What Comes Next?

You’ve been here before.

The scene is a meeting room or church where your ideal audience is listening to your presentation.

The seats are filled or like one of our clients who spoke last week at a convention, people are also sitting on the floor, too.

It’s what you have prayed and worked toward…a chance to share your heart, passion, and purpose to a roomful of people who care and empathize with your mission.

Yet before you know it, you’ve reached the final slide of the presentation, answered the last question in the Q&A, and pulled out of the parking lot.

So what comes next?

How you answer this question matters.

In fact, it matters more than your presentation.

One approach is to do nothing.

Your message will hopefully ring through the ears of your listeners, and perhaps they will be prompted to take action once they return to their lives.

Maybe.

Or your handout will end up in a pile on their desk, your message will slowly but surely fade into the recesses of their brains, and if you are fortunate, you might get a chance to see them again in a year’s time if you receive another invite.

And the cycle will repeat again.

But that’s just one approach.

I’d encourage you to try something different next time.

Try spending just as much time working on “what comes next” as you do on your presentation.

Think through ways that people can take action during or immediately following your presentation before they leave the building.

Invite them to sign-up for a follow-up webinar.

Get their email addresses so you can send them a personalized email funnel that includes your notes and slide deck.

Schedule on the spot a follow-up phone call with your most engaged listeners, especially the ones with the most questions during your Q&A.

These are small things, but they lead to big things.

Your presentation gave you a spot on someone’s calendar for an hour.

But your follow-up and how successfully you answer “what comes next” gives you a lasting place in someone’s heart and life.