PART TWO
PRE-TALK PREPARATION AND FLOW
PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE
Your primary goal when presenting Legacy Talks is to establish a relationship with new clients. Secondarily, you want to be paid for your time while there and maybe even make a good profit by selling Legacy Matters Programs and gift certificates. Once they take this all-important 'first step' your chances to sell additional legacy services dramatically improve. That's the greater payoff.
You're primary activity is to demonstrate the features and benefits of the Legacy Matters Program. So, unless you are completely familiar with delivering EVERY aspect of the Legacy Matters Program you best review your CLA training or risk embarrassing yourself and the host. The time to learn is not on location.
If you haven't yet performed a Legacy Matters Program for a friend or client then it is highly recommended to do so before taking a virgin flight on a new client prospect. Nothing will give you more confidence than experience. Find a good friend or family member and tell them you are involved with a pilot program and ask if they wouldn't mind being your test subject. Go through the entire Legacy Matters Program all the way to burning the files to an archival CD as their reward for your practice.
Your test subject will be totally impressed and also more patient than most while you learn the ropes in real time. You'll soon learn about preparedness and what could go wrong in a live demonstration. That's a good thing!
It makes sense that this person may also agree to be the demo model for your first Legacy Talk. After all, he or she will be excited about securing their honored place in family history. Why not help others? Now you have a choice to make:
- You can ask him or her to host a Legacy Talk by inviting friends and family, (many of whom may also be yours). He/she already has a completed demo to show and certainly would be enthusiastic. Hold the event at the host's home rather than yours.
- You could host the event yourself by inviting friends, colleagues and family, letting them all know this is your pilot event and they will be your guinea pigs. People like to help other people. In this case, they will be amazed and very happy you helped them!!
Once your group has experienced the Legacy Talk, one of your guests will happily host the next one. Then......you are off to the races!!
PREPARE YOUR EQUIPMENT
To be a successful CLA requires basic equipment and technology no matter which vertical you choose to work in. The better equipped you are to do this work the easier it will be to deliver the service.
In many cases there will not be internet access available and sometimes, depending on speed and available bandwidth, there can be a risk of less than optimum performance.
So, it is best to be prepared for both situations. For that, you will need a basic toolbox of equipment. Links can be found in Project Resoruces under Recommended Products.
- Laptop computer with wireless internet access, built-in microphone and a built-in DVD burner. If your laptop is missing any of these capabilities you can buy a USB plugin DVD burner for under $50 online, an external plugin lapel microphone for under $40, as well as a plugin wireless adapter really inexpensively. Modern laptops have all these as standard equipment.
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Portable photo scanner- You will need to scan the client's vintage photos if they don't already have the digital files. You can bring your office scanner but more often than not they are too bulky just to scan 5 photos. Instead, we highly recommend the Flip-Pal portable scanner as you were shown in the CLA course. A link can be found in our Recommended Products list in Project Resources. The scanner costs $149 and is light, portable and does just what you need for on-location scanning in small quantities.
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Digital voice recorder- In the event you don't have internet access when
recording the host's oral narratives, you can always use a digital voice recorder as described in your CLA training. Then upload the audios and related photo to the person's My Audios section of the LegacyStories website when internet is available later. You can buy digital voice recorders at your local office supply store for under $60 normally.
- Archival gold DVD's. We have made a special arrangement to purchase printable archival CDs and DVDs at a fraction of the cost you'll find anywhere else. You can find how to order them in Project Resources or by clicking HERE. Keep in mind that you will need pre-approval from HQ to use our branding on the labels which we highly recommend. Or, you can order them from HQ with printed labels. To learn more about this click HERE.
- TV Adapters- In many cases you will be presenting to small groups in living room environments. For groups of 5 or 6, whichh is likely to be the majority of Legacy Talks guest counts, everyone can gather around your laptop to see and hear everything. That intimacy can be fun and more engaging.
However, it is always better of you can make your presentation through the host's TV where the room is probably already set up for efficient viewing. Living rooms generally have well-arranged seating and a television for common viewing and sound. But, you'll need cables and adapters for most situations.
Don't get too confused over al this. One stop in your local Radio Shack and for $20 or $30 you can have everything you need.
Not all TV's are modern and neither are laptops. There are some adapters that will work in most cases:
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Red-white-yellow RCA adapters- These are the three-pronged jacks you use to plug into the front of the TV
from your camcorder. Red & white are audio left and right sides, while the yellow is video. These are the poorest quality of all options but can get you through. The problem is that most modern laptops don't have these output jacks any more. So you may need an "adapter to the adapter". Go to your local Radio Shack and they will set you up for every circumstance you may face with the RCA option.
- USB and S Video- USB inputs are common on laptops and on modern TVs but they only carry video and not the audio signal from your laptop to the TV. So, you may need to get a cable with a stereo 'mini-plug" on each end, one to plug into the headphone output from your laptop and the other into an "audio-in" source on the TV. Again, you may need an adapter to the adapter in case the TV doesn't accept a mini-plug but does accept an RCA. In that case you can stick an RCA on the end of the mini and then into the audio input on the TV.
