Post by Steve Markman

Marketing mix: Your marketing and PR efforts should be in the forefront of your organization, given today’s competitive climate and the uncertain economy. Standing out from the crowd, regardless of your organization’s industry, is a huge challenge. How can you meet this challenge?

Many organizations have recognized the value of holding seminars at which their executives make presentations. The problem with these seminars is that, more often than not, the attendees are existing customers, clients or individuals who are already familiar with the firm.

Companies need to expose their expertise to prospective customers and clients. What is a proven method of accomplishing this objective? By speaking at public forums – at conferences, seminars and forums held by independent event organizations, associations, professional and industry trade groups, and academic institutions and think tanks – enormous exposure is created.

There is much evidence in the field of professional services marketing that speaking in public forums often results in new business, by providing increased awareness of your company in general and specific subject areas in particular, to an audience of your potential customers or clients. Presentations about industry trends or “how-to” talks can make a large impact on your audience.

Speaking opportunities for consulting firm principals, corporate executives and entrepreneurs represent a strong marketing, public relations, and business development tool for the following reasons:

    1.    Attendees get to learn about your firm’s expertise firsthand and can interact directly with your speaker immediately before or after the presentation. An attendee asking for a business card can be the first step to obtaining a new client. The press in attendance also present opportunities for added exposure.

    2.    Gaining increased visibility in vertical/industry sectors or broad-based areas that your firm has determined is in need of greater exposure. This can be an established line of business where your firm speaks from a position of strength and is known as a “go-to” firm for a particular area. Conversely, presentations can cover an area that is just getting off the ground or at an early stage in its development and needs some fast exposure to let your potential customers know about your newly offered products or services.

    3.    Your company gains “advertising” by having its name and your executive speaker’s name published in the agenda of thousands of brochures and promotional announcements mailed or e-mailed by event organizers.

What should your professional services firm be doing to get your executives and managers out on the speaking circuit? Take the following eight steps:

    1.    Decide which product or service area(s) your firm should be targeting for increased visibility. Make sure that you have executives in those areas committed to the idea of making public presentations. Some will resist the idea of taking time away from other business activities so make sure that you have their full support.

    2.    Get the right speaker on board. Proposed speakers should be experienced executives and, preferably, experienced speakers. Small-to medium-sized organizations should nominate their CEO or other senior executive. Large organizations can also nominate staff at the director or manager level, depending on the criteria of the speaking opportunity.

    3.    Speak to the right audience. Thoroughly research the events for which representatives of your firm can be proposed as speakers, as solo presenters or as panelists. There are so many events taking place on so many topics, frequently simultaneously, that you’ll need to choose diligently in order to maximize the time and expense associated with speaking. Identify speaking engagements whose audience represents the customers and industries your organization wants to reach.

    4.    Develop a proactive speaker placement program. It’s fine to evaluate unsolicited speaking opportunities. However, having someone dedicated to the task who will aggressively identify opportunities, develop relationships with event organizers and write and submit speaker proposals, should lead to an increase in the frequency of speaking engagements and thus increased visibility for the executives participating and the firm as a whole.

    5.    Decide on the geographic area to target for speaking engagements – locally, regionally, nationally or even internationally. There are thousands of speaking opportunities held worldwide every year.

    6.    Create high-impact presentations. Audiences want to get actionable information they can take back to their organizations. They don’t want to hear that your firm is the leading firm in this or that subject area. A solid, informative presentation that covers applications or technologies and is not product or company specific will create instant credibility and obviate the need for a “sales pitch.” A presentation that turns out to be a sales pitch will ensure low evaluations by the audience and a one-way ticket home from the conference organizer. The speaker who gives a sales pitch is duly noted and rarely invited back, oftentimes tainting the entire company in the eyes of the event organizer.

    7.    Learn the process for submitting a speaker proposal to the event organizer – follow the format established by the organizer for writing a presentation abstract, submitting bios and speaker expertise, previous speaking experience information, and, of course, meeting the proposal deadline date. Make sure you tailor the abstract and the bio to each speaking opportunity so that they fit the objectives of the audience.

    8.    Follow up continuously and persistently with the event organizer to help your company stay above the noise, since you will often be competing with several other companies for the same speaking slot.

By developing an effective speaker placement program for your organization, you will have taken a big step in meeting your marketing, PR, and business development objectives.

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Steve Markman is President of Markman Speaker Management (MSM) a Needham, Mass.- based speaker placement and conference development firm established in 1994.

This is a post from my colleague Lois Creamer Lois@BookMoreBusiness.com

My next two blog posts are going to address some questions  I’ve been asked constantly ever since I started my consulting practice for speakers. They are:

• How can I get a bureau to book me?
• I’d like to hire someone to get me bookings and give them a percentage of my fee. Is this a good plan?
• I receive solicitation emails from companies offering me leads if I pay them a monthly fee. Is this a good deal?

I’m going to talk about bureaus exclusively in this post, and the next two questions on part two of my post. If I had a buck or two every time I’m asked one of these questions, I’d be enjoying an umbrella drink on a beach somewhere.

How can I get a bureau to book me? My short answer is .. you can’t. Don’t waste your energy. Use your energy towards getting your own bookings. Bureaus are interested in working with “working” speakers. Speakers who are in demand. Those who are getting great reviews out in the industry for delivering great information in a compelling way.

If you don’t work with a bureau, you may want to see if one of your colleagues would offer an introduction for you. Your colleague will want to have seen you and really believe that what you have to offer is a fit for a particular bureau. Your friend may contact the bureau and ask his or her bureau representative to take a look at your material and see if he thinks your information would be a fit for their clients.

All bureaus don’t work with all types of businesses. This is an epiphany to some some. There are bureaus that work primarily with corporations, associations, health-care, agriculture, financial services and more. Your program must match the bureaus emphasis and their clientele.

Some bureaus host “Speaker Showcases”. They invite speakers to do 15-20 minutes of their best stuff in front of bureau clients and reps. Some charge for this, some do not. It is a great way to get in relationship with a bureau. It is only effective, however, if bureaus reps show up at the showcase.

Also, be aware that bureaus will expect you to provide what they call “bureau friendly” marketing materials for them. This simply means that your contact information should not appear on the material. The bureau wants the client to contact them, not you. You will want to have printed and PDF’s bureaus friendly.

Bureaus ask for a percentage of your speaking fee as payment for getting you the engagement. Current average is 25-30%. Some speakers think this is too high, and that bureaus are greedy. I don’t. If a bureau brings business to your door, handles all of the details for you, I think it’s worth every penny. Whenever I hear a speaker begrudging paying the percentage I always say, “Don’t work with them!” Bureaus can open doors that many would not be able to open themselves. If you work with a bureau for pete’s sake don’t whine about what you are paying them!

Besides paying the bureau a percentage, you are expected to promote the bureau during your visit and encourage the client to return to the bureau for future meetings. Also, audience members who enjoy the speaker and may want to use him/her are to book through the bureau. This is considered “spin-off” business. If not for the bureau, you would not have gotten the opportunity.. You are expected to contact the bureau and let them do the paperwork,contact the client and take care of the details.

Some bureaus even have “exclusive rights” or an “exclusives” with the speaker. This is the same as having an agent. It means all business goes through the bureau or agent and they take their percentage. Even if they didn’t get the business, if you have an exclusive arrangement, you must run it through them. I suggest to my clients that they never agree to an exclusive arrangement. It will actually cause other bureaus to lose interest in you. They will be expected to split their percentage with the other bureau, and many don’t think it’s worth it. Ultimately it may cause other bureaus to stay away from you.

Because bureaus get paid by percentage of fee they aren’t interested in working with speakers who are real beginners. It only makes sense! They have to make money too.

I always encourage my clients to work with a bureau if a situation presents itself. It’s a great addition to your own efforts to grow your business. You can learn a lot from bureaus about the business of speaking. I have. Some of my clients have been bureaus who hired me to work with their reps to sell speaking services more effectively.

All in all, working with bureaus can help you cast a wider net and that’s what it’s all about!

Copyright 2011, Lois Creamer. Lois Creamer works with professional speakers who want to book more business, make more money and avoid costly mistakes! She can be reached in the following ways:

Lois@BookMoreBusiness.com
Twitter: @loiscreamer

Everyone knows that times have changed. This includes prospecting. They used to say, “It’s a numbers game.” Not any more…

Prospecting: It’s All in the Process…
By Wendy Weiss, The Queen of Cold Calling™

Most companies have processes in place for everything… except for prospecting. Managers tell representatives to “go make calls.” And if the representatives are not getting results, well then, make more calls.

Unfortunately in 2011 going into 2012 sheer volume of calls alone is simply not enough to successfully build a sales pipeline. In 2011 going into 2012 it’s imperative to have a process in place to develop and then manage the pipeline.

Here are the elements to have in place to ensure maximum results:

Definitions and parameters of what makes a qualified prospect. Too many representatives waste too much time calling inappropriate prospects.

How many times will a representative reach out to any individual prospect? Most representatives decide after the fact whether or not they’ll call any particular prospect again. They look at the lead and the history and decide, “I’ve called this one enough.” Deciding after the fact makes it impossible to have a good prospecting strategy.

Voice mail. Are representatives leaving messages? If so, how many and what is the frequency? What are they saying? Too many representatives make these decisions on the fly and so if they do leave messages, the messages are not powerful enough to entice the prospect to return a call.

Email. Is the representative going to approach the prospect via email? If so, how many emails will that representative send and what is the frequency? What do the emails say? Too many representatives make these decisions on the fly and so do not send powerful prospecting emails. Prospects then don’t respond, or if they do it’s a negative response.

Complete scripting for introductions, voice mail messages and templates for all emails. This is too important to leave to chance.

Metrics. Most companies measure revenue but not the activity that leads to revenue. For any prospecting campaign measurements must include, Dials, Conversations and Appointments (or Dials, Conversations and New Opportunities.) Software is the only way to track this. If you don’t have metrics you don’t actually know what works. If you’re a manager, you also don’t know what your team is doing.

In order to succeed in 2011 going into 2012… it’s all about the process.

Note: Prospect & Land Gigs Now  taught by Susan Levin & Jean-Noel Bassior (one-on-one or group sessions)

Success strategies for you and your staff. Identify target markets and decision makers. Learn how to leave voice messages that get call-backs.

Speaker Services- October 17,  2011 Update

Marketing & Training Services since 1992

Speaker Services http://www.speakerservices.com

In this issue
- Note from Susan Levin
- Tips and Advice
- Teleclasses & Workshops
- Tweets & Blog Posts of interest

Hello,

I spent the last two days shopping for a car with my friend and it was exhausting.  We finally made the deal and as you can see I am pretty darn happy and relieved. He got a Scion XD.

Does this sound familiar to you? My assistant or I have been making calls attempting to get speaking engagements and am not getting any call backs? You know you are an expert at what you offer and yet you are seeing changes in your business, bookings, prospects and your bank account. Could it be that you have been speaking for years and never had to treat your speaking practice as a business?  It might be a time for a tune up.

Are you investing in your continuing education and or updating your marketing materials? If you can relate to what I am sharing with you perhaps you would like some solutions.  Send me an e-mail susan@speakerservices.com for a complimentary session on the phone and lets see if we can customize a dynamite package for you based on your budget.

My colleague Dr. Letitia Wright, D.C. shared the following in a message to her LinkedIn contacts.  The Gurus Are Back. Have you noticed more emails from the “Gurus” lately? You know, the people who used to have these huge meetings with anywhere from 250 -1,000 people? They would tell you how to have the good life (whatever you consider the good life to be) and then charge you money to help you do it? They sell information packages with strategies that no longer work or ones they have never actually used to make their success.

Many of the Gurus filed bankruptcy (just like regular people) and disappeared for a while. Now they are back selling something slightly different. Some are in jail or on trial for murder, fraud and a lot of other things. A few have committed suicide over the last few years. Yes the economy hit them hard too because they depend on the rest of us to give them money. When we did not have it, they did not either.  I will add that it makes me furious as they ruin the trust level of our potential clients who have every right to be mistrustful.

I always share with my potential clients that it is a good idea to work with a heart-based business and not run after the shiny objects that offer flamboyant promises.

Susan Levin

Speaker Services

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Complimentary teleclass 10/26

Marketing & Promo Materials that Get you Booked

Susan Levin and Jean-Noel Bassior register http://www.speakerservices.com/teleclasses/detail/238

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Meet Susan Levin, owner and founder of Speaker Services at the following events in Los Angeles or Orange County.

10-21-23   Maurice DiMinos, Presentations that Sell Bootcamp I will have a vendor table so make sure to say hello if you are there.

10/29  Market Yourself as a Speaker, Susan Levin learn more

11/7  Speak Your Way to More Clients, Ursula Mentjes & Susan Levin, Capistrano Beach learn more

11/9   Wealthy Bag Lady, Fill Your Purse Event, Get All the Clients & Sponsors You Want, Linda Hollander & Susan Levin, $35,  learn more

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TIPS & RESOURCES

Discussion in a LinkedIn group re getting booked in colleges or high schools

Nicole B. Simpson CFP

You can take an independent alternative by contacting each college individually. Find out who is on the planning board or planning committee and submit your information there. They make the executive financial decisions.

High School

You must first review what the states core curriculum requirements are and see where your program best fits. Once you have determined that, you can do one of two things-you can approach each high school or you can go straight to the Board of Education. I have found the individual high schools work best. If you can get one school to walk to you to the board (who will ultimately have to pay), then you can go to the other schools in that district having already been approved by the board.

They both take a lot of time to do so be prepared to invest the time. Most people give up because the results are sooooo slow but once you are in, you are good, unless you blow it.

LOL-I recently did the legwork for myself. Realistically, it took me about 1 hour to accumulate an average of 6-7 real contact people. However, once it is done, you have the list. I went from state to state and my goal was ten schools in each of the states. I made it my business. Now I have a list to tackle. My topic was time sensitive (9/11) and they generally do not operate as soon as they get back to school but I already confirmed myself as a keynote for Rutgers for 2012 so it made it totally worthwhile. The schools have the budget to pay so it is truly worth it in the end. Another route you can take is to find out what schools have presenter conferences.

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New Sponsorship Opportunities

Vickie Sullivan vickiesullivan.com

In this jumpstart to next years elections, we hear a lot of bad stuff about ObamaCare.  Here is a silver lining: drug store chains are getting into the health insurance business.

That is right,  Walgreens plans to sell health insurance products later this year. Why do we care?  Because they are using sponsorship deals to promote their health and wellness positioning.

This industry leader is looking for both local and national opportunities, as new deals range from national sports teams to community events.  Idea:  any expert in this area with strong ties to their community (or a broad-based national brand) has a shot getting their speaking fee paid to those public health events.

Moral of the case study:  organizations use sponsorships to introduce new products to their customers.  Help them and you can get your share of the ever-growing sponsorship pie

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Sharings from our Speakers

Nan Vaughn wrote: Good news I got a free gig from SS for the Dept. of Veterans Affairs, and after the presentation last week in Palm Springs, they contracted me to do four 50 min. telecoaching sessions as a follow up.  I did not have to submit a proposal or even negotiate and I am getting $2500! Also, they are interested in me for several other training/facilitating opportunities woohoo!

Speaker and Author Carrie Flintom shared

- Partial list of speaking gigs

- Simi Valley Hospital foundation

- WOW – Wonderful Online Women organization

- Womens Wellness Weekend

- University of Dominguez Hills

- Orange County Association of Educational  Office Professionals

- California State Employees Association Womens Committee Conference

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Tweets of Interest

- Check this video out — Your Marketing Plan http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MP58srL4bm4&feature=share via @you tube

- Jane Honeck Author & Speaker Has a double sided 1 sheet on her speaker listing. Thanks to our team for putting it together see http://www.speakerservices.com/speakers/detail/379

- Happiness is not what makes us grateful. It is gratefulness that makes us happy. David Steindl-Rast, A Listening Heart

- Download @HubSpot‘s free eBook: 99 Tools to Help You Generate Leads with Social Media

-Google+ Launches Real-Time Search and Hashtag Support http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/27206/Google-Launches-Real-Time-Search-and-Hashtag-Support.aspx via @HubSpot

- How Sponsors Define Value http://bit.ly/nmWQMZ In LA Speaking & Sponsorship Fill Your Purse event $35

- 60 Ways Personalization is Changing Marketing http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/13829/60-Ways-Personalization-is-Changing-Marketing.aspx

September 21,  2011 Update

Marketing & Training Services since 1992

Speaker Services http://www.speakerservices.com

In this issue
- Note from Susan Levin
- Tweets & Blog Posts of interest

Greetings,

I want to personally invite all of our Los Angeles business folks, speakers, authors, coaches and entrepreneurs to join us on Monday October 17 for a one day event Talk Up Your Business, Master the Message, Master the Marketing .  Only attend though if you are interested to Gain Credibility, Boost Your Visibility and Get More Clients By Talking Up Your Business.

Here are a few of the items that Susan Levin, Jack Barnard, Jean-Noel Bassior and Ursula Mentjes will be sharing with you.

- LEARN marketing secrets and strategies to show you how to attract and reach your ideal clients

- DESIGN an effective website that helps your clients hire you on the spot for their event

-  IMPLEMENT the latest technologies: social media, blogging, mobile marketing, video, YouTube to boost your visibility

-  COMMUNICATE your key message to the news media and learn how to get publicity that increases your credibility and lead generation

-  EXPAND your short talk into any length presentation, for any audience, for any purpose

My promise to you is – tons of content, interaction and no hard sell.  Your investment is only $99 with a money back guarantee

Jump right onto the website now and  read the program and sigh up at the incredible reasonable investment of $99.

Our team has been training Virtual Assistants for speakers and authors this past month. The question that we always get asked is, “How do I prospect for speaking gigs and then how do I get past the gatekeeper to the decision maker and what kind of message can I leave to get a call back?” My answer is,  :It all has to do with your website and your marketing materials. No one can book you if we do not have a clear idea of the problem you solve for your target industry.”  Do you need help?

Say you have landed a speaking gig.  Do you know how to ask the event coordinator the proper questions to customize for their audience?  Do you have a  pre program questionnaire? Hint it resides under the link For Meeting Planners. Joyce Newman shares in a blog post, It is always amazing when speakers do not ask the meeting organizer questions about the audience in advance of writing their presentations. Lets start with the most obvious one: – Who are they and how were they selected to be participants? – How many are attending?   Read the rest of the post.

Need help? Since 1992 Speaker Services has been supporting professional folks in growing their business and income through speaking.  Speaking is a business.

Speaker Services team can support you in several ways.

Meet Speaker Services team

- Join the Speakers’ Community Membership Club, Audio/MP3 library of experts. 60 days complimentary.

- Workshops: Los Angeles & Orange County

- Get a speaker listing in our paid listing service since 1992.  We bring speakers and experts together with audiences. Read more

-  We can write your promotional materials which include: a speaker listing, call for proposals, speaker/author one-sheets, media profile, your bio and introduction with team members. See list and descriptions

-  Branding, Presentation, Media Training with team members.

