ANALYSIS AND ACTION

You will find that a common theme throughout this book is that of making sure you treat your speaking career as a business rather than as a hobby. To that end, the need for you to continually analyze and research your market and your business to make sure you are getting the best results possible for the efforts you will be putting in is critical for your long-term success.

We will talk about some of these topics more in depth later in the book but here is a quick overview of some areas that we feel will require your detailed analysis to make sure you stay on track with your speaking business and continue to move things forward in a positive manner.

#1 What holes exist within the current market for which you would be a good fit? Where do your unique abilities and experiences best match up with a prospective audience that will want to hear your message? How can you tie your topic or topics into current events in some way that will make your expertise more "timely" than other alternatives out in the marketplace?

#2 What are the best ways for you to get the word out about your speaking and what you have to offer people? Online, offline, networking, direct mail, speakers bureaus, something else?

#3 What speaking model is the best fit for you? Fee or free? Or both? This is covered in depth in Chapter F of this book.

#4 How can you provide the audience you wish to serve with the optimal customer experience? Not only for the potential new customer possibly looking to book you as their next speaker, but also for your clients before and after an actual presentation.

#5 If you are selling from the platform what are your closing rates? What package or offer draws the best response, on average, from your audience? A physical product, coaching program, membership site, something else? And what price point gets the most responses? Various metrics are covered in detail in Chapter M.

#6 Amplification. How will you leverage your efforts best for long term gain? As your speaking business begins to grow how will you amplify your efforts to grow your business even faster? What tasks can you potentially outsource to others so that you can focus your efforts on more highly valued activities that only you can perform? What software or other resources can you incorporate into your daily operations that will speed up your progress?

Remember that we are looking at speaking as a business and not as a hobby. That means that you will need systems, processes and procedures developed and implemented for every aspect of your business to get things on track. Everything from how you get bookings, to making travel arrangements, to follow up communications with your clients, to product creation requires some level of standardization if you are going to build a business that is sustainable.

Your careful analysis as early in the game as possible as to what will make you stand out from the crowd in everything you do is so important. But, that being said, analysis without action is basically worthless. If you get yourself into a proverbial "Paralysis by Analysis" state then your speaking business will languish and you will not get the results that you want.

Imperfect Action is Better Than Perfect Analysis

It is often said that "Imperfect action is better than perfect analysis." Will you make mistakes along the way? Of course you will. But if you never make any mistakes then that means that you are not doing anything and that is far worse than making a mistake.

We have all run across brilliant people who seem to be plodding along, never achieving what they are fully capable of. In most cases, it is their inability to take action that holds them back. You have got to be an action taker to succeed as a speaker, even if that action is sometimes less than perfect.

I have seen a lot of great information products and a lot of great speakers never achieve the success they could have because someone insisted on crossing the same "t's" and dotting the same "i's" for the umpteenth time. There comes a time that good enough is good enough and you have got to put it out there — whether it is a new product or a new speech you want to present.

Bottom line, action trumps analysis almost every day of the week.

BOOKINGS, BOOKINGS, AND MORE BOOKINGS!

The strategies to get booked shared with you here have allowed me to keep my calendar as full as I would like and, more importantly, have worked for my clients to go from no speeches to up to as many as eighty-seven speeches in one year.

Here are ten key strategies to getting booked. Follow them consistently and you will find many audiences full of gold:

1. Set Goals

I like to say a goal is a decision that has already been made. Decide how many talks you want to give, and in what time frame. Set a monthly, quarterly and annual goal. There are many ways you can reach your goals. You can host your own events, do teleclasses and webinars and you can also partner with other service providers and put together a workshop.

After your goals are set, put together your schedule for when you are going to focus on getting booked. I recommend three hours a week. You can also have your assistant work on this for you if you are not getting to it. When you consistently devote three hours a week to getting booked you will find the opportunities will be rolling in.

