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

It is with a sadness in my heart that I write this post and yet what can you do when you are faced with such a situation? Be honest I say, and save your butt and move on.

Speakers’ Summit 10 is canceled.

My Lament:

I have been working on the annual Speakers Summit since mid December ’09. I polled my followers on what they wanted to learn about and discovered the concerns were about how to position, prospect and prosper.

With the theme in place I interviewed and choose all the speakers, set up the website and began my marketing campaign. I planned several complimentary preview teleclasses and requested that my affiliates and speakers reach out to their people as well. Oh yes, I kept the investment very reasonable and also asked my speakers not to sell from the platform.

I did exactly what I have been doing for the past five years plus I added a video invite to the Summit. Wasn’t I doing it right?

Here I am two weeks before the event and I have two sign ups. What the heck is going on? Am I being drowned out by the big guys? Am I too old to be doing this? Did I lose my expertise? Funny the tagline to the theme is the road ahead!

The road ahead seems to be wait till the last minute and then sign up. Let’s see if she will lowers the fee. No, I am not going to do that. Then I look at my options and I know I am going to lose my deposit at the hotel if I cancel.

What to do? Get with the plan, I say to myself. The plan is to offer some of the talks as teleclasses (stay tuned) and keep on sharing my passion and expertise as a speaker marketing consultant for folks who understand the value of speaker marketing and have a budget to invest in for their speaking career.

Wow, there is nothing like attending live conferences. I will miss the Summit this year. http://www.speakerservices.com/speakerssummit10

Maybe we will have a comeback next year. Who knows? Do you?

Invite from Susan Levin to the annual Speakers Summit March 12-14.

Read the program and register

http://www.speakerservices.com/speakerssummit10

www.speakerservices.com

Feb 2010 E-Zine

Boy was I blown away when I saw that over 1,200 people downloaded the complimentary preview teleclass mp3 call for the Speakers Summit http://ping.fm/thJw8 Get Booked at Colleges with Brent Scarpo, Jack Barnard and myself last week.  It’s a hot topic and Brent and Jack gave us great content. We learned what topics are hot in the high school and college market.  This was just the tip of the iceberg.  Brent promises to share more with us on how to get paid gigs in the college market and who to call on.

Are you investing in your speaking/marketing career?  You can transform your speaking as training does make difference  The Speakers Summit10 The theme is Position, Prospect, Prospect- The Road Ahead is our annual event and here are some of the topics our experts will be sharing with the audience so that you can bring your message to the heart and mind of the audience.  BTW:  No hard sell, we are content driven and reasonably priced.

- Discover your niche that suits your passion and skills
- Create content that meets the needs of your audience.
- Leverage Social Networking skills to grow your business
- Get Paid to speak at High Schools & Colleges
- Make an extra $250,000 to $1,000,000 a year with high impact coaching programs
- Repurpose, produce and distribute content that can be shared and extends the voice of your brand, product and company
- Prospecting for speaking engagements: Systematize the booking process
- Bypass Gatekeepers and Voicemail & Reach Your Prospect Directly
- Explore why video is one of the best forms of viral marketing
- From Passion to Profits
- Think and Grow Rich

Expert Presenters: Jack Barnard,  Brent Scarpo, Greg S. Reid, Sabrina Gibson, Joel Bauer, Adam Urbanski, Ursula Mentjes, Susan Levin, Barbara Niven, Nancy Solari, Michael Macfarlane, Mark Mikelat, Deborah Deras, Keith Ivey.

Read the program/register.  Save $100 sign up by Feb 26.

Today I am sharing to articles with you one from Ursuala Mentjes, Why Didn’t I Get That Sale? Ursula will be speaking at the Summit PROSPECTING FOR SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS, Master the Art of Speaking and Selling with Intention.

Let me know how I can assist you.  Give me a call for a comp session.

Susan Levin, Speaker Services, 310-822-4922 PT

PS   Feb  8 – Comp preview teleclass for Speakers Summit discussion:  Online Video Strategies Register here

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New Speakers for Feb 2010

See all Speakers

Anastasios Nestoras, Ph.D.
Sports medicine expert presents The Training Revolution, a streamlined, cutting-edge system that takes the drudgery and guesswork out of fitness and brings back the fun.
Fitness, Health, Healthy Lifestyle

Barbara Flood
Business Executive Life Coach shows how to hear and accept life’s call to embark on your personal hero or heroine’s journey, tap your greatest strengths, and find balance between personal humility and professional will.
Baby Boomers, Business Spirituality, Inspirational, Motivational

Wade “Biskit” Hatch
Motivational Wrangler shows how to break free from the herd mentality and head down the freedom trail to the life you deserve.
Change, Motivational, Time Management, Work/Life Balance

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Speakers Community Teleclass

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

Feb 11 Media Interviews that Gets You Gigs, Clients with Gayl Murphy

What if you go on TV and you don’t know what to do?

Can you “tell it to sell it?” If you can’t tell your story (who you are and what you do) to one person in 10 seconds or less, how can you tell it to a million?

Did you know that business networking is exactly the same as being on the “Today” show?

What if the Rachel Ray Show called you today, for a last minute replacement slot on the show for tomorrow, would you be prepared?

Can you pitch your business to anyone, any place, anytime or anywhere, regardless of whether or not they fit the profile of your typical target consumer? If not, why not?

