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21 Ways to Make Money Speaking

21ways_money_speaking

ARE YOU READY TO MAKE MONEY – WITH YOUR MOUTH? Inside these pages, discover: 21 specific descriptions that show you exactly how to make money, Exactly what you can expect to be paid as a professional speaker in various settings, The fastest, easiest way to be prepared to speak at a moment’s notice, and more! These sometimes small, but impactful steps will bring you an inner peace and allow you to breathe this holiday season. Start your holidays off right and stress-free with the strategies in this book!
http://bit.ly/1ccxCk1

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7 Days of Christmas – So you want to be a motivational speaker …

motivational_speaker_freeSo you want to be a motivational speaker?

As part of my 7 Days of Christmas promotion, this package contains free resources from Pivotal Public Speaking to support you in your career as a motivational speaker … links to articles, books and videos on speaking, marketing and building your speaking business

>> Click here

This offer is only available until 5 p.m. Thursday 19th December. >> http://bit.ly/1dh8CHa

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7 Days of Christmas – Set your speaking goals now for 2014

Set you speaking goals now for 2014

As part of my 7 Days of Christmas promotion, this coaching/mentoring session, Set Your Speaking Goals for 2014, is available for FREE.

Because speaking is one of the vital keys to success in so many fields.

It is the key to showing your calibre – in your workplace, in your business, even as a speaker. It is the key to persuasion. It is the key to leverage. It is the key to accomplishment.

2014 can be the year you learn how to turn that key and unlock your success.

My offer to you is to help you set those goals …to help you clarify your why – where – when – and what you will be doing as a speaker in 2014, to give you suggestions, to give you resources, to work with you one-on-one so that those goals are perfectly customised to your needs, your abilities and your dreams, whether you are a beginner, or overcoming nerves or improving from good to great.

>> Click here http://bit.ly/1cJ92YR

This offer is only available until 5 p.m. Thursday 19th December.

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Build your career by making strong, positive impressions on your audiences

Presentation skills 201

Presentation Skills 201:
How to Take it to the Next Level as a Confident, Engaging Presenter

William R Steele

Included with the tips are scores of real-life examples and stories from the author’s over 16 years of helping highly-accomplished presenters find that one more thing that they can do to take it up notch and build their careers by making strong, positive impressions on their presentation audiences. => http://bit.ly/16hissB

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Million Dollar Speaking: The Professional’s Guide to Building Your Platform

Million Dollar Speaking: The Professional’s Guide to Building Your Platform

Alan Weiss

Million Dollar Speaking

Make your move into, or improve your position in, the powerful world of professional speaking
If you think you have what it takes to speak professionally, or you’ve already been doing so with insufficient reward, now is the time to make your move. => http://bit.ly/13QGLwa

 
 
 

3 Conversations You Must Have to Get Big-Fee Speaking Engagements

Many experts who want more big-fee speeches start off with all the right tools: great topics, fabulous speaking style, and a book with a lot of buzz. Unfortunately, many don’t get past the free-speech circuit. Their book and publicity get people to take their call, but their conversations cause them to lose the speaking engagement.

Any expert who wants big speaking fees has to be adept at handling three conversations in the sales process. What you say in those situations is the difference between initial interest and getting the gig.

Conversation #1: Talking to the False Positive Buyer

What happens: You get an incoming call from someone who needs a speaker. You give them your spiel, and they are over-the-top enthusiastic about your topic and expertise. You just know that you’re going to speak to this group. You can just see all the spin-off business – and then reality hits. Either the prospect goes silent or after chasing them for several weeks, you learn another speaker was chosen.

What’s going on: The person you talked to was assigned to find a speaker but wasn’t told the budget. They were assigned by the real buyer, who found someone themselves and told the false positive folks to shut down the process. It happens all the time.

What you must do: Trust, but verify. Answer questions but also probe. My favorite tactic is to give a hypothetical situation. Something like, “Let’s pretend that I’m the one and you know it. What’s our next step? Do I send you the contract?” A false positive buyer will say something like, “Well, no. If I think you’re the one, I have to go sell you to Mr. Big Cheese.” Now you have your answer. Give them enough information to pass along but not too much that they can make a decision by themselves. And whatever you do, give a range of fees, not a specific fee.

Conversation #2: Talking to the Real Buyer

What happens: You get a referral from one of your high-end clients who recommends you to their high-end colleague. After weeks of telephone tag (at least they’re returning your calls) you finally connect and discuss your speaking. The buyer talks in more broad terms, such as what’s going on with the audience and the role the meeting plays in an overall initiative. They begin the conversation with, “We are not looking for a speaker. We are looking for someone who can…” What you say next will seal the deal or toss you out of the running.

What’s going on: These buyers have an idea of what they want but not a specific title or topic in mind. They probe for: 1) your ideas to see if they agree with you, and 2) to see if you can deliver. They are less concerned about how many times you’ve spoken in the past. They want to know if your content will help them do what they need. They are bold and decisive. If you hit a home run here, the close will be very casual. If not, they will decide you are not a good “fit.” Once they decide, there’s no going back. You have to get this right the first time.

What you must do: Talk about your approach to their situation and showcase your point of view. Then, prove what you know. Use the buyer as an example of what you would do. You have to show these skeptics they are getting a fresh and relevant perspective. And finally, have a killer title – something clear, concise, and compelling. This will focus their thinking and help them clarify what they will get from you. You want the buyer to think, “Hey, this stuff isn’t out there already.”

Conversation #3: Dealing with Last-Minute Negotiations

What happens: One of two scenarios is in play here. First, you’re dealing with the buyer and they hand off your contract to the purchasing department or the department (such as meeting planning) whose budget is being used. They see your fee, and their brain explodes. Second, you send the contract to the executive you’ve talked with several times and don’t get it back. You follow up several times and don’t get an answer. Finally, they say something like, “Hey, this event budget just got cut in half. We need you to sharpen your pencil here.”

What’s going on: In the first scenario, the lower-level folks don’t like your fee because they are not used to paying that amount. They think they can get another speaker for less. So, instead of going to the real buyer and raising Cain, they go to you and just say “no.” This happens a lot for speeches under $15,000. Second, you’re dealing with a buyer who needs to know that they got “a deal.” They want to know that either so they can brag to colleagues or so they don’t have to hassle with moving money around. They think that if you want to speak so bad, you’ll reduce your fee.

What you must do: In the first scenario, explain that Mr. Big Cheese approved that amount. If they still say no, go back to your buyer. If they waffle, give them something extra, such as another session or more books for the audience. Say something like, “Hey, I didn’t talk to XXX about this, but if you need it, I’m happy to help out.”

In the second scenario, you have a delicate balance. If you play hardball, the buyer will tell others that “you weren’t available after all,” and no one will notice you’re gone. Instead, offer to cut something out that they really want. When they balk, then come back with more stuff (again, an extra session or more books). If you give them a deal to brag about, most of the time they will relent.

The Higher the Fee, the Higher the Competition

Where there is money, there are more than two people trying to get it. And when it comes to speaking for big fees, a lot of folks are going after that invitation. Your compelling branding and marketing tools are great first steps. But your conversations seal the deal. Be ready for these interactions and you’ll get your fair share of big-speaking engagements.

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Vickie K. Sullivan, President of Sullivan Speaker Services, Inc., is internationally recognized as the top market strategist for experts who want strong brands with high-fee buyers. Since 1987, she has worked with thousands of experts in a wide variety of industries to launch their big-fee speaking, professional service, and book/product empires in highly lucrative markets. Vickie speaks and consults with clients throughout the world about selection trends in high-fee segments and strategies that position experts for those opportunities. Vickie’s perspective has been published in USAToday magazine, Fortune.com, The New York Times, and Investor’s Business Daily. Her market intelligence updates are distributed throughout the US as well as 17 other countries. Sign up to receive Vickie’s market intelligence by visiting http://www.sullivanspeaker.com or contact Vickie by emailing info@sullivanspeaker.com.

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In Speaking, “Sell” Is a Four Letter Word

It’s weird. Professional speakers, who are often paid thousands of dollars to give a one-hour talk, are expected to “sell from the platform” – that is, encourage audience members to go to their product table at the back of the room to buy their books, CDs, DVDs, notepads and promotional items using a short commercial at the end of their talk. The problem is that when the pitch goes on too long, it can backfire.

But as a free speaker who is typically compensated only with a free meal or a small gift, you are not supposed to sell at all. Why? Because you were invited to speak by a particular group; you were not hired by them. It is understood that you are there to educate, engage and entertain that group, not take the occasion to promote your own agenda.