- Private One on One Marketing Consultations with Susan Levin.

For a complimentary 20 minute conversation & or review e mail Susan Levin at susan@speakerservices.com  for an appointment.  Allow me to put together a customized program just for you.

TWEETS & BLOG POSTS OF INTEREST

- Amazon Continues to Disintermediate Publishers – BusinessWeek http://buswk.co/o5uRd0 via @BW

- Join us for Websites that Sell 4 Experts, Authors, Speakers teleclass interview w Kriste Rimmele 9/26, http://t.co/olPwK2b2

- Google+ Now Available to Everyone, Adds Search Functionality more via @HubSpot

- @donnagunter Article Marketing: 7 Steps to a Great Author Resource Box That Drives Targeted Tra.. t.co/T1QghDxe always great info

- “Everything in your life is there as a vehicle ⁰for your transformation. Use it!” – Ram Dass

- Blog post: The Point of Humor http://bit.ly/plvEMX Humor relaxes the audience, breaks the tension& creates an opening.

Susan Levin, Speaker Services, 310-822-4922

September 2011 E-Zine

Marketing & Training Services since 1992

Speaker Services http://www.speakerservices.com

In this issue
- Note from Susan Levin
- Meet our featured speakers & authors
- Tips and Advice
- Teleclasses & Workshops
- Tweets & Blog Posts of interest

Today I am sharing with you new reports about the meeting attendees that several of my colleagues posted in their blog or e-zine.  Also be sure to read tweets and blogs of interest as there are many interesting items ie: 17 Things Marketers Should Delete From Their Facebook Strategy NOW.

I am wondering Are you talking up your business?   Speaking is the fastest path to more clients, more credibility and more business.  As an author, consultant, coach, service professional or entrepreneur, speaking establishes your expertise, while marketing you at the same time.

But how do you get those speaking gigs? What do you need to have in place to get meeting planners to book you? How do you create a compelling message that you can adapt to any audience, lengthen or shorten at will and create a huge impact? How do you create massive visibility from your speaking gigs and leverage this publicity into more leads and more clients?

Whether you are new to speaking or are an expert with multiple speaking engagements under your belt, there are ways to profit from speaking that you probably have not even considered.

There are so many moving parts and angles that you have to master.

You can find the answers at the Los Angeles Talk Up Your Business, Master the Message, Master the Marketing on Monday, October 17

See the website and the program and sign up now as the seating is limited and it is only $99. http://www.speakerservices.com/talkupyourbizla

The Improv group led by jack Barnard finished their class with a performance.  Friends and family members had a great time.  In this photo is Ryan Jackson, Norah Edelstein and Raj Sharma doing a scene.

Enjoy the holiday weekend.  I hope you have some fun activities planned.

Speak your Way to More Business.

Susan Levin
Speaker Services
susan@speakerservices.com
310-822-4922 PT

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FEATURED SPEAKERS & AUTHORS FOR SEPTEMBER 2011

Click on name for full description and contact information.

	Michael Hingson — San Francisco, Nationwide, International Blind sales executive and Guide-dog user who survived 9-11 reflects on trust, teamwork, ethics, diversity, animal-human bonds, and human values. Topics: 9-11, Diversity, Motivational, Team Building
	Devin C. Hughes — San Diego, CA Coach, trainer and former athlete shows how to conquer the sense of alienation called “The Isolation Syndrome” and get your life back. Topics: Bullying, Cultural Diversity, Learning Disorders, Motivational, Parenting and Children
	Brenda Lane-Oliver — Maryland, Nationwide Performance coach/author reveals how to bring out the best in teams, managers and employees and shows women how to move up the career ladder with passion, dignity and determination. Topics: Leadership, Marketing, Success, Women’s Issues
	Susan Levin — Los Angeles Susan Levin specializes in helping business people attract a steady stream of ideal clients by marketing their business and income through speaking. Topics: Business Building, Business Opportunities, Entrepreneurship, Marketing, Speaker Marketing
	Ursula Mentjes — Anaheim, S. CA Certified NLP Coach, author and sales expert Ursula Mentjes offers mindset shifts and strategies to make selling easy and significantly increase sales. Topics: Business Building, Entrepreneurship, Goal Setting, Sales
	Lawrence Polsky — New Jersey, Nationwide Executive coach reveals practical ways to energize you and your team as you face new challenges filled with conflict and change. Topics: Change, Conflict Resolution, Leadership, Team Building
	Jothy Rosenberg — New England, Nationwide Author, extreme athlete, entrepreneur and two-time cancer survivor empowers others to say “I CAN” in the face of major challenges. Topics: Disabilities, Empowerment, Entrepreneurship, Inspirational, Motivational, Success
	Kathryn Tull, MFT — Los Angeles Relationship specialist, therapist and trainer offers powerful techniques that help you feel heard and appreciated as you boost self-worth, honor your past, and reclaim your power in the present. Topics: Abuse, Family, Motivational, Personal Development, Relationships
	Christy Waters, RN, BSN, MA, CLNC — Los Angeles Registered Nurse and Certified Legal Nurse Consultant (CLNC) with pharmaceutical background shows legal professionals how to review medical data so you can decide if a case is worth your time and effort. Topics: Health Care Business, Legal, Medical & Nursing Malpractice

SEE ALL SPEAKERS

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TIPS AND ADVICE

- New Report About Meeting Attendees

Vickie Sullivan  www.sullivanspeaker.com

Do you think virtual attendees  those who attend conferences from the comfort of their cubicle multi-task more than the audience you speak to right in front of you? Nope everyone (over 80%) is checking their email during your presentation, according to this fascinating study about meeting attendees both virtually and face-to-face.

Conducted in May by PCMA (Professional Conference Management Association), so this data is pretty fresh.  Most interesting finding:  the different motivations between virtual and physical attendees.  The former signs on for the value of the content (97%) and ease of use (90%).  The latter gets on a plane to meet with the speakers and colleagues (68%) and to meet more customers and prospects (56%).  And everyone (over 80%) seems very comfortable networking with strangers both online and off.  (Thank you, social media!)

Pay attention to this finding content marketing and distribution needs are not being met.  Distribution on all devices yes, that means smart phones is now expected. Getting information before, during, and after the event is important to both types of attendees.  Content is still king; the demands for searchability and availability are a given.  And we are not just talking white papers either.  Videos and other interactive formats make a difference.

As experts who speak, we always want to know more about our audiences.  This report is a treasure trove of cool information.  Click here to get the report (sign in is required).

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Economic Significance of Meetings to the U.S. Economy Convention Industry Council

- Mary McKay, turnkeyspeaker.com

You will be interested to know that the Economic Significance of Meetings to the U.S. Economy Convention Industry Council 2011 just reported last week that 205 million people attend 1.8 million meetings a year in the U.S.  And as Meetings & Conventions reported last year, planners say that motivational messages are among the most appropriate keynote categories: of the 116 meeting planners who responded, 69 % say that an uplifting speech is highly appropriate followed by the second highest category, industry related topics at 62%.  They also reported that while 15% of respondents do not pay their keynote speakers, 28% budget less than $5,000 and at the high end of the spectrum, 3% can pay more than $50,000 for a top name.

They also reported that word of mouth if the prevailing method of finding speakers.  There is only one way that you can become word of mouth.  And that is if someone hears you and recommends you.  So those free gigs you are doing right now can make a big difference.

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- Approaching prospects — Ron Katz

I have been doing a consulting gig on the other side of the desk for the past couple of months and amazed at how many bad pitches I have received from speakers, trainers, and other assorted presenters. Most of the worst ones are all about the wonderful things the presenter can do with little or no effort made to find out what the organization I am working with needs. In other words, it is all about them. Remember to do your homework, find out what your target might need, and then sell them on the benefit of hiring you. No one is going to hire you because it is good for you. One person actually had the nerve to tell me he had  work for less than his usual fee because he really needs the work right now. You will only get the work if the target organization can see how it will benefit them

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- Authors Who Visit Book Clubs

Bill Harrison  Reporter Connection  http://www.reporterconnection.com

GalleyCat has created a new way to connect book clubs with authors who want to visit them in-person, by phone or via Skype video. It’s called, quite simply, “Authors Who Visit Book Clubs.” The directory already has more than 300 authors and can be found here. Want to add your name? Go to GalleyCat’s Facebook page to sign up for free.

You’ll probably find the real payoff from such appearances won’t be in the number of books you sell, but rather the chance to connect with your fans and get valuable feedback. For instance, Jim Collins decided to write Good to Great, a business bestseller which has sold over 4 million copies, after dinner with a reader of his previous bestseller Built to Last.
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-  7 Things Marketers Should Delete From Their Facebook Strategy NOW from HubSpot Blog

What to Axe From Your Facebook Marketing Strategy

1. A Business “Profile,” Not a Page: First things first. Before you even think about anything else, know this: businesses have Pages, people have Profiles. If you haven’t already, create a Facebook Page for your business immediately. If you’ve already set up a Profile, Facebook enables you to convert it into a Page. Pages are specifically built for companies, brands, and organizations, and they provide all the right functionality (e.g. generating fans) for your business’ Facebook presence.

2. A Lengthy Page URL: So now you have a Page. What comes with it is this really long, unidentifiable, impossible-to-remember URL. Make it easy to communicate your Facebook presence to others by creating a vanity URL and username that’s easy to remember and share. For example, HubSpot’s Facebook Page URL is http://www.facebook.com/hubspot. (Note: Once your vanity URL is set, Facebook doesn’t let you change it, so make it count!) Read more

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- The Ultimate Google+ Cheat Sheet
hubspot.com

Google+ is growing like crazy. In fact, it is the fastest growing social network ever. Just as with any other social network, marketers have a lot to learn and do. So we thought we would invest some time into making your life easier. In this post, we’ve compiled the best content about Google+ from all across the web. Use it to learn how to leverage Google+ for both business and personal uses.

Google+ Vocabulary: Quick Reference Glossary

Stream:  the list of messages that is displayed on the Google+ home screen and for each Circle of contacts

Hangout:  a platform for group video chatting and collaboration that is used by Google+ members

Circle:  the method of organizing connections into groups for more targeted sharing and better privacy

Google Profile:  your personal home on Google+, which allows you to share interesting, work experiences, personal information, and much more

Sparks:  the magazine of Google+, which bring together information on a topic for easy viewing. Enter a keyword, and see public Google+ posts on that topic.
Read more:

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SEPTEMBER  TELELCLASSES
SPEAKERS COMMUNITY

Teleclasses FREE for Speakers Community Members. Join now and get  2 months complimentary
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September 15,  3 Steps to Success: Niche Marketing Strategies to Grow Your Speaking Business Profitably, Susan Friedman, CSP

In this dynamic and high-content session, you will learn a unique 3-Step Riches in Niches Success Formula to build your speaking business faster and with less frustration. This practical framework of powerful, proven, and simple-to-use success strategies, makes it easier for you to find and cash in the right niche market for your business.

Join Susan Friedmann, The NichePreneur Coach, to discover simple steps to success to grow your speaking business profitably.  Read more/register

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September 26, Websites that Sell for Experts, Authors, Speakers, Kriste Rimmele

Learn proven strategies to help you effortlessly attract customers, get more leads, and command higher fees.

Discover:

-  5 tips to help you skyrocket the profits on your website

-   How to build an effective speaker website that gets you booked

-   How to build a personal brand that makes you unforgettable.

Kristie Rimmele knows first-hand how to build massive publicity and sales online.  She is the found of Webmomz.com, a community for work at home moms, president of Branding on the Net, and author of several books including I Love My Life: A Moms Guide to Working from Home. Read more/register

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WORKSHOPS IN LA & ORANGE COUNTY

Monday, October 17, Talk Up Your Business, Master the Message, Master the Marketing Workshop, Los Angeles

Jack Barnard, Susan Levin, Ursula Mentjes, Jean-Noel Bassior

SPEAKERS, AUTHORS, EXPERTS, COACHES, CONSULTANTS

Gain Credibility, Boost Your Visibility & Get More Clients by Talking Up Your Business

If you are a would-be speaker, a business hotshot, an entrepreneur or a network marketer; if you have a product, service or about-to-be-realized dream; you absolutely need to be speaking about it, do seminars & workshops about  you need a kick-butt website, you need to blog about, to social network about, to get great publicity about — and you definitely need to know all the up-to-the-minute marketing tricks!

In short: to truly make a lasting impact, you need to be a media maven: a compelling presenter…a website wizard…a publicity hound…a master marketer.

GREAT, practical advice and training, energizing and inspirational presenters from whom I learned a great deal.  Strategies I know I’ll use over and over.  Thanks to Susan and Jack for a weekend that left me confident and prepared!
- Melinda Bates, Author, Clintonista, A White House Memoir

See the program and register

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Saturday, October 29,  Market Yourself as a Speaker, Susan Levin

Are you a seasoned expert with years of advice and experience to pass along? Whether you are an executive, educator or salesperson you could be missing out on an important source of your income: THE SPEAKING CIRCUIT.

The information, techniques and tools that you’ll receive from attending Market Yourself as a Speaker are essential to building your speaking business.

Market Yourself as a Speaker workshop is the dash track to making the changes necessary to reach your target market.
- Suzanne Takowsky, Beverly Hills Times Magazine

Learn more and register

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Monday, November 7,  Speak Your Way to More Clients, Capistrano Beach, Ursula Mentjes and Susan Levin

Speak Your Way to More Clients was packed with tricks of the speaking trade.  Following the examples provided during the workshop will be vital to making my next speaking engagement a great success!,  Carleen Paul, Skills for Success Reading Center

Establish yourself as an Expert through speaking  a powerful marketing tool that lifts your business or service to the next level. Begin now to build a profitable speaking business that gets your message out to the world!

- The Tools to Establish Yourself as the Expert in your Industry
- Generate List Building Systems to stay in front of your Prospects and Clients
- Proven Strategies to Land more Speaking Engagements
- Discover the Problem that you Solve for your Clients and the best way to Communicate it to the Decision Maker
- Create your Top 25 Target Client List and more
Read more/register

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Tweets of interest

- 10 Reasons Why an Online Speaker Kit Gets Meeting Planners to Book You! http://bit.ly/r5AU40 so what do you speak about?

- I luv my AudioAcrobat http://bit.ly/pDSQ6J do you use it? If not check it out. My favorite resource.

- Resources 4 speakers, experts & authors Blog: hundreds of posts http://speakerscommunity.com/blog & videos Utube Channel http://tinyurl.com/2e3dzjm Rock on!

- Get Booked on Radio Talk Shows http://bit.ly/p0oRIv Alex Carroll shows you how to Get Rich & Become Famous Being A Guest on Big Radio Shows

- Do you have an mp3 library? Favorite resource for speakers/authors. Hundreds of interviews, 60 days free. Join now http://www.speakerscommunity.com

- 17 Things Marketers Should Delete From Their Facebook Strategy NOW http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/23603/17-Things-Marketers-Should-Delete-From-Their-Facebook-Strategy-NOW.aspx via @HubSpot

-ASU LEARNING: University bringing more speakers to campus and community http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2011/aug/29/asu-bringing-more-speakers-to-campus-and/

-The Ultimate Google+ Cheat Sheet http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/23765/The-Ultimate-Google-Cheat-Sheet.aspx via @HubSpot

- Interesting article about Groupon http://www.smallbusinessnewz.com/topnews/2011/08/29/daily-deals-groupon-down-livingsocial-up-facebook-out

Marketing & Training Services since 1992

Speaker Services: http://www.speakerservices.com

BUSINESSES FOLKS, EXPERTS, ENTREPRENEURS,

AUTHORS & SPEAKERS

Are you talking up your business?

Putting butts in the seats for  your events?

Getting media coverage?

Turning your expertise into profits?

Join us for a complimentary interactive preview teleclass  call with the speakers for the Atlanta Talk Up Your Business Workshop, Master the Message, Master the Marketing on August 11 at 4pm PT or 7pm ET.

Register at http://bit.ly/pWYwyA & the number to call will be sent to you.

Planning on attending?  September 30 and October 1 in Atlanta

Take advantage of the registration fee of $147 by August 30.

See program http://t.co/cu0bNfE

On August 11 I will be interviewing our guest speakers about their areas of expertise.

Even if you can’t make it sign in and I will send you the mp3.

MEET THE SPEAKERS:

Jack Barnard...the emcee for this stellar event and the first presenter — is a master presentation coach and media trainer, a true maverick in the business. He will be teaching us the importance of nailing your core message, and how that impacts your presentations of any length, your branding, media interaction and your promotional strategy.

Susan Levin…the owner of Speaker Services, the co-producer of this event. She is a marketing consultant for speakers and authors and will offer advice and marketing strategies to dramatically increase your income and success in the world of speaking.  Susan show you how to speak your way to more business.

Daphne Bousquet… works with speakers, coaches, and service professionals, who want to increase their client base, boost their visibility and add as much as 6 figures to their bottom line with their own workshops and seminars.

Rick Frishman…is a best selling author, publisher and speaker.  He works with and trains authors, entrepreneurs, and business owners to get more visibility for themselves and their businesses by leveraging the magic of publicity.

This event is produced by Speaker Services and is reasonably priced at $147 for 2 days.  That is the early registration investment fee which is good until August 30.

Here are a few of the items I will be asking about.

-  Find out how to fill your workshops

-  Expand your short talk into any length presentation, for any audience, for any purpose

-  Tap into powerful strategies for lead generation

-  Build an entire product line of information products around your expertise

-  Turn your expertise into profits

- Why you need video demo

-  Familiarize yourself with speaker marketing materials

-  Learn why media exposure is a critical element to your success

- Discover why publicity is 100 times better than advertising

What people are saying about Speaker Services Events

Every time I come the Speakers’  Summit I learn more and meet people to who help myself and my business  grow towards the success I dream of.
- Jentana Dabbs

Thank you for a highly motivating and powerful event, and for being such a gracious host. The Speakers’ Summit definitely opened my eyes to improvement opportunities and ways to share my gifts in the world more powerfully and easily. Thank you again, and I look forward also to growing our connection and network!
- Barry Selby

It was an extraordinary experience.  I didn’t have any expectations going in and I didn’t know what I would come away with.  It is through these past couple of days that I have discovered that I must find a way to express what I have experienced.  It is time for me to go to the next level.  I’m not a coach that fits into any of the usual categories but I do have something to say and share.  These past couple of days have shown me that there is a forum for me to get my message out there.
- Carol Pilkington

August 2011 E-Zine

Marketing & Training Services since 1992

Speaker Services: http://www.speakerservices.com

In this issue:

- A note from Susan Levin

- News from our speakers and colleagues

- Teleclasses & Workshops

- Tweets and Blog Post of Interest

This past week I had the pleasure of teaching Speak Your Way to More Clients with my colleague Ursula Menjtes.  We also had the pleasure of coaching a client from Colorado for three days in person who you will be hearing about in a few months as soon as we complete his branding and speaker listing.  As a marketing consultant for speakers, authors and experts I am always talking about the need to have promotional marketing materials.  I am sure you have heard me say speaking is a business and it is essential to have well written materials. So if you are not getting the media attention you deserve or attracting new clients or not getting speaking gigs it could be your promo materials.