Learn more/register

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Introducing Seed Nurturing post from Modern B2B Marketing

One thing you’ll notice about most lead nurturing campaigns is the fact that they usually take place after prospects land on your site and enter your database. However, what happens when qualified prospects visit your site or social media sites anonymously where you don’t necessarily have their names or e-mails?

This is where seed nurturing comes into play. Seed nurturing is the process of building relationships with qualified prospects before you have their contact information.

It comes down to is this: prospects are educating themselves long before you actually identify them by landing on your corporate Web site as anonymous visitors, and researching your products and services through third-party resources, word-of-mouth recommendations, and social media sites. Just because you can’t identify these individuals doesn’t mean they aren’t qualified prospects — and because of this, you must nurture them just as you would the known contacts in your database.

If you succeed at this, you will stay top of mind with your prospects as they educate themselves and move through the early stages of their buying process. As a result, they will come to you when they are ready to engage with a sales rep, and you will create a steady flow of highly qualified inbound leads. If you ignore the requirement to build relationships with these very early stage prospects, you’re yielding this opportunity to more agile competitors who will scoop these savvy prospects out from under you.

Seed nurturing best practices

Personalize interactions with anonymous visitors
When prospects visit your website anonymously, you can and should still take advantage of the visit to deepen the relationship with them with relevant and personalized content. You may not know their name and email address, but you certainly can know a great deal about their interests and behaviors. First time visitors can see different offers than repeat visitors. Visitors that use specific search terms can see different promotions that generic visitors. Visitors who visit specific pages and show specific interests can see even more specialized content and offers. Using these techniques, you can design “drip marketing” campaigns that help buyers educate themselves before they ever share their contact information with you. For more on this, see the on-demand webinar Supercharge your Demand Generation with Personalization (an oldie but a goodie).

Make valuable content freely available on your site and over social media.
By eliminating the need for registration in order to obtain your whitepapers, eBooks, and other valuable content, you are making the effort to build relationships with people before you have them in your database. You may be thinking to yourself, “If I do this, I’ll be wasting valuable offers on people I’ll never be able to identify.” On the contrary, you will strengthen your readership, and these dedicated yet anonymous leads will likely come to you as inbound leads once their levels of interest are high enough. Moreover, whether you like it or not, in most cases the information is already out there on social sites, so you may as well embrace the trend rather than fight it. David Merman Scott writes more on this topic in Say NO to squeezing your buyers.

Use social media to build a rock-solid reputation that builds credibility and trust with prospects.

One of the biggest obstacles in the B2B purchasing process is the feeling of risk that overcomes B2B buyers, causing them to behave irrationally during the decision-making process. Seed nurturing plays a key role in diminishing this risk by acting as a vehicle for you to build your reputation as a thought leader and gain the trust of early stage prospects. For example, you can use Twitter to inform people of your views on developments in your industry or show your ability to solve specific business pains by becoming an “Expert” on LinkedIn. B2B buyers trust thought leaders who can demonstrate they understand buyer problems and how to solve them. While a reputation of thought leadership will never be as “risk-reducing” as a personal referral, it is a great way to build awareness and increase your chances that the prospect will respond to future demand generation efforts.

Conclusion
While these ideas represent a departure from what you may consider traditional lead generation techniques, they will help you plant the seeds for highly qualified prospects to reach out to you when they are ready, and once this happens, you can rest easy knowing that you’ve nurtured them appropriately and gained their trust as you would through a traditional drip marketing campaign.
How have you incorporating seed nurturing into your marketing mix?

Posted by Jon Miller on January 27, 2010 in Demand Generation , Lead Nurturing , Modern B2B Marketing , Social Media | Introducing Seed Nurturing

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Why Didn’t I Get That Sale? By Ursula Mentjes

Throughout my years as a Sales Coach, one of the questions that my clients will sometimes ask me is, “Why didn’t I get that sale?”

I say, “sometimes” because no one wants to really talk about lost sales. We don’t even like to admit that we didn’t get the sale.

But I want to tell you that sometimes not getting the sale isn’t a bad thing. And, there are things you can do to reduce the amount of sales you don’t get.

The reality is you aren’t going to get every sale. Nor would you want to. It is important to remember, though, that selling begins in your mind.

When I wrote Selling with Intention, my primary goal was to teach Sales Professionals and Entrepreneurs that they had a lot more control over selling then they thought.  And that was the key-more than they thought. Selling begins in your mind, and when you “get that” at a deep level, selling can become effortless.

Think back to the last time you didn’t get a sale. How did the interaction begin? How did it end?  My guess is that it was one of the reasons I am going to share with you below.

Four Reasons Why You Didn’t Get the Sale:

You didn’t ask.
Let’s face it. Sometimes you can have a phenomenal conversation with your prospect, and it feels like everything is going perfectly until the  end of your time together.  You can feel the time creeping up on you, the hour is almost over, but you haven’t asked for the sale yet.  Fear creeps up, strangling your vocal cords, and before you ask for the sale you find yourself scurrying out to your car, trying to get your key into the ignition as quickly as possible.  Looking back you know you could have had the sale, but you didn’t ask.

Next time you are wrapping up a great appointment with a prospect, save time at the end to take a breath and then simply offer at least three solutions for them to choose from. You will probably be surprised to find out that by simply offering choices, you WILL get more sales. I promise!

You didn’t set your intention.

Not setting your intention is a lot like not asking for the sale.  I always encourage my clients to set their intention ahead of time and actually visualize the sales process from start to finish.  Being intentional about selling is like “assuming the sale”-or expecting that you are going to get it.  Notice how you feel when you “expect” something to happen versus just “thinking” or “hoping” you are getting it.

