Your Workshop Gets Crickets Because You're Doing This

Making critical workshop sales mistakes can turn your highly anticipated live event into an awkward, silent room. If you are a health and wellness coach wondering why your attendees are tuning out instead of taking the next step, this episode is for you. We explore why giving away too much information actually harms your client conversion rate. Instead of overwhelming your audience with endless facts, you need to build a high-converting workshop structure that fosters self-awareness. Tune in to learn how replacing dense "how-to" segments with moments of connection and client stories naturally guides attendees toward making a decision and joining your coaching program.

✨ WHAT YOU'LL DISCOVER

• Why giving away too much free information eliminates your conversion rates.

• How to build an environment that drives authentic engagement and connection.

• The strategic shift from teaching the "how-to" to revealing the actual gap.

• Using personal and client stories to authentically boost your authority.

⭐ MEMORABLE QUOTE

"Stop trying to impress your audience with so much information. That's not what they need, and it's not what they want." - Valerie Feghali

🔗 RESOURCES MENTIONED

• Wellness Vault 7-Day Free Trial: https://wellnessvault.com/

• Full Episodes: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLd8ZHsfhiikkdpBAs489w1XfOd3cAhwkd

• Short Clips: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLd8ZHsfhiikmK95ykcFuSAuqf9li03Gv5

• Quick Fixes: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLd8ZHsfhiikmlv5GtLinn3qLC7qc9BobP

🧭 DETAILED CHAPTERS

00:00 Intro - Welcome to Fuel The Flow and the core mistake coaches make.

01:10 How to create workshops you actually enjoy hosting - Shifting your mindset from lecturing to connecting.

02:02 Creating a true experience during your presentation - Building an environment that drives active participation.

04:45 Your audience needs clarity, not more information - Why endless facts overwhelm potential clients and delay decisions.

05:36 Why you need to stop teaching how-to's - The danger of giving away too much free value at the expense of conversions.

06:56 Keeping engagement high during your live session - Strategies to ensure your room stays energized.

12:17 Wellness Vault Resources - Leveraging ready-made assets to save time.

12:46 The essential how-to's of running the event - Practical logistics for delivering a smooth presentation.

14:28 Reframing the core concepts of client enrollment - Changing how you view the sales pitch from pushing to serving.

15:04 Sharing stories to authentically boost conversions - Using personal and client transformations to build trust and authority.

16:59 Revealing the gap in their current strategies - Helping attendees realize why they need your specific vehicle to succeed.

20:53 Utilizing the Wellness Vault for bonus materials - Incentivizing live attendance by offering high-value bonuses.

If you gained value from this episode, please leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts and Spotify! Your support helps us reach more coaches.

⭐ ABOUT VALERIE
Valerie Feghali is a physical therapist turned software CEO, helping health and wellness coaches scale their businesses without burnout. As the founder of The Wellness Vault, she provides white-label resources and strategic coaching to help you grow.

⭐ CONNECT WITH VALERIE
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/v.feghali/

