Sarah Fejfar, How to Deliver a Transformative Event Experience – InnovaBuzz 498

Sarah Fejfar, Live Event Academy

In this episode, I’m really excited to have as my guest, Sarah Fejfar, who helps business owners, along with their marketing and sales teams, leverage virtual, hybrid, and in-person events to reach more dream clients, build customer and employee loyalty, and make sales. She is also the founder of Live Event Academy as well as the host of the Greenroom Central Podcast.

In our discussion, Sarah talked to me about:

• Designing events as a transformative experience for participants
• Getting clear up front about your why and participants why
• Why hybrid events (live and virtual combined) are not a good idea

Jason Van Orden in episode 275 and Michael Roderick in episode 328 introduced us to Sarah.

Listen to the podcast to find out more.

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Show Notes from this episode with Sarah Fejfar of Live Event Academy

Key points and takeaways from this episode include:

• Lead by example.
• It’s important to challenge and put yourself in uncomfortable situations to prepare yourself for the next level of challenges.
• Incremental challenges are good for us.
• When you’re able to bring your expertise into a live environment, whether virtual or in-person, you’re able to transform people’s lives faster and easier because you are with them.
• It’s vital to figure out how you can market your event in a way that convinces people that there is no other place they should be on that date and time.
• Be as thoughtful around marketing your event as you would with any other product or service that you offer.
• Get really clear about your target audience – the people that you want to be in your event. Get to know them well enough to identify what they need and how they think, and then create a lead magnet around those things to prepare them for your event.
• You can do a lot things to fill a room but don’t neglect how much harder you need to work in order to convince someone to give you their most valuable asset which is their time with you.
• Remember that you’re creating a community when you’re hosting an event. People want to know how they fit in.
• Create videos and talk about what’s like to be at your event. Give them a glimpse behind the curtain to get them excited and interested.
• Videos are a powerful marketing tool. They not only showcase how you show up in the event but they also help people feel what it’s like to be there.
• Include all the qualities that you aspire to have in your salespage. Don’t underestimate that value of being clear and blunt.
• Videos give people an understanding of what it’s going to be when they show up.
• Start with your WHY. Why are you hosting the event for your guests and why are you hosting it for your business?
• Content is the key to a world-class event. Content and engagement are more important than technology.
• It’s not the big fancy stages and lights that make an event successful. It’s making people feel good together and the transformation it brings.
• Your event is the bridge to your guests’ transformation. Get really clear on their mindset – what do they need and where do they want to be, and how can you help them achieve that transformation.
• Make sure that your event gets people to focus on the transformation, not on the shiny objects.
• 3-Step Formula for a Transformational Event
  1. Picture it – figure out your why. Why are you doing this for your business and your community? Who’s going to be in the room with you? Cast your vision clearly and make that your north star.
  2. Plan – when and where is it going to happen?
  3. Execute with excellence

• Get really clear on your vision at the beginning because that is what will answer most of your questions along the way.
• The things that make an in-person event successful are the same things that will make a virtual event successful. You just have to up your game a bit as the host in the virtual setting to keep people’s attention.
• Everything is figureoutable. You can learn these things and they’re not as hard as you think they are. You can figure out anything that your participants need to keep them more engaged in your events.
• Hybrid events are quite expensive. They’re also difficult to manage because you’ll be serving 2 masters from a host’s standpoint. You also need to have dedicated teams for both types of event.
• You can do virtual and in-person but don’t do them together as a hybrid event. Keep them separate.

The Buzz – Our Innovation Round 

Here are Sarah’s answers to the questions of our innovation round. Listen to the conversation to get the full scoop.

1. #1 thing to be more innovative – Be curious not a from a place of skepticism but from a place of genuine love for learning.
2. Best thing for new ideas – Watching the market. Watching behind-the-scene videos and stories.
3. Favourite tool for innovation – Audible
4. Keep project/client on track –  Regular communication. Explain why you’re doing things.
5. Differentiate – Be YOU. Be authentic. Think about the events you’ve attended that you absolutely love. Pick the things that feel good to you and then model and emulate those. Figure out how you want to show up and that magical mix that is authentically you.

To Be a Leader

You’re not alone. Impostor syndrome and worrying if you can fill a room for your event are just normal. Look at it with excitement that you’re on the right path. You just need to learn a couple of things and you’ll be on your way.

Reach Out

You can reach out and thank Sarah through her website and on Instagram.

Links

• Website – Sarah Fejfar
• Podcast – Greenroom Central
• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Instagram

Cool Things About Sarah

• Her last name is pronounced FAY-fer, like paper, but with F’s. It’s Czech.
• Her personality type is perfectly suited to make big things happen.
• She holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Accounting from the University of St. Thomas.

Listen to the Podcast