The problem is that you ARE there to sell something, and you should expect the investment of your time, effort and money in securing and giving your presentation to pay off in terms of product sales, new clients, referrals, or some other form of financial return. Here are six ways you can encourage your audience to take action on your behalf without turning them off:

1) Change your thinking: Think of sales of your products as a way to nurture your relationship with your audience, rather than as change in your pocket. The only reason people will buy what you have to offer is because your talk touched them or taught them something, and they want to take you home with them. Buying your book, CD, etc., allows them to do that.

2) Remember that nobody likes to be sold, but everybody loves to buy: Pitching is offensive, but persuasion can be pleasant. Rather than trying to sell products, your mission should be to encourage people to want what you have. Since they came to hear you, they are already interested in your topic, and when you respect their intelligence and don’t pitch or push, you’ll find they will be interested in you and be more inclined to linger afterwards.

3) Have a drawing using a sign-up form: Pass out a sign-up form for your ezine (email newsletter) and draw for a copy of your book, CD, or a free consulting session. As you give it to the winner, tell them and the audience that you’ll autograph their copy – and everyone else’s – at your table after your talk.

4) Incorporate your product subtly into your talk: I recently heard an author who excerpted an exercise from her book and had the audience totally engaged by it. During her talk, she would occasionally refer to her book by saying, “This is on page ______” or “This is in the chapter titled ______.” It was extremely effective and completely unobtrusive.

5) Be realistic: I wish I could tell you that you can expect X% of the audience to buy your products, but the fact is that each speaking engagement is unique, and so is each audience.

When I was doing a lot of speaking for my book Secrets of the Hidden Job Market: Change Your Thinking to Get the Job of Your Dreams, my experience ranged from making no sales to selling 44 books in 30 minutes. Same talk but different audiences.

6) Think relationships: Since people do business with people they like, your goal is to develop relationships with those who may have an interest in what you have to offer, and to encourage them to refer you to their friends. Your speaking success won’t be measured in product sales, but rather in the business that comes later.

So the next time you get up in front of an audience, don’t see them as prospects; think of them as people who are there to hear you share with them something they want to know. And very shortly you’ll discover why speaking is the most cost-effective way to generate business for your business.

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Janet White is a 40-year veteran of business to business public relations, marketing and sales. Her diverse career includes being a reporter for Newsday, operations assistant at WABC-AM in New York when it was the # 1 radio station in America, 12 years as a commercial real estate writer and publicist in New York and Dallas, and 14 years as a sales rep for mobility, custom rehab, bariatric and patient handling medical equipment.

In 2010, Janet came back to her public relations and marketing roots and established The JW Speakers Agency, Dallas/Fort Worth’s only booking agency for business owners who use free speaking as a way to increase their exposure, broaden their network and bring in new clients, and emerging speakers who need guidance on building their speaking business. http://www.jwspeakersagency.com

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The Six-Figure Speaker: Formula for a Six-Figure Income As a Professional Speaker

This book is not for beginners. It’s not filled with tips on how to be an effective speaker. It has nothing to do with how to project your voice, how to organize a speech, or how to overcome shyness. This book is for the public speaker ready to take it to the next level, the speaker who is ready to go out and speak professionally to organizations and make large sums of money, starting at $2,500. If you’re that person, read this book. If you’re shy, read another book first. If you’re still learning to be a public speaker, but you’re passionate about it, read this book so you can take your career to the next level. This is the book every public speaker should use as a roadmap toward career success.

=>  http://bit.ly/tTDP9Q


The Top 4 Tips for Promoting Yourself As a Professional Speaker

Promoting yourself as a professional speaker is not like promoting any other product because what you are really marketing is yourself. That fact alone should shift your perspective as you consider the best ways to market your business. The strategies you choose will have a huge impact on your career.

Here are some things to consider as you begin to promote yourself as a professional speaker.

#1 Who is Your Target Audience?

The first step in selecting your marketing strategies is to clearly define your target audience. Look closely at your niche market. What are the main concerns, pains, needs and issues within that niche? For example, if you are concentrating on being a motivational speaker for teenagers, you must know what makes them tick and what is relevant to them. Similarly, if you want to be a business speaker, it is critical that you have a solid understanding of the world of business. Once you have identified your target market, you will be able to tailor your promotional efforts to that specific group.

#2 Professionalism

To have a great career as a speaker, you must present yourself in a highly professional manner. This is of the utmost importance. In order to come off as a professional, you must handle all of your business with maturity and a high level of skill. Demonstrating your dependability and integrity are critical. It is through these traits that you will gain credibility as a speaker. Always deliver what you promise. Better still, deliver more than you promise. Respond promptly, and make yourself available, to your customers and potential clients. Speak from the heart to make genuine connections with your target audience. Don’t be afraid to show them who you really are. These are the things that define a truly professional speaker.

#3 Who is Your Competition?

Know who your competition is, but just knowing who they are is not enough. Any winning sports team understands the value of studying their opponent, and so should you. Be on the lookout for what they are up to. What does their website look like? Is it optimized? What other products and services are they offering? How often do they speak and where? Once you have sized up your competition then you can develop your marketing strategies in new and inventive ways that will set you apart as the “go to guy” in your niche. Think about new and innovative products you can offer that will distinguish you from the rest. Try new ideas, and adapt to change as new competitors enter the market.

#4 Spending

Obviously promoting your speaking business will require that you spend some money. However, before you go out and invest in a lot of expensive marketing, take the time to learn all you can about alternative marketing strategies. Now that the Internet is the primary way most people gather information, there are many ways you can use it to your advantage.

Learn how to use your website and blog, the social networks, video sites like YouTube and pay-per-click advertising to your advantage. These are just a few of the many highly effective ways to market yourself at a fraction of the costs of old school marketing strategies. The time you invest in learning how to use Internet marketing strategies will pay off for you in a big way.

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For over 25 years Dr. Arnold has been CEO of Windhorse Corp., where he assists the nation’s top speakers, coaches, authors, entertainers, business owners and sales executives.

His mission is single focused: to help his clients learn the insider secrets how the Top 1% of Speakers earn massive amounts of money with their speaking career in the most direct and easiest way possible.

To get more tips you can use immediately to improve monetizing your speaking, presentation, and coaching skills, sign up for Dr. Gary Arnold’s monthly e-newsletter by visiting http://www.6figureSpeakers.com and entering your email address. http://www.windhorse.org

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Six Myths of Professional Speaking

Many of us either speak professionally as an added component of our value to clients, or speak because we must in order to market our services to wider audiences. Whether we mount the platform with relish to gain additional revenues, or ascend with trepidation to try to convert a few more hearts and souls, we should beware of the myths surrounding professional speaking. As someone with a foot in both consulting and professional speaking camps, I thought I’d provide this public service. => http://bit.ly/vtPQBZ

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How can you convert a seminar to a keynote?

In the speaking world, the media stars are the keynote speakers. A lot of seminar leaders and trainers ask me how they can adapt their material to this intense, high-profile, and often lucrative specialty.
 
 * “The keynote speech comes from the discipline of show business. The seminar comes from the discipline of teaching.” Bill Gove, first president of the National Speakers Association.
 
 * “With a keynote speech, the presenter is the star. With seminars, the leader needs to make the audience members the star.” Don Thoren, past president National Speakers Association and long-time seminar leader.
 
 To understand the big difference between keynotes and seminars, start by appreciating the unique characteristics of each.

… read more => http://bit.ly/rpSMIw

6 Effective Ways to Make Money As a Professional Speaker

In reality only a small percentage of people earn a living as a professional speaker. Generally, these are individuals who enjoy being in front of an audience, are experts in their niche and have highly developed speaking skills. If you believe you have what it takes to among that elite group then get ready to make money as professional speaker by using the six strategies described below:

1. Make money as a professional speaker by hosting teleseminars.

Until recently many people thought of a teleconference as just a means to have a phone conversation between multiple people. It can do much more for you than that. It can be an outstanding format for a teleseminar. With new digital teleconference services available on the Internet you have many options. You can create a presentation that is presented to a large number of people at one time. You can record your presentation and offer it as many times as you like. You simply set a time for the call, get the word out and you’re in business.

2. Make money as a professional speaker by using the Internet.

Using the Internet can be similar to hosting a teleseminar, but rather than phone lines take advantage of free chat through Yahoo messenger, Gmail and Skype conference features. It is a great place to start, especially if you’re just beginning to venture into this field.

3. Make money as a professional speaker by seeking speaking opportunities within your current job.

If you are already part of an organization or a company, then consider applying for positions such as public relations officer. The company may also make use of your speaking skills to promote their products and services to clients. Not only will they benefit from your talent but you will have the opportunity to practice and enhance your skills. As your hone your skills, you can consider converting this part-time activity into your main source of income.

4. Make money as a professional speaker by approaching private companies.

Private companies often hold regular business and leadership seminars. Contact the public relations officer and provide them a copy of your brochure and portfolio. Prepare a well thought out program that will convince them that you are a valuable resource when they are looking for a skilled public speaker.