2. Get Your Speaker Sheet Done

Your speaker sheet is what gets you booked as a speaker. It is a PDF® that has been well designed to match your brand. It will include your picture or pictures of you speaking and describe your speaking style (energetic, warm, dynamic) and your talks (uplifting, innovative, thought-provoking). List a max of three of your most popular speeches, you do not want to share too many. You also want to be loud and proud about the value your talk delivers. Describe the benefits of your talk and what insights your audience will discover.

Be sure to include a list of places where you have spoken, plus testimonials from the meeting planners. Also, do not forget your contact information. If you are just getting started and do not have all this information, do it anyway. The beauty of today's technology means you do not have to print your speaker sheet. You can always update it after every talk and just email the PDF file.

Simply having a well put together speaker sheet can get you booked many times over. One of my clients, Vicki, a construction industry expert was just getting started speaking and sent in her speaker sheet to present at a conference. She was the only one with a marketing piece just for speaking. All the other people sent in their brochures. Yes, they looked like experts but not speakers. Vicki got the gig and is now the most sought after speaker in her industry.

3. Be Loud and Proud About the Value You Bring

Let's get the word out. On your website, make sure you tell people you are a speaker. Make it part of your business description in your social media profiles. Add a speaker page — that's where you include your speaker bio, talk topics and a link to your speaker sheet. Use social media to tell people about the talks you give, ask your contacts for ideas on where you can give a speech, and announce the places where you have been booked. Be sure to invite your contacts to come hear you speak! Make sure you send an announcement to your email list, and ask them to forward it on to anyone else who might be interested.

Always be sure to mention the topic you are presenting on when you mention you got a booking or gave a speech through social media. One of my clients, Dortha, an online marketing manager, posted on her Facebook® page that she was looking to give her business building talk to more groups and in thirty minutes she got eight bookings. It is time for you to be loud and proud that you are a speaker.

4. Ask for Referrals

Start with your immediate community. Ask your clients, friends and colleagues what groups they belong to. Ask them to provide you with a contact. These warm leads will always be the best way to get booked. Next, brainstorm with the people you know what groups they know of where you would like to speak. Depending on your topic this can include church groups, PTA meetings, professional associations and private clubs. Consider medical and law enforcement associations as well as neighborhood groups. Also, check newspapers for meeting announcements and Internet event calendars for groups in your area.

5. Do Research and Build a List

Once you build your basic list, it is time to go online. Start with a Google search for type of group + local area + the year. For example: image consultant + San Jose + 2017. Add in the word organization or association for a more refined search. Follow the listings to the different websites. Note when they have their meetings and who the contact person is. You will usually want to contact the program chair, education chair, meeting chair or president.

With all this research, one caveat: Make sure your ideal potential clients are at these events. Do not chase bookings for the practice or experience. Your goal is to connect with the people who will be interested in hiring you.

6. Reach Out to Groups

Once you know how to contact, reach out to that person and offer your services as a speaker. Emailing the first time is fine because you can attach your speaker sheet. If you do not get a response in few days, follow up with a phone call.

7. Follow Up, Follow Up Follow Up

Be aware that most groups are run by volunteers and often change leadership every year. This means it can take a bit of detective work to make certain you are contacting the right person, and it might take some time before someone gets back to you. Your best bet is a personal contact who can point you in the right direction and also vouch for you as a speaker. If you can get someone from their group, association or company to come hear you speak, please do. They will be much more likely to book you after they have heard you.

8. When You Speak Ask for More Speeches

This is another important aspect about being loud and proud. When you finish your talk, ask if anyone in the audience knows of another group that might like to hear you speak. This is a great way to keep building your list. One of my clients, Karen, an etiquette consultant, booked nineteen speeches in a short period of time simply by asking her audiences for other places for her to speak.

9. Be an Awesome Speaker and People Will Ask You to Speak

There is no getting around it. The better speaker you are the more clients you will come home with and the more bookings will fall in your lap. Work on your speaking skills as much as you work on any other business skill.

To Master the Art of Speaking Practice, Practice, Practice in Front of Real Live Audiences

To master the art of speaking, practice, practice, practice in front of real live audiences. The more you do it, the easier it gets. First, you get to ease, then you move toward mastery. Rosie, a productivity expert had never given a speech for business when we met. She quickly booked twenty-two speeches in six months and reported with glee that each one was easier than the last one. You can expect the same result.