Speaker Services team can assist you with speaker proposals, one sheets, bio’s, interview questions, press releases and more.  I have posted the services on our blog along with a description of each item see http://bit.ly/qIRbHL We are offering complimentary intakes with a suggested plans of action.  E-mail me susan@speakerservices.com if you would like a session.  You may also be interested in reading 10 Reasons Why an Online Speaker Kit Gets Meeting Planners to Book You! http://bit.ly/nfNRqf

If you are in Los Angeles you could attend Market Yourself as a Speaker Workshop on 8/13 where you will learn about professional promotional materials from me.  See details

Are you doing anything for fun this summer?  Jack Barnard, our master branding. media & presentation coach along with 15 folks are.  What exactly are they doing you ask?  They are in a 5 part Inspired Improvisation class learning how to get out of their head and into their bodies and to think on their feet.  Lots of belly laughter the first evening. The last evening 8/29 is a performance and you are invited to attend complimentary.  It is in Venice, CA.  E-mail me for the information and if you are interested in attending or for the next series.

As you may know we are going to Atlanta on Sept 30 and Oct 1 for Talk Up Your Business Workshop.  On August 11, I am offering a free teleclass preview with our speakers on Talk Up Your Business.  You can meet Daphne Bousquet, Rick Frishman, Jack Barnard & Susan Levin, register here

In Atlanta see workshop info http://www.speakerservices.com/talkupyourbiz . Psst there is an early registration fee by 8/30 of $147.  We have had many requests from out West Coast peeps to offer a similar workshop in Los Angeles and I am working on it as I write and will be announcing the date soon.

Speak Your Way to More Business

Susan Levin

Speaker Services, susan@speakerservices.com

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Welcome to our new speaker for August 2011

Devin C. Hughes is a Coach, trainer and former athlete shows how to conquer the sense of alienation called “The Isolation Syndrome” and get your life back.
Bullying, Cultural Diversity, Learning Disorders, Motivational, Parenting and Children

See all speakers and authors

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Speakers’ Community Membership Club

Teleclasses are complimentary for members of the Speakers Community  join now 60 days free

Wednesday, August 24

Heartfelt Marketing: Allowing the Universe to Be Your Business Partner interview with Jacquie Jordan teleclass

Once again Jacquie Jordan does an excellent job of telling how it is. Anyone who is interested in the marketing field no longer has to experience sleepless nights, fear and anxiety. What you need is here in “Heartfelt Marketing”. Jacquie knows what she’s talking about.   Learn more and register.
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WORKSHOPS in LA & Atlanta

Friday & Saturday, September 30 and October 1

ATLANTA-  Talk Up Your Business, Master the Message, Master the Marketing

Speakers, Authors, Consultants, Coaches, Experts, Entrepreneurs, CEO’s

If you’re a would-be speaker, a business hotshot, an entrepreneur or a network marketer; if you have a product, service or about-to-be-realized dream; you absolutely need to be speaking about it, do seminars & workshops about… you need a kick-butt website, you need to blog about, to social network about, to get great publicity about — and you definitely need to know all the up-to-the-minute marketing tricks!

In short: to truly make a lasting impact, you need to be a media maven: a compelling presenter…a website wizard…a publicity hound…a master marketer.

See the program and register.  Early registration ends 8/30. $147 for 2 days.

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New workshop:  Monday, October 17 in Venice, CA

Charisma: Great Leaders Have It Workshop

For Executives, Coaches, Entrepreneurs, Speakers

Led  by Jack Barnard, Susan Levin and Tony Perez

Charisma: a strong personal quality that makes other people like you and be attracted to you.  Macmillan Dictionary

Charisma: a personal magic of leadership arousing special loyalty or enthusiasm. Merriam-Webster

Read more

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NEWS From OUR SPEAKERS & COLLEAGUES

See Jean-Noel Bassior’s video and write up in Day In The Life: Executive Chef at Westwood’s W Hotel – Westwood-Century City, http://t.co/XzdZcO9

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Story On Biking: the amazing story of Jothy Rosenberg http://t.co/ANRSk0p
Jothy is an author, speaker and extreme athlete, entrepreneur and two-time cancer survivor empowers others to say “I CAN” in the face of major challenges. He speaks about Disabilities, Empowerment, Entrepreneurship, Inspirational, Motivational, Success see his speaker listing http://bit.ly/nphM9F

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Speaker and author Helaine Harris shares:
I am thrilled to invite you to register for a FREE Teleseminar series specifically designed for folks who want more love and abundance in their lives. It’s called the Activate Amazing Prosperity with Heart Energy! You will hear from 13 experts, authors and speakers in activating your heart and power centers to attract amazing abundance. Do you feel like you’re doing something WRONG?  No matter how hard you try and or whatever new thing you do, you don’t have enough money?  That is all about to change http://www.hzharris.com/telesummit

Helaine is a leading-edge coach and therapist reveals deep connection between love and abundance, shows how to attract clients and customers who appreciate you, and how to access your inner wisdom to fulfill your life purpose.  See Helaine’s speaker listing http://bit.ly/p7KCtT

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Bill Harrison wrote, Simon & Schuster reports that, in its first week, Jaycee Dugards’s memoir, A Stolen Life, sold approximately 700,000 copies. On the very first day it was published, Jaycee’s book sold 175,000 copies – & almost 100,000 were e-books. That’s an e-book record. What are you doing to tap the e-reader market?

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Lessons, Tips, Laughs and Gasps from ‘Shedding the Corporate Bitch’ by Bernadette Boas

Bernadette Boas Author, Speaker, Radio Personality, Change Agent, Brand Maker – Shedding the Bitch, Raising Capital – ASK ME

Have you encountered a bully or nasty boss, or an aggressive team member in the office… even at home? Have you ever wondered what motivates them to be who they are? 

For twenty-five years, I was that corporate bully, and now am thrilled to announce that my first book, Shedding the Corporate Bitch, has just been published on August 1. 

It’s my apology to all of the road kill that I left behind, while it also educates those afflicted by those nasty people about what causes them to lash out and create a challenging work environment. 

Now available everywhere, my personal story provides insights into the successes, failures, lessons learned, influences, and overall impact that my professional persona (Corporate Bitch) had on my career. 

 

Available now at your local bookstore, Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.com, and online at www.sheddingthecorporatebitch.com where you can also get a free autographed copy!!

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Who says complimentary speaking does not turn into paid gigs?

“I got a free gig from Speaker Services for the Dept. of Veterans Affairs, and after the presentation last week in Palm Springs, they contracted me to do four 50 min. tele-coaching sessions as a follow up. I didn’t have to submit a proposal or even negotiate—and I’m getting $2500! Also, they are interested in me for several other training/facilitating opportunities—woohoo!.” – Nan Vaughn, Speaker/ Author. See Nan’s Speaker listing

Want what Nan has? Our service has been connecting speakers, coaches, experts and authors together with audiences since 1992. http://www.speakerservices.com

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Pat Mussieux writes Any opportunity to speak is a gift, as far as I am concerned. It’s a chance to get your message out, to transform lives, to practice your presentation/skills, etc. – the critical piece is to ensure it is your ideal audience! And the critical piece is definitely ‘seeding’ throughout your presentation – and follow-up! Follow-up! Follow-up!

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Dr. Carole Lieberman weighs in on KTLA TV on Casey Anthony case http://t.co/W98oGHT .

Dr. Carole is the go-to guest for Oprah, Larry King, Katie Couric, Bill O’Reilly, The Today Show, Good Morning America, Entertainment Tonight, CNN, Fox News, BBC, and other major media outlets when they need expert insight into the top news stories of the day or how to deal with life’s ups and downs. See Carole’s speaker listing

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SEE WHAT OUR CLIENTS ARE SAYING ABOUT OUR SERVICES

Susan Levin is a great mentor with great experience to share 
and a great heart to match! – Melissa Evans, Guru of Implementation

Susan provides a toolbox of services and experts for the business person or author who wants to develop a revenue stream from speaking engagements. I used both her training and directory and more than doubled my speaking revenue in less than 90 days.”
- Betty LaMarr, Executive Coach, Speaker

I really appreciate Susan Levin, she is intelligent, practical & a very nice person & offers solid advice about the speaking industry. She has great information on her website and is very professional. She really has a passion for the speaking industry & is not just in business for the money. I do not hesitate to recommend her. – Tiffany Bradshaw, Bradshaw & Co. Business Consulting

Get a speaker listing with Speaker Services and connect with audiences who want to hear your message: Learn more.
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TWEETS AND BLOG POSTS YOU MAY BE INTERESTED IN:

- Learn marketing secrets & strategies that attract your ideal clients speakerservices.com/talkupyourbiz/ Atlanta 9/30 & 10/1 get your seat now

- Blog Discover how to secure your income for the rest of the year.The Top Item To Sell At Your Workshop @daphnebousquet http://t.co/lBAdvmA

- Check this video out — Susan Levin, What Meeting Planners are looking for in speakers http://t.co/YfDoEew Various formats for presenting.

- 15 Tips to Conquer Fear of Public Speaking: http://t.co/20D0Hx0 @dianediresta

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Follow us on

Twitter: http://twitter.com/speakerservices
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/susan.levin
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/susanlevin
Read the Blog http://speakerscommunity.com/blog
SpeakerServices Utube Channel http://tinyurl.com/2e3dzjm

Marketing & Training Services since 1992

Speaker Services: http://www.speakerservices.com

In this issue:

- A note from Susan Levin

- Tips and Advice

- Teleclasses & Workshops

- 5 Tips to Avoid Losing Your Shirt with Your Seminar

- How Sponsors Define Value

- How to Ensure a Powerful Introduction Before You Speak

- Tweets & Blog Post of Interest

Greetings,

Did you have a good holiday weekend?  My gang of friends met at Ellen Reid’s place to celebrate the holiday weekend.  She is my friend the Book Shepherd.   The photo is of me and Kiki Ellen’s dog.

Weekend before last Jean-Noel Bassior our editor for the past 25 years and I were vendors at the ICF LA’s Coaches Expo in Culver City.  I met many wanna be coaches and certified coaches that were very interested to know more about how Speaker Services could help them grow their various expertise. It was not a huge event but the quality of the people who stopped were extraordinary and the conversations were helpful and fruitful.

The Inspired Improv 5 week workshop in August filled up very quickly.  Jack Barnard is teaching it and the people who signed up are in for a treat. I will be there too as it is so much fun.  Do you speak gibberish?

At the end of July Ursula Mentjes and I are offering Speak Your way to More Clients Workshop for the second time in Capistrano Beach, CA.  Last time we sold out.  

We’ll be sharing how to discover the problem that you solve for your clients and the best ways to communicate it to the decision maker and how to create your “Top 25 Target Client List”and more.

“Susan and Ursula delivered awesome value!  The content was complete, thorough and fun.  They are both committed to providing the missing links for the clients they serve. I feel totally prepared to begin the new branch of my work—creating clients through speaking!” -Dorbe Holden, Transformational Coach

Check it out and register: http://tinyurl.com/3h2el9f

Not in LA?  No worries here are some options for you:

- Speaker Marketing Works Virtual Mastermind/Study Group now forming http://bit.ly/jXEUmT

- Budget Minded and enjoy listening to mp3’s?  Join the Speakers Community Membership Club. 60 days complimentary and a mere $19.95 a month plus 4 years of past interviews in the library ready for you to download.  I always say where can you learn from the experts for $10 an hour. I am looking forward to interviewing Dr. Stpehen Jones about the Fear of Speaking- Get Over it! Does the thought of speaking in front of a group evoke fear, make you sweat, start your heart pounding? It’s likely you have glossophobia – the fear of public speaking.

At the end of the month it is my honor to interview my long time speaker, author client Michael Hingson. Michael is the author of Thunder Dog: A Blind Man, His Guide Dog, and the Triumph of Trust at Ground Zero. God does not present insurmountable problems. Instead he gives us challenges, waits for us to overcome them, & then he rejoices . Join now.

- Workshops in LA, Orange County and Atlanta.  See all workshops

- One-on-One consulting on Speaker Marketing and or Presentation Branding Skills and Book Mentoring on the phone or in person in Los Angeles.  This month we are hosting a client from Colorado for a private three day training.  How can we assist you?  We customize for your needs and concerns.

Speak Your Way to More Business

Susan Levin, Speaker Services, susan@speakerservices.com

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TIPS & ADVICE

LinkedIn Group

Professional Keynote Speakers – by Jorge Olson

Discussion: How do you become a public speaker?

- Lenny Laskowski, http://www.LJLSeminars.com

Many people who start out in the speaking business need to remember that it “IS” a business and you need to learn and understand how the speaking business works. Like most business it does change and you need to find what works for you in terms of growing your business. For every business who swears by using “cold calls” as an approach you will find other’s who NEVER use cold calls.

Find yourself a mentor who is doing what you want to do and in the industry you want to work in and learn from them. Take marketing courses and seminars. Attend workshop and seminars on the speaking business and learn from others. At the same time, you need to find what works for you and what style of marketing works for your personal style.

Also, do not remember to keep good records and who you speak to and interface with so you can follow up.

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5 Tips to Avoid Losing Your Shirt with Your Seminar

Daphne Bousquet,  http://eventstrategysolutions.com

It happens to too many people. Grand plans, big vision. You plan, you project, you try to manifest and then you find yourself in a huge hole that you spend the rest of the year trying to get out of.

Yes, I am talking about events. Has it ever happened to you? You poured your heart and soul into planning a seminar and all you ended up with was an empty wallet and crushed dreams? And you wonder what happened?

You see other coaches and expert put on huge seminars and they are making a fortune. What could you have done differently? What do they know that you don’t?

It breaks my heart, because workshops and seminars are powerful tools that transform people’s lives, both attendees and seminar leaders. When done right, they are extremely lucrative and I am not exaggerating when I tell you that you can make more money in a single weekend than most people make in an entire year.

Our coaches tell us to think bigger, they show us what is possible. However, many times what works for them, may not work for you. So you dive into planning the workshops and seminars thinking big, all the while you are missing some critical steps that make the difference between success and utter disappointment.

What can you do to avoid that? Here are 5 tips to avoid losing your shirt and make your next seminar truly one that is transformational for you.

Start small

You may want a seminar for 100 people, but if this is your first one, start small. Keep it intimate and exclusive. It will give you a chance to test the waters, your marketing and your conversion rates. It also keeps your costs down, which is important for obvious reasons.

Focus on your ideal attendee

Who is he/she? Talk to that person and that person alone in your marketing. If your seminar tries to be too many things to too many people, it will not be anything to anybody. Your marketing becomes too broad and ambiguous and no one responds to vague and generic. Be precise. What benefits does your seminar offer and who is it perfect for?

Book your venue as late as possible

I know I am going to get in trouble with my former colleagues in the hospitality industry, but the fact is this. Most seminar leaders who have lost money on their event ended up paying thousands of dollars to hotels for rooms and services they never used. Start marketing and selling tickets before you sign your contract. Once you sign it, you are committed, whether people show or not.

Allow plenty of time for marketing

Start promoting now. Yes now. The more time you have to market your seminar the better. Most seminar leaders fail because they didn’t allow themselves enough time for their marketing campaign. For a multi day event, you will need 6 months. Minimum. Preferably 8 months. That gives you time to add value, build your list, line up promotional partners and create a campaign that gets the butts in the seats.

Have a back end plan

Your seminar should not just depend on tickets sales. You should have a comprehensive plan for generating revenue with your seminar. That means multiple streams of seminar income. Know what you are offering and when. Don’t rely on only 1 or 2 ways to make money from your seminar. There are at least 10, so use them to your advantage.

Daphne will be a featured speaker at Talk Up Your Business, Master the Message, Master the Marketing, Atlanta Sept 30 & Oct 1.  See http://t.co/cu0bNfE

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How Sponsors Define Value

- Vickie Sullivan, http://www.sullivanspeaker.com

Many experts who speak are looking for sponsors to pay their hefty speaking fee.  And sponsors are still doing that buy asking host organizations “how can you provide more value?” first.  Here are a couple of ideas inspired by veteran sports professionals in their sponsorship deals:

Community outreach.  Every sponsor wants more exposure than the event.  How about finding out who their target market is and participating in that?  For example, if your banking sponsor wants to reach out to business owners, why can’t you do an extra session for that audience?

Product placement.  TV shows and movies have taken this to a whole new level with more subtle references.  Can speakers do the same with examples and stories that feature the sponsor?  Let’s go one step further:  in the name of interactive learning, is there any way to demonstrate the sponsor’s product or service?  Use them as a case study perhaps?

Business-building opportunities.  These sponsors are partnering to expand their reach.  Does your community have value to them too?  How could you facilitate introductions between the sponsors and your business contacts?  A reception maybe?

Suggestions that go above and beyond might be refused by the host organization but your offer will not be forgotten.  Great way to position yourself as a partner rather than just a speaker for the convention.

Vickie Sullivan is recognized as the top market strategist for experts who want strong brands with high-fee buyers. She speaks and consults internationally about selection trends in high-fee markets and strategies that position experts for those venues. Vickie’s articles have been published in national publications ranging from USA Today Magazine to Handbook of Business Strategy. This update is sent to thousands of experts throughout the U.S. and 17 other countries.

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How to Ensure a Powerful Introduction Before You Speak

Post by Lisa Sasevich, www.theinvisibleclose.com

There are two types of introductions—the one where you introduce yourself toward the beginning of your talk and the one that your host reads to introduce you to the audience before you get up on stage. Now, that second introduction may seem like a minor concern, but it’s not; it plays a huge role in establishing your credibility.

Building credibility—the impression that you are an expert with proven results who can be trusted to deliver—is the vital first goal of your presentation. If you want your audience to listen to you and eventually buy from you, they have to see you as credible.

So here is my secret formula and two important tips for creating a powerful introduction for your host. An introduction that sets you up to gain credibility and helps people feel open to you and quickly start to build the trust that is needed to invest with you.

Proven Formula for Getting a Powerful Intro Before You Speak When you’re writing your host’s introduction, keep it short: only 30 seconds to one minute long. Hit the high points and include these elements:

A. Have the host tell the audience why they invited you. For example, your introduction might begin: “We know that you or people you know have been affected by the drastic changes in the housing market. We invited our next speaker here today because her program has been proven to work during challenging times.” This is also where they would include any personal testimonial they have to add if they, in fact, have worked with you.  read on http://bit.ly/kjonkI

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WORKSHOPS IN LA, ORANGE COUNTY, SAN DIEGO & ATLANTA

See all workshops

July 29, Speak Your Way to More Clients, Ursula Mentjes & Susan Levin, Capistrano Beach

“Are you tired of figuring out where to find new clients? It’s time for them to find you!”

Ursula Mentjes (Sales Expert) and Susan Levin (Industry Expert) have teamed up to teach you how to grow your business through speaking!

