FAQ: Salesman Podcast Guests
Hello Salesman Podcast guest. To help things run smoothly we’ve created this short FAQ to give you a quick overview of what you can expect when you’re booked in for your interview.
Q: How will we connect on the day?
A: We record all our podcast episodes over Zoom. When you booked your recording slot, you received a confirmation email. Your Zoom call link is in that email –
Q: Is the interview audio only or video as well?
A: Our interviews are always recorded over a video call.
We take the video content and break it into smaller clips. We use these clips to promote the full episode.
In addition to the tens of thousands of people that will listen to your audio episode, tens of thousands more will see the smaller videos too.
Q: How do I get my audio right?
A: Sounding great is more important than anything else. If you don’t already own an awesome microphone don’t panic.
Remember your personal brand is on the line here. If the sound quality is crappy, the audience will assume your message hasn’t had much thought put into it either.
Here are a few cost-effective options that will have you sounding better than 99% of the guests on other business shows –
- Audio-Technica AT2020 – $139 – This is a sub $150 mic that sounds 99% as good as my $5000 industry standard radio set up. This plugs straight into your computer via USB and has a stand built in.
- Logitech H540 Wired Headset – $49 – A headset microphone will only accept sound coming from directly in front of it and as it’s closer to your face will reject echo from the room much better.
Q: Should I wear headphones?
A: Most of the time you can get away with using your computer speakers to hear the shows host during the interview.
However, please have headphones at the ready in-case we run into issues.
Issues can arise because your microphone can hear what your speakers are playing. If the microphone picks up this audio and records it we end up with a very distracting echo.
Q: What about my video?
A: If you have a modern Windows laptop or Mac the built-in webcam will look fine. However, if you’d like to take it up a notch we recommend –
- Logitech HD Pro Webcam C920 – $60 – Plugs in via USB, Zoom recognizes it instantly with no setup.
Please sit in the middle of the camera shot with your eye line being about 2/3 up the image like this –
Q Do I need to set buy fancy lighting?
A: There is no need to buy additional lights for your interview. But there are two things to consider –
- Avoid recording from a dark room, with strong lighting pointing down directly above you. This will make you like like you’re staring in a cheap horror movie.
- Additionally, avoid positioning yourself with very bright lights or a window behind you. Other wise your camera will not be able to pick you up –
Q: Will you provide questions so I can prepare for the recording?
A: We do not send over questions before the recording slot. This is to make sure that the interview is conversational,rather than robotic.
Our interviews are true conversations. I’m no “sales guru” and I don’t pretend to be. I’m asking you the questions that a B2B sales professional like myself, I want to know the answers too.
Q: How do I know what we’re going to be talking about then?
A: The morning of your recording session our producer will reach out and deliver the shows topic and any other talking points.
Q: Do I get to promote my book, product, etc?
A: Of course! There is no need to aggressively pitch your product/book throughout the recording session. This can get a icky.
Let the audience love you first and they’ll be more likely to buy whatever you put in front of them.
At the end of the show I will explicitly ask you to share more about what you’d like to pitch.
Q: What is the best way to prepare to come on the show?
A: The best way to prepare for your interview is to watch a previous episode of the show on our YouTube channel.
This will give you a great feel of the questions that gets asked and the flow of the conversation.
Q: What happens if I’m late?
A: Please inform us if you know you’re going to be late. We give 5 minutes leeway time but after that cut off we will not be able to record with you.
Q: When will my episode of the show air?
A: We usually air the episodes around 2-3 weeks after the initial recording slot. If you have a specific date that you’d like to show to air which would have more impact for you just let us know.
Q: I have another question…
A: Please drop the shows producer an email (Producer@Salesman.org) and they’ll get back to you shortly.