I recommend that you expect the sale only when you are working with your Target Clients. Otherwise you will feel like you are just forcing the situation rather than letting it unfold.  Set your intention and expect to get the sale!

You didn’t really want it.
Deep down, at a gut level, you KNOW when a prospect who is sitting in front of you isn’t a Target Prospect.  A Target Prospect is a prospect that fits your ideal client profile and needs and or wants (or both) what you are selling. One of the main reasons you set an appointment with a prospect is for you to get to know them and for them to get to know you. During the process of assessing their wants and needs, you will figure out whether or not you really CAN solve their problem or help them with their products or services.

Maybe the last time you didn’t get the sale was because you didn’t really want it.  You recognized that for whatever reason, this prospect wasn’t a good fit.  And that’s okay.  In fact, it’s better than okay because you did what was in the best interest of the prospect.

You didn’t build rapport.
People buy from Sales Professionals they LIKE, KNOW and TRUST. It takes a different amount of time to build rapport depending on personality types. My friend, Laura Bruno, of The Referral Institute, teaches a great class called Room Full of Referrals. This class teaches you the different personality types and how to sell to each one. One of the reasons you might not have gotten the sale is because you didn’t take the time to build rapport with your prospect.. You can tell whether or not you have built rapport because they will either seem completely disconnected from what you are talking about, or they will be engaged. Taking time to build rapport can often be the difference between gaining a new client, or shaking your head and walking away wondering what just happened.

Action Item: Think back to the last time you didn’t get the sale.  Which reason above most accurately describes it? What could you do differently next time? Can you think of a client that you think might have said yes if you had asked for the sale? Make a commitment to yourself to call that client and set another appointment.  And then ask for the sale!

Not getting the sale often makes room for the next “big client” that is trying to get to you.  The next time you don’t get a client, and you know it was because they weren’t a fit, just be grateful. I can almost guarantee you that the next one is right around the corner!

Ursula Mentjes, M.S., ACC is the founder of Sales Coach Now, and the author of Selling with Intention and One Great Goal. Ms. Mentjes has helped clients double and triple their sales revenue in as short as two months! If you want to do the same, then visit her web-site at www.salescoachnow.com

Join Speaker Services E-Mail List

1/26/10

This week I have three great resources to share with you.  Do you do teleclasses and webinars?  If so are you tired of getting kicked off the line or you can’t even get on the call or perhaps the recording did not work?  That what was happening to me and I made a decision that it was time to pay for a service.  I was referred to Console Call by my colleague Joyce Schwarz.  Not only is it a bridge line for teleclasses but you can do webinars as well.  Gary Jesch is the owner and he answers the phone!  Have a look around the website . Try it out for 30 days for free.  We tested it out yesterday and it was fabulous. Click here to see the website.

You can actually see who is on the call and if they want to ask a question they press *2 and you can bring them into the call.  Here is the link to download the mp3 interview we did yesterday with Brent Scarpo and Jack Barnard teleclass http://speakerservices.audioacrobat.com/download/speakatcolleges125.mp3

It was a  preview for the Speakers’ Summit10, March 12-14 and we were talking about How to Get Paid for Speaking in Colleges and High Schools.  It is worth a listen.

It’s time to sign up for the Summit.  Save $100 with our earlybird special.  Psst:  The earlybird investment is only $297 for three days of packed content and interaction.  Read more/register now

The other resource I want to share with you is VA Services, Jennifer Rai, Today’s Admin, LLC, Ph. 203-461-8850.  Very reasonable rates.

Jennifer offers an array of services for speakers.  She does speaker marketing, one sheets, blogs, websites, social media, contact management and more.  Have a look for yourself http://tinyurl.com/ybzzjzc

AudioAcrobat – Powerful and Easy Online Radio and Audio Content Development Tool

AudioAcrobat is an audio recording, streaming and hosting service. All of your audio messages are automatically converted into a single of html code that can be uploaded to any Website.

AudioAcrobat is the easiest way to add great audio to your Web site and emails. Produce your own online radio show and broadcast to the world!

Record testimonials of your clients and customers! It is the simple way to create audio with your telephone, PC microphone or by uploading files. It is absolutely painless audio recording!

Use AudioAcrobat for:
* Advertising * Advice * Announcements * Classes * Coaching * Conference Calls * Demos * Events * Fun * Fund Raising * Greetings * How-to * Humor * Interviews * Introductions * Lectures * Music Clips * Opinions * Presentations * Product Descriptions * Radio Shows * Seminars * Statements * Support * Testimonials * Workshops

Learn more and try it out 30 days free:
http://speakerservices.audioacrobat.com

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

Position, Prospect, Prosper – The Road Ahead

The public speaking industry has changed, including the professional speaker marketing and training that is so important to your success.
One of the most important changes that affects speakers involve the meetings marketplace. Yes it is no secret that there are less speaking engagements then in the past however it brings opportunities for change and growth in the business model that speakers employ.

The vast world of speaker potential is constantly expanding, the state of the art is in perpetual flux. There are so many new and innovative permutations, so much new leading-edge information to learn to help expand your business.