“Speak Your Way to More Clients was packed with “tricks of the speaking trade”!  Following the examples provided during the workshop will be vital to making my next speaking engagement a great success!”, Carleen Paul, Skills for Success Reading Center

“This is the perfect blueprint for pursuing a successful speaking career!  Getting the actual “HOW” was absolutely priceless!  Thank you, thank you, thank you!” – Janise Graham, Janise Graham Insurance and Financial Services

Learn more

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August, 13 – Market Yourself as a Speaker led by Susan Levin, Marina del Rey

Nuts and bolts of lecture circuit.

Are you a seasoned expert with years of advice and experience to pass along? Whether you are an executive, educator or salesperson you could be missing out on an important source of your income: THE SPEAKING CIRCUIT.  Learn more/register

“Susan has given me a great deal of personal advice which has helped me go forward in my career as a speaker and consultent. I am honored to know Susan and to have the opportunity to work with her.” - Michael Hingson, Speaker & Author

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Tweets & Blog Posts of interest:

- Speakers, Authors, Experts R yr marketing materials professional? R u getting noticed? No? Might be the writing! http://bit.ly/pUNiLa

- Social Media Use Nearly Doubles as Audiences Grow Older : MarketingProfs Article http://t.co/pihtYzt via @marketingprofs

- Seven Ways to Name the Decision Makers http://t.co/Lfrj3Kb via @wendyweiss

- 7 Steps to Increase Facebook Fans http://t.co/E3BoCJY via @pc4media

- If God Is Your Co-Pilot, Switch Seats http://huff.to/mrhQPD via @huffingtonpost by BJ Gallagher

- Excellent post How to Create a Value Proposition Positioning Statement with Your Value Proposition – RAIN Group http://t.co/FqhutRB

- 10 Easy Ways To Prepare A Powerful Introduction http://t.co/XXrVEZJ

Marketing & Training Services since 1992

Speaker Services: http://www.speakerservices.com

Greetings,

Today we are trying out a new e mail format.  Let me know if you like it.

There are a few items I want to share with you today that you may not be aware of that we offer.

I have been noticing that some folks come to workshops, buy home study courses and do not implement the information.  I know many of us including myself are in overwhelm  and probably could use some hand holding. So I decided to form a virtual group:  Marketing Works MasterMind Study Group.  It will meet once a month on the telephone for 90 minutes with a six month commitment. Each month I will be teaching a new element re speaker marketing and during that month you will digest the content and get the work done until we meet again.

I find that many folks sorta know what they need to do but sorta don’t get around to implementing.  This group is designed for just for that.  I will start the group once we have 10 people enrolled. It is a small monthly investment. Read more

Here is my second offer: Our team can put together your promotional materials ie: one-sheets, bios, speaker listing, interview questions, press releases.  I asked this question in my linkedin groups a few days ago, Not getting the speaking gigs? Do you have professional marketing materials?  Wow that stirred up a lot on interest and some controversy.  I took a look at what some speakers and authors thought were good marketing materials and sad to say they would never get booked for speaking nor media with what they had or didn’t have.

E-mail me susan@speakerservices.com for an appointment to discuss your needs and for us to recommend and customize the perfect package for you.  You do not have to be listed as a speaker in our directory to take advantage of this stellar service.  We  make you look professional so that you can get the gigs and media interviews.  See an example of a two sided one sheet that we created for our speaker and author Melissa Evans, The Guru of Implementation. Melissa Evans one sheet

In Los Angeles we are looking for 9 people to be part of an Inspired Improvisation Group for Speakers and Authors led by our master branding. media and presentation coach Jack Barnard. It is all about presence.  Jack shares,

“In my coaching I work from a model I call the Communion Trio: 1) Content 2) Connection and 3) Comfort. All three are equally important. You can have your topic nailed, memorized word-for-word, but if you are not present, in the moment, comfortable in your body, free in your emotions, somehow or other we know it, and the results of your presentation are greatly diminished.”

E-mail jackp.barnard@verizon.net if you want to play for 5 weeks in August with us.

Okay onto more stuff…

Susan Levin, Speaker Services, susan@speakerservices.com
310-822-4922 PT

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TIPS & ADVICE

I asked this question to some of my LinkedIn groups. Interesting responses. Are you passionate about what you speak about?

Speak Your Passion video http://t.co/QblXAld

Richard Kent Matthews – JFK once said that the only reason to give a speech is to change the world. Without passion, that isn’t possible. If you’re not convinced about what you speak of, how will anyone else be convinced.

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Steve Jobs:  Love what you do. Marketo Blog Secrets of Lead Generation Superstars

The founder and CEO of Apple Inc., Jobs believes that entrepreneurs must have a passion for what they’re doing. If you don’t love it, he reasons, you’re not likely to have the drive to successfully manage lead generation initiatives. You’re also more likely to eventually give up altogether. Loving what you do, he says, can make all the difference in the world.  Read more. http://bit.ly/iNt1VN

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Reporters Connection – For media leads

Not already a member? Join now to get our free media leads http://www.ReporterConnection.com/JoinNowFree/

A sample of what you will receive on a daily basis.

Business & Finance

1.  Looking To Interview Entrepreneurs Who Have Experienced Spectacular Failures In Business (HireYourVirtualAssistant.com/Blog)

2.  How Did You Successfully Outsource Your B2B Sales Leads Generation? (HireYourVirtualAssistant.com/Blog)

Food & Cooking

4.  Heart & Soul Food (Kardea Kitchen Online/Book)

5.  Have Any Great Summer Family Entrée Ideas? (Various Blogs)

Health, Nutrition & Fitness

6.  Seeking Personal Injury Attorney In New York City Area For Cable TV Show Interview (Local Access Cable Television)

Psychology & Self-Improvement

7.  Fallen Ministers (Civitas Press)

8.  Seeking Stories About Overcoming Adversity (KXRB Radio)

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Joan Stewart, The Publicity Hound shares Google’s +1 Button

1. Install Google’s +1 Button

When Google, the King of Search, gives Publicity Hounds an easy way to let our websites and blogs stand out, we need to embrace it with all four paws.

The newest tool is the +1 button, shorthand for “this is pretty cool” or “you should check this out.”

It’s already popping up on websites and blogs, including  my blog.

Here’s how it works:

When you install the code that makes the button visible on your own site, people who like your content can click on it and tell Google and others that they’re recommending it. It’s Google’s equivalent of Facebook’s Like button.

But here’s the really powerful part. When you recommend somebody else’s content, your photo shows up when that person’s website is listed in Google’s search results. Your photo will show up only if you already have a Google Profile.

Do these four things today:

–If you don’t have a Google Profile, create one.

–Install the button at your website and blog. Or save yourself the headache and have your webmaster do it for you.

–Start recommending content you see elsewhere by clicking on the +1 button.

Reprinted from “The Publicity Hound’s Tips of the Week,” an ezine featuring tips, tricks and tools for generating free publicity. Subscribe at http://www.publicityhound.com/ and receive by email the handy cheat sheet “89 Reasons to Send a Press Release.”

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WORKSHOPS IN LA, ORANGE COUNTY, SAN DIEGO & ATLANTA

See all workshops

July 29, Speak Your Way to More Clients, Ursula Mentjes & Susan Levin, Capistrano Beach

“Are you tired of figuring out where to find new clients? It’s time for them to find you!”

Ursula Mentjes (Sales Expert) and Susan Levin (Industry Expert) have teamed up to teach you how to grow your business through speaking!

“Speak Your Way to More Clients was packed with “tricks of the speaking trade”!  Following the examples provided during the workshop will be vital to making my next speaking engagement a great success!”, Carleen Paul, Skills for Success Reading Center

“This is the perfect blueprint for pursuing a successful speaking career!  Getting the actual “HOW” was absolutely priceless!  Thank you, thank you, thank you!” -Janise Graham, Janise Graham Insurance and Financial Services

Learn more

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August, 13 – Market Yourself as a Speaker

led by Susan Levin, Marina del Rey

Nuts and bolts of lecture circuit.

Are you a seasoned expert with years of advice and experience to pass along? Whether you are an executive, educator or salesperson you could be missing out on an important source of your income: THE SPEAKING CIRCUIT.  Learn more/register

“Susan has given me a great deal of personal advice which has helped me go forward in my career as a speaker and consultent. I am honored to know Susan and to have the opportunity to work with her.” - Michael Hingson, Speaker & Author

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TELECLASS

Teleclasses are complimentary if you are a member of the Speakers Community Membership Club.  Join now. 60 days complimentary. Your audio/mp3 library of expert interviews twice a month.

see all teleclasses

7/29 Teleclass: It Takes More Then Talent- Marketing Your Speaking Services Interview with David Rohlander http://bit.ly/j2EIf4

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Tweets & Blog Posts of interest:

- Secrets of Lead Generation Superstars – http://t.co/vlU1EU4

- 5 Foolproof Ways to Generate Leads From Facebook http://t.co/jpoDhbc via @HubSpot

- Heartfelt Marketing: Allowing the Universe to Be Your Business Partner a must read book Jacquie Jordan cover photo by Starla Fortunato

- 10 Social Media Tips for Professional Speakers | Market Yourself as a Speaker: http://t.co/gHMX8kF Tip Search Engine Optimize Your Blog

- New blog post 75 Tips for Using Video in Business: Carol Roth’s Blog Read full  http://bit.ly/lXgokq

- Experts Do u have yr marketing presentation materials ready? We make u look professional Speaker Services team can help http://t.co/jMqTUtd

- Leverage yr expertise 4 more business. Create a magnetic presence. Talk Up Your Biz Atlanta check it out http://t.co/cu0bNfE

- Blog Leave Voicemail Messages That Have Prospects Begging To Meet You http://t.co/pPkVFcB 5 strategies 2 increase your enticement quotient.

- Visit Speaker Services online store. Improve your skill set learn from the experts

Speaker Services is coming to Atlanta,

September 30 and October 1, 2011

Calling all Speakers, Authors, Consultants, Coaches, Experts, Entrepreneurs, CEO’s

See a short video that  panelist Keith Ivey prepared and why he thinks you just might want to be at this event. http://youtu.be/8mrewimiuvk

If you’re a would-be speaker, a business hotshot, an entrepreneur or a network marketer; if you have a product, service or about-to-be-realized dream; you absolutely need to be speaking about it, do seminars & workshops about… you need a kick-butt website, you need to blog about, to social network about, to get great publicity about — and you definitely need to know all the up-to-the-minute marketing tricks!

In short: to truly make a lasting impact, you need to be a media maven: a compelling presenter…a website wizard…a publicity hound…a master marketer.

Speakers: Rick Frishman, Jack Barnard, Susan Levin, Daphne Bousquet and guest panelists.

DISCOVER the niche that suits your passion and skills — and what’s uniquely marketable about your mission

• PRODUCE presentations that captivate and attract attention…motivate Action and get Results

• LEVERAGE the profitable difference between branding and Command-Branding

• EXPLORE the top ways to make money by speaking

• LEARN marketing secrets and strategies that attract your ideal clients

• DISCOVER how to put butts in seats

Take advantage of the early bird rate. $147 after 8/30 $197

Check out vendor and sponsorship possibilites

Susan Levin and Jack Barnard are the Holy Grail for speakers, whether they are just beginning or already making good money. Great training in everything you need to know: putting your presentation together, writing a book, getting speaking leads and especially how to market yourself in the most current ways, including video and social media.
- Barbara Niven, Actress, Media Coach, Speaker
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The Summit brought together all the resources that a speaker needs to represent themselves and their products. The value was truly in the speakers and the quality of their information.
- Betty LaMarr, Executive Coach, Nadisa Associates

Go to the website:

http://www.speakerservices.com/talkupyourbiz

Sat, April 9

Market Your Business with Social Networking Workshop, Susan Levin, $99

Interactive hands on workshop designed for busy, smart people who feel they “should” be active in the social media marketing revolution, but they also feel like they’ve missed the boat.

Well, it’s not too late, you can catch up. Learn the basics you need in just a few short hours.

Don’t get left behind.

LEARN MORE: http://t.co/b4WMNt2
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Sat, April 16

Prospecting, Marketing & Landing Speaking Engagements, Susan Levin also offered as a 4 part Teleclass/Webinar series 4/14-5/5. $197
Getting speaking gigs can be a mysterious and frustrating process, particularly if you don’t have much experience.

Decision-makers today are busier than ever and difficult to find. Gatekeepers screen calls, spam filters trap emails and voice mail blocks access.

LEARN MORE: http://t.co/e2Zjti6

Sat, April 30

Market Yourself as a Speaker, Susan Levin, $125

Are you a seasoned expert with years of advice and experience to pass along? Whether you are an executive, educator or salesperson you could be missing out on an important source of your income: THE SPEAKING CIRCUIT.

The information, techniques and tools that you’ll receive from attending Market Yourself as a Speaker are essential to building your speaking business.

LEARN MORE: http://t.co/bj7FMCb
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Sat, May 7

Low Cost Ways to Convert Your Expertise into Creative, Easily Implemented Information Products & Services Workshop, Susan Levin & Guests  $125

Got content?  Want to earn more from your expertise?  You will walk out of the workshop with a product in place and ideas on how to create at least 20 more products from just one product.

LEARN MORE: http://t.co/2s0gGyv
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Upcoming Save the Dates:

May 20

Speak your Way to More Clients, Susan Levin & Ursula Mentjes

Capistrano Beach, CA

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June 11

Speakers Summit in Atlanta

SPEAKER SERVICES
Susan Levin, 310-822-4922, susan@speakerservices.com

Selling out your event depends on the three “T”s of marketing your workshop. The first “T” is the “Timing” of your marketing campaign. The next “T” to get the butts in the seats of your workshop is all about the tools you need. After all, you have to have a mechanism in place to sell your tickets or take your registrations.

Now what promotional tools will you need? The most important is a website to sign people up. I recommend having a full-fledged website, with its own domain name and a sales page that shares the benefits of attending with your prospects. Although you may not like long sales pages, a well written sales page is essential to converting visitors into attendees.

Even if your workshop is free, your still need a sales or information page that lists the benefits of attending and overcomes the most common objections. Your guests still make an investment of time and will need to know the benefits of investing that time. After all, everyone is busy

If you don’t have a website with a shopping cart or PayPal, you can still take online registrations and actually sell tickets through sites like Eventbrite.com, SuretoMeet.com or RegOnline.com. All three sites will process your sales for a small fee and allow you to follow up with your attendees. The beauty of this is that it does not require any upfront investment and you do not have to pay for web hosting once your event is finished.

Following up with your attendees is essential to them showing up and having a good experience. Thank them for signing up, remind them of the times, list the benefits again for them and send them a map and direction to the venue. When you have your own sales page, you can automate this process through autoresponders. The third party registration sites allow you to follow up as well, but not with as many features and as automated as your own autoresponder will let you.

My recommended tools are a website, (preferably your own), a shopping cart or PayPal and an autoresponder. What are your tools of choice?
Be sure to check out his article about the final “T” of your workshop and event marketing, the all important Traffic.

Daphne Bousquet, CMP uses her 20+ years of event planning experience to create profitable event strategies and implementation to coaches, entrepreneurs, speakers and self employed professionals that want to grow their business with workshops and seminars. Go to eventstrategysolutions.com for more tips and information on attracting clients and profits with your own live event.

Listen to the teleclass interview with Daphne Bousquet

Article Source

Speaker Services offering for workshops in Los Angeles

Click on the links to read more and to register.

Saturday, October 16, 1-5pm

Should You Self-Publish or Go Mainstream in a Changing Publishing World? Jean-Noel Bassior, $125

Explore the pros and cons of the many ways to get published.
Publishing is changing as we speak… 

You can write an e-book today and post it for free on the Web tonight. Publicity? Just make a video on your webcam, dispatch it to YouTube, and use social networks, blogs and website promotion to let readers in cyberspace know that your book has arrived. 

So is mainstream publishing still an option for writers? Sure, if you’ve got a mainstream idea. If you’re writing about a popular topic and you envision your book in Barnes & Noble, then you may want to query literary agents and/or editors and learn how to play the publishing game. http://tinyurl.com/3694ojt

Saturday, October 23, 10am-5pm

The Presence in Presentation…Inspired Improvisation for Speakers and Seekers. Jack Barnard, $155

There are two parts to the speaking universe, what we will call: a) The Ticket & b) The Game. The Ticket is anything and everything that it takes to get you the speaker in front of your eager audience. Which includes:
• Speech Structure
• Command-Branding
• Media Training
• Promotional Material
• Marketing Strategy
These are the things I teach…and the bottom line of the Ticket is that it’s all a matter of time — taking as much time as necessary to get your ducks all in a row. http://tinyurl.com/2bfb6nq

Saturday,  October 30, 11am-6pm

Web Video & Marketing Workshop, Barbara Niven, $99

In this interactive workshop we will show you how to create and market dynamic videos for your website, social media, video tips, video blogs, You Tube, info products, video email and more.

Video is one of the top forms of viral marketing on the web, and viral marketing is one of the most effective forms of marketing. There’s no reason why your business can’t capitalize on this.

Video gives instant credibility and a personal connection to your audience and target market. It brands you as the authority and celebrity expert in your niche.  Barbara and Susan will  share their many years of acting and marketing secrets and coach you to look and sound great even if you never have done this before.

Even if you don’t know what to say, Barbara will help you get your message and sound bites clear, which will also media train you for radio & TV interviews.  http://tinyurl.com/yd22zay

Saturday, November 6, 10am-2pm

Market Yourself as a Speaker Workshop, Susan Levin, $125

Are you a seasoned expert with years of advice and experience to pass along? Whether you are an executive, educator or salesperson you could be missing out on an important source of your income: THE SPEAKING CIRCUIT.
The information, techniques and tools that you’ll receive from attending Market Yourself as a Speaker are essential to building your speaking business.
http://tinyurl.com/25572zn

Saturday, November 13, 10am-5pm

Storytelling…Every Great Speaker is a Great Storyteller. Period! Jack Barnard, $155

We live in a storytelling culture. Our movies are two-hour stories, our sitcoms twenty-two minute stories, our songs three-minute stories, our commercials one-minute and thirty-second stories. We the people are so used to absorbing through stories that when we don’t get them, the medicine doesn’t go down as sweetly.

All the great teachers — Jesus included — were great storytellers. Storytelling is an art. As a speaker you can tell us the point you are trying to make and we may understand it, but we get meaning through stories.
http://tinyurl.com/2aeh4zt

Saturday, December 4, 10am-5pm. Small Talk…The Elevator Speech, Networking, Media Interviews… the language your audience already speaks. Jack Barnard, $155

Some of what will be covered:
• The secret of the short presentation
• How to create dynamite sound-bites
• The power of brevity
• The default approach to absolutely every media — and audience — question
• How to block questions you don’t want to answer and bridge over to what you do want to share
• The Tricky Trio — the critical three questions that you need a dozen answers for

Small Talk focuses on getting juicy and succinct about your approach, so on one hand it’s a media training and on the other it’s an exciting journey into the heart of your message. http://tinyurl.com/33ebee3

Interview with Stever Robbins, Get-It-Done Guy

Building on his Get-It-Done Guy podcast, which just passed its 7 millionth download, the Get-It-Done Guy’s 9 Steps to Work Less and Do More gives step by step advice on how to Live on Purpose, Stop Wasting Time, and much more. Need to stop procrastinating? Learn how to ‘speed date’ your tasks, until you find one that clicks. Feel like you can never achieve your daily goals? Learn how to set up an ‘interruption time’, so that nothing can distract you until you’re ready.

