve come a long way from hiding in the school bathroom to where I am now. Back then, I couldn’t have taught an all day training in a room packed with a thousand people. I couldn’t have done a TED Talks either.

Back then, my high school teacher gave me an ultimatum: do a speech in front of the class for an assignment, or fail English. I was so overcome by fear, I ran and hid in the bathroom. It was a terrible time in my youth, when I didn’t have friends and I was struggling to speak in English, my second language.

Stronger Public Speaking Skills

I survived that high school speech, and I was introduced to Toastmasters. Their mission is to teach people to become confident communicators. Famous people who have taken their careers to a whole new level and joined Toastmasters include author Napoleon Hill, actor Leonard Nimoy, international consultant Anita Perez Ferguson, athlete Steve Fraser, and astronaut James Lovell.

Toastmasters has locations around the world. At these meetings, you learn how to give different types of speeches, from informative to persuasive, and you learn public speaking tips. For the ultra ambitious, you can compete in local, regional, and worldwide speech competitions.

Imagine reaching that level of competence, when you can give a speech in front of thousands, while the clock is ticking, and judges are taking notes. How would that affect your confidence level if you can remain calm under stress?

Stronger Leadership Skills

The confidence you learn as a presenter transfers to your assertiveness as a leader. Toastmasters teaches public speaking and leadership together because your ability to excel at one is strongly connected to your ability for the other.

According to research, “what you say to an audience isn’t nearly as important as how you say it. Studies suggest that effective presentations are 38% your voice, 55% non-verbal communication, and only 7% your content.” Share on X

Your body language (non-verbal communication) and the tone of your voice have more impact on your listeners than your actual words. Just think about the self assurance and coolheadedness that strong leaders possess. When they speak, people listen, because their posture conveys that authority. They can clearly get their point across to their audience and they can articulate their goals.

Even if you aren’t interested in leadership, strong speaking skills are handy if you want to be an entrepreneur or freelancer. You can communicate to your customers or clients why they should do business with you.

Speaking like a leader has other advantages:

You don’t shy away or “pull back” when you’re making a point about a difficult topic. You don’t say, “This is kind of a tough situation.” The CEO doesn’t “kind of” think they should fire lazy workers. And you don’t “sort of” want an employer to pay you more. State exactly what you want.

You’re always aware of your voice and speech. Some people have a habit of “uptalk” – speaking with a rising vocal inflection at the end of sentences so it sounds like you are always asking questions. The overall impression is you sound unsure of yourself if you use uptalk on a regular basis.

You use the word “but” very carefully because you want to be positive. When a leader says, “Thanks for the feedback, but I think…”, it sounds like the leader doesn’t appreciate the feedback and thinks their opinion is more important. Compare that with “I’ve considered your feedback and still believe in my decision.” The “and” suggests equal weight to both the other person’s feedback and their own feedback.

This level of awareness of your choice of words takes time, especially if you get nervous when speaking in front of others. The only way to really perfect your speaking skills is to practice giving more speeches, even if you feel you’re getting better at doing them.

Dale Carnegie once said,“There are always three speeches, for every one you actually gave. The one you practiced, the one you gave, and the one you wish you gave.” Share on X

10 Tips On How To Deliver Your Dream Speech

“People don’t buy what you do. People buy why you do it.” – Simon Sinek

Speech making is a skill you develop, just like exercising regularly to become more fit. Whether you’re pretty confident about your presentation abilities or you’re working at reducing the fear, these 10 tips are the ingredients for a killer presentation.

Tip 1: Outline

A speech must have structure. What is the key theme or idea for your speech? What are the main ideas? You have the first 30 seconds to grab the attention of your audience and keep it. And this is after you’ve passed the first hurdle: people form a first impression about you within 15 seconds.

To capture their attention, decide on a clear goal for your presentation. For example, you’re speaking about growing sales teams for small businesses. One recommendation is to “Start by nailing down your objective. If it’s getting the audience to hire you as a sales consultant, build your speaking topic around five things preventing small sales organizations from scaling.”

Tip 2: Practice Public Speaking

If you feel nervous about presenting in front of people, preparing and practicing will help with your anxiety. Review your notes and learn your points by heart so you won’t have to read. During your speech, maintaining eye contact is important for building a connection.

Practice your speech in front of a small but critical crowd. If they are your friends, ask them for honest feedback, even if it’s harsh. Better to know early on and not when you’re speaking to hundreds of people.