Our expert speakers and panelists will be offering tips and advice in the following areas:

• Discover your niche that suits your passion and skills
• Create content that meets the needs of your audience.
• Leverage Social Networking skills to grow your business
• Get Paid to speak at High Schools & Colleges
• Make an extra $250,000 to $1,000,000 a year with high impact coaching programs
• Repurpose, produce and distribute content that can be shared and extends the voice of your brand, product and company
• Passion to Profits
• Prospecting for speaking engagements: Systematize the booking process
• Bypass Gatekeepers and Voice mail & Reach Your Prospect Directly
• Explore why video is one of the best forms of viral marketing

Take a look at the program http://www.speakerservices.com/speakerssummit10/program.html

Barbara Niven, Speaker, Actress

It is important to invest in your training and this event is a mere $297 or $397 after 2/26

Listen to preview teleclasses

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.
_______

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

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

I have to say this was by far one of the best events that I ever produced.  We had 20 speakers, 75 attendees over three days and the feedback was fabulous.

Save the dates for 2010 Summit, April 30, May 1 & 2, 2010.

Today I am going to share the handout that Marilyn Snyder provided for the Summit attendees on how to Avoid Death by Power Point. marilynsnyder3.doc

 Marilyn Snyder

Here are some moree photos of the event: 

James Malinchak & Susan Levin

Speaking on how to get booked in the college market

Sheryl Roush, Solid Gold One-Sheets & Sparkle Presentations 

Lisa Castro visiting Speaker Services Table

Ladies at breakfast

Lisa Sasevich, The Invisible Close Queen after her talk

by Ali Brown

This post showed up today in my mailbox at a perfect time.  Thanks, Ali.

The reason it is so perfect is that I am challenged when I produce an event.  I know the program is great and reasonable and how can I convince folks to invest in their continuing education?

Ali makes some great points here.  And then I ask you, will we see you May 1-3, 2009 at the Speakers’ Summit09?  

I remember six years ago making a decision that would change my life and business forever. I decided to travel across the country to attend a marketing seminar. A few things about this were completely new to me.

1) The fact that I was going to spend over a thousand dollars of my own money to invest in myself. (And also maxing out one of my credit cards to do so – yes, things were pretty tight back then!)

2) Traveling across the country alone and paying for my own flight, hotel, ground transport, meals, etc.

3) Throwing myself into a new environment where I didn’t know anyone else.

I’m so glad I made that decision. Not only did I learn amazing information to help my online business (which was brand new at the time), but I met some folks who remain my friends to this day. And my investing in myself in that manner also sent a message to the universe that I was stepping up and “ready to play big.”

Today, I spend a tens of thousands of dollars each year on continuing education, including attending live seminars and workshops. And it pays off TENFOLD!

Here are 5 reasons attending live events is one of the BEST ways to leapfrog your business forward:

1) Complete Immersion in Your Subject.

When my friend Jen was in college, she wanted to learn French, so she took the opportunity to spend a semester in France. She shared with me that by doing that she made progress faster than she’d ever thought possible. They call that learning by immersion, and it’s proven to be one of the BEST ways to learn fast.

Hey, I’m a big fan of home study – books, CDs, and courses – and learning in “bits”. But NOTHING compares to getting away from your office or home, spending a few days with teachers and other “students”, and completely focusing on learning new strategies to improve your business.

2) People Who “Get” What You Do.

When I first started my online business, I really didn’t have anyone else to talk with about it. My friends, while supportive and sweet, didn’t “get” what I was trying to do and of course couldn’t offer advice.

I remember walking into that first seminar and within five minutes realized I had hundreds of people to talk with who “GOT” what I was doing! We could exchange ideas, share resources, coach each other, and even cross promote. It was a whole new world and I could never go back.

3) More Business, More Leads, and more High-Level Opportunities.

It wasn’t unusual — even in the beginning of my attending live events — to come home with on-the-spot sales, more subscribers to my ezine, a few joint venture partners, and speaking invitations.

Another tip I’ll give you: The quality of the people at an event often correlates with the price tag of the event. I’ve found I generally meet more successful people at the events that cost more.

Case in point: In 2003 I attended a very expensive training (the deposit alone was $5,000.00) and for the four days there I sat next to a very successful marketer from Australia whom I got to know well during that time. Well, a few weeks later, he invited me to come speak overseas in Australia, all expenses paid and including a business-class flight! (I doubt that opportunity would have manifested so soon, had it not been for my being there live.)

4) Deals on Continuing Education and Coaching.

Many of the speakers at these events also offer home study courses or some type of continuing education. So it’s a great place to check everyone out and decide whose stuff you want to get and who you want to continue learning from. Plus there are usually special offers given there to encourage buying on the spot.

This is a smart move, and you should plan to invest in at least one speaker’s package while you’re there. I recently attended a seminar in Dallas where I happily dropped $10,000.00 on three different programs while I was there, because their content had just what I was looking for to help skyrocket my sales for the coming year.

5) Visit New Places and Have FUN – in a Tax Deductible Way!

Talk with your accountant about this one, but in most cases these events and trips are completely tax deductible. After all, you’re traveling there to learn, network, and increase your business.

And for many of us who work alone a lot, these trips are a great way to let off some steam and enjoy the company of others who are in the same types of businesses we are! Tip: Even if you don’t imbibe, hang around the hotel bar. You’ll find that’s where everyone congregates and deals happen. But be sure to get OUT of the hotel at least one night to enjoy the city you’re visiting!

BONUS: Access to the “Gurus” – in Person.

One more thing I forgot to add is that the speakers at these events are usually very accessible. You’ll find them hanging out in the hallways, in the lobby, and in the bar. You can catch a few minutes of their time to ask them a quick question or discuss a point they made in their presentation. This is an extremely rare opportunity – you can’t just call these guys and gals up and get them on the phone! This type of access is priceless and will also get you more exposure and credibility.

