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Scale Your Business By Learning To Sell On Stage: Australian Speaker Shares the Power Of Communication Ethan Donati is the virtual promoter in Australia and runs an international digital marketing agency

By John Stanly

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Etahn Donati

Public speaking is a skill that will never go away. Even in the middle of a pandemic where events around the world were shut down, people gathered virtually to hear motivational speeches, sermons, webinars and college lectures from the comfort of their home or their favorite cafe. While the purpose of public speaking can vary greatly depending on the individual or business, it is no doubt one of the best skills to stay relevant in today's world. Ethan Donati is the number one virtual promoter in Australia and runs an international digital marketing agency that has helped his clients to get on stages and build seven-figure sales funnels for their brand.

This is largely due the fact that he has perfected the ability to use speaking as a way to sell his companies services. The CEO and founder of a highly successful digital marketing agency, he is able to share strong business advice to Often found on stages with celebrities such as Eric Thomas (the HipHop Preacher), Seth Godin, and others, the Australian-born speaker is known for creating amazing events and sharing valuable tips about business, marketing, and of course, public speaking.

Although Donati is now an experienced speaker and travels the world to share his knowledge and promote his businesses, he was not always the speaking powerhouse that he is today. As a child, he struggled with crippling social anxiety. He was very shy and it hindered his ability to engage with people growing up. "I was kicked out of kindergarten for being too shy. I had few friends and completely shut down in any group setting." While he is unsure what initially caused this extreme anxiety, he recalled that he was extremely scared of being judged by others. "I wasn't conscious of my shyness, but I was more comfortable with it." Despite his crippling anxiety, he built a profitable marketing agency online, but he still wanted to improve. By the age of 22, he finally overcame his fear in the most incredible way. "I was very shy, but I finally realized I wanted to change. I had gone to a Gary Vee event and Eric Thomas Event, and I realized I wanted to be able to speak and sell from a stage." Within weeks, he found himself on a stage in Switzerland speaking to a large audience. He credits overcoming his anxiety by making a simple decision: to stop thinking about it. While speaking helped him scale his digital marketing agency to an international level, he is more passionate about helping others through his speaking and educational courses. Whether coaching clients on how to build or scale their business, he teaches four basic principles to business.

Get your message right

Whether speaking on stage or selling through social media, you have to build the perfect message. Part of Donati's success is tied to his ability to connect and understand his audience. While a lot can go into your message, the main areas to focus on are your communication style, your headlines, and your tone. "Attracting your audience is everything." Donati teaches his students to master their message and present their brand in a way that attracts the right clients.

Craft ads

Just as important as your messaging is sharing your brand. "Once your messaging is right, it's time to get your brand out to others." One thing that he noted is the importance of doing ads second. Many people make the mistake of running ads before they have perfected their message. This leads to unclear communication to potential clients and ultimately a low conversion rate." It doesn't matter how good your product or service is, you have to market it properly.

Build a sales funnel

Again, a common mistake is for people to build a sales funnel, run ads, before they even test the market. While it is important to have all of these things, you want to make sure that you have created a product and messaging that resonates with your clients. Once this is done, you can build up your sales funnel. Your funnel should be a combination of your messaging and ads. The language that caught people's attention should be included in your funnel to keep them attracted. You should also build your funnel based on the information you received from your ads. Who was watching your ads, clicking, etc. Continue to target these people, build a funnel that attracts them and turn them into paying clients.

Build a predictable sales process

The last thing that Donati looks to coach his clients on is building a sales team. Sales, of course, is the life blood of any company. Even a well-oiled sales funnel will need people to help it run smoothly. In the beginning, this will most likely be you. You will be the most familiar with your product and able to sell it the best. However, after you have built out your other systems, you should look to add to that team. "I am my number one salesperson in one-to-many situations, but my next in charge can close one-to-one for me which frees up my time. I sell my services by speaking at events, but my team is able to add so much more to the company." While he is a firm believer in the power of selling from stage versus one-on-one situations, he also realizes the need for a strong sales team that can close one-on-one so you don't have to. With everything else in place, a strong sales team will enable you to 10x your business revenue and continue to position you as an authority.
John Stanly

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