5. Make money as a professional speaker through a Speakers Bureau.

Affiliation with a Speakers Bureau will greatly increase your visibility and your chances of landing speaking engagements. However, be aware that the organization will take approximately 15-30% of your fees in service charges for promoting you on their webpage and for including you in their other marketing materials and strategies. Even so, this is often money well spent and should be seen as an investment for increasing the chances you will land high paying public speaking jobs.

6. Direct Hire Engagements to make money as a professional speaker.

For this strategy to work you must have established a reputation in the industry. Companies and organizations may contact you directly to lead their seminars. If you have created an interesting portfolio and have credibility in the industry, then you will be able to secure speaking engagements this way. However, if you are a newcomer then you need to work extra hard to establish yourself as an expert and make a name for yourself.

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Dr. Gary Arnold, CEO of Windhorse Corp., is the author of 13 books, over 100 audio books and 12 DVD movies. He is an international coach for the Speaking Elite with over 25 years of coaching experience working with the top 1% of speakers in the nation. Dr. Gary Arnold is an expert at helping professional speakers monetize their speaking career using his cutting edge on-line and off-line marketing tactics. Gary has sold over 10 million dollars of products on-line in the last 4 years. He uses his 25 years of Professional Speaking and Marketing experience to show speakers how to drive highly targeted traffic to their websites. (Gary has traveled the world the equivalent of 22 times delivering over 1200 paid public talks). He has personally taught several thousand speakers his cutting edge marketing methods and techniques. Gary is available to professional speakers on a limited basis for private strategy coaching. (To read more about Dr. Gary Arnold and how to become a 6 Figure Speaker, check out his blog post – http://InspiringSpeakers.blogspot.com ). http://www.windhorse.org
Copyright (c) 2011

Sound bytes: Turn Your Website into a Revenue-Generating Stream

Many, many people say they make money—good money—from their website. But yours has few visitors or low conversions to paying customers. How do those folks get people to 1) come to their site, and 2) buy from them?
There are proven ways to get more traffic and then convert that traffic into buyers. These three recordings will help you understand the secrets that are specific to the speaking, training and consulting business.
• “How to Build a High-Traffic Website and Convert That Traffic to Sales!” with Tom Gray
• “Get New Sales by Mastering AdWords: How to Turn Clicks into Cash” with Howie Jacobson, PhD
• “Cutting-Edge Revenue-Generating Technology Tips” with Terry Brock, CSP, CPAE

=> http://bit.ly/pXjXgc

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Give Live Speeches Around the World from Your Computer

Your client really wants you to present at their managers’ meeting of 500 but they have no funds for your travel. Or, you have a heavy speaking schedule and a favorite client asks you to present for 30 minutes at their executive retreat. Or, there’s been a major event that makes traveling to the meeting venue impossible.

Sound familiar?

What do you do?

You set up a webcast and the client shows you speaking to their group on the meeting room large screen. You save the day by appearing virtually and delivering your important message. You didn’t have to get on a plane. You save the client some money and your body some wear and tear. Yet you still added lots of value to their event. And you generate revenue without leaving home!

Sweet!

Some of what you will learn:
• the benefits of presenting virtually
• the ins and outs of the technology needed on your end and at the venue
• to adapt your style to this presentation mode
• to set up your office for best projection
• how to prevent the most common tech glitches

The details => http://bit.ly/ob6Ah0

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From Free to Fee: How Experts Get Paid to Speak

You’re already on the speaker’s circuit, using concurrent session programs at industry events as marketing opportunities. Each year, you get return invitations, rave reviews, and high evaluations. Perhaps it’s time to quit giving away your expertise and get paid. Makes sense doesn’t it?

The transition from speaking for visibility to paid speaking is like jumping off a cliff: if you survive that first leap, the rest will seem easy. Here are four big changes you must make if you want to succeed.

1. Go Where the Gigs Are

The first change you have to make is where you speak. The easiest way to get paid is not with associations; there are too many speakers in those venues willing to speak for free. Instead, you need to compete in another arena – corporate special events.

The good news is that many professional services firms already have established relationships with corporate decision makers, so you have the ear (and respect) of the buyers. You don’t have to go through the usual gatekeepers. But familiarity can also be an obstacle if your clients see you as a teacher or trainer.

What they want: These buyers are looking for something more than their association colleagues. Corporate folks want to know the outcomes of your presentation. They are looking to change current behavior. So, have a compelling answer at the ready.

What to do next: To prevent being pigeonholed, invite the prospect to preview your speaking outside of the consulting environment. Show your client that you are the riveting speaker they need to rally their troops.

If you still want association gigs, ditch the concurrent sessions and go for the keynote slots with state and regional associations. National associations with bigger budgets usually use more high-profile personality keynoters, so pitch for the general session, where lesser-known experts are used. More motivational topics are usually given in the wind-down speaker slot.

Another way to work with associations is to participate in pre- and post-convention workshops. Associations are also open to creating new venues for speakers who will provide a draw (and high registration fees). Experts can get paid for these presentations if they are willing to take a percentage of the fees.

2. Ditch the Data, Add Stories

Buyers and audiences alike have very different expectations of keynoters. If you want to get paid $4,500 or more, it is assumed that you have more than just great presentation skills. Audiences at that level have been exposed to masterful speakers, so make sure your skills can compare favorably.

The flow of your speaking must be very smooth and transitions seamless. Storytelling takes the place of diagrams. Humor takes the place of case study exercises.

What they want: Keynoter programs also require major content changes. National associations request general topics that discuss trends or allow their members to feel good about their roles. Remember, technical content is more appropriate for the concurrent sessions.

What to do next: Go through your programs with a fine-tooth comb. Take out all the exercises and replace them with compelling stories. No more data dumping and PowerPoint slides with 10 lines of text.

3. Expand Your Media Campaign

Established committees that focus on expertise and content usually choose free speakers for concurrent sessions. Selecting paid speakers is made at the very top levels, and the decision is far more subjective. These buyers are more concerned with the speakers’ brand and how their message fits the strategic objectives of the meeting than with the PowerPoint presentation.

Because the decision is more subjective, indirect marketing approaches work best. Focus on recommendations from advocates and showcasing. Leverage is king, and paid speaking engagements can beget more of the same.

While speaker bureaus play a bigger role, don’t depend on them to be your marketing department. Speaker bureaus work with speakers like banks loan money: they only want those who get plenty of bookings on their own.

What they want: In the corporate markets, content is king. Your message has to be a conduit for attendees’ strategic objectives. Again, what behavior will you change? What are the outcomes they can expect? In the association market, buyers want someone with enough visibility to create excitement for the conference.

What to do next: Pump up your prominence in the right places. Experts who have focused on building their business with trade journal articles will need to expand their media campaign. It’s time to be quoted in widely read publications such as the Wall Street Journal, Fortune, etc. Make sure that book you’ve written will get you into these respected outlets.

4. Create Speaking-Specific Promotional Materials

Again, the decision is more subjective, so speaking-specific promotional materials take the place of requests for proposals. Professionalism is the key here — good graphic design and copy are essential. The focus is on message and approach, not specific content. No one will read pages of topic descriptions.

Many buyers check out speakers online, so websites have become the centerpiece of a speaker’s promotional materials. They won’t search your site for your topics; have a designated section just for your speaking.

What they want: While many experts have a speaking section on their site that mentions key notes, these sections are not effective if the homepage focuses only on professional services. Buyers are looking for experts who both speak and provide related services, not advisors who speak as a sideline. This subtle difference is critical.

Another way to show your stuff is via video. Buyers not only preview footage for speaking skills, but they also use them to determine if the message is on target. They examine the audience as well to determine similarities between your previous engagements and their own.

What to do next: Smart experts refocus their site towards the positioning and expertise rather than the roles they play, such as speaker, consultant, author, etc. If that’s not possible, consider a separate speaking website that touts your background, expertise, and approach. And get crackin’ on that video footage. It should be less than a year old. The fancy graphics that many speakers include are not necessary; it’s more important to be certain you are presenting your best speech material. Put it on the homepage as well as the speaking sections.

Written materials are still needed, especially when working with speaker bureaus. Plan on creating what speakers call “one-sheets” that feature your photo, list of speaking engagements, testimonials from speaking clients, your background/approach, and topics. Even beginning speakers have this material professionally produced.

A Different World

The transition into the world of professional speaking doesn’t happen with your current tools and marketing efforts. Be prepared to revamp your positioning — to brand your approach to different buyers with different expectations. Invest time, energy, and money just as you have in your professional service firm. And like any other business venture, professional help in speaking skills, marketing, and promotional material production can speed up the process.

Good luck, and I’ll see you on the circuit!