The Wellness Vault: https://wellnes

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Stop trying to impress your audience with so much information. That's not what they need and it's not what they want. And that's likely because the workshop was set up to just push information. And if you miss that, then no amount of value or how-tos are going to Welcome to the Fuel Your Flow podcast. I am your host, Valerie Figali, physical therapist, turned software CEO and business coach for health and wellness coaches. We are going to be talking about all things health and business. They might be more closely related than you think. So let's go ahead and get into it. Welcome back to another episode of Fuel the Flow. Today we are talking about how to create a workshop that you actually enjoy posting and that your participants get value from coming to. So often I have met with coaches who say, nobody engages during my workshop, nobody buys at the end of the workshop. I feel like I'm talking in an empty space and nobody's listening. And that's likely because the workshop was set up to just push information rather than than to drive engagement and drive decision making. And so we're going to talk today about how to create a workshop that's inspiring, motivational, that people feel leave feeling really good. They feel like they've gotten something from the workshop and they are inspired to keep the momentum going. Because most often you are hosting a workshop for that reason. So that you're bringing people into your world and you want to continue to work with them. You're likely not hosting just a one-off workshop where you don't either expect them to buy further in or do another experience with you. And so when you're hosting those workshops, you have to make sure that people are connecting with you, that they feel seen, that it's relating to them and where they're at in their real life journey, rather than just showing them everything you know and all of your expertise, which is what I see most coaches do during their workshops. So talking to your audience is something, but creating an experience with your audience is something totally different. So today, let's break down how to run a workshop that keeps people engaged, helps them actually see themselves in the problem, and naturally moves them towards working with you without them feeling overwhelmed and without you overteaching during your workshop. So the biggest mistake that I see coaches make is over-teach. They overexplain, they give the step-by-step how-to's on how to actually get the result or solve the problem. Now, in addition, oftentimes their workshop is very open-ended. And so the theme of the workshop is not necessarily clear on what exactly you're going to be going over in that workshop or who that workshop is for. Now, we've talked many, many times about niching down and getting clear on who it is you serve. So we won't go into too, too much detail about that here. But the point is when somebody signs up for the workshop, they have to fully understand that this workshop is for me, my type of person. This is me. And this gets to or starts discussing a problem that I have. And so when you're bringing people in, the workshop itself should be hyper-specific. Even though you teach a lot in your programs, let's say you're a holistic health coach and you teach about mindset, nutrition, fitness, even if you're teaching about all of those things inside of your program, your workshop is not going to be about all of those things. You're going to hone in on one idea and one problem and start talking about that in your workshop. And that's how you're going to present the workshop. Now, with that problem, what you don't want to do is start giving them basically a step-by-step guide on how to fix it. You know, I've seen coaches run a workshop on, let's say, you know, women over 40 who are losing muscle mass, maybe gaining belly fat, whatever it may be in that age range. And they start giving them like, okay, well, we should be aiming for 30 plus grams of protein for breakfast. And you should be doing resistance training. And these are specific exercises that you should be doing daily, right? And so they start giving like the fine-tuned how-to details on how to solve their problem. However, we all know as coaches that we can't solve somebody's problem in an hour. And so they're packing all this information in rather than interacting with the group of people that are there on the workshop. So information does not create a transformation for your client. And it definitely doesn't create conversions into your next program or into further programs working with you. Your audience doesn't need more information. What they need is clarity around what it is they're doing, self-recognition to know whether or not this is actually them, whether the problem that you're speaking about is truly something that they are struggling with. Because a lot of times they're going to be coming to your workshop with confusion around that. Is this even for me? Isn't this even something that I should implement or worry about? And you are simply providing self-recognition that yes or no, this is happening for you, or no, this is not happening for you. And it's not something that you need to dig deeper on. And then they also need to understand by the end of your workshop that they can, in fact, change, that they have the belief in themselves of what's possible for them. And if you miss that, then no amount of value or how-to's are going to convert. So what you need to do is you need to bring them in and have them engage. So this again, so the first thing is stop teaching the how-tos. The second thing is get them to engage during your workshop. I can't tell you how many times coaches have come to me and said, nobody's really like engaging. It's just crickets, nobody answers any questions. And that's likely because they're not setting up the platform or the space for their participant to engage with them. A lot of times coaches will just say, okay, you know, write in the chat box your biggest problem with this, or come off mute and let me know if you have any questions, right? And that's a really open-ended statement or question that you are putting on them. And if you're doing those open-ended questions, most people are not going to respond, right? So you're going through and you're teaching them everything you know, you're trying to solve an entire problem, you're trying to prove your expertise, right? That's what a lot of coaches are in fact doing. It's that they want to make sure that their client knows that they truly know what they're talking about, but that's not why your client is there. You're there to, again, facilitate awareness, create engagement, and then drive decision making because that's what's truly going to help your client is when they make the decision to move forward and take action. So when you're getting them to engage, there are a few different ways that you can do this. The first way is that have something for them to follow, a workbook, a one-page guide. It doesn't have to be much. It could just be a simple one-page questionnaire that they are going to print out ahead of time and fill out with you during the workshop. So periodically, not all in one fell swoop, but periodically, you