1. Why do we procrastinate? What are some simple tips for beating procrastination?
Thinking causes procrastination. No, really. We build up tasks in our mind, thinking they’ll be huge, unachievable,or unpleasant. The remedy is to stop thinking and just start acting. Your brain will still get in your way, however. While you’re filling out your procrastinated expense reports, your brain will distract you with worries that you’re making no progress on the novel you’ve been procrastinating.

As I mention in my book, you can make your brain happy by speed-dating your tasks. List what you’re procrastinating. Start at the top and work on each task for exactly five minutes, then move to the next task. Use a timer to be precise. When you’re done, take a 5-10 minute break and do it again. Five minutes is short; your brain will let you do it. Since you’re hitting several of your procrastinated tasks, your brain knows you’ll get to your other tasks just five minutes from now. It frees you to focus completely on the task in front of you, yet guarantees you’ll go on to make progress on everything that’s important.

2. Your career background includes a lot of technology companies, but Step 3 of your 9 Steps to Work Less and Do More is called “Conquer Technology”. Why doesn’t technology automatically make us more productive? How can we use it to become more productive?
Don’t get me wrong; some technology really delivers on its promise. But often, technology saves effort in one place while adding effort in others. For example, each new gadget packs more capability into each device. What makes it attractive and fun also makes it distracting and kills our productivity.

Technology is a tool, nothing more, and nothing less. When a carpenter uses a screwdriver, she picks it up, uses it, and puts it down again. That’s how you use tools. Treat your technology the same way. Instead of being married to it everywhere you go, divorce your technology. Have it around, just not in front of you. Do your thinking on paper. Decide what you need to do. Then get out the tools to do it. If you need to do something on computer—like send email—get up, walk over to your computer, open the email program, send the email, close the program, and walk back to your main work area. By keeping each task distinct, you’ll learn to use your computer as a tool. Instead of being a distraction, it becomes a superb way of amplifying your focus. In that Step 3 of the book, I explained how I evaluate all of my gadgets to make sure they are delivering on their work-less-do-more promise; I suggest everyone do the as me.

3. Does being organized automatically mean you’re getting more done?
Being organized means you have a place for everything and everything goes in its place. When you’re disorganized, everything you do has the added burden of your having to search for the tools need to do it. For example, when you’re disorganized, writing a Thank You card is an adventure. You have to brave your Supply Pile. You hunt for 5 minutes to find the crumpled paper bag where you stuffed those Thank You cards. You start writing … only to find you’re out of stamps. A 10-minute trip to the Post Office, later your cards are ready to go. If you’re organized, you get out your Thank You cards and stamps. You write the Thank You card, stamp the envelope, and toss it in mailbox. Elapsed time: 30 seconds, instead of 15 minutes and 30 seconds.

If you use the 15 minutes you saved to get more done, then being organized helps you get more done in the same amount of time. Otherwise, you’re getting the same done in less time, freeing up the extra time to do something awesome. Like eat Oreo Ice Cream Cake. That’s one way being physically organized can help you be more productive. I also offer advice on how to organize your days and brain better in the book too.

4. In your book, you recommend people not consider all their options. How can this help someone get more done?
We love choice! We believe more choice means more happiness and more movement towards our goals! The research on choice refutes this, however. Give us more than two or three choices and we become less likely to act and more likely to regret any choice we take.

In daily life, this means too many options stalls us, and we end up less happy with our choices. We make and re-make our decisions until we’ve spent more time and money making the decision than the decision is actually worth.

By limiting our options, we limit the research needed for the choice, and we’re more likely to keep moving forward. My example is buying a digital camera. I’ve needed one for three years now, but there are too many to choose from. If I simply limit my options to the first ten cameras that appear on the Consumer Reports web site, the decision becomes much easier. Will I get the best camera possible? Probably not. But I will get a camera and start doing the photography I need to get done. Without limiting my choices, I stay paralyzed and stressed.

5. Leverage is usually a term applied to finance? The final step of your 9 Steps to Work Less and Do More is called “Leverage”. What do you mean when you use the term?
Leverage is a physics term. A lever is a simple machine. You put in a small force on the long end of a lever and get a strong force out. In finance, leverage means using a small amount of your own money to borrow a much greater amount, so you get huge financial effects using only a small amount of money.

In Get-it-Done Guy’s 9 Steps to Work Less and Do More, I use leverage to mean doing a small amount of work and getting a huge result. Choose ways of working where you work less and get outsized results. For example, most of us scribble down a to-do list as a way of keeping track of what we have to do today. You can get leverage by jotting down that list in a format that someone else can understand. Then you can hire an assistant, give them your old to-do lists, and they can hit the ground running. You are doing a little more work by writing neater and maybe elaborating each item a bit. Your return is immense, though, because your to-do list enables you to free up time by delegating.

6. What is an action day? Shouldn’t every day be an action day?
An action day is one of my favorite tips in the book and a great way to get things done while bonding with a friend. Call a friend who wants to have a super-productive day. Get together in person or by phone, each bringing a list of things you want to get done. Commit to making progress and start working. Check in at the top of each hour, report your last hour’s progress, and declare your next hour’s plan. Your promise to each other gets you started, and the hourly check-ins keep you on track. I find in-person or phone works best for action days.

Every day can be an action day if you have people willing to play. I wrote the final draft of my book by holding five action days a week. The action days kept me going through the rough patches, and a couple of the regular attendees became friends! An action day is pretty intense, though, and I found that two each week was a good number.

I hold regular action days. If you’d like to be on the announcement list, visit http://www.SteverRobbins.com/actiondays. I send out announcements of new action days once or twice a month.

7. What is the biggest hindrance to your personal productivity? How do you deal with it?
The internet. The web and email are a large part of my job, and they’re both distraction machines. The moment I open an email or visit a web site to do research, I risk hours of distraction. Its siren song is extremely seductive and hard to resist…

My solution is to divorce my technology as I described earlier. Rather than thinking of my computer as “my computer,” I think of it as a different tools, depending on my task. Sometimes it’s my typewriter, sometimes it’s my reference book, and sometimes it’s my newspaper. When I think of it in terms of the tool I need at the moment, it helps me stay focused on the current task.

… and when that fails, I use a freeware program called Freedom on my Mac to shut down my internet connection for a couple of hours.

8. If a person can make just one change to make themselves more productive, what would you recommend they change?
Definitely Step 1, which is Live on Purpose. Regularly stop and ask yourself why you’re doing what you’re doing. Then make sure what you’re doing is really the best way to reach that goal. I do this a dozen times a day. “Why am I surfing Facebook?” “I dunno. Habit.” “Ok, self, get back to work!”

Living on Purpose goes far beyond your moment-to-moment tasks, however. I used to go to four or five business conferences each year. Why? “I’m doing important business development,” was my answer. Year, right. When reviewing my client list, I realized not a single client had come from attending a conference. My clients had only come from speaking at conferences. Now, I only attend conferences where I’m speaking, or if there’s some other compelling reason to be there.

9. You recommend that people schedule interruptions. How is this possible?
You schedule interruptions by setting aside a time block each day for dealing with interruptions. If you’re interrupted, quickly decide if it’s a show-stopping emergency. If not, jot it down on your “Interruptions” list. Wait until your scheduled interruption time and work on it then. If Bernice drops by, asking you to review a memo she’s written, just say, “I would be happy to. I’m busy right now. How about if I get back to you a little after 4 p.m.?” When your interruption time arrives, her memo will be on your list and you can handle it then. Often if the interruption is someone with a problem, they’ll solve it themselves when you make yourself their convenient rescue service.

Interruptions will take your time one way or another. If you schedule them, at least you can get work done in the meantime.

Purchase the book www.steverobbins.com

Wendy Scharfman a social media friend and communication coach interviewed me for her blog News from Coaching For Effective Communication .  I thought you might be interested in reading the interview and the post from her blog.

GROW YOUR BUSINESS OR PROMOTE YOUR BOOK THROUGH SPEAKING

Wendy Scharfman
Coaching For Effective Communication
www.wendyscharfman.com
Take it away Wendy,

This week I want to focus on the ever-increasing necessity for professionals and authors to grow their business through speaking in public.

I had a radio interview with Bill Frank last week for KKZZ talk radio in Ventura, CA http://dld.bz/rq2K and one of the things we discussed was the importance of honing your speaking skills for whatever message or product you are providing. If you are not the BEST representative of what you do, the world will not embrace and engage with what you have to offer. It’s seemingly obvious, but often not the case. Taking the time to work with a coach, trainer or even a partner on refining your message for any speech or material you put out there will come back to you tenfold. And then, get some help getting out on the trail.

Susan Levin, owner and founder of Speaker Services (http://www.speakerservices.com/) put this notion to work. I came across Susan several times as I was building my business and I believe “Attention must be paid” to the seeming coincidence of someone repeatedly appearing in your life. She offers great services, training and a wealth of information for people who want to market themselves as speakers.

INTERVIEW:

Wendy’s Question:

Susan, can you briefly tell me what led you to start your business and how has it changed since its inception?

Susan’s Answer:
In 1992 I was inspired to work with business folks and give them the opportunity to market themselves as speakers. We began with a print directory in Los Angeles, which was mailed to event producers, meeting planners and was distributed on newsstands around town. In 1994 the Internet came to life and I was one of the first 1500 people to have a url and a website. We continued with the print till 1998 and then went full boar on the web as many more people were using it as a resource.

The web took Speaker Services from being a local business to worldwide – we have clients all over the country and in Europe as well. With the influx of social media, it has become very easy to connect with more people and grow my business. Connection is the key. It spans from a 30 second introduction, 10 minute talk to a keynote presentation, to blogging, lead generation, social media, creating videos, job interviews and workshops. The whole enchilada. I love connectivity!

Wendy’s Question:

What do you think are the most important factors in becoming a better speaker?

Susan’s Answers:
• Don’t be a speaker, be an expert who speaks.
• Be passionate about your subject matter. When you are on fire, others catch on fire.
• Know your target audience.
• Get a presentation, media and branding coach.
• Make sure you have The 3 C’s or the Holy Triad in your presentation Connection, Content and Comfort
• Be a great storyteller and get the audience involved.
• Create videos so that event planners can see you in action.

Wendy’s Question:

How does social media come into play in terms of the services you provide and promoting your own business?

Susan’s Answer:
Social Media is awesome. I promote my services and speakers via social media and teach them too how to join groups so that they can begin to create joint ventures, visibility and credibility. I prefer social media to networking meetings in person. Once you find your tribe it is totally acceptable to arrange a meeting to learn more about how you can support one another. Wendy, you and I met via social media and started a conversation and here I am writing a post for your blog!

Wendy’s Question:

Talk a bit about the various classes and teleseminars Speaker Services offers.

Susan’s Answer:
• I teach a workshop in Los Angeles called Market Yourself as a Speaker, which is about the business of speaking. I also work with folks privately. http://www.speakerservices.com/services/marketyourself.html

• Barbara Niven and I teach Web Video & Marketing Workshop, YOU ON CAMERA http://www.speakerservices.com/web-video-workshop.html

• Once a year we offer a Video Demo Showcase & Authors Video http://www.speakerservices.com/videoprod.html

• I have been offering teleclasses way before they were even popular.

• We have a membership club The Speakers’ Community where I interview experts twice a month on speaking, marketing, books, social media and more. http://www.speakerscommunity.com . It is an online library and it is 60 days complimentary.

Wendy’s Question:

If you were starting out as a professional speaker, what would be the most important sequence of actions that you would take to succeed?

Susan’s Answers:
• Get a coach
• Get focused
• Speak for Free
• Attend events, listen to teleclasses, join speaker groups or start your own on Facebook, LinkedIn
• Learn the business of speaking and get all your marketing materials together including video
• Build a following; stay out in front of your peeps via regular e-mails and social media

Wendy’s Question:

What transformation do you see in your class participants after they have completed the training for their speaking videos?

Susan’s Answer:
They jump to the next level of professionalism, begin to get paid for speaking and they are more visible.

Los Angeles friends join Speaker Services on 9/26/10 complimentary YOU the Star, Speak, Write, Market event. http://t.co/GPunWDY

If you would like to sign up for Wendy’s blog please visit: http://visitor.constantcontact.com/manage/optin/ea?v=001Vjt3cCjZco_UHnxe90vk-g%3D%3D

By Kathleen Gage

Please leave comments as Kathleen will be coming by on 3/17 to answer your questions.

Make millions, drive fancy cars, buy big houses, enjoy trips around the world.  All without effort, work or time invested. And anyone can do it.

All of this and more has been promised to speakers and authors who are eager to build their business using the Internet. The problem? It’s hyped-up baloney.

Although you can make a great living, drive luxury cars, live in a beautiful home and travel extensively, it’s not without work, effort and commitment.

How do I know? I’ve had an Internet-based business for years. I make a great living for one very important reason. I run my Internet-based business like I would any other type of business — like a business.

Sadly, far too many people get sucked into plopping down money with the promise of fame and fortune only to be disappointed when things don’t happen as promised. The fact is that anyone who says you can have it all without effort is blowing smoke.

So how do you know what’s hype and what is the real deal when it comes to learning what it takes to build a business using the Internet? Research, patience, no rose-colored glasses and commitment.

In the 15-plus years I have been a professional speaker and 10 years plus I have been an author, how we —my counterparts and I — market has drastically changed. The fact we have to market has not, but how we do has. In many ways it is a lot easier than ever before.

Yet, there are many speakers and authors who are so intimidated by marketing they continually avoid it.

The reality is most authors will never sell more than a handful of books because they haven’t given much thought to how potential readers will find their books.  Many think their book is going to be “discovered” simply by writing it.

It’s the same with professional speakers. Many live with the misguided belief that all they have to do is have a great speech and everything else will take care of itself.

However, in order for you to sell your books, speeches, consulting services, coaching and anything clients will pay for, you must market.

This is where lots of people freeze, shut down and run the other way — fast! They love writing and speaking, but fear the unknown of getting the word out. They are often the same people who say how lucky bestselling authors and superstar speakers are.

Luck has very little to do with one’s success. A solid marketing plan with focused implementation of the plan is more likely the driving force behind one’s success.

It’s essential to create balance that allows you not only to develop your craft, but to market, too. If you’re not one who wants to do your own marketing, an option is to hire to assist you someone who specializes in Internet marketing for speakers and authors.

This is where I get lots of pushback from those on a limited budget. “I don’t have the money to hire someone!” is their constant battle cry.

The fact is either you get on board with your own marketing, you accept that you need to budget for reliable and knowledgeable help or accept that your success will never be at the level you truly desire.
With all that’s available by way of the Internet it’s actually a lot easier to market and sell books, presentations and consulting services than in the past.

However, in some ways it is more difficult due to the number of authors and speakers vying for the same market as you. Your job is to stand out in such a way that people know about you and are eager to buy whatever it is you sell.

There are dozens upon dozens of ways you can promote your products and services from the comfort of your home.
Here is a partial list of what you can do.

•   Virtual book tour
•   Promote to your opt-in subscribers
•    Web-radio interviews
•    Dedicated blog
•    Guest-blog postings
•    Article writing with a link back to your blog or the Amazon page
•    Facebook FanPage
•    Teleseminars
•    Joint-venture promotions campaign
•    Video trailers
•    YouTube Channel

There are countless more, but you get the idea. Each day do something to get the word out. However, it is best to avoid trying to do everything all at once.

Begin with one idea to implement and add something new every few days. If I had never marketed before I would begin with a dedicated blog. Why? Because the blog is the hub of all your other marketing. You can use your blog postings in a number of effective ways that all link together.

Regardless of what you choose to do first, just start. Avoid one of our main enemies as authors and speakers — procrastination. “I’ll start tomorrow” is one of the most dangerous phrases you can say. Tomorrow will never come.

To successfully market and sell, begin today. Even fifteen minutes a day can make a huge difference. The difference between the dream of a successful business and actually experiencing success is the difference between thinking about marketing and actually doing so.

Kathleen Gage is an Amazon.com bestselling author. She works with spiritually aware speakers, authors, coaches and consultants who are ready to turn their knowledge into money-making products and services. Learn exactly what you need to do to market your books, your services and yourself with Kathleen’s VIP Club. Click here to learn more.

Have a Presence

The first step in becoming a paid speaker is to position yourself so that you can provide value. Your product is what you say, so if you communicate intelligent things online you are on the right track. Twitter, blogs, online video and podcasts are great platforms to express your message to the world. This gives potential clients an excellent place to get a free sneak preview of what you can provide. Video works great because the audience actually feels like they get to know you.

Your website should say exactly what you stand for and what you can provide for an audience, it should scream “John Jantsch is awesome!” but not “I am so awesome! I’m god’s greatest gift to earth!” Nobody likes someone who over hypes him/herself. The proof is in the pudding, so let your work speak for itself; that’s why content in the form of text, video or audio works so well.

It is incredible how many referrals you can attract by simply having a presence. Online, all people need to do is make a quick introduction on Twitter and potential clients will start checking out your content. Referrals are so powerful because they are often done by trusted friends–when a friend directs someone to quality content of yours, it doubles the impact.

Build your Bio

Your bio should solidify your credibility. If it’s not up to par yet, check out these 59 Ways to Grow Your Credibility. Bio’s need to be short and to the point. Often times they are read for your introduction so don’t just rattle off all your fancy degrees and awards, make it sound like you are a real person. Adding humor is a major bonus, as most intros are incredibly bland and boring. Your bio is just as important as a resume and if you aren’t comfortable writing your own bio, have a friend write it for you.

Adding in your biggest press mentions is critical in growing that credibility. As soon as your potential client or audience hears “Whoa he’s been in BusinessWeek?”, they start to pay attention.

Have a Speaking Tab on your website

Here is where your bio, headshot, testimonials, speaking resume, highlight reel and description of your value driven talk go. This should be very obviously placed on your site and linked with your about page. Now, when people find your site and want to learn more about you, they’ll automatically know you are a speaker and learn more than they ever wanted to know about you.

Don’t forget to include your email address or booking agent’s contact information so they can get in contact with you.

Often times referrals in the speaking industry come from people who say “I just heard John Janstch speak, he was awesome”. They might not actually know John well enough to put you in contact with him, so you’ll have to be found on Google. Reaching your homepage or your speaking tab is what will get the referral in the door. You might not ever hear where the referral was generated, so make sure you make it as easy as possible for them to find you.

Have a hook

If you ever wanted to get paid to speak again, you’ll need to have a point to your talk. Reel them in early with some thought provoking ideas, maybe a joke or exercise to get everyone involved. Your first minute of your talk is where the audience passes judgment so get them on your team early and let them know what they are going to get out of your performance because they are probably already wondering “why am I here.”