Vickie K. Sullivan, President of Sullivan Speaker Services, Inc., is internationally recognized as the top market strategist for experts who want strong brands with high-fee buyers. Since 1987, she has worked with thousands of experts in a wide variety of industries to launch their big-fee speaking, professional service, and book/product empires in highly lucrative markets. Vickie speaks and consults with clients throughout the world about selection trends in high-fee segments and strategies that position experts for those opportunities. Vickie’s perspective has been published in USAToday magazine, Fortune.com, The New York Times, and Investor’s Business Daily. Her market intelligence updates are distributed throughout the US as well as 17 other countries. Sign up to receive Vickie’s market intelligence by visiting http://www.sullivanspeaker.com or contact Vickie by emailing info@sullivanspeaker.com.

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Secrets of breaking into a public speaking career

How to Make a Fortune from Public Speaking

Robert Anthony

EAN:978-0425113271
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Berkley (MM)
Published: December 1988

Multimillion-copy bestselling author and prominent psychologist Dr. Robert Anthony offers the secrets to breaking into this lucrative field–and guides readers to a career that can bring them national acclaim and astounding wealth! At the price it is a real bargain–despite its age.

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Putting Your eBook Sales on Autopilot

Amazon.com recently announced that its monthly eBook sales have surpassed its print book sales. This revolution means the market for your eBooks is burgeoning. If you are ready.

But how do you enter this market? How do you convert your books into eBooks? And what’s the difference between Kindle format, ePub and PDF? Does your book need to be in all formats? Which is the most profitable? How do you sell them—through Amazon, other sites, or your own site? What’s a standard royalty or commission?

Learn how to tap into the largest and fastest-growing marketplaces with a highly scalable and automated plan. If executed well, you will reach a wider audience, uncover new niches, realize a larger profit, and create a closer connection with your readers.

As the demand for eBooks accelerates, the advantage goes to nimble authors, experts, and publishers who are able to stand out and rise above the noise. => http://bit.ly/qcQrum

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Top Ten Ways to Make Money Public Speaking

 
1. Sell your knowledge

This is my overriding principle that came from years of hard knocks trying to get people to hire me to speak. I get more speaking engagements than I ever had before when I quit trying to sell them and began selling my knowledge in as many different formats as possible. The idea is that infinitely more people can buy what you know through books, tapes, CDs, Ebooks and videos than could ever hire you to speak. Your name recognition because of your knowledge distribution makes speaking engagements much easier to come by because the people that could hire you have already heard you and your message on your knowledge based products. In the mean time, the money from the product sales keeps your business thriving. >>> more

Tips For Preparing Your Elevator Speech

What is an elevator pitch or speech?

Imagine that you have walked into the first floor of a multi level office building and you press the elevator button to go up to the tenth floor. The elevator arrives, the doors open, you and four other people walk onto the elevator. As you begin to ascend, someone on the elevator greets you and asks where you are headed. What do you say?

This is where an elevator pitch becomes an important piece of your business building strategy. It is important that you are able to communicate clearly, concisely and confidently who you are, what you do and who you do it for. Don’t be fooled by the thought of the location of the pitch. Even though this brief statement is developed with the notion of being in an elevator, there are many locations where you get a short window to give your pitch.

While it is a standard thought that you have 30 seconds to give your pitch on an elevator ride,I have a different thought about this. In today’s environment of smartphones, mp3 systems and other personal technology devices, you have about 10 seconds to capture the other person’s interest before they begin to think about looking at their phone or they get that glazed over look of disinterest. You have a small window and a few seconds to make the moment count.

Tip to Prepare Your Elevator Speech:

Develop a relevant and targeted pitch that describes your business is practicing your pitch out loud, regularly. Practice in front of the mirror with family and friends. You should know your pitch like you know your home address. Become intimately familiar with your pitch.

Your pitch should include the value you would bring to any client considering doing business with you, or even referring your business to their colleagues and friends. Individuals are looking for the “what’s in it for me” statement in your pitch. The thing that resonates with them. ‘

Prepare for questions with succinct answers. Nailing your pitch is one thing, but what happens if your prospect asks a question that is outside or opposite of what you stated in your pitch? Work through developing answers for opposing questions which your prospect just may ask.

Remember that your pitch is not all about it. It is more about who you provide your service to, their problem and your solution. Minimize highlighting your credentials. Remember, you have about ten seconds to capture their attention.

Let the passion show. Even with all the practice and preparation, you should not deliver your pitch like a rehearsed or memorized script. Let your passion come through and be yourself. People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. Even though you are pitching your business service to them they want to know that you care.
You can develop your elevator pitch my answering these questions.

What service do you provide?

Who do you provide the service for?

What is your prospect/target’s problem?

What is your solution for their problem?

What you want to be known for?

…………………………………………………..

As founder of the Woman Entrepreneur’s Mentor, Cheryl Pullins helps women entrepreneurs leverage resources to grow their business, increase their profit and upgrade their lifestyle. You can connect with Cheryl at http://www.iMentorWomen.com.

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Uncommon Model for Speaking as Much as You Want— And Being Paid Handsomely for It

Tired of chasing the latest technology-dependent business model? Exhausted at the idea of having to post another tweet, blog, Facebook or LinkedIn update? Want a dependable income model that allows you to speak in your home town (if you want)—and get paid really well to do it?

During four decades, Ed has perfected this model. He’ll share how he fills his 3-day programs by selling dozens of seats to the same handful of companies over and over and over again. His 80-person courses are full far in advance without any ongoing marketing, giving him time to speak more—if he wants—or go on a motorcycle trip. And he never has the stress of updating his PowerPoints or having his technology fail—he doesn’t use any!

This 77-year-young speaker has lots to share with other, less experienced speakers. Learn to adapt his ideas to your market and life preferences and you’ll be as energetic as he is!
You will learn how to:
• identify and approach companies you want to work with
• sell the program once and have a steady stream of participants that lasts for years, if not decades
• use this model when a traditional approach for public workshops doesn’t
• capitalize on why companies value this approach better than having a speaker/trainer conduct in-house workshops
• double your participants and increase their take-away value with one easy suggestion
• maintain this model, even with diminishing education budgets

=> http://bit.ly/iLaSgf

9 Action Steps to Attract Bureaus With Resources You Can Use For Immediate Result

You probably ask yourself…Why are the bureaus not booking me? What do I have to do to get them to call me?
A bureau’s first responsibility is to satisfy its clients — organizations who hire speakers. Put yourself in the bureau’s position. They want to place speakers who are:
” The easiest to book. Meaning… they’re famous, they get rave reviews, they don’t require much publicity, their presence as a keynote speaker at an event will increase attendance, etc.
” Exclusive with them. This means that all interested organizations have to go through the bureau to book the speaker.
” High profile personalities that have favorable reputations and instant name recognition.
” High fee speakers. All other things being equal, why not place the higher fee speaker?
” Dependable. They respond quickly to inquiries, are courteous, punctual, focused on stage, stay on point and keep agreements.
” Predictable. They have high ratings consistently, get standing ovations and stay on topic.
” Referred and endorsed by past clients.
Here are 9 action steps that will increase your bookings and get the attention of bureaus => http://bit.ly/jnxcxZ

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Secrets to Success with Attendee-Funded Webinars

with Lee Salz

Ask 100 people if webinars are free or for-fee. Most will say they are free. Ask the same 100 people if training is free. Most will say you *pay* for training.

What happens when you use webinars to deliver training?

Webinars are merely technology with multiple applications. Most have used webinars for branding, promoting, or database building. In this webinar, Lee introduces you to the world of attendee-funded webinars —
webinars where participants pay to learn from you.

The presentation is virtual, but the dollars are real.

If you are a speaker intrigued by webinars as an income opportunity, join Lee and you’ll learn how to:
• straddle the fine line between free and for-fee webinars — not all content is saleable
• use one question to select the most saleable content — what people will readily pay to learn from you
• avoid the most common mistake that causes no one to sign-up for your webinars
• engage the 3 prospective registrant types effectively — and at the right time — so they sign-up for your webinars
• leverage the webinar buying hot zone — the window when most registrations occur
• select a title for your webinar that passes a 4-prong test
• design your most important marketing tool — the webinar description
• choose the right webinar provider

Get all the details here =-> http://bit.ly/hOEA3x

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Turn Your Content into e-Learning for Steady Income

You’ve got content from your keynotes and trainings. You know you could reach more people and make more money if you turned your intellectual capital into an online course — or maybe even an online academy. But how do you do that quickly, easily and inexpensively? Doesn’t it take an instructional designer and tech expert? Aren’t those folks hard to find and expensive? Plus, how do you sell the course?

Is it possible to do all this oneself without lots of frustration? YES! Brian will show you how he did it with his speaking and training business and how YOU can do it with yours. He’ll walk you through his website examples in real time so you can see how it all works. And by the way, Brian doubled his revenue thanks to his e-Learning programs!

