#111: Scaling High-Ticket Sales with “One-to-Many” Live Events with Steve Werner

High-ticket sales events can be an extremely lucrative way to generate revenue for your business. But they can also be very challenging to pull off successfully. There are a lot of moving parts, and if you're not careful, you can easily end up losing money.

In this blog post, we'll discuss how to generate high-ticket sales with live events, drawing on insights from expert Steve Warner, who specializes in helping coaches, course creators, and agencies sell on stage at live events.

Who Is a Good Candidate for High-Ticket Live Events?

Live events aren't for everyone, especially complete beginners. You should already have:

• A proven offer
• Good testimonials
• A solid sales process
• Experience speaking with your audience
• At least $250,000 in sales

In other words, you need to have a solid foundation before you start thinking about hosting live events.

Start with Workshops

If you're not quite ready for a full-blown live event, Steve recommends starting with webinars and workshops.

Workshops are typically 3-5 hours long and are interactive, allowing for two-way communication and Q&A with attendees. This is a great way to hone your message, get feedback, and generate cash flow.

Webinars can also be effective, but they're typically one-way presentations. While webinars can be used to generate leads and build an audience, they are not typically profitable on their own.

Charging for Workshops

Don't be afraid to charge for your workshops. Even a small fee ($37 or $97) will help to ensure that attendees are serious about learning and implementing what you teach. You can offer a discount code to reduce the price to $1, making it accessible while still conveying value.

The Secret to Profitable Webinars

If you're set on using webinars to sell, focus on building an email list that you can later market your high-ticket offer to. Don't expect to make a huge profit from the webinar itself.

Planning Your High-Ticket Live Event

Once you're ready to host a live event, start by planning your offer. What high-ticket product or service will you be selling?

The offer should be:

• High-ticket (minimum $15,000, ideally $25,000 or more)
• Something that provides ongoing value over a period of 6 months to a year

Structuring Your Event for High-Ticket Sales

Instead of focusing on who you can get to speak at your event, Steve recommends a different approach:

1. Start with your offer and break it down into 5 specific line items that address pain points and deliver outcomes. Also include 2-3 bonuses to "wow" potential buyers.
2. Test these line items with your audience to ensure they resonate and use language that your audience understands.
3. Develop speaking blocks around each line item. Each block should include:
   • Your story of how you learned or earned the takeaway
   • Testimonials and case studies
   • Content that addresses pain points and objections
4. Create content around these speaking blocks in the 6 months leading up to the event. This will attract the right audience and help to fill the event.

Filling Your Live Event

Driving cold traffic to a live event with ads can be expensive, costing up to $1,000 per ticket. The secret to filling your event is to give tickets away as a bonus with a low-ticket offer.

For example, you could offer:

• Paid workshops
• A free challenge with a VIP upsell that includes a ticket to the event

This strategy allows you to break even or even profit on the low-ticket offer while generating highly qualified leads for your high-ticket offer at the event.

What to Do at Your Live Event

During your event:

• Deliver the content you've developed around your offer.
• Interview case studies live on stage.
• Bring in other speakers who can offer complementary services, giving them affiliate commissions and opportunities to soft pitch to your audience.
• Conduct hot seats with attendees to address their specific pain points and demonstrate your expertise. This builds trust and increases the likelihood of sales.

Making the Offer

On day two of the event, make your offer. Since you've already framed it through your content, attendees should be primed to buy. Use a table rush to create a sense of urgency and excitement.

On day three, do a "rep pitch" to address any remaining objections and close more sales.

Following Up After the Event

After the event, send a follow-up package to attendees who didn't buy, including a downsell and a workshop that leads to an upsell for your high-ticket offer.

Scaling Your Business with Live Events

Once you've successfully hosted your first live event, you can scale your business by hosting more events.

Steve recommends:

• 2 live events per year maximum for experienced entrepreneurs
• Supplementing with virtual events to reduce overhead and reach a wider audience

Starting with a smaller event (25-40 people) can help you keep costs down and refine your process. You can gradually increase the size of your events as you gain experience.

Overcoming Internal Challenges

Selling high-ticket offers can be intimidating, especially if you've never done it before. You may experience:

• Imposter syndrome
• Limiting beliefs about money

Start by selling lower-ticket offers to gain confidence and experience. Gradually increase your prices as you get more comfortable.

Remember that it's important to build slowly and sustainably. Focus on delivering exceptional results for your clients, and your business will grow organically.

By following these tips, you can use live events to generate high-ticket sales and take your business to the next level.