BTW: When Ali started her biz we were one of the companies she hired to help with her presentations and she was listed in the Speaker Services Directory www.speakerservices.com for several years.

I am very proud of her growth.

And When All Is Said and Done…

And when it’s all over, you’ll be dead tired, but you’ll have more energy and enthusiasm toward your business than ever before. Plus you’ll have new, powerful connections with people and proven strategies ready to implement!

© 2003-2009 Alexandria Brown International Inc.

Online entrepreneur Ali Brown publishes the award-winning ‘Highlights on Marketing & Success’ weekly ezine with 36,000+ subscribers. If you’re ready to jump-start your marketing, make more money, and have more fun in your small business, get your FREE tips now at www.AliBrown.com

By Lisa Cherney

It is time to give yourself a raise.  You are a gift to the world, your talents are rare (yes really) and you must own your value.  When you do, you serve others.  If you feel bad about charging a fee because what you do is your “calling,” know that part of that calling is being an example to others.  When you claim the value you have in yourself, you bring even more value to the world.  Own it, and others will honor it as well, and the Universe will have your back.

I recently took a HUGE leap and paid a consultant $2,000 for 3 hours of her time.   When she told me her rate, I had two thoughts (after the shock wore off), “Good for you for owning your value,” and, “If I make this investment, I am saying I’m worth it.”  Within 2 weeks I made $2500 as a result of the advice she gave me.  However the longer-term, more lucrative rewards were a result of the energetic momentum created by the act of making that investment in myself.

If you have your own business, raise your rates.  If you have a job, ask for a raise or bonus.  Forget about the “economy,” and as Gandhi says, “Be the change you want to see.”  Another way to say that your time is valuable is to start delegating administrative tasks.  Keep your eyes (and heart) open for other ways to receive financial abundance.  You have nothing to lose and everything to gain.  It is time.  Here’s how to know if you don’t think you’re worth it and may be holding yourself (and your income) back:

1.    If you have resentment about not having enough money
2.    If you always focus on how much things cost
3.    If you judge others for “being cheap”
4.    If you have an opinion about how others spend their money
5.    If you are frugal and hold on too tightly to your money
6.    If you only buy things for yourself when they are on sale
7.    If you habitually give away your time or talents

These things are an indication of why you may not have the income you want.  You are simply not honoring the value you bring, don’t think you’re worth it, and therefore, it is not coming back to you.

I was recently reminded how important it is that my outer image matches my inner spirit.  It had been a few years since I did any serious shopping (good reason: Baby).   So, I went to one of my favorite stores (instead of a discount place).  For the first time in my life, I decided I was not going to use what was on sale as the main deciding factor in my purchase.  I had a blast trying things on and being catered to by the knowledgeable saleswoman.  After a couple hours of dress-up fun, I narrowed it down to 4 jackets I loved, without looking at their price (which felt uncomfortable).  Turns out that 2 were on sale and 2 weren’t.

I was pleased about that, and then the Universe conspired to support my “I deserve it” spirit even more.   As I was contemplating the magnitude of my purchase, I found out that I earned an additional 25% off that I wasn’t expecting.  It felt like a gift for my willingness to own what I am worth.  I now have clothes that make me feel like a million bucks just because I was willing to invest in myself.  The universe will provide for you when you own your value – and you deserve it.

Make this the year that you own your value.  Decide to be worthy.  Stand out and be counted.  You will be an example to your clients, colleagues, friends, family and especially your kids.  Be willing to feel a little uncomfortable, and the rewards will come back to you in ways you can’t imagine.

Lisa Cherney is a Business Intuitive, Master Marketing Consultant and Founder of Conscious Marketing™.  If you are ready to translate your passion into your marketing and attract more of your Ideal Clients, visit www.ConsciousMarketing.com or call 888-771-0156.

See Lisa in person at the Speakers’ Summit09, May 1-3.  She will talking about how to

STAND  OUT & BE JUICY!  MAGNETIZE YOUR MARKETING TO ATTRACT YOUR IDEAL  CLIENTS

View video testimonials re the Speakers’ Summit http://ping.fm/ZKMtD May 1-3 LA, 18 fab speakers see program http://ping.fm/9QiX5 about 21 hours ago The team at Speaker Services has been working non-stop to organize the best Speakers’ Summit ever.  This is the fifth time we are offer the Summit and it gets better every year.  See the program http://ping.fm/9QiX5

The theme is SPEAKERS’ SUMMIT ’09 – THE PINNACLE
THE TIME HAS COME – May 1, 3 in Los Angeles

It is priced quite reasonably $297 for three days!

This is James Malinchak and me.  James talks about how to land speaking engagements in the college market.

This is Jack Barnard and me-sweet photo! Jack is our master media, branding and presentation coach extraordinaire and he will be talking about the Secret of Speaking and more at the Summit.

SPEAKERS:
Jack Barnard, Jean-Noel Bassior, Alex Carroll, Lisa Cherney, Colin Daymude, Daniel Hall, Linda Hollander, Bill Johnson, Susan Levin, James Malinchak, Nancy Marmolejo  Barbara Niven, Sheryl Roush,  Ellen Reid, Lisa Sasevich, Rob Schultz, Marilyn Snyder, Nancy Solari, Geoff Zimpfer

Regardless of profession, everyone is an expert in their field and Speakers’ Summit ‘09 is the Pinnacle Opportunity to turn that expertise into a successful business; to not only master step-by-step the game of speaking, but to navigate the latest technology, and learn exciting new strategies for producing active and passive income.