Your talk should do two things: 1. Teach the audience something 2. Tell your story in a way your audience can relate.

How do conversations spark in the world of speaking referrals? “Matt Wilson used this awesome example about G-String businesses 2 minutes into his talk.” If people don’t remember what you talked about it, they won’t spread the word for you. Have something that hooks them in and keeps them thinking about it days after the talk. The 1-2 week period is when most word of mouth referrals will happen.

Start Small

Don’t expect to get paid right off the bat if you’ve never spoken anywhere before, so start off small. Local high schools, colleges and organizations are always looking for some inspiration. Call them and get your foot in the door. Search meetup.com and call the president of these groups, they are always looking for a way to fill meetings. If you have something to teach others, schedule a seminar with a local library or chamber of commerce. Not only is it a great way to build your resume, but it’s also a fantastic way to network. Have plenty of business cards on hand.

It is in your community where you are going to start to form relationships that lead to referrals. Small business referrals start by having your go-to accountant, lawyer, real estate broker, etc. and drive them business. If they saw you speak at the Chamber of Commerce, why wouldn’t they want to bring you in to the local Toastmasters group?

Ask to get paid

Josh Shipp of HeyJosh.com says, “How did I make the leap from non-paid to paid? Watch: I asked to be paid. At first $500. Then $1,000. Then $2,500. Now $5,000.
If you’re good at what you do, you’ll find the more you charge the more demand you’re in and the better clients you’ll get. You get what you charge for.”

Referrals come by truly helping other people. If you deliver on content, inspire them and give them value to take home, then people will not only be happy to pay you, but happy to refer you to others.

Build Testimonials

Your speaking resume, should include links to any press from the event. This provides instant credibility to say you rocked out on the big stage. Testimonials are literally referrals in written or video form. They are recommendations that you can use anywhere. When you put them online they have the power for millions to view which grows trust with every one of your potential clients.

Collect videos from your talks as people are walking out or come up to you after and favorite every nice thing people say about me on Twitter and link it up!

Creating a highlight reel builds both social proof and your expertise, by showing a mix of positive reactions in a live setting and clips of you on stage. The people who speak positively are literally making their referral to the whole world.

Have an Agent or Bureau

If you are looking for more speaker referrals, it helps if you are paying someone a referral fee to connect you with more engagements. Bureaus and agents typically work on a percentage basis of everything they book for you, leaving very little risk or upfront investment on your part. These are the people with connections to shop you around, so why not give them a referral fee?

Start Hustling

Want to do it on your own? It’s time to roll up your sleeves and get people to refer you. Start asking people who compliment you who they know; these people often know tons of people in their industry that would also benefit from hearing your talk. Ask them who they know and be upfront about it. You just helped them by delivering massive value with a great performance and you are looking to help more people in your niche. If they refer you to someone else and you are a rock star, it’ll be huge benefit to them too!

Referrals all come down to over delivering with your service and wow-ing your audience enough to start some chatter. Word of mouth really works!

Matt Wilson is co-founder of Under30CEO.com urging people to drop the 9-5 and get passionate about something. Follow him on Twitter  @MattWilsontv as the Gen-Y spokesperson looking to help every young entrepreneur on the planet.

Post by Lisa Sassevich

Lisa at the Speakers Summit

When you’re trying to get booked to speak on stages or teleseminars, it’s crucial to give your talk a hooky title. By that I mean, an instantly appealing and easy to remember name. A hooky talk title can mean the difference between getting booked or not and between a big audience or a disappointing turnout.

I learned this the hard way. When I was first starting, I taught a course for women about how to understand men. At the time, though, I didn’t understand the elements of a catchy title, so the introductory event was called: “The Amazing Development of Men.” Not surprisingly, we drew very small audiences.

The title didn’t grab them because the secret to a truly hooky title was missing. That secret is to clearly state the transformation that the audience will experience as a result of attending.

When I realized that, we changed the title to: “Understand Men 101.” And guess what happened? Attendance skyrocketed. We started drawing women by the hundreds because the benefit was so clear and compelling!

So the key to crafting your own hooky talk title is to include in the title the outcome that your audience will experience from attending. Here is a simple two-step process for doing that:

1. Ask yourself: What is the transformation that I provide?
To get clear on the transformation that attendees will experience, start with your own clients. What is the outcome that your clients get as a result of working with you?

Focus on the client who is your greatest success story. What outcome did she receive? List all of the exact results of working with you. Did she save time, money or energy? Gain clarity or understanding? Improve her health?

Now, ask yourself: What other transformations happened in her life because of those results? For example, if you’re a nutritionist, a diabetic client may have lost 100 pounds and no longer needs to take insulin. Her direct results include: greatly improved health and well-being, a longer lifespan potential and weight loss, but her relationships with her family and at work were also transformed because she no longer suffers from off-putting mood swings and low energy.

2. Create your title using the list of transformations you just generated. After you’ve done step one, you’ll end up with a whole list of very real transformations in your client’s life that you can draw from to create your outcome-focused talk titles.

Which of those transformations are most compelling? Or most universal? For instance, the nutritionist might try: “Reverse Diabetes Using Diet Alone” or “Diabetics! Kiss Mood Swings and Energy Dips Goodbye Forever!” That speaks to anyone suffering from that disease.

As you go about crafting your own hooky titles, remember to keep these guidelines in mind:

• Put the outcome that people can expect into the title itself. For example, “Reverse Diabetes…,” “Understand Men….”

• Appeal to their pain. My title addressed the pain and frustration that many women feel because they don’t understand why men do the things they do.

• Don’t sacrifice hooky for cute. Sometimes people try to have cute titles that are clever but nobody knows what they mean. You want your title to be immediately appealing and recognizable. For example, I often speak on “Boost Sales Using Irresistible Offers” because as much as I love my brand, The Invisible Close, the outcome is not obvious as a title unless I use my tag line “For those who love what they do but hate selling!”

So get out there and take that first exciting step, create that talk title! And then right after that, plan to join me June 10–12 in San Diego for the LIVE “Invisible Close Speak-to-Sell Bootcamp,” where you’ll create offers you love, a talk that sells and gain the confidence that comes with being prepared!

What is your hooky talk title? Let us know on our blog.

has x-ray vision for seeing the sales opportunities that exist in every company, and the creativity to convert them into gold! If you’re looking for simple, quick and easy ways to boost sales without spending a dime, get your FREE Sales Nuggets now at www.theinvisibleclose.com.

Lisa is offering a complimentary teleclass on March 17.  Click here to sign up

by Kristie Tamsevicius

Sometimes finding good leads for speaking gigs can feel a bit like hunting for a tropical spa with umbrella drinks in the dessert. It’s easy to get discouraged. But yet when you see superstars that are booked solid, you know that it can be done. So how do you find leads for paid speaking engagements? Below are 14 techniques you can use to find good contacts and get yourself booked!

1) Define a niche. According to Networking expert, Lillian D. Bjorseth (www.Duoforce.com), a niche can be defined as types of organizations you want to speak for, an industry you want to specialize in, or a subject matter. By defining a clear niche, you instantly set yourself apart. The next challenge of course is to become known in your niche.

When you become the leading authority in your field, people seek you out. Speaking trainer Burt Dubin (www.burtdubin.com) says, “There’s no point in being a fine marketer until you have expertise to offer. And your expertise has gotta be in a specific niche. A niche where folks with cash in their jeans recognize your value and are willing to invest in what you alone know. Here’s how to select your niche: identify the topic or issue in which you’re willing to do endless and ongoing research for a market with the means to pay you.”

2. Free to Fee. Speak for free in places likely to have people who could hire you for fee. Often there are people in these audiences who could hire you. Check your local Kiwanis, Lions Club, Chamber of Commerce, and Rotary
clubs.

After speaking recently in the Women’s Economic Development Outreach event, someone in the audience hired me for a speaking engagement for their group. If they hadn’t seen me speak in person, it’s very unlikely that this person would have contacted me.

3. Attend Events - Go to the events that your ideal clients attend and mingle with the decision makers who could hire you. “The Transition Man” Johnny Campbell (www.TransitionMan.com) says, “Research the event ahead of time. Know who will be in attendance. Have a hit list of people you want to connect with. Ask first what THEY do so you can tailor your 30 second pitch to address how you can help with their specific needs.”

Johnny likes to go to chamber meetings and sit at the far end so he goes last introducing himself. That way he can listen first to who is in his audience and tailor his 30 second introduction. Once he did this and a gentleman was so impressed that he immediately handed him a business card and said, “Call me.”

4. Speaker Directories. There are websites that list speakers for a fee. Meeting planners sometimes go to these directories looking for a speaker on a certain topic.

Here are two that you can check out:

Speaker Services – speakerservices.com
Speaker Zone – www.speakerzone.com

5. Smile and Dial. Flipping the pages of a meeting planner directory and cold calling can drum up business. Most speakers who use this approach successfully make 40- 50 calls everyday. If you are smart about finding the
“right” targeted leads to call, this is especially effective.

Here are three sources for this information:

A) Douglas Publications – www.douglaspublications.com
They make 2 publications: The Directory of Association Meeting Planners and Directory of Corporate Meeting Planners.

B) NTPA Directory (National & Professional Associations) It lists national conventions, meetings, and trade show dates for over 7,700 trade and professional associations with an annual report published each February.

C) Columbia Books, Inc. – www.columbiabooks.com
6. Google your way to leads. Google makes it so easy to find leads. You can search for events in your industry or to find who your competitors have spoken for.

7. Ask for referrals right from the platform. Keynote speaker and master certified coach, Rich Fettke (www.Fettke.com) says this when he speaks to groups “As you can tell, I am really passionate about what I do. If you know of a group who could benefit from this message, please hand me a business card afterwards.”

8. Referrals. Ask for referrals from existing clients who have hired you to speak. If you ever have to lower your fee, you ask for letters of recommendation and referrals as part of the deal in exchange for the discount.

Burt Dubin (www.BurtDubin.com) offers this tip to reward those who refer you.

“Let your clients or customers know they are rewarded for referring folks who invest in what you offer. Give appropriate gifts, depending on the size of the ticket. I give a choice of gifts. A dollar amount in cash or a higher dollar amount given to their favorite charity in their name, or a certain dollar amount in free product. Reward referrals generously.”

My personal thought is that a heartfelt note, a Starbucks gift card, a phone call, or even flowers is a wonderful way to say “thank you – I appreciate your referral!”

9. Get on Your Prospect’s Radar Screen. Top of mind status comes from word of mouth of your clients, being “seen” in the pages of print media, and from testimonials of audience members.

Know where your audience goes and be there. This includes your prospect’s ezines, clubs, organizations, bulletin boards, and magazines.

10. Speaker Website. An effective speaker website gives a meeting planner everything they need to decide that you are the perfect speaker for their event. You’ll want to include downloadable one sheet (brochure), testimonials, program descriptions, media coverage, results gained for other clients, and your speaker video.

Lillian D. Bjorseth, the Networking Expert, (www.Duoforce.com) shared how she got a lead from a major company who wanted to hire her and found her on the website. The person came back to their planning committee who said, “You found her where?” “Have you even seen her speak? My reputation is on the line here.” Then after reading testimonials from clients who hired Lillian to speak, they were happy to hire her.

In the past 2 weeks, having a speaking video on my website has gotten me the job. A client was hemming and hawing and said, “Can we see you speak somewhere locally first?” I told them where they could view my speaker video on my website and in 5 minutes they called back to book me.

11. Join organizations where people can hire you or might be able to refer you to people. Review your organization memberships at the end of the year before you renew to make sure that the fees was worth it.

12. Publicity rules! Red Zone Marketing speaker, Maribeth Kuzmeski (www.RedZoneMarketing.com) says that hiring a full time publicist has made all the difference in her speaking career. She says that when people have seen your face enough times in publications they get to feel like they know you.

13. Invite prospects as your guest when you speak to groups. That way they can experience you firsthand. After they experience the power of your speaking, they are likely to hire you or even refer you to others.

14. Building relationships. Communication expert, Cyndi Maxey (www.CyndiMaxey.com), says her secret is to keep in touch with her clients and prospects. She sends articles to them to let them know she is thinking of them. She also likes to send cards and call them from time to time. As Cyndi says, “Never let them forget your name. You want to be top of mind when they are ready to hire.”

Article by Kristie Tamsevicius – Dubbed as the “Marketing Maven & Brander Extraordinaire” Kristie Tamsevicius turns entrepreneurs into the lavishly paid in-demand experts in their field. Learn how branding helps you to attract customers, build income, & gain visibility while successfully promoting your business online with our FREE report “Web Branding Secrets” by visiting www.brandingonthenet.com

In this Issue
- Note from Susan Levin
- New & Renewing Speakers & Authors
- Tips & Advice & Resources

Subscribe to e-zine http://www.speakerservices.com/nl

Greetings,

Happy New Year. May 2010 be the best ever for you.

I had a great holiday season, lots of movies and an open open house New Years Day gathering at my home.  The photo is me on the left and my friend Paula at my party.

Welcome to our new subscribers and speakers.

Potential clients often ask me, “so what do you do”? So to be clear. Speaker Services offers marketing and training services. On the marketing side we have the online directory www.speakerservices.com that brings speakers and audiences together since 1992. We work with professional people and authors who are interested in growing their business and income through speaking. Additionally I teach speaker marketing consulting through workshops and privates sessions.

Jack Barnard is our master branding, media and presentation coach and works with our clients privately. Please feel free to call me at 310-822-4922 PT or e mail me at susan@speakerservices.com to see if I can assist you in any of your marketing and speaking needs.

You will find many tips and resources in this issue including a great post from Seth Godin talking about Is there a fear shortage? If so, I’m not seeing it.

Check out our new speakers/authors and see what they are talking about. Also see several calls for speaker proposals that I gathered for you.

Speakers’ Summit ’10 our annual event is ready for you to view. Take a look at the program. http://www.speakerservices.com/speakerssummit10/program.html

The theme is Position, Prospect, Prosper- The Road Ahead. March 12-14 in Los Angeles. We’ll be delving into Corporate Sponsorship, Getting Booked at High Schools and Colleges, Online Video Strategies, Social Media and Prospecting for Gigs plus Adam Urbanski will share how speakers can make $250,000 to $1,000,000 a year with coaching programs.

SPEAKERS/PANELISTS include: Jack Barnard, Brent Scarpo, Sabrina Gibson, Adam Urbanski, Ursula Mentjes, Susan Levin, Mitch Mortimer, Barbara Niven, Nancy Solari, Naz Keynejad, Michael McFarlane, Mark Mikelat, Deborah Deras, Keith Ivey and more.

You can listen to a 30 minute conversation with Adam and me where we are talking about how coaching can being you mucho $$. Click here to listen. While you are there you can sign up for free for the following teleclasses 1/25 Get Booked in High Schools and Colleges teleclass and 2/8 Online Video Strategies & Corporate Sponsorship

If you would like to be listed in our online directory that brings speakers and authors together with audiences since 1992. Please drop me an e mail susan@speakerservices.com or call me for the listing guidelines. See rates and perks http://www.speakerservices.com/adv_pkt.html

Susan Levin
Speaker Services
310-822-4922 PT
susan@speakerservices.com

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NEW AND RENEWING SPEAKERS/AUTHORS

See all Featured Speakers for January 2010

Lisa Brisse – S. California
Exercise Physiologist/Fitness Coach inspire and empower you to make healthy lifestyle choices and reach your health and fitness goals – once and for all!
Fitness, Health, Wellness, Work/Life Balance

Dr. Cindy Brown, Author, S. California
Behavior Specialist, Executive Coach, Author shows you how to finally master your behavior, communication and relationships for personal and professional success utilizing her powerful breakthrough techniques and E.M.T.™ process.
Business Solutions, Communication, Personal Development, Relationships

Margaret Futerer Author — S. California
Survivor of polygamist upbringing shares 6-step process that helps women “get past the past,” connect with their personal power, and find their life’s purpose.
Abuse, Inspirational, Polygamy, Self Empowerment, Women’s Issues

Greta Hassel — S. California
Marriage and Family Therapist combines her specialization in couples with ancient teachings of sacred sexuality, showing how to shift from Disillusioned to Delighted!
Addiction/Recovery, Relationships, Sacred Sexuality

Jane Honeck — Portland, Maine, New England
CPA and Personal Financial Specialist reveals the real problem behind all money problems and offers tools for living an empowered, financially conscious life.
Empowerment, Financial Consciousness, Financial Planning, Money Matters

Adekemi “Kemi” Oguntala, M.D. — San Mateo, Northern, CA
“The Teen Doc” helps parents, teachers and health professionals understand the world of teens better in an effort to improve communication on difficult teen topics such as eating disorders, depression, substance use and sexuality.
Family, Parenting and Children, Teens, Tweens

Neil Peterson,  Author, California, New York, Seattle, Washington D.C
Entrepreneur, businessman, public servant, author and adventurer inspires you to “embrace the edge” and say “yes” to the life-challenging opportunities put in front of you every day.
ADHD, Inspirational, Leadership, Motivational

See all speakers/authors

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Call for Proposals

NHPCO’s 11th Clinical Team Conference, Scientific Symposium and Pediatric Intensive: Performing in the Key of E: Excellence in Interdisciplinary Care Gaylord Opryland Nashville Resort and Convention Center, Nashville, TN
September 13 – 15, 2010: Clinical Team Conference,

Presentation/Paper Proposal Deadline: January 22, 2010
http://www.nhpco.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageID=5669

CiTE 2010 :: Call for Presentations
CiTE 2010 Call for Speakers. Pearson eCollege and Pearson Learning Solutions invite faculty. Submit your presentation ideas and descriptions today! CiTE 2010 :
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Call for Presentations http://cite2010.com/cfs.html
Pearson eCollege and Pearson Learning Solutions invite faculty, administrators, program directors, instructional deans, librarians and other education professionals who use our solutions to submit proposals for general sessions at CiTE 2010.

This year’s users conference will feature a variety of thought-provoking sessions led by innovative educators and other thought leaders in online education. Submit your presentation ideas and descriptions today!
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International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions
http://www.iaapa.org/education/CFP/2010CFP.asp

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TIPS AND ADVICE

Listen to the teleclass on Speaker Marketing, 12/30/09 with Susan Levin and special guest Reno Lovinson.

http://speakerservices.audioacrobat.com/download/SpeakerMarketing.mp3

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Speak at Libraries — Rita Emmett

If you are a new or low-fee speaker, consider giving a talk at your local library. Some do not pay, but many pay fees ranging from $50 to $250. Ask for the person in charge of programming, and realize they may book you for a year from now.

