Below you will find speaking options for an Introduction to LGBT, Professional Development in Marketing and Professional Development in Communications. Each of these presentations can be delivered in an interactive workshop session, breakout session, keynote presentation or a hybrid for your next conference or event. If you have additional ideas or topics you’d like to discuss, please contact the Jenn T. Grace Team by clicking here.
An Introduction to LGBT
1. LGBT 101 – Why being an LGBT Ally can help grow your business
This session is designed to help you better understand how you fit into the LGBT community as an Ally. Learn what successful allies do and say in their day-to-day interactions that increase the effectiveness of their communications, which subsequently increase their opportunities. You will learn from three (3) specific case studies with both positive and negative impacts on the bottom line.
Objectives:
- Understand LGBT basics including: who the community is, what LGBT stands for, and what the population size and buying power is for the community as a whole
- Learn the importance of storytelling and how articulating your personal ‘why’ around the LGBT community will put you ahead of your competition
- Learn from a relatable case study of how poorly communicating can significantly impact your sales
- Understand the top three (3) key phrases to avoid saying in a business setting and how they will negatively impact your progress if you do
2. LGBT 101 – The LGBT Community by the Numbers: A statistical look at why marketing to the LGBT Community is good for your bottom line
This session is designed to empower you with all of the right statistical data that can help you make the business case internally for marketing to the LGBT community within your organization. We will look past the surface meaning of the numbers and delve more into how this data plays out tactically as a part of your overall marketing plan.
Objectives:
- Learn why the LGBT community is not monolithic and how thinking so will adversely impact all of your marketing and sales efforts
- Recognize that not all LGBT people are DINKs (dual income, no kids) and why that is a good thing
- Understand the magnitude of LGBT consumer buying power as it relates to the highly sought after big three (3) minority groups who are heavily marketed to
- Understand how to read census data to identify where to spend your marketing dollars
- Brand loyalty trumps all. Learn why would 78% of LGBT adults and their friends would switch to a known LGBT-friendly brand – and how that can be your brand
3. LGBT 101 – Understanding LGBTQ: Navigating the complex world of acronyms
This session will get you beyond the basics of LGBTQ. You will learn advanced terminology and symbolism designed to give you the best possible leverage in positioning your organization as the go-to resource for LGBT consumers. Marketing to the LGBT community requires a level of understanding around the meaning and implications behind certain words, phrases, icons and symbols – this session will drastically shorten your learning curve to get you out there selling quicker.
Objectives:
- Going beyond LGBTQ – learn additional terminology that is vital to your success
- What terminology is your audience looking to hear? LGBT? LGBTQ? LGBTQIA? Rather than guess we will look at survey data that shows exactly what you should use and why
- Stop and think before you use certain terminology, ie. Don’t get caught using queer if you are selling to an older LGBT demographic – this session explains why
- Have you noticed the usage of rainbows in LGBT marketing? Learn when you can and cannot get away with using them in your marketing and/or advertising
4. A crash course in LGBT: Why positioning (selling) your products or services to the LGBT Community is good for your bottom line.
To effectively sell to any audience you must first know what makes that particular audience buy the way they do. This session is designed to empower you with all of the right statistical data that can help you make the business case for why marketing to the LGBT Community will impact your company’s bottom line. Additionally, you will find out how a global company learned the hard way that proper communications and messaging trumps all when selling to the LGBT Community. Consider this your crash course on proper sales and marketing techniques designed to give you a competitive advantage.
Objectives:
- Understand LGBT basics including what LGBT stands for, what the population size is and what the community prefers to be called when advertised to
- Understand the magnitude of LGBT consumer buying power compared to other sought after minority groups
- Learn why the LGBT community is not monolithic and how thinking so will adversely impact all of your marketing and sales efforts
- Learn from a global case study of how poor communications will put you at an immediate disadvantage which will effect your sales
- Effective personal communication is key – learn the top four (4) sales killing phrases and expressions to avoid
- Brand loyalty trumps all. Learn why would 78% of LGBT adults and their friends would switch to a known LGBT-friendly brand – and how that can be your brand
Professional Development – Marketing
1. Personal Branding: How to position yourself as the “go-to” person for the LGBT Community in your niche
Many companies now see the value of marketing to the coveted lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community, but what are you doing personally to stand out from the competition? Data shows that LGBT consumers are ultra savvy and know what your company is or is not doing for them personally and the LGBT community at large. This session will show you how to find out where your company stands and what you can do about it, even if it’s not positive. With or without your company’s support you can still position yourself personally as the “go-to” person for the LGBT community. This session will show you the top three (3) things you must know before taking that first step into building your personal brand within the LGBT space.
