[8 Steps To A Live Presentation That Sells Series] Article #18 ~ How to Make a Mint with Your Soft Topic

When it comes to topics in the speaking industry, youโre going to find โhardโ or โsoft.โ
A โsoftโ topic is theoretical. It speaks in broad terms, as opposed to giving a person a strategy or system for change. “Personal growth,” “mindset,” and โinfluenceโ are examples of soft topics.
A โhardโ topic is designed to effect change and get results. It would normally include a specific system or process for applying information in peopleโs lives. โ7 Steps to Seven-Figure Salesโ is a hard topic.
Itโs Hard to Make Money with Soft Topics
Soft topics are appropriate in your coaching and teaching, or for keynotes, and they will sell some books as well, but if youโre trying to make money in back-of-the-room sales, theyโre not a lucrative way to go.
The soft topic may be ground-breaking and fascinating, but if people arenโt shown how to apply the material, thereโs no compelling reason to buy.
In addition, itโs difficult to even get speaking engagements, because promoters know that soft topics donโt sell. And since theyโre typically receiving half of your sales, theyโd be reluctant to book you.
A hard topic is another story. Promoters will book you, and people will shell out money for your products or programs, because theyโre clearly designed to help people change their lives or businesses in specific ways.
Put a Hard Shell Around It
Thankfully, you can put a hard shell around almost any soft topic by articulating the specific system or strategy that allows purchasers to apply what they learn.
For instance, Ali Brownโs and my program,โ7 Mindset and Manifesting Secrets of Multimillionaire Entrepreneurs,โ is a hard shell around the soft topic of โmindset.โ
Other examples include:
Soft: Finding Love After Divorce
Hard: 7 Never-Fail Steps to the Perfect First Date
Soft: The Science of Persuasion
Hard: 4 Pillars of Influence to Motivate the Most Skeptical Buyer
When youโre creating your hard shell, you want to use words such as:
Blueprint
Strategic plan
Step-by-step
Process
System
But creating a hard shell is not just about the words you use. You want to think hard as well, which may require a mindset shift of your own.
How to Think โHardโ
If youโre in the habit of thinking in broad, theoretical terms, start focusing on how other people can apply what youโre teaching.
What is the plan or process or system in what you teach? How can other people get results from it? And what are those results likely to be?
Once you start creating your products and speech topics with the results of your clients at the forefront, it wonโt be long before you start seeing better results as well.
Youโll get more speaking gigs, youโll sell more products and programs, your promoters will be happy, and your clients will finally experience the change that theyโve been seeking in their lives.