would stop your teaching and start the questionnaire. And so you would say, okay, on the first section of your page or on page two, if it's a multi-page document, go to this question and I want you to write down, I want you to take 30 seconds to write down the answer to this question. You'll post the question on the screen and it will also be in their workbook. If they haven't printed out the workbook, you just tell them, if you don't have it, that's fine. Just write this on a blank piece of paper. I want you to answer this question. So that pulls them back because if they've been drifting off, if you've just been talking at them, they're likely checking their phone, thinking about something else, have multiple tabs open. I know when something is not engaging me and I'm on a workshop, I usually have three or four tabs open. I'm answering my email. I can't help but do it. It's not that I don't want to listen, it's just that my brain is taking me somewhere else. So your clients are likely mentally dropping off from time to time, and you need to rein them back in. So just a few minutes of your teaching or or your inspirational talk, and then you're having them actually physically do something. So a workbook or a one-page guide can be really useful. It has prompts and reflection for them to go ahead and fill in. This also helps you script and plan out your talk because it's guiding them through more of a transformation. And when creating a guide like this or a workbook, workbook, you have to think way more about what it is you're preparing for them rather than if you're just putting it all on a PowerPoint. It tends to be a little bit messy. When you put it into a format where they actually have to fill it out, it helps you structure your talk for transformation. And so I would recommend having something like that for them to use and go through with you during the workshop. Now, the next way to get them to engage, the second way is to use short answer responses. So I'm talking yes, no, one, two, three, type one word. So an example of this could be type yes in the chat box if you've experienced this. And this is also helping them again self-identify and self-recognize. And so if you're saying if you have experienced nights where you fall asleep fine, but you wake up at 2 a.m., you're in a cold sweat, you can't fall back asleep, your mind is racing, you're writing things in your notes app so that you don't forget them for the morning. Write yes in the chat box if you've experienced this, right? So you're helping them symptom identify with whatever it is that you're teaching on. This should be directly related to what it is that you are teaching. And so if they're saying, okay, that's me. Yeah, I'm experiencing that. And have a series of those questions throughout your workshop. So you can ask like three in a row and then come back later and ask another three. Or it could be a a lot of times I'll do the one, two, three method where I'll post on the screen that'll say, you know, one, if you've we we'd host workshops for running challenges. So for example, it could be one if you've never hosted a challenge before, two, if you've hosted a challenge, but you really feel like you've only got the foundations down and you want to go deeper. And three, if you feel like you're an expert at hosting challenges. And I'll have them post in the chat box a one, two, or three. This helps them get engaged. It helps them recognize where they are at in the process. And it also helps me as the host identify who it is I'm talking to. If I have a whole bunch of people typing two, then I can go a little bit deeper into the nuances. If everybody's typing one that they've never hosted the challenge before, I'm gonna really stick to the fundamentals and avoid going off on any tangents that is just going to take them, you know, into Walla Land. And so it helps you know who's on the call with you and it helps them start to engage and self-recognize. You can also do the one-word method. So have them type in there, you know, one word about how this makes you feel. If you would say something along the lines of, um, let's say you're working with postpartum uh clients and they are struggling with, you know, intrusive thoughts or something along that lines. And you talk about that and you say, give me a one-word feeling. How does this make you feel when these thoughts come into your head? And then they start to like feel it. They get into it. They're they're there with you, they're connected with you. They know that you too are kind of experiencing them with that. And the room is experiencing with them with that. And so they can see what other people are posting, they know what they're posting, they know that they're not alone. This helps them feel part of a community, part of something bigger. So that can also go a long way. So with those self-recognition questions, you're really helping them realize where they are at and whether or not your program that you're likely going to present at the end of your workshop, if it's that type of workshop, is going to work for them or not. Hey, sorry to interrupt, but if you are a health or wellness professional and you haven't yet checked out the wellness vault, you're missing out. The wellness vault is a content hub for coaches who create their own plans and programs for their clients, run workshops, create digital guides, and so much more. You can now do all of this in a fraction of the time so you can focus on your clients and grow your business faster than ever with more U time. The link to the Wellness Vall is in the show notes. So go sign up for your free trial today. The next thing is, you know, let's get a little bit more into the how-tos. So when you start talking about like the step-by-step, so I'm not just talking about like pushing information on them. Now I'm talking about when coaches go like step by step. Here's how you do this. First in the morning, you, you know, create your protein shake for lunch, you're gonna do this, right? So the step-by-step guides. What ends up happening with that is that your listener gets overwhelmed. They're feeling like, okay, now I have all this information. And now on top of that, I have to do all of these things, right? So, like, what am I gonna do? So not only are they feeling overwhelmed and likely a little bit confused because they have questions. When you're in a client session, you're not just dumping all the information on them and all the how-tos, you're interacting, you're asking questions back and forth, like, you know, would that work for you? Does that make sense? Are there any replacements that you would you would want to make with that? Would this work for your family life? Would this work with your schedule? Right. So you're asking them a lot of questions. When you're on a workshop, if you're doing the how-to's, the people listening are going to have the same questions, but they can't necessarily interact with you or they're too shy to ask because it's a group setting. And so you don't want to be bombarding them with all the how-to's. In addition to this, they might get so much information and so many step-by-steps from you that they leave the workshop feeling like, well, I already have so much to do. I'm just gonna try this on my own for a little bit first, rather