- Fire wire- If you are lucky enough to have a 3 yr old or less laptop and the host has a TV that age or less, you will probably only need one cable. A fire wire cable carries audio and video in high definition from laptop to TV.
These are the basic tools you will need to participate in any of the verticals for the Living Legacy Project. The Legacy Matters Program is the cornerstone of our mission and so make the commitment to have this basic equipment and the doors of opportunity will open for you in more ways than one.
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Wireless internet hot spot- Most homes have wireless internet access these days. The presentation loses
a lot of its luster if you can't demonstrate the talking slideshow and the web library features since that is a critical part of the Legacy Matters Program, preserving and sharing.
Depending on your local carrier your smart phone may already have wireless hot spot capabilities. If not, they will offer a hot spot (portable wireless modem) that can sometimes be added to your phone bill. Get the absolute minimum service as long as you only use it for Legacy Matters presentations. This is a must-have tool when you are ready to grow as you will almost never be out of internet range and can conduct your business in all but the most remote locations. Keep this in mind. Until then be prepared!!
- iPad App- If you don't already have an iPad you will definitely want to concider purchasing one once you learn how much easier our Legacy Stories iPad App scans photos, records the oral narratives and uploads them to the client's LegacyStories.org account. It is truly amazing. If you do have the app you already know how to do this.
MEET WITH THE HOST
- Set a date and time to meet with the host to plan and send the invitations
- Send the Host his or her Legacy Talks Host Planner kit. This should include:
Legacy Talks Planner brochure (fill in date, time, location, etc on the front cover)
Legacy Talks Postcards (At least 20. If you know the time and date of the Talk you can "pre-type" that info on the master Postcard document before printing them out for the Planner kit.)
- Include a personal note about your excitement and appreciation.
- Call the day before meeting with the host to confirm the meeting. Ask for him or her to compile a list of invitees based on the memory triggers on the inside of the Host Planner brochure.
- It may be more convenient to record the Host's talking photos during this pre-talk visit. If not, you'll do this a few hours before the Talk. If the host has time, ask him or her to select 5 vintage photos to be scanned. If they have already been digitized have them emailed to you ahead of time.
- Arrive on time or before the scheduled meeting
- Help fill out postcards and mailers and crafting emails and social media messages. Use the postcard and planner as your guide to creating an effective message. Keep it simple, just like the postcard.
CONFIRM YOUR TECHNOLOGY
One of the most important things you can do while at the host's location is test the available technology.
- Use of the Host's living room TV is usually the best choice for the presentation. However, you need to be sure to hvr the correct cables to connect. If not, for groups of 5 or 6 guests it is easy to gather around your wireless laptop at a kitchen table.
- Make sure your host has wireless internet access in the home and provides you the passcode so you can confirm access to the website. If internet is unavailable you'll need to plan your presentation accordingly with a DVD presentation. This will be covered later.
BE PREPARED FOR ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING!!! Technology can be your best friend or worst enemy. Until you are caught unprepared you may not fully appreciate it. One misstep and the next time you will be the most prepared CLA ever!
RECORD THE HOST'S TALKING PHOTOS
Ideally, to save additional trips you should plan to scan and record the host's talking photos at the event planning visit.
If no internet is available you will need to create the host's slideshow before the event so you have something to show guests on DVD. It is far better if you can show this from the site and create the DVD later so hopefully the host has wireless you can access. Don't forget to bring your digital camera to take the host's profile photo. Of course, the Legacy Stories iPad app is the best and easiest choice of all. Search for Legacy Stories in the app store.
No need to burn the recordings to DVD during the planning visit or at the event. If you can do the recordings during the planning visit you'll have plenty of time to create the archival DVD in time for the actual Talk. This way you can deliver the "tangible" keepsake in front of the guests where the Host can react with a genuine act of appreciattion.
If you don;t have the time to perform the recordings during the panning visit you'll need to arrive a couple hours early on the day of the Talk. If you must do it this way you'll need to vreate the DVD slideshow at a later date and deliver it personally. But, you should still bring a blank archival gold DVD so the guests can see one as if it has been delivered.
SPECIAL ALERT: Originally, the Legacy Matters Program included an acrhival CD with only the raw photo and audio files burned. This was so we could offer the program for $99 and keep it under $100. However, it makes more sense to include the fully combined 5 talking photos into a slideshow so it can be played at the host's presentation and for safekeeping. We now recommend charging $149 for this, still a bargan and affordable to everyone. Of course, you have the flexibility to make any kind of special pricing arrangement you want at the Talk.
To learn the process for DVD production approval and ordering click HERE
FOLLOW UP AND CONFIRM
- 7 Days before the Legacy Talk-
- Call the host to get a feel for RSVPs.
- Ask the host to send reminder emails to their RSVPs
- Ask the host to send an email reminder to those who have not RSVP'd
- 3 Days before the Legacy Talks
- Call the host to get the attendance count
- Ask the host to send out reminder emails to their RSVPs
- Ask them to send an email reminder to those who have not RSVP'd
- 1 Day before the Legacy Talk
- Call the host to get the attendance count
- Ask the host to send out reminder emails to their RSVPs