With the cutbacks in travel, conference speakers, and in-house training, NOW is the time for you to take the next step to creating your own online learning center.
John Chambers, Chairman of Cisco Systems, said about e-Learning: “The next big killer application on the Internet is going to be education. Education over the Internet is going to be so big it is going to make email usage look like a rounding error.”
In this webinar you will learn how to:
• turn your slides, books, and videos into fun and interactive training courses
• create interactive quizzes and learning games with easy-to-use software
• develop your own branded online learning center and charge for courses
• make money from anywhere!
In this one-hour webinar, we’ll share with you the essential tools of creating your own e-Learning programs.
If there is ever a webinar you absolutely cannot miss, it is this one. So mark Dec 21 in your calendar. Because it will be that day that you look back on as the day in your business when your sales, profits, and income grew — without your having to get on a plane! See you there!

Register or order the CD or MP3 recording. Note: people who register for the teleseminar will get the MP3 recording of the session for free. Also, everyone who registers for the webinar session or orders the recording will get a link to the recorded video of the online webinar.

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21 No-Nonsense Book Marketing Ideas That Won’t Break the Bank

with Elaine Dumler

The investment you made in writing your book or creating your product can come back to you many, many times over through non-traditional marketing avenues. Profit from specialty and niche markets you may not have even considered for product sales. Most of these marketing techniques work for both self-published works and those produced through traditional publishers. It doesn’t matter!

You’ll get the 21 best, cheapest and quickest marketing ideas that helped Elaine sell over 80,000 self-published books. Elaine is the first to say that if she can do it, anyone can do it! She has learned everything “from scratch” and passes along what worked so you can shorten your learning curve.

You will learn:
• how to sell in case lots to the markets in which you specialize.
• how to analyze the buying patterns of your specific markets to know exactly when to promote to them.
• a technique to pre-sell to every audience member, and even sell to people who don’t want your book by creating a new need or a new market to sell to!
• how to analyze your niche to sell books/products in large quantities at a time.
• ideas that are easy to understand, simple to implement and cost-effective.

Plus: You’ll receive a complete downloadable list of the resources used for all ideas in the session, including photos of some of the marketing pieces demonstrated.

More information => http://bit.ly/gWdnr9

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Make Many Products from Every Presentation

with Debbie Bermont

“I’m frustrated.”
“How come?”
“I’m out there giving my seminar, but I’m not making the kind of money I’d like.”
“Do you have products you sell along with your seminar?”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“No time. Do you know how long it takes to write a book? Or put together a video and get it edited and produced? I don’t have that kind of time.”
“I can see why you’re frustrated. Why don’t you attend Debbie Bermont’s teleseminar?”
“What will I get out of that?”
“She’s figured out how to produce products from every presentation, with little effort, that have brought her a lot of additional income.”
“Hmmm, sounds interesting. Where can I learn more?” => http://bit.ly/brI51x

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How to Create an Extraordinarily Effective Speech-Marketing Tool

… Your Own Self-Selling Book or Booklet
with Gordon Burgett

To regularly earn many thousands of dollars from speeches or seminars, invest a few hundred dollars now — once — and create a surefire selling tool that you can send to every booker in your universe. Build a book or booklet from something you uniquely know — solve a gnarly problem, retool a case study, explain a process that works — so the booker sees your brilliance, wit, and special insight and can hire you for a related presentation you want to give!
Best yet, you needn’t pay a penny to publish your gem in either bound or digital format, and it can be yours in minutes or days. It can also be an income source forever!
Gordon will explain the step-by-step process in this teleseminar and accompanying workbook. He will also include two digital examples (of a dozen such tools he has successfully used in the past 25 years) that you can download to get started.
You will learn:
• how to strategize your speech-marketing campaign, and what singular tool will distinguish you from others seeking that booking
• the contact letter, flyer, and “kit” components you will have digitally accessible to accompany your new speech-marketing book or booklet
• what the new tool must do to positively persuade the programmer that you are the person to pick, and to whom it should be sent for maximum effectiveness
• where you can send the tool to get it published free and fast, looking the way you want, both bound and digitally downloadable!
• how you can later (or simultaneously) re-publish that core book or booklet in-house as often as you wish without rights problems or ISBN issues

Download here => http://bit.ly/bhryqU

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Learn to cultivate 6-figure clients

Cultivating $100,000/Year Clients™: How to Stop Chasing Single Speaking Events and Start Creating Wealth

Selling individual speaking events gets tiresome, and you can go broke on this model. Leveraging your client relationships makes much more sense as well as being more lucrative. There are key elements to make this happen over and over again.

Brian Lee CSP is a master at the long-term model. He’s delineated four key components to large contracts. Whether you’re a keynoter, trainer, or consultant, you can take away ideas that will apply to you.

You will learn:
• The philosophy you must have that underpins everything
• Key strategies to make 6-figure clients possible
• How to nurture strategic alliances that lead to large deals
• How to deliver executive briefings that increase chances of the big contract
• Why creating and promoting systems are crucial to large sales

… all the details => http://bit.ly/8Z12Pt

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How to Become a Sought-After Corporate Spokesperson

As speakers, trainers, and consultants, you may come across spokesperson opportunities many times a year but fail to recognize them. They slip away — perhaps going to someone else who’s more astute about picking up the cues. Don’t let the next lucrative possibility pass you by.

The session is rich with specific examples of what has worked and techniques to avoid. This is not about cold calling PR firms, but rather how to precisely position yourself so the client feels you “get it” and can’t live without you.

You will learn how to:

. capitalize on the opportunities by understanding what your role is and what you can do to close the deal
. articulate your established market and who else (what organization) needs to reach them
expand way beyond the obvious
. bridge the gap from the client’s brand to how your ideas, products or core messages solves a problem for their market
. package your idea and make adapting your concepts easy for the client to understand and buy

The information is here => http://bit.ly/bxwG2q

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Impact and Income Beyond the Stage: Leverage Your Speaking Career into an Expert Empire

with Josh Shipp

What can a 29-year-old who specializes in speaking to teens teach corporate speakers and consultants? How about how to create an empire grossing over $1.5 million a year, a six-figure book deal, television show, and multi-million dollar product deal. He’ll share what he’s learned and how you can adapt it to your business.
Paid speaking engagements are only the beginning of your impact and income. Learn from Inc. magazine award-winning entrepreneur Josh Shipp how he leveraged his red-hot speaking career into an empire.

You will learn:

• A step-by-step formula for getting a major book deal
• How to leverage your speaking gigs for mass impact and income
• Secrets for communicating what you do to the media for exposure and bookings
• The system for packaging your current content and selling it on multiple platforms
• The five things I wish someone had told me when I started this business

More information => http://bit.ly/axbJXx

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9 Internet Revenue Streams to Make Your Web Income Soar

I Love the “IRS”:
9 Internet Revenue Streams to Make Your Web Income Soar

with Tom Antion

The Internet affords us multiple low-risk/high-return opportunities to earn big bucks and to promote our speaking/training/consulting businesses. If your business has been affected by the slow economy, Tom will show you how to create income streams so you’ll still have money coming in if your primary business is off.
In this fast-paced session, Tom will share nine different revenue streams you can tap to take your income and fame to completely new levels. Tom’s been immersed in Internet selling every single day for the last 16 years. You do NOT want to miss this teleseminar and the secrets he shares.

You will learn:

• How to maximize your income from website visitors. Not all of them can hire us to speak, but all of them can spend money if we give them the chance.
• How to insulate yourself from ups and downs in the economy. Having multiple streams of revenue is a good insurance policy.
• How to bring in revenue from side projects that don’t even require a website. It’s fun to get surprised with checks and PayPal deposits from deals you don’t even remember creating.
• How to attract and service high-end clients to the point where they could buy you a new house. This is not hocus-pocus. Tom’s been living this life for years and he says the people listening to this call are the perfect candidates to replicate his success.
• Tom’s exact technique on how he can legitimately say, “He couldn’t stop the money coming into his checking account if he tried.”
________________________________________
More information => http://bit.ly/bmvNcn

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How to Build a High-Traffic Website and Convert That Traffic to Sales!


with Tom Gray

Why is it that speakers spend days, months, and years crafting and polishing their platform presentations but balk at spending 30 minutes polishing their web, blog, and newsletter content? Yet time consistently spent on the latter can be crucial in getting to do more of the former.

Do not attend/listen to this seminar if you have all the web traffic, blog readers and ezine subscribers that you can handle buying more of your services and traffic than you have available. However, if you would like to increase your traffic and monetization, invest an hour and find out what you’re missing.

In other words, if your web presence more closely resembles a Field of Pipe Dreams (if you build it, they most likely won’t come and if they do show up, they won’t buy any popcorn) than a Field of Dreams (bleachers are packed and the concession stand is humming), you’ll benefit from this fast-paced, overly informative hour.