Advantages:

- It’s great place to practice.
- They do the marketing and you can gain ideas for your own marketing.
- They often have the ability to audio or video record you. A Chicago suburban library videotapes speakers and puts them on a local cable channel, showing it over and over and over. This gives you great credibility and exposure locally.
- They usually give (or sell at a very low fee) to you the recording and rights to use it.
- You can ask for a testimonial on their letterhead and permission to use it in your marketing. That opens the door to other libraries.
- Patrons of libraries are book people so they are big on buying books. If you do not have one of your own, consider asking another speaker if you can purchase their books at a discount so you can make a profit for yourself selling them. For example, people buy my books at half price and sell at retail, so they make 50% profit on each book.
- You can invite local potential clients to attend.
- You or the library can submit a press release and you can use reprints of that in your promotional material.
- Once you give your first talk at a library, mentioning it to other libraries helps to open doors.
- Occasionally, if you do a great job, the library might hire you to speak to staff, and they usually pay very well.

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Online schedule manager — Donna Gunter, OnlineBizU.com

Tungle (tungle.com) is an online schedule manager that couldn’t be easier to use. With Tungle you send dynamic meeting invitations through the online Tungle interface that are synced with your existing e-calendar and make meetings happen efficiently, with no email ping-pong or phone tag. You can propose multiple times to one or many people for them to choose from. People you invite don’t have to sign up for the service to reply to your invitations. All they need is an email address and a browser.

My two favorite features are the following:

Tungle automatically manages time zones. Invitees see proposed times in their own time zone.
Tungle will dynamically update your pending meeting invitations if you add new events to your calendar that overlap proposed times.

Once the meeting has been booked, everyone gets a confirmation and their calendars are updated. You can synchronize your Tungle calendar with Outlook, Google calendar, iCal/Entourage, or Lotus Notes.

You can make meetings much easier to schedule with the Tungle Me feature. Create your personal link to display your availability and let others schedule meetings with you without their having to sign up. When synced with your calendar, your link always shows your most up-to-date availability (free/busy only, not your calendar details). And you can place a Tungle Me button on your social networking profiles, as well as your Web site and blog. A Tungle app for the iPhone has just been added as well. Visitors to your link don’t have to sign up, but they will have to confirm who they are by verifying their email address. You get the final say over if and when you meet.

If you’re on a team and have to manage a meeting, you can connect to your network with cross-calendar sharing. Easily share your free/busy or details calendar with anyone, inside or outside your company, independent of their platform. You choose, on a person-by-person basis, whether you want to share your full details or free/busy calendar. Start or stop sharing with anyone, at any time. See your sharing buddies’ schedules overlaid on yours.

It’s very easy to use, and best of all, it’s a no-cost tool! Get affiliate link
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Amazon.com Marketing: How to Get Your Blog Published on Amazon’s Kindle, Donna Gunter

Amazon’s Kindle is a electronic book-reading device that allows people to purchase and download electronic versions of books, newspapers, and magazines. Now, you can have your blog available to Kindle readers, as well. Best of all, you can get paid for this strategy. However, you don’t get to pick the price Kindle owners pay to subscribe to your blog. Amazon chooses the price, based on what it believes is fair. This means $0.99 or $1.99 per month for most blogs. There is no way to distribute your blog for free.

The downside? You get only 30% of the subscription revenue. For example, if your blog sells for $0.99 cents and 1000 people subscribe to it via the Kindle, you’ll receive $297 per month rather than the full $990 per month paid to Amazon. International publishers must receive their funds via a U.S. check, which comes with a hefty international transaction charge.

All Kindle Blog subscriptions start with a 14-day free trial. Subscribers can cancel at any time during the free trial period. If they wish to continue their subscription, they do nothing and it will automatically continue at the regular monthly price.

How can you get your blog distributed on the Kindle? Here are the 6 easy steps to Kindle publication:

1. Sign up. Go to https://kindlepublishing.amazon.com to sign up.

2. Create new account. Your existing Amazon.com account information will not work here. You’ll need to create a new account. Because you are eligible to receive payments for subscriptions, you’ll also need to provide some banking information and a tax ID number. Unfortunately, they don’t pay commissions via Paypal.

3. Add your blog. You’ll need the following information to complete your submission.

–RSS/Atom feed for your blog (be sure that your posts appear as full posts rather than excerpts or your blog will fail validation)
–blog description
–blog screenshot
–blog masthead/banner
–blog keywords

4. Review your entries. Double-check your entries before publishing the results.

5. Publish your blog to Kindle. Once you hit the “Publish to Kindle” button, it will take 48-72 hours to appear in Amazon.

6. Promote your Amazon status. Once your blog is published, you can ask your blog readers to go to Amazon and rate your blog as well as review it.

In all honesty, you’re not going to make much money from Kindle for the moment. Even though images are black and white and video won’t play on the Kindle, it’s a convenient way to read blogs on the go. However, I believe that the more methods of distribution you provide for your content, the better. Follow these 6 steps and become a published blogger on Amazon today!
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Resource for Video Trailers, AuthorsBroadCast.com
Reno Lovison Marketing, (773) 989-1960
http://www.authorsbroadcast.com

We produce and display book videos trailers intended to help authors and publishers promote their books.

Like movie trailers – - book video trailers are intended to quickly acquaint readers with an author and/or the content of a book they might like to purchase and read.

Most of our videos are produced for printed books but we produce videos for e-books and audio books as well.

Readers and book lovers are invited to view book video trailers here. Then click through to the author’s or publisher’s website to learn more or make a purchase

Authors and publishers are invited to post your trailer here or have us produce a video trailer for your book.

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Seth Godin Blog
Is there a fear shortage? If so, I’m not seeing it.

When something is scarce, it’s valuable and smart people try to make more of it. So, should we be trying to make more fear?

Looking around, it appears as though the government, various media players and lots of well-meaning people have come to a conclusion that there’s a shortage of fear. So they’re busy making more of it. Making more when we already have a surplus…

We’re inundated about ways to avoid this pitfall or that risk.

If you see something, say something. Hmmm. Has that actually worked? Or x-raying shoes? When was the last time a bad guy was foiled because he couldn’t use a good camera to take a picture of a tourist attraction? Why do the authorities at Grand Central Station in New York wear desert camouflage?

Not just fear of terror (which is another word for fear). Fear of failure. Reminding people that an idea will never work, that the market is in failure, that all hope is lost–does that work very often?

Fear mongering is a lousy profession, one that ought to be regulated, if not banned. I’m more in favor of hope mongering. 2010 is the year that the world will change. In fact, every year is that year, but this is the only time we’ll get to change the world this time

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Speakers Community
UPCOMING TELECLASSES

Teleclasses FREE 4 Speakers Community Members 2 months complimentary Join now

Jan 14 – Every Word has Power, Yvonne Oswald

Why are the words you use when you speak so important? Because using low energy words such as hard, worry, difficult or problem, stimulates negative emotions in the middle or limbic brain, slowing down or diminishing your intent, while high energy, powerful impactful words like excitement, joy, fun, laughter, harmony or success get the imagination flowing by stimulating the cerebral cortex, the initiator of great results. Learn more

Jan 28 – Publicity Tactics: Get PR with Mainstream & Social Media Networks, Dan Janal

Do you scream when you pick up a newspaper and see someone quoted when you know that you are the authority in that field?

Ever wonder why your competitors get quoted and you don’t?

Wonder no longer. You are about to learn how to get the publicity you need to get the visibility and credibility you need to sell more speaking engagements and consulting services – so you get more clients and charge higher fees. Learn more.

Complimentary Preview teleclass for Speakers’ Summit ’10

Monday, Jan 25, 4-5pm PT or 7-8pm ET

Get Booked to Speak at Colleges and Presentation Skills-Speakers’ Summit Preview
Brent Scarpo and Jack Barnard Register

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Subscribe to e-zine http://www.speakerservices.com/nl

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And in the Blog

Gifts ad ReGifting

Online Video Advertising Opportunities are Limitless

Holiday Greetings from Susan Levin, Speaker Services

Many of my colleagues have sent me gifts in the form of e-books and I in turn am passing along a few of the e-books that I will be helpful.

First though, I found the following sample speaker contracts on National Speakers Associations’ Website.  Keep them in a safe place.

contract2.pdf

contract2-1.pdf

contract3.pdf

contract4.pdf

Next is a tool I use everyday.  Powerful verbs for add persuasion to your writing.

powerful-verbs-that-add-persuasion-to-your-writing.pdf

Enjoy the best of 2009 tips from Joan Stewart, The Publicity Hound.

ebook-bestof2009publicityhound.pdf

Orvel Ray Wilson shared Guerilla Marketing™ – Unconventional weapons and tactics for the advanced professional speaker.

gm-for-advanced-professional-speakers-handout.pdf

I subscribed to 101 quotes and received a short e-book.

ebook_101quotes.pdf

Another gift from Speaker Services

The Speakers’ Community our membership club offers hundreds of interviews of experts in the archives.  Join for two months for FREE and hten $19.95 a month thereafter.

Listen live or download the mp3′s of two experts each month.

Check it out http://www.speakerscommunity.com .

I appreciate you all and could not do Speaker Services without your love and support for the past 18 years.   Marketing and training services for speakers & authors.

On Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2009 I am offering a complimentary Q & A teleclass on Speaker Marketing.  Got questions?  I have the answers. You can register here http://www.speakerservices.com/teleclasses/detail/156 .

Send your questions ahead of time please to susan@speakerservices.com. Can’t make it?  Register anyhow and we’ll send you the mp3.

The Speakers’ Summit ’10 our annual event is ready for you.  I mentioned it several times this past week and the registrations are rolling in.  It is important to invest in your business by going to conferences to further your education.   And I have a great deal for you and we offer tons of content.

Grab your seat for $297.  Take a look at the program and see for yourself.
http://www.speakerservices.com/speakerssummit10/program.html

SPEAKERS/PANELISTS include: Jack Barnard,  Brent Scarpo, Sabrina Gibson, Adam Urbanski, Ursula Mentjes, Susan Levin, Mitch Mortimer, Barbara Niven, Nancy Solari, Naz Keynejad, Michael McFarlane, Mark Mikelat, Deborah Deras, Keith Ivey and more.

The theme is Position, Prospect, Prosper- The Road Ahead.  March 12-14 in Los Angeles.  We’ll be delving into Corporate Sponsorship, Getting Booked at High Schools and Colleges, Online Video Strategies, Social Media and Prospecting for Gigs plus Adam Urbanski will share how speakers can make  $250,000 to $1,000,000 a year with coaching programs.

 Jack Barnard speaking at the Summit ’09

You can listen to a 30 minute conversation with Adam and me where we are talking about what he is going to share with us at the Summit.  Click here to listen and you can also sign up for free for the 1/25 Get Booked in High Schools and Colleges teleclass and 2/8, Online Video Strategies & Corporate Sponsorship on the same page.

I am taking appointments the rest of the month for marketing clients so give a call if I can assist you with your speaker marketing plan for 2010.

Merry Holidays to you all.  Wishing you loads of joy and prosperity and good health.

Susan Levin
Speaker Services

susan@speakerservices.com
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SPEAKERS’ COMMUNITY TELECLASSES  2010

Every Word Has Power, Yvonne Oswald
Thursday, January 14, 4-5pm PT or  7-8pm ET  Can’t make it  We’ll send you the mp3  Learn more  

Publicity Tactics: Get Publicity with Mainstream & Social Media Networks with Dan Janal
Thursday, January 28,  4-5pm PT or  7-8pm ET  Learn more

Teleclasses are FREE for Speakers’ Community Members. Not a member? Join Now http://www.speakerscommunity.com to access the calls with my special FREE 2- month Speakers’ Community trial.  Past members can re-join at regular monthly rate.

Give yourself a gift and join the Community.  You can’t beat price of the expertise that is offered twice a month.  Don’t have time to listen live then download the mp3′s and listen at your convenience.  You can download the past two years of mp3′s!

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What have I been twittering about @speakerservices

Speakers Summit ’10 http://ping.fm/huzwM is an affiliate program share $ http://bit.ly/8F9lhl

RT @adamurbanski How I Turned $194 Into Two Seven Figure Businesses http://bit.ly/6PUJFH [video] Will be speaking at the Speakers Summit ’10

RT @DeniseWakeman 16 articles about how to use online video in your business: http://is.gd/5u0j2

Take advantage of Online Video Advertising Opportunities they are Limitless: http://bit.ly/6L6MWp  Really gets ya thinking.

Blog Post Gayl Murphy-Spotlight on the Media: Interview Tactics! How To Survive the Media Without Getting Clobbered! http://bit.ly/6jVqWY

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And in the blog
- Spotlight on the Media

- 20 Simple Ways To Get Massive Traffic To Your Website

- Twitter Marketing: 6 Steps to Creating a Viral Marketing Campaign with Twitter Hashtags

In this Issue
- Note from Susan Levin
- New & Renewing Speakers & Authors
- Tips & Advice & Resources
-  ARTICLE: Public Speaking Tips for Webinars:
Add Impact When You Present Through Webinars, Patricia Fripp

I love getting e-mails from my speakers. Susan, I wanted you to know that due to your speakers’ directory, I have my first speaking engagement.  Apparently, there will be a very large group, around 500 or so.  I will be speaking on the state of the environment and what we can do to help. Kathleen Dallaire

At Speaker Services we offer marketing and training services.  Recently I have been working with several clients helping them with their marketing materials as well as teaching them how to do viral marketing.  Viral marketing includes: blogging, social networking, articles, videos, lead generation and more.  Do you need an update on your speaker/author marketing?  I promise you I won’t overwhelm you.  We will do it in bite size pieces.  BTW:  It does not matter whether you are a beginner or advanced speaker. Give me a call to chat and to see if I can assist you in growing your business and income through speaking.  310-822-4922 PT.

We finished the 5 day Bootcamp in mid-November and it appears that this may be our last Bootcamp. The photo of the ’09 Booties.

I am actively  planning the annual Speakers’ Summit for March 12-14.  You can get a sneak preview at http://www.speakerservices.com/speakerssummit10/index.html .  I expect that I will have it all complete by the beginning of the year.  Please save the date.  The theme is Position-Prospect-Prosper.  The Road Ahead.  We have an all new speakers slate including Brent Scarpo, Adam Urbanski, Sabrina Gibson, Mitch Mortimer, Barbara Niven, Albert Mensah, Jack Barnard and me and more to be announced.

The December teleclass for the Speakers’ Community is Mary McKay and she’ll be talking to us about Prospecting for Speaker Engagements: Systematize the Booking Process

December 16, 4-5pm PT or  7-8pm ET   $19.95 Learn more

Teleclasses are free for Speakers’ Community Members. Not a member? Join Now to access the calls with my special FREE 2- month Speakers’ Community trial.  Past members can re-join at regular monthly rate.

If you would like to be listed in our online directory that brings speakers and authors together with audiences since 1992.  Please drop me an e mail susan@speakerservices.com or call me for the listing guidelines.  For January 2010 postings copy is due by December 15.  See rates and perks http://www.speakerservices.com/adv_pkt.html

Susan Levin
Speaker Services
susan@speakerservices.com

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NEW AND RENEWING SPEAKERS/AUTHORS

Marie Elena Rigo,  S. California
Feng Shui expert, interior designer and life coach reveals how to transform your office and home to support success, productivity and peace of mind.
Clearing Clutter, Feng Shui, Interior Design
http://www.speakerservices.com/speakers/detail/304

Amalia Starr, Author,  S. California
Family consultant, author and mother of 36-year-old son with autism and special needs shows how to overcome everyday obstacles and how to live with uncertainty in order to achieve maximum independence for you and your children.
Disabilities, Parenting and Children, Special Needs Children
http://www.speakerservices.com/speakers/detail/353

See all speakers/authors

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TIPS AND ADVICE

Speaking Leads

== Deadline to submit speaking proposal: Dec. 11
May 24 to 27, New York City
655 West 34th Street [Jacob Javits Center]
BookExpo America
Contact: Roger Bilheimer, 203-966-0792
www.BookExpoAmerica.com

== Deadline to submit speaking proposal: Jan. 30
Aug. 11, Palm Desert, Calif.
Toastmasters International Convention
Contact: snewell-cohen@toastmasters.org .
http://www.toastmasters.org/speakerprofile.aspx

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2 Tips from Speaker Net News

Think outside the publishing box — Allen Klein

With eBooks, print-on-demand, and self-publishing, it may be easier than ever for you to publish your own book these days, but harder than ever to get an established publisher to produce it. There are, however, specialized houses that will publish your book, if you fit within their market. For example, I just signed a contract with a publisher who only does activity books for counselors and therapists. You will never see the book in a bookstore but they sell thousands of books to the therapy world. Also, consider the gift-book world. Some publishers specialize in this area. You will find most of these books in gift-shops, not bookstores. Still, they can be quite lucrative.

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Alternative to handout — Kathleen Watson

Rather than a handout which is nothing more than your PPT slides, consider creating and distributing a wallet-sized, laminated card with your key take-aways on it. It’s different and people actually stand a chance of using your stuff when you’ve made it easy for them to remember it.
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The Key to your Keynote Speaker
via Christa Haberstock Linkedin

We’re not in the business of brokering keynote speakers, generally. But after attending hundreds of events that use keynote speakers, we know what works and what doesn’t, and can give some good recommendations. (In the events business, you know you have a great keynote speaker when the AV crew pays attention.)

The keynote speaker can be a critical piece of your event–they’re there to motivate your audience, to tell a story and to inspire action. They should fit into your event plan seamlessly and strategically–becoming a part of your overall message instead of just a novelty.

The things that make a great keynote speaker can vary, but the things that make a bad keynote speaker are pretty much the same across the board.

Here are some things you should watch out for when looking at a keynote speaker:

1. Lack of Customization. This is the number one failing of keynote speakers. We’ve all heard speeches that sound practically like recordings with a space left blank to “insert company name here”. Your keynote speaker should take the time to get to know YOUR message, your company’s unique challenges and attributes–and be willing to tailor their speech accordingly. In the case of keynote speakers, one size does not fit all.

2. An Amazing Story…But Not Much Else. There are keynote speakers who have done genuinely amazing, awe-inspiring things…but that doesn’t mean that it translates into a keynote speech. Be wary of stories that don’t have a deeper message and take-away. The goal for your attendees will not be to climb Mount Everest (usually), but, rather, to overcome THEIR obstacles.

3. An Amazing Speech…But Not and Amazing Speaker. Believe it or not, there are great keynote stories and messages that get lost, quite literally, on the floor of your event. We once saw a keynote speaker who had a great message, but only his lapel got to hear it–he was just cutting his teeth on the keynote circuit, and didn’t quite have the whole, you know, *speaking* thing down yet. It’s critical that the keynote speaker be able to connect with your audience.

4. It’s All About Them. We’ve seen many good speeches that have been polluted by the litter of the speaker’s own ego. When every point at the end of the story or anecdote is, “You’ll find this in my book,” it gets tiresome for the audience. Additionally, great keynote speakers are all about the people in the room–not necessarily their own achievements. Their story should be a frame for their speech–not the entirety of the message.