Another option is to videotape yourself speaking. If you think you sound strange, it’s normal. Everyone sounds different than they expected.

To add an extra level of difficulty, practice with distractions. Turn on the TV. Cook a meal. Run on the treadmill. If you can rehearse your speech smoothly despite these distractions, you know your speech well.

Tip 3: Tell a story

Each presentation tells a story with a beginning, middle, and end. Stories connect with your audience, stir up emotions, and provide a personal touch.

Maya Angelou once said, “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

You can start your presentation with a thought-provoking statistic, quotation, or anecdote and end your presentation with a summary and a memorable statement. Another option is to share one surprising, random fact that no one knows.

Tip 4: Keep it simple

Keep your message simple and digestible. People generally only remember 3 main ideas about any presentation after they’ve seen it.

To increase how much your audience will remember, use facts and figures during your speech. But present those numbers in a way that’s engaging and compelling. If you present them well, audience retention increases by 20 percent.

Also, give value to your audience with fresh new insights and strategies. Teach them or inspire them, but don’t come across like your main goal is to pitch them your product or service.

Renowned speaker Simon Sinek commented, “We are highly social animals. Even at a distance onstage, we can tell if you’re a giver or a taker, and people are more likely to trust a giver — a speaker that gives them value, that teaches them something new, that inspires them — than a taker.”

Tip 5: Audience

Learn as much as you can about your audience before the date of your presentation. What you know about them will help you decide on your choice of words and how you motivate them.

If possible, meet with audience members before your speech. Later, you will have some friendly faces to focus on if you’re nervous. As an added bonus, you will be able to share anecdotes that are more relevant to your audience because you took the time to know them more personally.

Some of the questions you want to answer about your audience are:

How many people will be in the audience?
Who is speaking before/after me and on which topics?
Is there a theme for the event?
What level will the audience be in terms of knowledge/experience?
What do you think they’d want to hear about?

If your speech isn’t about a topic that will interest your listeners, then you are wasting their time and yours.

Tip 6: Body language

Non-verbal communication is stronger than verbal, so if you look nervous, that message will be louder and stronger than anything you say. No matter how nervous you feel, project confidence and own the room during your time on stage.

Rob Gilbert advises, take control of your situation. “It’s alright to have butterflies in your stomach. Just get them to fly in formation.” Share on X

Tip 7: Visuals

Visuals like photos, diagrams, and videos enhance your presentation and bring your key points to life. If possible, put fewer words on the screen and memorize the ideas so you’re doing the majority of the explaining.

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association recommends formatting your slides in this way:

Use keywords instead of sentences or paragraphs
Bullet your body copy, using punctuation sparingly
Never use more than eight words per line or eight lines per slide

When optimizing your font for your audience, keep these numbers in mind:

Make your font size double the average age of your audience
Use font between 60 and 80 points for your presentations

When working with technology, you should also create contingency plans. What if your slides fail? What if your projector fails? Have a backup plan so your presentation will flow smoothly even without the visuals.

Tip 8: Personality

Monotony kills speeches. Develop an onstage personality, especially if you don’t have much vocal variety when you normally speak. The second your audience becomes bored, the mobile phones come out to entertain your listeners.

Do something that will make you memorable. Tell a joke if you are good at this and you have a good read on the audience. Otherwise, worst case scenario, your joke could bomb or offend.

Becoming memorable can be as simple as a small detail. I have my trademark red suit.

If your personality shines through and your audience sees you as a real person, you will have an easier time gaining their trust.

Tip 9: Timing and Ending The Presentation

They say, “tell us what you’re going to tell us, tell us, and then tell us what you told us.” Repeat your main message throughout your speech, and especially at the end.

Slow down your speech to emphasize main points. One effective technique is to pause. A TED Talks recommendation is to adjust your pause length. “Pause for two or three seconds and audiences assume you’ve lost your place; five seconds, they think the pause is intentional; after 10 seconds even the people texting can’t help looking up.”

Finally, your audience and the next presenter will love you if you finish on time or early. So when you practice your speech, time it so you end one minute before your allotted time. For example, finish in 5 minutes if you have 6 minutes to speak.

Tip 10: Feedback

Always watch your audience during your presentation. How are they reacting to what you say? Are they excited? Should you move on from a making a point if they’re bored? Adjust your presentation to keep them interested.

If they have a question, answer it. Their questions show they are engaged. As a presenter, you may feel nervous about giving the audience such control. What if they ask something you can’t answer?