 THE PROMISE OF SPEAKERS’ SUMMIT ‘09

√  DESIGN dynamite Power Point presentations
√  MASTER the art of Social Networking  Article Writing,Teleseminars, Webinars and other online marketing tools that make profits
√  LEARN to automate and monetize your business
√  MEGA-MARKET yourself as a speaker
√  ATTRACT a torrent of traffic to your website
√  CRUISE FREE and make bunches of money
√  DEVELOP your material in any time frame
√  DOUBLE speaking fees and triple bookings as a guest on radio shows
√  UNCOVER what’s uniquely marketable about you and your mission
√  GET and attract corporate sponsorship
√  LAND lucrative speaking gigs in the college market
√  DON’T get branded, get command-branded
√  USE high impact customized sales-closing strategies
√  BECOME a great storyteller
√  CREATE dynamic, stand-out one-sheets and brochures.
√  LEARN the difference between self-publishing and mainstream publishing
√  KNOW that the secret of speaking has nothing to do with theme, time, style

I  invite you to view video testimonials re the Speakers’ Summit http://ping.fm/ZKMtD 

Social Networking is all the rage these days and there are new networks cropping up daily. It can be overwhelming.  There is a network for every industry as you will discover in the short list below.

On Feb 12 I will be interviewing Donna Gunter in a teleclass about how to Build Your Speaking Practice with Social Networking 30 Minutes a Day. Donna Gunter, author of Get More Clients Online:  How to Get 95% of Your Clients from Internet Marketing, is known as the Boomer Biz Queen™.  Join us http://www.speakerservices.com/teleclasses/detail/124 

Note:  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).

Catch Nancy Marmolejo, PR, media, and social networking strategist who teaches entrepreneurs how to generate more money and attention by positioning themselves in the spotlight at the SpeakersSummit09 May 1-3 when she talks about How to Get FREE Publicity & Attract New Clients with the Power of Social Networking. .

This is a short list offered by John Kremer of www.bookmarket.com.  To view the entire the list  http://www.bookmarket.com/socialnetworks.htm

Bebo: http://www.bebo.com — Headquartered in San Francisco. 30 million users, primarily teens and young adults. The top social networking website in the U.K., Ireland, and New Zealand. Now owned by AOL. 22 million visitors in January 2008.

BlackPlanet: http://www.blackplanet.com — A social network of 16 million African Americans.

BlueString: http://www.bluestring.com — Upload and share photos, videos, and music from your PC. Just drag and drop to share. With StringIt, you can share your creative collections (for example, from a wedding or other event) and then invite family and friends to add their own photos, videos, or music to add to the story. A service of AOL.

Book Marketing Network: http://bookmarket.ning.com — The social network for book authors and publishers. A place to share tips, book trailers, questions and answers, photos, blogs, and more. Sponsored by John Kremer, author of 1001 Ways to Market Your Books.

Classmates Online: http://www.classmates.com — A social network for connecting with old high school and college classmates. The third largest social networking site.

Cyworld: http://www.cyworld.com — Headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. 24 million users. Big in South Korea.

Deviant Art: http://www.deviantart.com — A social networking and sales site for art, manga, and more. Motto: The largest art community in the world.

Doppelit Train: http://www.doppelit.com — The Entrepreneur Connection, this site brings you motivational newsletters and teleseminars, networking, and insight into the right way to do business. “When you register for Doppelit you put yourself in the top 10% of entrepreneurs worldwide, with a ticket on the Doppelit Train you join the top 3%.”

FaceBook: http://www.facebook.com — Headquartered in Palo Alto. The second most significant social networking site on the U.S. web, with a greater emphasis on college students (but half of the users are out of college). 70 million users as of April 2008. 47 million unique visitors in May 2007; 73.5 unique visitors in September 2007; 101 million unique visitors in January 2008 (Comscore); 123.9 million unique visitors in May 2008. 65 billion page views per month.

Fast Pitch! Networking: http://www.fastpitchnetworking.com — A fast-growing business social network on the web that also includes a free press release syndication service, blog syndication, and more.

JacketFlap: http://www.jacketflap.com — A comprehensive resource site for the children’s book industry, featuring thousands of published authors, illustrators, agents, librarians, teachers, editors, publicists, and publishers. Features a social network, blogs, a blog consolidator, and more. Also includes up-to-date information on children’s book publishers and hundreds of children’s book blogs. John Kremer’s profile there: http://www.jacketflap.com/JohnKremer.

LawLink: http://www.lawlink.com — Professional and social network for attorneys.

Library Thing: http://www.librarything.com — Users share the books and book lists they love. More users than Shelfari and more flexible (according to one user). Now offering galley copies to users who will write a review for the website. Their Library Thing Local lists bookstores, libraries, and book festivals including author appearances, events, and signings at these venues. Authors and publishers are invited to add event listings.

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The 4th annual Speakers’ Summit was a great hit.  As you can see in the photo the theme was Make the Connection.  I am always inspired and come away with new ideas for my business.  Actually I am on fire.  Will share more with you as it manifests.