Objectives:
- You’ll learn how to identify how your company measures up to the competition
- Get into the mindset of the savvy LGBT consumer and see what they’re looking for from you
- Understand what the HRC Corporate Equality Index is and how you can leverage that in your marketing messages
- Effective communication is key – know the top three (3) reputation killing statements and how to avoid them
2. Creating an LGBT Marketing Outreach Plan: Top strategies for implementing a more inclusive plan that resonates with your ideal LGBT customer
All too often the LGBT community is lumped together as one large mass of people sharing the same beliefs, values, hobbies and interests. This couldn’t be further from the truth. The LGBT community is broad and expansive like many others. If you treat your marketing efforts in this manner you will fail. Imagine seeing a Spring Break ad with 20 year olds in an AARP magazine – would that message fall flat? The same principal applies here. Taking an inclusive approach to your marketing outreach plan will yield the best ROI (return on investment). Worksheets accompany this session to provide a hands-on interactive approach.
Objectives:
- You will understand how to identify your target LGBT audience in a few simple steps
- You will learn what it means to be inclusive in your marketing messages and why it is so important
- Learn the top five (5) advertising tips for more effective LGBT marketing messages
- Learn from a selection of case studies of large companies who have done this well and from those who have failed epically
3. How to Sell your Products and/or Services to the LGBT Community
To effectively sell to any audience you must first know what makes that particular audience buy the way they do. This session will teach you how to understand the magnitude of LGBT consumer buying power and how utilize that data to identify the size of your local geographic footprint. It is important to understand that you must build solid relationships with the LGBT community to see your desired results. This session will help you first – figure out where to go and second – how to sell when you get there. Proper communications and sales strategies go hand-in-hand when reaching the LGBT market.
Objectives:
- Learn what will make an LGBT person buy your product or service over your competitions
- Find out where to get involved locally (or nationally) to begin building meaningful relationships
- Identify realistic sales goals for your LGBT marketing outreach
- Understand the most effective ways to communicate that will aid your sales efforts
- Learn the top four (4) sales killing phrases and expressions to avoid
Professional Development – Communications
1. The 7 Deadly Sins of Ineffective Communications: Phrases, expressions and stereotypes you must avoid
There are seven (7) detrimental mistakes that are preventing you from properly communicating and selling to the $830 billion LGBT community. All of these mistakes are completely avoidable if you know what to look for. No one intentionally wants to look foolish in their business, so why take a chance and look clueless in your LGBT marketing efforts? This session will show you exactly which offensive phrases, expressions and questions you should avoid in order to maximize your personal effectiveness.
Objectives:
- Learn why an inclusive approach in your actions and language is the best approach
- Understand why authenticity and transparency are two key components to being a better communicator
- Learn from a case study of exactly how not to act
- Know the top inappropriate questions and statements that you should not ask a potential LGBT customer
- Learn how to recover after you’ve inadvertently stuck your foot in your mouth
2. Building LGBT Consumer Loyalty through Strong Relationships and Effective Personal Communications
The data around LGBT consumer loyalty is hard to match with any other consumer group. The buying power stands at $830 billion and in order to see results from this group of loyal consumers you must first build strong meaningful relationships. This session will take a look at key statistical data around brand loyalty and show you how to build your personal brand around being actively engaged within the LGBT community. Active engagement and effective communications are the key ingredients for success.
Objectives:
- Understand proper communications techniques that will help you build consumer loyalty
- You will learn what it means to be inclusive in your marketing messages and why this matters
- Learn why 70% of LGBT adults stated they would pay a premium for a product that supports the LGBT community
- Understand how the LGBT consumer buying power will impact your communications and sales efforts
- Learn where to get involved to develop strong meaningful relationships
3. Starting with Why
For anyone who has considered reaching out to the LGBT community, you must first weigh the pros and cons that are unique to you. You must be able to market yourself in an authentic and transparent way. You must start with your ‘why’. Why does the LGBT community matter to you and your business? This session will share two specific case studies. You will learn first from the business that failed at marketing to the LGBT community because they only saw potential dollar signs. Then you will learn from the business that continues to succeed, even today, because she knows her ‘why’ and is able to show off her empathic muscle when interacting with the LGBT community. Worksheets accompany this session to provide a hands-on interactive approach.
Objectives:
- Learn the importance of storytelling and how this will put you ahead of your competition
- Learn what exactly a ‘why’ is and how to articulate yours
- Answer five (5) basic questions to hone in on your personal ‘why’
- Understand the pain points unique to your LGBT customers and how your products solve them
- Learn the basic components of creating an irresistible ‘why’ that will have a direct impact on your business
If you are interested in learning more about In-Person & Virtual Workshops/Trainings to improve your LGBT marketing efforts, please fill out the form below and someone from the team will get back to you shortly.