However, the other way to look at it is this: your audience wants to know more because you’ve said something that resonates with them. More importantly, interaction with the audience is the mark of an experienced speaker. So if they ask a question, stop and answer it.

Advanced level speakers like the ones who speak at TED are brilliant storytellers who can capture the audience’s attention and maintain it until the end.

How You Can Learn Public Speaking From The Talented Speakers At TED Talks

If Toastmasters is where you train to become a great speaker and leader, TED Talks is where you share your message when you’ve become a confident and talented speaker, ready for the world stage.

It’s a global community where people speak on topics from science to business to global issues… in more than 100 languages. Collectively, TED Talks speakers have won every major prize awarded for excellence, including the Nobel, Pritzker, Fields, Pulitzer, Oscar, Grammy, Emmy, Tony and MacArthur “genius” grant.

To speak at TEDx, you can nominate yourself or nominate someone else. TED also seeks out emerging artists, scientists and thinkers, and introduces them to the TED community before they hit the mainstream.

Talks are about 18 minutes long and have even featured speakers under the age of 20. Topics from young speakers and talks from the top 10 most watched discuss themes like community, solutions to problems, motivation, and new perspectives. For example:

“How I harnessed the wind” – William Kamkwamba at the age of 22 shared his story about how he saved his home at the age of 14 by building a windmill

“Yup, I built a nuclear fusion reactor” – Taylor Wilson at the age of 17 gave a talk about a solution to our future energy needs

“How great leaders inspire action” – Simon Sinek gave a presentation about inspirational leadership

“Looks aren’t everything. Believe me, I’m a model” – Cameron Russell presented a speech about the genetic lottery

How To Prepare To Speak At TED Talks

Time goes by so fast when you’re onstage, connecting with the audience. But before you get there, you need to do a lot of preparation. You need to commit your speech to muscle memory. Here are some points to follow for your TED talks:

Set aside 1 hour of preparation for 1 minute onstage. I set aside 100 hours to prepare a 20 minute speech. (TED speeches are 18 minutes long)
Your preparation time includes script writing, PowerPoint slides, and speech rehearsal.
Write the script, get feedback, and revise again and again.
Remember your mission and why you’re giving this speech. For me it was impacting a million people. Always check back at each revision and ask yourself if your speech is fulfilling your mission.
The day of your speech, do an activity that will get you into the right mindset. I listen to my Attitude of Gratitude audio.
Visualize where you will be giving your speech. Depending on how big the room is, I try my best to mentally touch each chair as if I’m connecting with each person who will be in the audience.
Do a power move before going on stage. The power move will elevate your energy. For example, I might be at a 3 or 4 energy level, then I do my power move, and BOOM, I’m at a 10 before I go on stage.

Watch this video that takes you behind the scenes of a TEDx speaker.

Author and reporter David Epstein said that speaking at TED Talks “forced me to be really sharp with my transitions, and to pick examples that I could explain really succinctly, even if they were not the simplest ideas in the world. With that amount of time, you know you can only make so many points, so you’re forced to make them count.”

Summary

Public speaking is a valuable skill that helps with career and school advancement. Many people are afraid of giving speeches or talking in public, and that fear can hold them back in their professional and personal life.

To improve your presentation skills, practice consistently. Use strategies such as storytelling and visuals to keep your audience interested in what you have to say. Learn as much as you can about your audience before your presentation, and get feedback from them during your presentation to make your speech more engaging.

Joining an organization like Toastmasters can help to improve your speaking skills. If you want to learn from some of the best presenters, watch TED Talks for examples of some of the best storytelling.

“Speech is power. Speech is to persuade, to convert, to compel. It is to bring another out of his bad sense into your good sense.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson Share on X

How To Influence People

To influence an audience to support your idea, purchase your product/service, or fund your business, you need to master your leadership skills, vocal tonality, and ability to read people.
In this 4-day training, you will learn how to leverage the power of the 4 GEM personality theory to influence others and get more of what you want. Click here to learn more.

What Do People Buy – Personality Or Product?

June 4, 2019 by Dan Lok

Photo credits: Anton_Ivanov / Shutterstock.com and Bloomicon / Shutterstock.com

What do people really buy? Your personality or your product?

If you choose personality, then does it mean you have to first become a better leader and a good communicator? Or do you have to create a powerful product?

Well, over the years I could tell you that if you study my work then you know I am very big on personal branding and building a business around your personal brand. That’s not the only way to build a business but it’s my way of building a business.