We’ll cover key topics:

  • Content is king but the natives are restless, or “I have a back button and I know how to use it!” Offer the right content to attract and engage your audience and keep them coming back.
  • If you don’t ask, they won’t buy. Effectively merchandising your site.
  • What you don’t measure, you can’t improve. Why Google Analytics is your best friend and the critical metrics that really matter.
  • Plan your work and work your plan, using editorial calendars and other tools to deliver consistent, persistent messages to your target audiences.
  • Why your blog should be the flagship of your social networking strategy.
  • Why “give to get” is food for business.
  • SEO for dummies and professional speakers/trainers/consultants too!

More information >>>

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Beyond the Speech: How to Dramatically Increase Your Clients’ Results and Your Income

You know in your heart that a one-hour — or even a one-day — presentation rarely creates long-term change. Yet you don’t know how to create a system (which could include books, tapes, DVDs, software, workbook, coaching) that will truly help people make lasting changes — and compensate you well. Bill faced this same dilemma and knew he wanted to make a bigger difference in his audience’s lives beyond a one-hour or one-day program. He’ll share his decisions along the way and how you can take your content and create an ongoing system. Bill’s business generates well over $3 million annually thanks to these strategies that could help you move to a higher level, too.

Warning: this program is for professionals who really care about making a difference in others’ lives — or as Bill puts it, “this is for people who give a crap that someone does something with their content!”

You will learn:

  • What kind of content lends itself to an ongoing system
  • The questions to ask yourself to determine what kind of system will work for your material
  • How to sell a systems-approach before or after a one-time presentation
  • The pros and cons of having a system to implement
  • How other staff can support the users to get results
  • How having a system expands your revenue and personal satisfaction — and determining if is it worth the trouble

Details are here

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How to Produce Profitable Public Seminars

Can you still make money by selling seats at public seminars? Or is it one of the easiest ways to lose your shirt? Yes, and yes.

Public seminars are a fantastic way not only to make good money, but also to have potential clients preview you, and build your list of fans. Yet there are pitfalls you must avoid or you will be lamenting paying the hotel’s non-refundable deposit. Monica will share her secrets on making sure that all the are bases covered before you begin. If producing profitable public seminars is a goal for you, this session will provide invaluable learning, tips, and tricks of the trade. Plus, you may even learn a few things to avoid at all costs!

What you will learn:
• What decisions have to be made BEFORE you market
• From what sources to get your revenue
• How to cut your expenses
• Other benefits public seminars can provide you
• Common fears and how to overcome them

Click here for all the details …

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This week’s sound byte: Public Speaking Success System

This is an mp3 album.

Some of the topics:

Public Speaking Success System10 Tips for Speakers

6 Questions That Professionals Speakers Answer

Easy Ways to Remember Your Speech and Other Material

How to Handle Questions During a Presentation

How Free Speaking Gigs Will Help You

How to Deal With a Negative Audience

How to Market Yourself As a Professional Speaker

Successful Transitions for Your Presentation

The Real Message the Professional Speakers Send

Where to Find Professional Speaking Jobs

Get more information here or you can buy it from  Amazon

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The Marketing tools vital to a public speaking career

Nick Morgan has written a very useful, practical post here.
I just love his introduction:

Let’s talk about the marketing materials you need to develop a paid public speaking career.  There are a few essentials:  a DVD, a website, a book, a one-sheet.  And a number of should-haves: a social media presence, a blog, a press kit, handouts, YouTube videos.  And after that, the only limit is your imagination.  The Carrot Principle authors sent 4-foot stuffed carrots to speakers’ bureaus to catch their attention (it worked).  A speaker we know sent live goldfish to speakers’ bureaus for the same reason (the goldfish mostly died).  Seth Godin reaches out to his base with promotions, seminars, special deals, unique offers – almost daily.  He’s a brilliant marketer, and it shows (and it works).

But let’s talk about the essentials first.

… and you can read them here …

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Positioning Yourself For More Speaking Engagements

12 essential Steps to Attract Your Ideal Customers

With all due respect, love and admiration, why do you, some of our planet’s best teachers (professional speakers) think that all you have to do is throw up a website to get invitations to speak? What’s with the trend to try to build relationships only over the Internet? Can you imagine the response of a meeting planner if the author of the best-selling “how to” book actually picked up the phone and called the CEO of an organization to suggest a way in which she/he can solve at least three of the organization’s five challenges?

Yes, of course, you can imagine it. Then I’d like for you to tell yourself that the only difference between you and the high profile speaker is positioning – and OK, I’ll concede, more experience. There are so many ways to showcase your expertise to the world, and I’m going to show you the most basic, yet essential steps that you can take to keep from being on the endangered speakers list.

No cynics, please. If you’re excited about building your speaking business, this is one of the most important articles you’ll read. No matter how many different formats I use to communicate this information, these 12 Positioning Steps are critical to meeting planners taking you seriously.

These steps are based on my experiences in booking more than 2,200 paid engagements. They include simple steps that Mark Victor Hansen taught me back in 1982 and the current strategies that Internet marketing experts recommend.

Positioning Yourself Creates the Clarity You Need to GROW Your Business

I believe that it’s ideal for you to have someone represent you full time, rather than do it yourself. But since many speakers begin their speaking careers with another primary source of income, it’s a transition that can be costly unless you have thoroughly positioned yourself. Besides, when you have done what’s necessary to position yourself, you will more readily attract a commissionable salesperson (and bureaus) because you won’t be so darn hard to book! Once you have clarity about your positioning, you’ll find low cost ways of implementing the on-going strategies.

Whether you’re an emerging or active speaker, review these 12 Positioning Steps and set the stage to finalize each step. Be willing to take responsibility for not getting booked as much as you’d like to be. I’m giving you the system here and once you begin to complete each step, you’ll be ready for the next one.

Taking 100% Responsibility for Where You Are Now, Begin with #1

1.) List your core competencies. Your core competencies are the source of your competitive advantage. By combining a set of core competencies in different ways and matching them to the needs of your target market, a speaker can launch a business. Core competencies are the glue to your business model. What do you do best? What do you know the most about? What are your strengths?

2.) Make a list of facts about yourself. As a speaker, you are hired for two reasons: facts (about you) and third party endorsements (of you). Have you won any awards? Have you addressed eight of the 50 chapters of your professional association? Are you a voice in your industry? What are the results of your expertise in a particular industry? What are your professional credentials that separate you from your competition? Are you a top producer in your sales field?

Are you a published author, have you written home study guides and or recorded educational CDs that demonstrate your value in your target market? Are you a columnist in your local newspaper? By the way, if you’re a beginning or emerging speaker, one of the best things you can to to build your credibility is to get published. You don’t have to have an agent or a publisher, you can self-publish. Or you can write an ebook and sell it from your website.

3.) Make a list of third party endorsements. The first reason as stated above that you are hired is because of facts about you. The second reason is third party endorsements. You get hired more often than not because of referrals…others who believe in you and pass on the good word about you. Meeting planners will focus on the results you’ve gotten for others. The more you can focus on the results that you have provided for others, the more others will pay attention. That’s why people buy.

4.) Compose your I AM, I DO statement. The advertising term is “unique selling proposition” or USP. It’s the same thing as your “elevator speech.” I’ve created a template in one of my products called Let Me Introduce Myself where you create two sentences that succinctly describe your expertise and your value to your target market.

Choose the appropriate adjectives, adverbs and direct objects that separate you from your competitors. These two sentences reveal exactly how you will bring value to your target market. Even high profile speakers who fail to continually refresh their USPs can track their lack of bookings to fuzzy USPs, making the erroneous assumption that their celebrity is sufficient, or their past accomplishments will secure their future invitations to speak. Wrong! Too much new talent coming out to secure anyone’s future who has remained stagnant. Your clarity about your value to your target market is imperative and should be very clear in your USP. This is your marketing message.

5.) Craft your signature speech. When you’re beginning, focus on one presentation topic. This should be the one that you are most passionate about communicating. It should be no more than two paragraphs plus bulleted deliverables; in other words, the bullets are the audience takeaways. This will prevent the presentation topic from being all about you and/or your philosophy. Your prospective buyers want to know what’s in it for them, not what’s in it for you! It should reflect your ability to influence others to have more productive lives, have greater success at work, reduce stress, generate new ideas, overcome the odds, increase performance and or reduce costs, etc. The more experienced you become, the more your presentation topics can be described in ways that benefit the buyer.

6.) Identify your target market or your ideal client. Craft your ideal client profile. For instance, if you are a top producer in real estate, your target market might be the real estate industry which would include all companies and all associations in the real estate industry. Your ideal clients would be real estate agents who want to become top producing Realtors®.