5. Basic Presentation Mistakes. Most keynote speakers rank pretty highly on the professional-looking presentation spectrum compared to most internal presenters. However, they can still occasionally fall prey to mistakes like having too much on their PowerPoint (using them as speaking notes instead of visual aids, or making them hard to read). A lot of the time, companies won’t proof or spend much energy on the keynote speaker’s presentation–they just plug it into the master slide deck and go. That’s when basic mistakes happen; a clip fails to play, the formatting becomes messed up, etc. Having rehearsal helps mitigate this, but we find that the keynote speaker doesn’t always come in for rehearsal beforehand–either because they’re too busy, or the company doesn’t have the budget for the extra time.
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ARTICLE:

Public Speaking Tips for Webinars
Add Impact When You Present Through Webinars
By Executive Speech Coach, Patricia Fripp, CSP, CPAE

No matter what you level of public speaking experience, whenever you open your mouth, whether you’re talking to one person or a thousand, you usually want to get a specific message across. Anyone who sets out to present, persuade, and propel with the spoken word faces pitfalls. And, as technology and travel budgets play a more important part in our lives, you have yet another challenge: What do you do when you are communicating through a Webinar? What is different about a Webinar presentation? How do you catch and keep your audience? Here are some tips.

Before You Start, Use Looping Slides

Once your audience tunes in, how do you make sure they are entertained and feel involved even before the event starts? The best way is with a series of Looping Slides. Looping Slides are a great way to convey important information and to keep attendees entertained while waiting for your presentation to begin.

These slides need to communicate:
*  When the session will begin.
*  The Conference Dial-in number.
*  A photo, name and title of the presenter.
*  What the audience is going to learn.
*  What to do in case of problems.
You may also have quotes about the content they will be learning.

Be More Visual in Your Presentation

Be creative. Think Hollywood! Tell stories and give examples as you go through your program, the same way you would in person. However, your Webinar needs more visuals to help engage the audience. Use more slides than with an in-person presentation. Add bullet points one at a time as you “build.” Don’t present a list of all your points before you discuss them. Keep it simple, keep it moving, and interact often.

Plan Your Structure

Outline your presentation on paper or flip chart and then build the PowerPoint®. You have to get “messy” before you get tidy! It is better to have fewer points and illustrate them well.

Be sure you:
*  Introduce your objective.
*  Sell the benefits.
*  Explain the Agenda and timing of your session.
*  Add any logistics and how they will interact with you.
Open with a Grabber Slide and Comment

After your grabber slide, it is up to you to engage your audience immediately with a powerful, relevant opening that includes the word “you.” Your grabber opening might be:

A catchy FACT: “It may interest you to know Ferraris hold their value more than polo ponies! I first learned this lesson when…”

A startling STATISTIC: “Did you know that if you had spent a million dollars a day, every day since Jesus was born, you would not have spent a trillion dollars. Please keep that in mind as we strategize how to increase sales by only 5%…”

An intriguing CHALLENGE: “Ten years ago we were the market leaders. This year we are 13th. You are now in an exciting position to turn that around…”

Grabber openings get the attention of your audience. Then it is up to you to keep it. Never start by saying, “Good morning.” Instead, say something like, “Welcome! You are in for a treat! You are about to learn how to…” As you introduce the session, SELL the listeners on how they are going to benefit. Keep them glued. Remember, they can’t see you, so it is all too easy for them to answer their email or go get a cup of coffee.

Introduce Yourself

Once you have sold the session, you can introduce yourself if someone else is not doing it. Do NOT do it first. Just as with an in-person session, say something the listeners care about, and then they care about who you are.

Forge an Emmotional Connection

The most powerful communication combines both intellectual and emotional connections. Intellectual means appealing to educated self-interest with data and reasoned arguments. Emotion comes from engaging the listeners’ imaginations, involving them in your illustrative stories by frequent use of the word “you” and from answering their unspoken question, “What’s in this for me?” Use a high I/You ratio.

For example, don’t say, “I’m going to talk to you about Webinars.” Instead, say something like, “In the next 56 minutes, you will learn: the 6 secrets of making a Webinar work; the 4 benefits of using Webinars as part of your client interaction; and the 3 mistakes our competitors are making when they use them.”

Build in Interaction

Depending on the technology you are using, make sure you interact whenever logical. For example, stop and ask, “Based on what you have heard so far, what are your questions?”

Use Memorable Stories

People rarely remember your exact words. Instead, they remember the mental images that your words inspire. Support your key points with vivid, relevant stories. Help them “make the movie” in their heads by using memorable characters, exciting situations, dialogue, and humor. With a combination of your examples and visuals, it will be a memorable presentation.

Use Effective Pauses

Good music and good communication both contain changes of pace, pauses, and full rests. This is where your listeners think about what they have just heard. If you rush on at full speed to crowd in as much information as possible, chances are you’ve left your listeners back at the station. It’s okay to talk quickly, but whenever you say something profound or proactive or ask a rhetorical question, pause.

Avoid Irritating Non-Words

Hmm—ah—er—you know what I mean—. On a Webinar, this habit will only be emphasized. Are you doing it? Why not have a run-through and record yourself. As with in-person presentations, as Michael Caine says, “Rehearsal is the work, performance is the relaxation.”

Review What You’ve Covered

As with an in-person presentation, always review your key ideas: Then say, “Before my closing remarks…what are your questions?”

Emphasize Their Next Steps

Be clear what their next logical steps should be. Send them off energized and focused.

Close on a High

Your last words linger. Make sure they are yours—don’t quote anyone else—and make sure they are powerful.

Have Backup Computers

Here is a practical suggestion that has paid off for me. Have two computers tuned into the Webinar. My Fripp Associate Tom Drews is very experienced with presenting through Webinars. He recommended this technique to Jim Prost and me when we were presenting through Webinar for the American Payroll Association. Suddenly, Jim, who was taking lead, said his computer had frozen. I immediately jumped in and delivered my portion earlier than planned. This gave Jim time to get his second laptop to the place where the first had frozen. He had it tuned into the Webinars, so it only took a few moments. With technology…you never know!

This article is adapted with permission from one first published in eLearn magazine

Patricia Fripp is a sales presentation skills trainer and an award-winning keynote speaker http://www.fripp.com

Today’s post Leanne Hoagland Smith shares how speaking can boost your business.

Sometimes being somewhat old and of a strong Swedish heritage which means stubborn in my family, I fail to truly listen to the good advice that I have received along the way as I have grown my business. Recently, I just began to take some of that advice to heart specific to my marketing plan by growing my speaking business.

At a speaking engagement that came from a referral, I concluded the presentation with a funny line, “If you know of anyone who needs a speaker, please let me know as I speak for food.” This simple request brought several chuckles along with five requests to speak at local service organizations.

After speaking at each of these 5 new opportunities, I once again concluded that “If you know of any other local organizations who would enjoy hearing me speak, remember I speak for food.” New requests came across my desk including a couple of paid engagements. I never realized that growing my business through marketing my speaking services could be as simple as just asking for it.

By not charging for local speaking engagements, I have been able to begin to market myself as well as my message that personal improvement or business improvement must come from within each individual. Using humor, an extensive work history, a self-directed learning attitude and a lot of personal experiences, I am able to speak from the heart and bring value to those in the audience.

Speaking engagements are a small business help strategy that may become a primary source of income or continue to be marketing vehicle that allows others to begin to know you as a:

• Business speaker
• Change management speaker
• Educational speaker
• Inspirational speaker
• Motivational speaker
• Paradigm speaker
• Spiritual speaker

Whatever the reason or reasons that you are speaking, just remember this simple suggestion to secure more opportunities: Just ask and if possible, sprinkle a little humor and see your engagements quickly multiply along with your business results.

One quick question,if you could secure one new client or breakthrough that one road block holding you back from success, what would that mean to you?

Visit http://www.processspecialist.com and explore everything from free articles to connecting with Leanne.

P.S. If you are seeking an affordable speaker, Leanne may be just the person to meet your need. Give a call and experience someone who speaks from the heart with purpose and passion to increase performance.

Article Source

Great advice.  Please note that since 1992 Speaker Services www.speakerservices.com brings speakers/authors together with audiences and offers training and marketing services. 

    By Chris Crum

Without Having to Pay for Anything

You probably know by now that protecting the reputation of your brand online is critical to success. Word spreads fast on the Internet, and whether or not something is true, it can spiral out of control in a short time. That is why it’s important to monitor what people are saying about your product, your business, and their experiences in dealing with you. What measures do you take to manage your online reputation?

There are specialists for this kind of thing that you can pay, but let’s face it. Not everyone can afford such luxuries, particularly in this economy. Luckily there are so many tools available online for free that you can do a reasonably decent job of maintaining a good reputation on your own.

1. Set Up Feed Reader

It is not critical that you use a feed reader, but it’s incredibly helpful. Why? Because it brings everything you need to know right to you in one place and eliminates the need to hunt down all of the information. It’s like having groceries delivered instead of hunting your own food.

These days most sites have RSS feeds. Most of the ones you will need for reputation management purposes will either way. There are many different feed readers availalbe. I use Google Reader.

2. Set Up Google Alerts

Go to Google Alerts, and set one up for each keyword that you want to monitor. You’ll want to do this for things like your company’s name, your products’ names, and possibly your own name and the names of employees. This will help you keep an eye on content that Google indexes. You can do this for the web, blogs, video, groups, or news. You can also use the “comprehensive option,” which should cover it all.

You can get these alerts delivered through your email, through RSS (which I prefer), or both.

3. Set Up Real Time Search Feeds

Go to any real-time search engines you can find and set up RSS feeds for the same keywords. It works essentially the same way as Google alerts, but with these you can monitor what people are saying on Twitter, and other places in real-time (although it may take slightly longer for them to come through your feed reader). Abby talks about some different real-time search engines here.

4. Stay On Top of Your Social Media Accounts

Monitor all of the major social networks, and especially the ones your business has a profile on. Engage in conversation with fans and followers. If they ask questions, answer them. Don’t use your social media profiles as just a place for sales pitches and product promotion. Use them as customer communication channels. This will reflect positively on your reputation.

The main problem with this is that it can be very time consuming, especially if you have a lot of social networks to deal with. If you can afford it, you may want to consider having a dedicated team on the social media front – a group, or even one person that can give social media the attention it requires. It is best to have someone who knows what they are talking about handling this area though. Remember, this is kind of the face of your business to some people. Some will find you on Facebook or Twitter before they even visit your website.

If you can’t get a dedicated team on it, just do what you can between yourself and your employees. Just don’t let your stuff go ignored. If you have profiles with no updates or communication happening, you’d probably be better off just not having the profiles at all, but frankly, that’s not a great idea either.

5. Do stuff that gets people talking positively

This is the most obvious one, and is really just good business. Give people something to talk about, and provide good customer service. Provide an interesting product, and people will talk about it.

Help people when they need it. Do your best to deliver an all around good experience, not just for customers who have already made a purchase, but for those who can see your brand online (which is everyone). Articles and videos are good ways to do this. Provide things of use.

About the author:
Chris is a content coordinator and staff writer for SmallBusinessNewz and the iEntry Network. Subscribe to SmallBusinessNewz RSS Feeds.

Post from the Jamaica Observer

We have all been there – you and I. Every strand of hair in place, dressed to the nines and new shoes squeezing like the dickens but we have nevertheless rolled up to the function. We are here to give our full support and to hear the pearls of wisdom drop like gentle rain on us by the guest speaker. But oh, what a disappointment it was for us.

We expected to be inspired, to be enthralled, to laugh, maybe to roll in the aisle – but instead we find ourselves crying all the way home. And this is especially so if we had paid more than recession prices to attend the event. On reflection we think that perhaps Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy (in combination) or Elmo might have kept the listeners more awake and entertained than the sad sack who wreaked havoc on the audience’s consciousness for a full ninety minutes. Good Grief. It is definitely time for the speaker to call it quits when the low hum you hear is not the build-up of thunderous applause but the not-too-gentle snores of those persons in the front row.

The choice of a guest speaker is one of the most powerful weapons in the arsenal of any event planner. An occasion’s success or failure hinges on this seemingly minor detail. I am writing as one who has often been on the receiving end of having to listen to really badly selected speakers as well as someone who has had to make suggestions about persons who could possibly be chosen as a speaker for an event for which working people will fork over their hard-earned cash.

Don’t get me wrong. The case of an inappropriate guest speaker is, more often than not, not the fault of the speaker himself. Surface investigation will often reveal a lack of professional advice in choosing a speaker or that the speaker was selected by someone who s/he was interested in hearing said speaker for purely personal reasons which had nothing to do with the audience nor the event itself. The other harried members of that planning team (busy with their tasks) just let it ride without too many questions.

A good place to start in choosing a really good speaker is via experience. It is usually not a good idea to take any reference from ‘Frighten Friday Flo’ who thinks everyone in a suit with the gumption to step to a podium is a good speaker. It may make better sense to have actually heard the person speak at an event yourself. After listening to more than a few dozen speakers over the years you will find that you will have developed a well-attuned ear for who is good and who is not. You get to see for yourself who is at ease in front of an audience and who is not, despite the wealth of knowledge s/he may possess. Because, let us face it there are some persons who are the fount of all knowledge in their chosen field but they just are not comfortable imparting that knowledge in front of a large roomful of strangers.

More than all, in choosing a speaker it is important to ensure that the presenter and the presentation ‘fit’ the audience and the occasion. A speaker who is serving up meat to a vegetarian audience will not go down well and may very well cause a stampede out the doors. If the audience consists of policy-makers, CEOs and decision-makers it might not be such a wonderful idea to invite a little-known operations executive who might not be able to add much to the audience’s storehouse of knowledge.

There are several types of speakers and each has a different purpose. For example, the celebrity speaker is well known and his presence will definitely attract a large audience if that is the main goal of your event. Here’s the thing about some celebrities: they might be good at whatever it is that made them famous but they might not be good speakers. Hence it is a good idea to have ‘experienced’ them first or get a really good reference from someone else who has heard them speak.

Choosing a speaker to impart educational information, to instruct or to teach might be a trifle troublesome. This type of speaker has to have a sense of humour, many relevant stories, and must be able to interact easily with the audience. Lectures can be dull and boring. The best teachers are the ones who do not overwhelm you with too much information, they keep you awake and interested and wanting to learn more. Not everyone has that gift even if they have twenty degrees in the subject areas and the full knowledge at their fingertips. If they do not have the right words on their lips – no one will be the wiser. I have found that even while we openly say we want to learn, audiences more than all, want to be entertained – all the time.

Motivational speakers are supposed to, at the end of their presentation, make us feel good about ourselves and spur us to change things in our lives. They should, at the end of the event, make us feel inspired. You do not want a motivational speaker who makes your listeners depressed by keeping it ‘too real’.

Persons whom we invite to entertain us should not suddenly launch into a twenty-minute dramatic monologue about how they got into the music biz and what a cutthroat world it has been. If the audience has been prepped for musical entertainment – this is all we require – thank you very much. And unless it is a Passa Passa session, it is not a good idea to ‘dedicate’ songs to that special ‘someone’ in the audience. The rest of us will feel left out.

Yvonne Grinam-Nicholson MBA, ABC, is a Business Communications Consultant with RO Communications Jamaica, specialising in business communication, employee communications and financial publications. Contact: yvonne@rocommunications.com; Website: www.rocommunications.com and post your comments.

 Susan’s note:  The worst nightmare for a speaker or meeting planner is putting your audience to sleep.

Need speaker/marketing assistance? Give me a call 310-822-4922 PST.  Speaker Services might be just right for you.

The Summit was fantastic and everyone had a wonderful learning experience plus alot of fun.  The Summit is once a year and the dates for 2010 are April 30, May 1 and 2.  

Photos: Deb Halberstadt

Barbara Niven, Speaker & Actress, Performance Coach

Professional Acting Skills for Oscar Level Presentation

Jack Barnard, Master Branding, Media, Presentation Coach

One Day Power Blitz

The Ticket Teleclass Series

Sheryl Roush, Sparkle Presentations

Solid Gold One-Sheets,  Workshop, July 11, 2009

Learn more

Jack and Susan at the Summit

Speakers: Jodi-Michelle Cooley, Lisa Sasevich, Barbara Niven, Lisa Cherny

Attendees Share

Thank you for the awesome Speaker Summit and for the opportunity to experience it.  I had an absolute blast and I will look forward to working with you, taking your counsel and to growing my Speaking business with your help. -Dave Ribble

Susan Levin and her Speaker’s Summit rock!!  I was amazed and very impressed after Day 1 at the quality of the speakers and the amount of content they shared.  Day 2 and 3 just produced more and more. – Seena Sharp

Having participated in last year’s Speaker Summit, I was expecting this year to be the same, which would have been fine. What I experienced, however, far exceeded what I remember from last year! The caliber of the speakers (even the ones from last year), the breakdown of the schedule, the education, tools, lessons and tips were/are highly useful and usable. Even the venue was above and beyond the previous location.

I really appreciated not only the diversity of speakers for what they presented, but, and perhaps more importantly, I learned so much from HOW they presented their material and their offers. It was a real education!

I am grateful to you and Jack for the obvious love and care you put out to all of us, to support us in all our stages of development as speakers and presenters. -Barry Selby

You’ve decided to become a speaker, you have the knowledge, the talent and the desire to share with the world! You have spent hours putting together the perfect presentation and the money to create a speaker kit along with an online presence…now what?

Where will I find the opportunities that will give me more exposure…more credibility?

First, you have to interact with the planners, the organizers, and the media, build relationships, network and let your presence be known…let them know you are the expert, otherwise they won’t even know you exist! It’s like opening up shop in the middle of the woods…no one is going to know your deep in the woods, that you have an excellent service to provide if you don’t let them know! It is important to get yourself out…network…market…let them know you are the expert and while doing so open your mind to all the possible opportunities that are available to you…all the ones that are just laying there waiting for you to grab them!

Opportunities are in abundance for those who know where to find them and how to use them to their advantage…open your mind and heart and you will find them…and be careful because sometimes opportunities can find you and you don’t even realize it until it’s to late…keep your eyes open!

Don’t turn down an opportunity just because you feel it isn’t big enough, or isn’t really your thing because what your doing is shutting the door to a potential opportunity that could have taken your business into the next level.

Opportunities can come in many different forms and those that can find the “hidden” opportunities and use them to their advantage will be the ones that advance in their speaking career much quicker. Don’t be so blinded to an opportunity when it’s looking you directly in the face…open your mind to what could come of that opportunity, where could it take you? How can you leverage it? Sometimes we overlook the smallest thing…the smallest opportunity and not even realizing that it could have been one of the biggest stepping stones to success!

Sometimes opportunities will come to you and they will be visible as day, sometimes they will be hidden and unclear…and more times then not the ones that were unclear and hidden…the ones we weren’t looking for…are the ones that will open the door to new ventures, new opportunities, new relationships and new clients!

Remember great enterprises were built on small opportunities… think about that when your turning down your local rotary club, a fundraiser, an interview, or school function. Look beyond the obvious… beyond the initial dollar sign… you might be surprised what you find!

Being a creative and resourceful business development expert for 23 years Wendi McNeill coaches, encourages, and teaches speakers, coaches and authors how to take the essential baby steps, while completely focusing on one step at a time so they can advance to the next level in their speaking business. www.CharliJane.com

Check out www.SpeakerServices.com   we offer training, marketing and development services to professionals who want to increase their income and business through speaking.