Of course I’ve got other companies and in those cases it’s all about the company and the product. But I found that when I shift to the personal brand focus on the Dan Lok brand, not only do I experience more success, but more doors open up.

People buy your personality more than your product, and here are several reasons why.

Watch this video about what people buy, personality or product.

Putting Your Name On What You Sell

Just looking at the results, as I focus more on my personal brand, big business becomes more successful and my wealth increases faster. Here’s what I notice: people buy people at the end of the day. People like to do business with people that they like, trust and admire.

It depends on what you’re selling. Commodities are a different thing, but if you are selling a product or service, people buy people. Even though people are buying Apple products, when Steve Jobs was alive they were buying a piece of Steve Jobs’ genius, creativity and vision.

The people who do business with you need to trust you. It’s easier to trust and like you when you have a face versus a faceless corporation. When you’re just a product there’s no emotion involved.

But if you do have a face to the company, and you’re the spokesperson for your brand, it takes a lot of guts, if you think about it. If I put my name on everything that’s built around my personal brand but the product fails, it’s my name on the line!

You must be pretty confident to put your name on your products. When you search Dan Lok’s company on Google or on social media, you can find me. On some subconscious level, this gives people some comfort, knowing that I’m putting my name on the line. It’s not like a company that will change its name when it goes out of business.

What Really Sells Your Product: You Or Something Else?

Second, when it comes to selling and marketing, it’s never about the thing. It’s the thing that sells the thing. People see so many entrepreneurs struggle and put in so much time to create what they believe is the perfect product.

But it’s not about what they think, it’s about what the marketplace wants. They have too much personal attachment after spending a long time creating the perfect product, but they don’t spend time thinking about how to sell the product.

Do people even want to buy this new innovation? How can they verify if that’s what their marketplace wants? That’s what I mean when I say it’s the thing that sells the thing. It’s the marketing and sales that sells the new product.

It doesn’t matter how talented you are or how great your product is if nobody knows about it. Nobody can benefit from it because you were so focused on making that product or service perfect before getting it out there.

The Marketing Genius

The customer is the marketing genius. They will tell you if they like your product or not, and they you will tell you if your price point is good or not. Your customer is the expert in all the details – right down to what kind of color they want.

Your branding is based on your personality, so for your personal brand, lead with your personality. Your product may change or die but if your personal brand is strong, you can sustain it for a long time.

Look at Michael Jordan’s Air Jordan. Michael doesn’t even play basketball anymore. He’s retired, but those shoes are still selling, making millions of dollars. That’s the power of personal branding.

Imagine if Nike just build their brand on one product, not a person. If you study Nike’s history, Nike would not be where they are today without Michael Jordan. Their success is all built around a personality.

Being a personal brand isn’t for everyone. You may be afraid that you aren’t capable or ready to be a personal brand. But if you think this is what you want to do and you think you could do it, then I would say definitely do it.

What Customers Really Buy

I know people buy me because of me. Very often I do business with people and we talk about what we do and I joke about the moment that we sign. They don’t even know my company name.

It doesn’t matter what my company name is. They are doing business with Dan Lok and that’s what they’re buying. On the agreement it may have just the company name but at the end of the day, they’re buying me. That’s the most important thing.

The product might change but the comfort of knowing that they’re doing business with me is what makes them move forward. The name is what they are buying at the end of the day.

Look at Steve Jobs over the years. There have been different inventions of Apple products when he was alive but it was Steve Jobs that customers were buying.

They believed in his vision and they believed he’s a genius. When the iPhone first came out, people were fascinated at the invention that could play music, provide internet, and make phone calls. It was phenomenal.

It revolutionized the entire cellphone industry and changed the way we live. The iPhone disrupted an entire industry for an entire generation. And it was one man’s vision, one man’s idea. That’s the power of building a personal brand.

Final Thoughts on Personality Or Product

Your personal brand, your personality, creates trust with your customers. People buy Nike because of Michael Jordon, and they buy iPhone because of the vision that Steve Jobs had for his company.

They aren’t buying a product from a faceless company that could go out of business overnight. Of course, there is more risk involved when you put your name on your product. But you also increase customer loyalty.

Let your customers be your marketing experts. They will tell you what they want but your brand is why they will stay with you.

If you want to know more about how I am able to close deals with my team of closers, or how you can improve your closing skills for your business, click here to book a call and find out more.