The Secret to Crafting a Hooky Talk Title That Will Get You Booked
Post by Lisa Sassevich
Lisa at the Speakers Summit
When you’re trying to get booked to speak on stages or teleseminars, it’s crucial to give your talk a hooky title. By that I mean, an instantly appealing and easy to remember name. A hooky talk title can mean the difference between getting booked or not and between a big audience or a disappointing turnout.
I learned this the hard way. When I was first starting, I taught a course for women about how to understand men. At the time, though, I didn’t understand the elements of a catchy title, so the introductory event was called: “The Amazing Development of Men.” Not surprisingly, we drew very small audiences.
The title didn’t grab them because the secret to a truly hooky title was missing. That secret is to clearly state the transformation that the audience will experience as a result of attending.
When I realized that, we changed the title to: “Understand Men 101.” And guess what happened? Attendance skyrocketed. We started drawing women by the hundreds because the benefit was so clear and compelling!
So the key to crafting your own hooky talk title is to include in the title the outcome that your audience will experience from attending. Here is a simple two-step process for doing that:
1. Ask yourself: What is the transformation that I provide?
To get clear on the transformation that attendees will experience, start with your own clients. What is the outcome that your clients get as a result of working with you?
Focus on the client who is your greatest success story. What outcome did she receive? List all of the exact results of working with you. Did she save time, money or energy? Gain clarity or understanding? Improve her health?
Now, ask yourself: What other transformations happened in her life because of those results? For example, if you’re a nutritionist, a diabetic client may have lost 100 pounds and no longer needs to take insulin. Her direct results include: greatly improved health and well-being, a longer lifespan potential and weight loss, but her relationships with her family and at work were also transformed because she no longer suffers from off-putting mood swings and low energy.
2. Create your title using the list of transformations you just generated. After you’ve done step one, you’ll end up with a whole list of very real transformations in your client’s life that you can draw from to create your outcome-focused talk titles.
Which of those transformations are most compelling? Or most universal? For instance, the nutritionist might try: “Reverse Diabetes Using Diet Alone” or “Diabetics! Kiss Mood Swings and Energy Dips Goodbye Forever!” That speaks to anyone suffering from that disease.
As you go about crafting your own hooky titles, remember to keep these guidelines in mind:
• Put the outcome that people can expect into the title itself. For example, “Reverse Diabetes…,” “Understand Men….”
• Appeal to their pain. My title addressed the pain and frustration that many women feel because they don’t understand why men do the things they do.
• Don’t sacrifice hooky for cute. Sometimes people try to have cute titles that are clever but nobody knows what they mean. You want your title to be immediately appealing and recognizable. For example, I often speak on “Boost Sales Using Irresistible Offers” because as much as I love my brand, The Invisible Close, the outcome is not obvious as a title unless I use my tag line “For those who love what they do but hate selling!”
So get out there and take that first exciting step, create that talk title! And then right after that, plan to join me June 10–12 in San Diego for the LIVE “Invisible Close Speak-to-Sell Bootcamp,” where you’ll create offers you love, a talk that sells and gain the confidence that comes with being prepared!
What is your hooky talk title? Let us know on our blog.
has x-ray vision for seeing the sales opportunities that exist in every company, and the creativity to convert them into gold! If you’re looking for simple, quick and easy ways to boost sales without spending a dime, get your FREE Sales Nuggets now at www.theinvisibleclose.com.
Lisa is offering a complimentary teleclass on March 17. Click here to sign up
