Podcast Workshops With a Factor as Guest Speaker

Podcasting has become a powerful medium for sharing ideas, stories, and information with a global audience. Many podcast hosts and creators are constantly on the lookout for innovative ways to enhance the quality and diversity of their content. Zoom, the popular video conferencing tool, has emerged as a game-changer in the world of guest speaker podcasts. Here’s how Zoom can take your podcast to the next level.

Accessibility and Convenience

One of the primary benefits of using Zoom for guest speaker podcasts is the ease of access it offers. With Zoom, you can connect with guest speakers from anywhere in the world. It eliminates the need for guests to be physically present, making it convenient for them to participate in your podcast without the hassle of travel.

High-Quality Audio and Video

Zoom is designed for video conferencing, which means it provides high-quality audio and video recording. This ensures that your podcast maintains a professional sound and appearance. Both you, as the host, and your guest speakers will be captured with exceptional clarity, resulting in a polished final product.

Recording Capabilities

Zoom allows you to record your video conferences, which is invaluable for a podcast. You can record both video and audio separately, providing you with more flexibility during the editing process. This feature ensures that you have backup recordings in case of any technical glitches.

Screen Sharing

Incorporating visuals can significantly enhance the quality of your podcast. Zoom’s screen-sharing feature lets you and your guest speakers share presentations, slideshows, or any other visual content. This is particularly useful when discussing data, showcasing products, or elaborating on a topic through images.

Interactive and Engaging

Zoom makes it easy to engage with your guest speakers in real-time. You can conduct interviews, panel discussions, and debates as if everyone were sitting in the same room. The chat and Q&A features allow for audience participation and live feedback, making the podcast more dynamic and interactive.

Why Guest Speaker Teleconferences Work So Well

Guest speaker teleconferences are an excellent method of marketing and especially for new brokers just learning the ropes.  We all know that in the sales process, targets must be “touched” a minimum of four (4) times before they actually pay attention to your message.  Guest speaker teleconferences allow you to touch (contact) all targets at least three (3) times and prospects (actual attendees) 4-5 times.

Savvy brokers familiar with this marketing method will always have an upcoming guest speaker teleconference in their marketing pipeline.  Why?  An upcoming teleconference is a great FREE offer and follow up for classified ad responses, information requests from your website, direct mail postcard follow up, etc.  Offering FREE attendance to informational teleconferences will immediately “weed out” the uninterested “lookyloos” from the legitimately interested targets and is an exceptional method of qualifying.

Setup:  What You Will Need to Get Started

To begin using guest speakerships as marketing campaigns, you will need…

  • a factor or a factor’s BDO (You can easily find a suitable factor using the Searchable Lenders Directories)
  • a prospect list of approximately 500 targets set up in your CRM ( Customer Relationship Manager)
  • a special “invitation” page set up on your website just for teleconferences and with a reply form
  • 500 invitation cards or an appropriate direct mail stuffer
  • downloadable teleconference handout set up on a “confirmation” page on your website
  • a “warm call” telephone script for invitation
  • a “warm call” follow up telephone script

Guest Teleconference Pre-Campaign Checklist

  1. YOUR CAMPAIGN LIST:  As with most direct response marketing campaigns, this one starts with a list of “targets”.  You will need to create several quality prospect lists totaling approximately 500 targets to generate the 25 -30 prospects that will actually attend the call.
  2. SPEAKER:  You will need to enlist the services of a BDO (factor’s business development office) as an “expert” guest speaker and one that will follow or provide the guidelines of the teleconference handout that your attendees download.
  3. INVITATION PAGE SETUP:  Setup a special “invitation page” for teleconferences on your website.  You only need one as you will simply change the time, dates, and guest speaker’s name when you do others in the future.  IMPORTANT:  Make this URL as short as possible.
  4. INVITATION CARDS or MAIL STUFFERS:  Order you invitation cards or mail stuffers.  Make double certain they contain the proper URL of your website’s invitation page but do not include a date on the stuffer card itself.  You will be sending these cards out in groups of 100 -150 and after you receive enough (50) “yes” responses, the balance of the cards can be used for the next teleconference.