I learned so much and it opened up so many new avenues for me to further explore as well as pulling many other pieces together.  I plan on doing other things with you in the future and would recommend your services highly.
- Rose  Voss, Coldwell Banker, Coach and Consultant

Hey Susan, thanks so much for the Speakers’ Summit! Jack is so fun to learn from, and I came away with so much valuable information. Gina Ratliff’s talk and her course for building an online empire, which I purchased, are an answer to my prayers! I am so happy to have found the people who have the power to help my dreams come true. Thank you for bringing all these beautiful people together to share their knowledge with us!
- Kari J., Relationship Paradise
“Date, Mate, Relate, and Communicate…Better!”

I always walk away full of information, inspiration, contacts and the desire to learn more.  They say if you want more…be more.

You and Jack make the process fun, real but yet impactful enough to bring out the best in all of us. I can’t imagine any speaker, author, coach or leader not utilizing your program.

Anyone who speaks whether large or small audiences should learn how to do it effectively, it’s an art, it’s a science and it definitely makes a difference.
- Desiree Doubrox,  AnEmpoweredWoman.com

Jack Barnard, Master Branding and Presentation Coach

Meet the Experts Circles

Lisa Sasevich, The Invisible Close Queen 

Denise Wakeman, The Blog Squad

TJ Walker http://www.speakingchannel.tv weighs in today on why the audience does not remember a thing that was said.  He shares that the solution is to give real thought to becoming more memorable.

In every presentation there are three possible outcomes for the presenter:

1.    A good impression was made.
2.    A bad impression was made.
3.    No impression was made.

The biggest blunder most presenters face is not that they humiliated themselves or embarrassed themselves or that they froze and had to be carted away. The huge disaster most presenters face is that they show up, give their presentation, and come across completely professional, polished and smooth. They give their presentation exactly as planned. No problems. Then they sit down.

So what’s the problem? It is that the audience members don’t remember anything the presenter said.  It all went in one ear and out the other. The presenter had an opportunity to really communicate a message, but he blew it. The presenter was guilty of sameness. Everything just started to look, sound and feel the same as all the other speakers.

Think of how many presentations you hear year at the office, civic clubs, sales meetings, trade conventions, church, or school. And yet how many do you remember 6 months later, 6 days later, or even 6 minutes later?

The sad reality is that most speakers are instantly forgotten because they all sound the same after awhile. If you don’t believe me, test yourself.

Get out a piece of paper and write down everything you remember form each speaker you saw at the last conference you attended. You still have a lot of white space left on your sheet of paper, don’t you?

If I went around to audience members at the average trade show conference and said “Here’s a thousand dollars if you can name for me three things the last 2 speakers just said,” chances are, I’d never have to pay out any money.

Foolproof speakers realize this problem, so they spend most of the time not in trying to avoid bombing. Instead, they spend their prep time figuring out how to get their audience members to remember something they said in order to leave a lasting positive impression.

The solution is to give real thought to becoming more memorable, not simply conveying more facts and data, which is the preoccupation of most average speakers. Giving thought to making your ideas doesn’t necessarily mean more time, expense, or fancy props, it can just mean being a little more creative.

When Steve Jobs wants to demonstrate how thin his new laptop is, he doesn’t just flash up a slide with text displaying “Laptop thickness: .25 inches.” Because that would be boring. Instead, he demonstrates how thin the laptop is by pulling it out of an envelope. Total cost: 79 cents. But the image was so powerful that it can’t be forgotten days, weeks or even months later.

What are you doing to make sure you leave any impression on your audience? This is the question that should be focusing on.

This is why it’s not really a gable to try to that new story, or a PowerPoint slide with edgy humor. Or to ask questions form an audience member even though you don’t know how they will respond. All of these attempts to mix it up will increase the odds that you don’t end up instantly forgotten.

I’m not suggesting you wear a fake arrow throughout head just to get attention, but you must remember that “playing it safe” is often the most dangerous thing for a presenter to do, because it so often means you will make no impression on your audience at all.

You must do something, anything, in order to get people to leave with a positive impression of you and your ideas.

Related resources: 

Speakers’ Summit 10/19 & 20 Jack Barnard presentation is Mesmerize Your Audience.

Mesmerize Your Audience CD or MP3 click here

written by Susan Levin

Are you watering your business?  No matter where you are on your path Speaker Services since ’92 has a myriad of services that will keep you and your business evergreen.

It is essential to budget some of our services into your marketing plan.

11 TIPS TO WATER YOUR BUSINESS:

Are you ready to connect with audiences who want to hear your message?  

I signed up with Speaker Services, got a speech the next day, and it’s been raining speeches ever since! I cannot say enough about Susan Levin’s remarkable generosity and support. She has been an unfailing source of information and inspiration at all times. I highly recommend Speaker Services if you are serious about increasing your business.

—Ann Convery, Speaker/Author

1. Get Listed in Speaker Services Directory.  Ask me for the speakers guidelines – 15th of each month deadline for speaker/author copy.  Learn more

2. Got questions about the Business of Speaking?

Speaker Marketing, Presentation Packets, Branding, Focusing, Where to Speak, Video demos, Finding audiences, Website evaluation, book mentoring, info products, social media????

Let’s get a roadmap in place for you.

20 mins complimentary telephone sessions with Susan Levin, international marketing coach for professionals and authors.

Fill out the assessment form and I will contact you to set up a convenient time to chat.

http://www.speakerservices.com/assessment_form.html

3. Listen to the teleclass with the experts…

September Teleclasses

Teleclasses are free when you join the Speakers’ Community  (60 days complimentary)

or you can pay per teleclass

Can’t attend  sign up anyhow and receive the mp3

Wed- September 17

Speakers’ Secret Weapon

Leverage Your Time & Energy to Create Your Lifestyle Business, Melanie Benson Strick

Discover these simple steps to revolutionizing the way work gets done in your business.