10. Create Your Own Speaking Opportunities

You can create your own speaking opportunities. This is one of the best, fastest ways to build your business, become a masterful speaker and come home with clients. It's your party, your event. Webinars, teleseminars and live, inperson programs are great ways to connect with your target audience. Holding your own events continues to build your reputation, influence and reach. Linda, a feng shui master had been presenting for twenty years. It was only after she started doing her own events that her client base, her reputation and her bottom line swelled. I see this often. Do not wait to do your own events.

Follow these ideas here and soon you will find that both your calendar and your bank account are full and you are wearing a huge smile each day.

CONTENT

What Are You Going to Teach Them?

There is no question that as a speaker there are any number of different factors you have to consider when you are thinking about the topic on which you want to speak. If you are speaking as a means of establishing yourself as an expert to generate leads for your core product or service then your presentation may be vastly different than if being a professional speaker is your core business.

You have obviously gained a lot of experience over the course of your career and, while many recommend you have multiple speeches you can deliver, most encourage you have one "go to" speech that is what you are primarily known for.

But what should your "go to" speech be about? If you really want to position yourself as the expert in your market then it is critical you understand that it must be about much more then simply picking a niche.

The best explanation I ever heard about this was from Rich Schefren of StrategicProfits.com. Rich wrote an article a while back for the No B.S. Marketing Letter titled "How to Find Your Own Sweet Spot in Your Marketplace." In his article Rich talked about how many entrepreneurs fail because they go out in search of a niche rather than a sweet spot.

I would contend that the same exact conclusion can be drawn for speakers

According to Rich this is because a niche is solely based on external factors, like a recognized need or a problem in need of a solution. In stark contrast, a sweet spot is based on your own internal factors — such as your strengths, talents, experiences, passions, and so on.

So, what is your "sweet spot" as a speaker? Rich believes that everyone has a sweet spot, but it can take a significant amount of research and introspection on your part to find it. But, it will be well worth the effort.

Your sweet spot is that unique advantage that you have in the marketplace and, once you find it, Rich says that it makes your marketing 100x easier once you can articulate your sweet spot.

Rich offered a helpful exercise that can possible help you find your own sweet spot.

First, get out your journal, and make three lists.

1. Start by thinking about what you're passionate about. Ask yourself:

• What excites you?

• What motivates you?

• What conversations do you feel you must take part in?

• What gets you out of bed in the morning?

2. Then move on to your strengths:

• What have you always been good at?

• What have you used to make a living up to now?

• What do your friends and family say are your best strengths?

• Do you already have an area of your life where your friends regularly ask for your advice?

• Do you have any advice you often give that's not common knowledge?

3. Then look at your past:

• What unique experiences have you had?

• How have past experiences made you who you are today?

• Any great stories you always tell?

Once you have all of this written down look at your lists. If there is any crossover between the lists where your passions, strengths, and experience meet up then that is a good place to start looking for your sweet spot in the market.

Maybe you have already determined your sweet spot and know what your "go to" topic is. If so, great and congratulations. But, even after you have answered these questions, there are several other factors related to your content to which you will need to give consideration. This includes questions like:

• Are you going to customize each presentation for your audience?

• What will your teaching style be?

• Will you incorporate humor and/or storytelling into your presentations?

• Can you somehow tie in current events to your presentations to make your topic more timely to prospective clients?

• If you are speaking at a multi-speaker event what are the other speakers talking about?

Let's take a look at each of these questions.

Customization

A common question you should anticipate from prospective clients who are considering you for some type of keynote presentation is "Will you customize your presentation for my audience?" The answer should always be "Yes".

Will it mean a bit more work on your end? You bet. But the benefits of customizing your presentation to your audience are significant. First, by demonstrating that you are responsive to the requests of your client you will be regarded much more highly and dramatically increase your chances of landing additional speaking engagements with that client.

And word gets around. When you become known as one of those people that are easy to work with and will go the extra mile for their clients then more and more work will come your way.