than, you know, continuing on with this coach or signing up for their program because now I kind of know the starting steps and I need to do that first. And so your client is going to think, I've got this for a little while, maybe I'll be back, or I can probably do this on my own. So those are some things. So just to reframe what we talked about during this episode, we talked about finding a way to avoid pounding them with information and instead being there as an inspiration and helping them self-recognize. So it's important for you to help them figure out this is the problem. Is it my problem as the participant in your workshop, or is it not? Is this something that I need to go deeper on? So again, that's self-recognition. Now, in regards to the inspiration, this can be done through client stories, through your own story. I would highly recommend bringing some of your own stories into your workshop. And this could be you struggling with the same problem and how you overcame it, not from start to finish, but simple pieces of it or, you know, simple parts of your client stories that you have permission to share. Now, for example, for me, when I talk to my clients about starting their membership, one of the examples that I give is that I remember so clearly being at my son, or not being at, missing my son's preschool graduation because I had a client that wanted to get on, or a potential client that wanted to get on a call, a discovery call, because she was, she said she was 99% in and ready to join my, you know, high-ticket program that was quite expensive, but I really wanted her to join. And I missed my son's graduation for that call, and she didn't end up joining the program. So I talk about this a lot when I when I talk to my coaches about starting memberships because it's a way to show that I needed to get away from that system. I didn't want to be doing those discovery calls anymore. I really wanted something that was a bit more predictable, a bit more streamlined. And so I I ended up starting my membership and my life drastically changed, and I haven't missed anything like that since. I have a lot of regret around that. However, it did help me realize it was a big moment for me that transformed the way I thought about my business. So, as you can see with that story, that was a very small piece of the entire history of my business and how, you know, I started doing this and then I rolled into that. And I cut out all of that and just got down to the meat and potatoes in that one instance. And how in that one instance I realized that things needed to change. Tell stories like that to create connection. Now you have to also show the awareness of the gap. So they've self-recognized, but now you need to say, okay, you know that you have this problem. This is where you want to be, right? That this is the goal, this is the ideal, this is where most people want to get, but there's a gap in between. There's there's something that we need to figure out together. And that is what would we do in the program that you're presenting for them during the workshop. Because likely you're presenting something to them. You want them to continue on with you as the coach. And so your program should fill that gap. It should be the bridge over that gap. So it completes and fills in what's actually missing. You also have to create the belief of possibility. So again, as a refresher, you're creating the belief of possibility. Can you help them and can they be helped? Right? They need to know not only do they have the problem, but am I capable of solving this with some help? Is there the inner belief that I too can get the result? Right. So you have to help them through that. And then this gets into the decision making. But the truth is, once you're here and once you've introduced your program, you've already gotten through all the layers. And so at this point, the decision making should be easy. You should not feel like you're pushing anything on them, that you're like being slimy and salesy when you offer your program to them towards the end of a workshop. They should feel like they're ready to go, that they're ready to make a decision and to move forward, or that this is not for them, right? You're clearly delineating that for them to show them, yes, this is for you. And now all you have to do is take that next step forward and sign up. Or no, maybe this is not for you. And that's equally as valuable for people during a workshop. If they realize during your workshop, you know what, this actually isn't the problem that I'm having. And that is completely okay. We want people entering our programs that we actually can help, right? And so you when you get towards the end, it's just that last final decision. It's not salvation, it's not slimy, you're not pushing anything on them. You're just simply offering a way for them to continue on. The goal of your workshop should not be to teach everything you know. It's not giving all the step-by-step guides, it's not proving your credibility and your worth. The goal is to move someone from unaware of their problem to aware to decide it and decided to move forward with you. So if you take one thing from this episode, let it be this: stop trying to impress your audience with so much information. That's not what they need and it's not what they want. And instead, start involving them, get them to engage, think about the transformation that you're making during that workshop, even if it is simply to help them self-recognize and make the decision to move forward. That in and of itself is valuable and it is a transformation and be there to serve. When I switched from a feeling of I need to sell, I need to make money, I need to get this business off the ground to I am just here to serve. I am just here to help people get a transformation, to help people to change their lives. My entire business changed. When I stopped focusing so much on the actual sale itself and rather focused on the value that I was providing, the interaction, the connection, the community, everything changed for me. So think of that. You are there in a position to serve, to answer questions, to interact with people. And that is going to make your workshops 10 times more valuable. If you're planning a workshop or a live event, make sure to check out our wellness fault. We have a ton of content in there that you could potentially use as bonus material for your live events to get people to show up live. It's important that people are actually there. That's the last thing I want you to take from this is that you also have to get people to show up, right? And so sometimes to get people to show up, you have to offer some sort of bonus content for coming live. And so you could potentially use some of our content from the wellness fault to do that. And then you are there in that workshop to serve, connect, and build trust amongst your community. If you like this episode, be sure to share it with a friend. I will see you on the next one. I hope you enjoyed our conversation from today. Any links we discussed will be in the show notes below. Also, we would be incredibly grateful if you would leave us a five star review. This helps us keep the podcast going so that we can continue to provide value for all of you. I hope we see you on the next one.