Once you excel in that niche, you can broaden your outreach to include a secondary target market such as general sales. All commissioned sales individuals are seeking ways to increase production. You already have the proven systems, the daily sales activities, the marketing strategies that lead you to become a top producer, so why not expand your outreach? Ask your clients what they struggle with and figure out how to help them increase their production or decrease their losses. The more experienced you become, you may even be able to expand to other secondary markets.

7.) Create a compelling website. Your site can be simple if you have the necessary elements to describe your expertise and your value to your target market(s). The eleven (11) standard elements are:

1.) Info about you/ your biographical sketch containing facts about you
2.) Third party endorsements – These can be under a “reviews” section or these can be integrated into the site or on flash pages, or using scrolling text
3.) Your signature speech with descriptive paragraph and bullets and other presentation topics if you have more than one
4.) A DVD of you in action, speaking
5.) Articles about you or by you
6.) Meeting planner’s tools – This is a valuable meeting planner resource page such as various photos (color and black/white) of you that can be uploaded, your introduction, your pre-program questionnaire, your AV requirements
7.) Products that you offer to your client base
8.) Your shopping cart – Offer your extended learning materials here such as CDs, books, training manuals, study guides, ebooks, teleclass recordings, boot camps, continuing education courses and other products that bring value to your ideal customer. A good shopping cart tracks your customers and profits coming into your company.
9.) Create an opt-in box on your landing page. An opt-in box is the tool that makes it possible to build and track your customer base notifying them of your new products, your blog, helpful articles, etc. You’ll want to provide incentive for them to opt-in by giving away free information, reports and tips. Free information that you offer will builds your list, leverage your outreach and increase your profit if used wisely. Speakers with large databases are appealing to those experts who host boot camps and educational intensives. The opt-in box is an ideal way to grow your database.
10.)Privacy policy
11.)Site map

8.) Establish your speaking fee with options for generating a profit. Fee flexibility can be the key to making money speaking in this economy. There are 7 ways to earn money when you speak:

1.) Fee plus expenses
2.) Fee only
3.) Expenses only
4.) Fee + expenses + product sales
5.) Product sales only
6.) Product sales + expenses
7.) Pay the organization a % of your product sales

9.) Turn your expertise into products. These include CDs, manuals, workbooks, teleclasses, DVDs of you speaking, CE courses, coaching/consulting programs offering accountability systems (most people get better results when they’re in a program). Bundle various products that you’ve created. You can interview industry leaders, top producers, successful managers, community activists, radio personalities and association executives and turn your passion for speaking into an exciting educational opportunity for yourself.

10.) Identify all of the possible marketing activities that you can do to attract your ideal clients/your target market. If you do something in several of these categories on a daily basis, covering all of them in a month, you’ll begin to build a stead flow of inquiries and clients.

11. Systematize the marketing process into daily activities.

This should be a repeatable process the week days of every week. Eventually you can rely on a schedule so predictable that it can all be on auto-pilot. You can even hire virtual assistance to do many of these tasks for you. No more panic attacks in the middle of the night about how you are going to pay your bills. It’s properly positioning yourself and systematizing your marketing activities that is going to make a difference. Spend time every day working on multiple activities so that you aren’t waiting by your phone for it to ring. You’re being pro-active in evaluating the success of each step and considering new ways of implementing them. If you continue to take action steps every day, you will develop a belief system in your company, in yourself and in what your value is to your target market.

12.) Make contact with your prospective buyers. Make it a priority to contact your prospective buyers once you are positioned. Have your systems in place so that you can dedicate time each week to contacting your past clients and future clients. Do not assume that you can reach out to your customer base without picking up the telephone. It’s a great way to introduce yourself to meeting planners if you’re positioned properly. If you are, you will not get ignored. You’ll be making hot or warm calls. But if you’re not positioned properly, you’ll be making cold calls. See the difference?

The path of least resistance feeds on the natural tendency of people to fear prospecting. Cold calling has become a dirty word associated with high pressure calls and unscrupulous tactics resulting in no sales. If you’re a beginning speaker or a speaker who is not generating inquiries with your website’s SEO, if your database is still small, if your email blasts are not yet generating telephone inquiries, it’s time to complete the Positioning Steps above so that you’ll be comfortable with reaching out and actually contacting your buyer, either face to face or via telephone.

How’s Your Current Positioning Working for You?

Do you live in the world of cause and effect? It’s a great advantage if you’d like to get to the truth of why you are not booked as much as you’d like to be. When you devote the time and attention to undertake these 12 Positioning Steps, you’ll have a system. You’ll know what to do. You’ll know what to say. Your telephone will ring. Your web inquiries will increase. You’ll begin holding new dates on your calendar. Stand back and watch how big your voice becomes in your target market.

Mary McKay, speaker marketing specialist, is the founder of the Turnkey Speaker Booking System, where you learn to position your expertise for more paid speaking engagements. To get your F.R.E.E. weekly tips, relevant articles and coaching on positioning and marketing your expertise and attracting more clients, visit http://www.TurnkeySpeaker.com.

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Add to Your Speaking Revenue as a Professional Emcee

Add to Your Speaking Revenue
as a Professional Emcee
with Mark Standriff


Mark Standriff

Are you looking for additional sources of income in these difficult financial times? Have you ever considered being an emcee? Marketing yourself as a master of ceremonies not only provides value-added opportunities for potential clients, but also gives you access to high-profile events for which you might never be considered as a main speaker.

Emceeing is a different skill from delivering a speech. It requires different marketing, and certainly demands different preparation — there are a number of challenges you should avoid or you’ll be cleared out before the main course. But it can be a lot of fun and quite lucrative.

Mark Standriff has worked as a professional emcee for hundreds of events during his 25-year speaking career and will share his secrets on knowing how to shine without being the star attraction. If you’re open to looking at a different side of speaking, this session will open your eyes to professional opportunities you may never have known existed.

You will learn:

  • Key selling points that will make you a sought-after emcee
  • How to prepare so that your agenda complements the event’s agenda
  • Creative ways to command attention and keep the program flowing
  • How to handle hecklers and other audience problems
  • Common concerns and how to overcome them

Get all the information here …

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How to Capitalize on Your Uniqueness to Ensure Repeat Business


 with Glenna Salsbury, CSP, CPAE


Glenna Salsbury

Your platform effectiveness is powerfully enhanced by your clarity of unique message. Are you holding audiences in the palm of your hand? Are you experiencing repeat and referral business time after time?

One of the most practical ways to tap into your authentic message is to begin to dig out of your memory bank the most significant events, most significant people and most life-changing insights that have impacted you.

Life-changing, transformational speakers are those who are captivatingly authentic. Our challenge is to become courageously transparent, to share our own unique truth, with a thoroughly humble heart.

You will learn:

  • methods for clarifying your unique message
  • tips for telling spellbinding stories
  • how to utilize powerful rhythm in your speech
  • why it’s important to deliver elevating laughter
  • practical tools with which to leave your legacy in the lives of your listeners


Register or order the CD or MP3 recording. Note: people who register for the teleseminar will get the MP3 recording of the session for free.

Date: Tuesday, November 24
Time: 7:00 pm Eastern, 6 pm Central, 5 pm Mountain, 4 pm Pacific
Length: 60 minutes
Cost: $25


Special Limited-Time Offer:

If you want more information on how to mine your life for presentation content, we suggest the recordings of several earlier programs to complement Glenna’s program:

  • “Digging for the Treasures in Your Stories” with Emory Austin, CSP, CPAE
  • “The Anatomy of a Remarkable, Convention-Maker Keynote” with Joe Calloway, CSP, CPAE
  • “Creating Emotional Triggers to Make Your Stories Memorable” with Doug Stevenson

With your order of Glenna’s teleseminar, CD or MP3, at checkout you will be offered these recordings.

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Creating Distinction in the Speaking Industry:How to Make the Marketplace Irrelevant


 with Scott McKain, CSP, CPAE


Scott McKainWhat if you could find a way to make the fluctuations in the economy have a less-than-significant impact on your speaking business? What if there was a way that you could stand out and move up, even while others are facing difficult times? What does it take to differentiate yourself, so you become a “movie star” of speakers, rather than merely one of the pack?

We’ll look at the three “Destroyers of Differentiation” and the three levels of recognition and why you want to avoid the first two.

Scott McKain, CSP, CPAE has been studying what makes some professionals stand out — while others are adrift on a “sea of sameness.” He’ll take the findings from his new Amazon.com and 800-CEO-READ bestseller, Collapse of Distinction: Stand Out & Move Up While Your Competition Fails, and apply it directly and specifically to speakers. Add this to the fact that Scott was the first speaker to center his business on using the entertainment industry as the metaphor for every profession — his “ALL Business is Show Business” dates back to the early-1980s! — and you will discover what it takes to attain a level of distinction beyond your current position.