How to Manage the Campaign and Guest Speakers

Beginning two (2) weeks before the teleconference date, begin the mailing / invitation / follow up process.

  1. Day One…Out Goes the Mail:   Mail 150 invitation cards or stuffers (First Class Mail-Hand Addressed-Commemorative Stamp).  Drop at the post office early in the morning and allow 3 days only for delivery.
  2. Day Four…Begin Your Calls:  Begin calling each recipient business owner of your first 150 piece mailing list on the forth (4th day) to extend a personal invitation to your teleconference.  Your goal is to get 20 -30 attendees to your teleconference which means 35-50 positive responses.  You will always have about 30% dropouts.
  3. Day Four…More Mailing:  As you begin follow up calls to your first 150, get the invitations / stuffers out to the second 150.  They should receive their invitation about the time you are finished contacting your first list.
  4. Day Five…Continue Calling:  Begin delivering  your personal invitation follow up calls to your second batch of 150 mailers.
  5. Wash and repeat.  Mail another 150 invitation card / stuffers and make your follow up calls.
  6. Measure Results:  If you have received 50 “yes” responses, stop.  If not, continue mailing off your list in 100 mailer batches until you have your 35-50 yes responses.
  7. Confirmation Call:  Make a “confirmation” call to all 35-50 of your attendees to remind them about your call
  8. Email your list of attendees to your BDO.  You will now be the “broker of record” for these business owners.

Add a “Pizza Lunch” Twist with a WordPress Plugin

Since this campaign is directed to local businesses that you, the broker can actually visit, adding a “Pizza Lunch” to your workshop will significantly increase attendance and provides you with a “Last Minute” opportunity to confirm attendance.  To add the Pizza Lunch Twist use a WordPress “Spinner Plugin” or similar to select the winner.

Costs, Results, and Goals

Typically, the total costs associated with holding a guest speaker teleconference should be under $400 including postage.  Adding in a “Pizza Lunch Feature” can easily add $50 to the event.  So figure $$450.  This may seem like a major investment to a new factoring broker just starting out, but consider this:

A single “average factoring client” generated from such an event will easily produce $250 – $500 per month in commission income.  That is just ONE new client.  You will likely have that client for 3-5 years so that client is worth a total of somewhere between $5,000 and $18,000 to you in future revenue.  (Careful…Don’t tell your stock market investor friends about such investment returns).  And that is if only one attendee to your teleconference turns into a client.  You can do your own math if your teleconference generates 3-5 clients.

Measuring the Teleconference “Knock On” Effect

A secondary major benefit of creating a consistent schedule of guest speaker teleconferences is the effect it has on your prospect lists and prospecting itself.  Those invitees that agree to attend (whether they actually attend or not) have responded to your invitation and now become members of your “Response List”…your primary prospecting list.  Imagine having a prospect list made up of nothing but small business owners that…

  • You have contacted and spoken with 2 times or more
  • Have agreed to be put on your email marketing list
  • Have professed their interest in factoring their receivables maybe at some future date
  • May not have attended your previous teleconference, but are eager to attend one in the future
  • See the benefits of factoring and may well employ it at a future date when a cash flow crisis presents itself

As all successful factoring brokers know or eventually find out, you really cannot SELL factoring.  A business either has a cash flow problem or it doesn’t.  And, that business can either access bank financing or it can’t.  Any business operating B2B that does not have access to bank capital and has an immediate cash flow problem, may qualify as a candidate for factoring.  The vast majority of those on your teleconference response list will (at some future point in time) find themselves in need of capital and without the ability to get that capital from local banks.

Want to Comment on This Article About Using Factors as Guest Speakers?

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