You’ll learn:

  • the Three Destroyers of Differentiation — the dangerous elements common in every speaker’s business that pull you back to the undifferentiated pack like a magnet.
  • why Level One is the WORST place for any speaker to be — constant fee pressure, difficult clients, endless prospecting — and how to escape.
  • why Level Two is where many speakers settle — a lot better than lower; infinitely less rewarding than the top.
  • how Level One speakers transcend transaction and build lasting careers. Ever wonder why the same speakers are the “superstars” at NSA? Here’s the answer…
  • the four steps you MUST take — and take in a specific order — that will make you stand out and move up, even during a challenging economy and a difficult time in the meetings industry.
  • how to create a place for yourself at the absolute top of the profession!


Register or order the CD or MP3 recording. Note: people who register for the teleseminar will get the MP3 recording of the session for free.

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Advice for speakers and presenters – 7 ways to turn a free gig into a financial windfall

You’ve been asked to speak for an audience. However, the event organizer or meeting planner tells you they can’t pay you. Your heart sinks knowing that speaking for free will cost you in the long run. You think of all the expenses you’ll incur  gas, parking, photocopying materials, babysitter  and speaking for free means you won’t be reimbursed for these incidental costs.Although a free gig can eat into your bottom line, you don’t need to refuse it altogether. If you’re still building your expertise, free gigs can help you to refine your message and try out new concepts on an eager audience.

The only way you can make money if you’re speaking for free, is to sell something. You just have to. Otherwise, known as back of the room (BOR) sales, here are some tips for ensuring that you rake in the cash even if you’re speaking for free.

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Get Your Audiences Involved and Get More Business

with Karen Lawson, Ph.D., CSP
Karen LawsonToday’s audiences are different. Conditioned by their experiences in school and corporate training programs, they expect a presentation to be a learning experience, and they expect learning experiences to be active. Contemporary audiences are greatly influenced by computer games and simulations as well as videos and television. With a multitude of options at their fingertips, people are less tolerant of limited programming options. They want to be wowed by both quality content and quality entertainment, and it’s incumbent on us as speakers to deliver.

Your goal is to connect with your audience, and one of the most effective ways to do this is to get them involved. Audience involvement requires a different approach. Sometimes speakers prefer to simply stand before an audience and deliver their message. The ability to actively involve the audience requires a different skill set that many speakers have not as yet mastered. They may want to, but don’t know how.

Karen Lawson, Ph.D., CSP will share her practical, how-to approach to using interactive methods to increase audience impact and ensure speaker success whether an individual is delivering a keynote speech, making a sales presentation, or conducting a seminar or training session.

You will learn to:

  • Identify trends, influences, and considerations that shape demand for interactive speaking
  • Use specific interactive techniques to increase audience participation
  • Adapt interactive techniques to “dry” topics
  • Adapt existing material to a more interactive style
  • Identify sources for interactive techniques

Register (the date of the seminar is Tuesday, June 9) or order the CD or MP3 recording. Note: people who register for the teleseminar will get the MP3 recording of the session for free.

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Master the Camera to Expand Your Exposure

with Shawne Duperon

Your speaking, training and consulting career can be helped or hindered by how you come across on camera, whether it’s a media interview, your demo DVD or a YouTube segment. Video media exposure can expand your visibility exponentially to potential customers and powerfully cement your credibility — when you use it well! If not, it can actually hurt your brand.

Using on-camera strategies and tactics, Shawne shares all the inside secrets to become exquisite on camera.

In this content-rich teleseminar, you will learn:

How to avoid on-camera mistakes
How to “dance” in a TV interview
Where to look when you’re on-camera
The best camera-ready clothing to wear
The difference between taped and live interviews
How to talk in 2- to 3-sentence “sound bites”
Why the first question is the most important
When and why you should “parrot” the reporter
How to meet both the reporter’s needs and your messaging goals
After this session with former TV reporter Shawne Duperon, you will understand how to be outrageously charismatic on camera. Over the last 20 years, five-time Emmy award winner Shawne has interviewed presidents, celebrities and sports stars. She’s filmed Colin Powell, Jimmy Carter, Hillary Clinton, John McCain, Morgan Freeman, YoYo Ma, Phil Mickelson and Bill Cosby to name a few. She knows what it takes to be great on camera and have reporters, producers and editors coming back for more.

Register or order the CD or MP3 recording. Note: people who register for the teleseminar will get the MP3 recording of the session for free.

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Advice for speakers and presenters – 7 ways to turn a free gig into a financial windfall

You’ve been asked to speak for an audience. However, the event organizer or meeting planner tells you they can’t pay you. Your heart sinks knowing that speaking for free will cost you in the long run. You think of all the expenses you’ll incur  gas, parking, photocopying materials, babysitter  and speaking for free means you won’t be reimbursed for these incidental costs.

Although a free gig can eat into your bottom line, you don’t need to refuse it altogether. If you’re still building your expertise, free gigs can help you to refine your message and try out new concepts on an eager audience.   … read more here

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Repackaging Your Content: Using New Media for SEO, Thought Leadership and Sales

with Albert Maruggi

Speakers, consultants and trainers are constantly creating content.

PowerPoint presentations, speeches, videos, demos.

You’re constantly sharing information online and off. But are you getting as much mileage as you can out of that content?

This teleseminar will help you think about new ways to publish, share and promote your content, your ideas and yourself.

Social media tools are inherently search engine-friendly and help you reach more people. Learn how the power of the Web can highlight the value you provide and solidify your standing as a thought leader in your niche. What would you be able to accomplish with more eyes and ears on more of your content?

You will learn how to:

Put your content in front of more eyeballs by making it “social,” findable and shareable

Use your content to squeeze out more “Google juice”

Benefit from thinking like a journalist

Get started on making valuable connections on the Web

Find influencers and potential clients online

Register or pre-order the CD or MP3 recording. Note our new policy: people who register for the teleseminar will get the MP3 recording of the session for free.

Special Limited-Time Offer:
If you want more information on using social media to promote your business, we suggest the MP3 recordings of two earlier programs to complement Albert’s program:

“Discover New Internet Publicity Strategies to Sell More Products and Get More Engagements” with Dan Janal

“Use Social Media Marketing to Grow Your Speaking & Consulting Business” with Ford Saeks

With your order of Albert’s teleseminar, CD or MP3, at checkout you will be offered these recordings.

Chutzpah 101: How to Approach Top Dogs to Sell Speeches, Sponsorships, and Products

with Ron Karr, CSP
Ron KarrWhat if you knew how to get the attention of top decision makers? How to entice them to engage in conversation, then engage your services? Would your life — and bank account — be different if you could speak directly to those who hold the purse strings, versus going through lower-level gatekeepers?

Ron is an über-salesman. He knows how to get to decision makers through strategy, courage, persistence, creativity — and chutzpah! He’ll share techniques he’s used to get to Steve Forbes, Cathie Black (CEO of Hearst Publications), Tim Ferriss (bestselling author of The Four-Hour Work Week) and many more. He’ll discuss how to adapt what he’s done so you can apply it to your situations.

You will learn:

  • how to avoid the most common mistake that prevents speakers from reaching their targets
  • the proper etiquette for networking power brokers
  • the key to leveraging relationships
  • how to create an enticing value proposition for each top dog
  • how you can generate so much conviction that you can’t not make the call — you have absolute belief you can help him/her
  • how how to uncover your prospect’s hot buttons and wrap your offer around those
  • the best ways to get through to the top decision makers

Get it all here

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Bureau basics and beyond

Developing Relationships with Speakers Bureaus

Having as many people as possible market you makes good business sense.

Or does it?

How can you convince a speakers bureau to represent you? And what, exactly, does “represent” really mean? Will the bureau send a steady stream of business to you — or will it be an irregular trickle? Bureaus are inundated with speakers wanting to be booked, so how can you cultivate a positive relationship? And how do you know which bureaus are ethical, credible, and won’t leave you with unpaid travel expenses?

You will learn:
– how to get a bureau to represent you
– what it means to have a bureau represent you
– what you need to have before contacting a bureau
– how to find and choose bureaus to approach
– how to learn how they want to be contacted
– why you should not balk at paying a materials review fee
– the best ways to develop a relationship without being a pest
– the difference between net fees vs. gross fees and the importance of fee consistency
– realistic expectations of a bureau’s frequency of booking you.

The details are here.

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Sandra Schrift – On Speaking Points

If you speak for a living, whether you are part time, full time or BIG time, you need to be guided by strategies that get you the bookings. Here is what my 20 plus years booking and coaching speakers has taught me.   (… more)

Career Opportunities in public speaking

And that public speaking has a vital function in our society. Without it, our children would not be educated and the way our culture functions would be in serious danger. So professional public speakers are important.  (more …)