Learn more/register

______

Thurs- September 25

 Expertizing: Get More Media Attention for your Biz, Fern Reiss

In today’s world, positioning is everything. A handful of individuals seem to dominate, out-consult, and out-sell everyone else.  Want to become known as that expert in your field, quoted by the media on a daily basis?

learn more/register

4. Market Yourself as a Speaker Workshop with Susan Levin in Los Angeles

Sept 24

Are you an expert in your field with lots of advice and experience to pass along?  In this workshop you will learn the nuts and bolts of the speaking circuit from a marketing viewpoint.

Learn more/register

________________

5.  Speakers’ Summit 

October 19 and 20 in LA

SPEAKERS:

Jack Barnard, Susan Levin, Gina Ratiffe, Lisa Sasevich

MEET THE EXPERTS:

The Blog Squad: Denise Wakeman & Patsi Krakoff, Gayl Murphy, Jean-Noel Bassior,  Ian Rich, Tony DeMaio

The Speakers’ Summit was the best training I could ever receive to help me take my speaking business to the next level. 

Finally, I feel ready to truly manifest the career of my dreams.

- Jesus Nebot, Jesus Nebot International

3 for 1 offer

$597

3 for 1 offer- bring 2 friends for total of $597

Former Summit Attendees

$397

3 for 1 offer- bring 2 friends for total of $397

All the details are  at http://www.speakerservices.com/speakerssummit1008 read more and see for yourself.

__________

6.  Speakers’ Bootcamp (several slots open)

facilitated by Jack Barnard with Susan Levin

November 5-9

Listen to Q & A teleclass   (60 mins) 

http://www.speakerservices.com/services/thegame.html 

Learn everything you need to win the Game of Speaking 

Bootcamp was indeed an experience. It met my expectations and more. I left with an incredible brand and identified a plan and process for developing speeches and seminars.

- Betty LaMarr, Executive Coach

 Jack is the Wizard of Oz for speakers. Every person had a profound transformation and walked away with marketable branding and a solid speech foundation. Thank you Jack, for your heart and soul. We’ll take part of you with us out into the world.

- Barbara Niven, Actress, Writer, Director, Speaker

________

7. VIDEO DEMO SHOWCASE, 3 camera video demo

November 2

http://www.speakerservices.com/videoprod.html

See more videos on youtube Speaker Services Channel

We appreciate your comments

________

8. And in the Blog 

- You’re an Expert-But Can You Speak?

- The Ultimate Publishing Guide – How To Publish Your Book Without Breaking Out In A Sweat

- Relationship Marketing for the 21st Century

________

9.  Resources

audio acrobat, credit card processing, shopping carts, virtual assistants to corporate sponsorship, speak at colleges or on cruise ships and more

________

10.  Products, CD’s, MP3′s, special reports for speakers and authors

learn more

 ________

11.  Join the Speakers’ Community: A membership club- 60 days complimentary

learn more

 May you flourish and grow

For the past 16 years I have been working with professionals and authors to support them in growing their business and income through speaking. We have literally have trained hundreds of people and I have watched them go through our programs and climb to the top of the ladder. Some of them are making millions of dollars as a result of learning how to communicate their messages clearly, getting branded and learning how to call people to action to buy their services. Here are a few of their brands we created: Opportunity Knocks, The E-Zine Queen, The Essential Entrenprenuer, The Extreme Dreamer….

What do all of these folks have in common? They are passionate about what they speak about and they continue to receive training no matter what level they are at and they all have Speaker Services in common. The following are just a few of the comments I received this week from some of our clients.

Barbara Niven, Actress and Speaker wrote- Susan, I got another booking for my eating disorders speech! Another $10,000 one, thanks to you and Jack! I will be speaking to students at several high schools and told them if they can do that amount I will speak several times at different venues over a few days time. I think we can really help make an impact and a difference.

Richard Petty, MD wrote- Four of our group made it to the video shoot on Sunday, and it was an amazing experience for all of us.I really hope that if you didn’t manage to come this time, you will be able to have the time and money to do it next time. I may be slightly biased, but I really thought that Laurie, Jodi and Doug did the best presentations of the day. Coincidence? I think not. If you are wavering, I would really suggest having a look at their videos once they are posted. I think that you will be astonished to see what we are ALL now capable of doing.

I am going to share a story which isn’t about me, it’s about all of us. About two weeks after the Boot camp I spoke at a meeting in Chicago. I’ve spoken before, and I know that I can persuade people using data, logic and an occasional merry quip. But this time was different.I remember the MC introducing me, and I know that I showed a few slides to illustrate my points. But I don’t remember much else apart from noticing that the entire audience got teary eyed at one point, and the reaction at the end – and in the following weeks – was extraordinary. Karl has talked about the impact that the Bootcamp had on him, and I am sure that it has changed all of us. . Don’t worry if the speech isn’t perfect. I know that mine wasn’t! But it got the points across better than anything that I had done before.

And Eileen Joyce wrote the following verse following the March Bootcamp

What happened to me in the Speakers’ Bootcamp
I went not knowing quite why
I flubbed a lot of exercises
And had the time of my life

Each day opened something new inside
Although I couldn’t tell you what

Then the day after it ended
I see who I am, what I’m doing and saying
who wants to hear it and what we all get from it!

I’m selling
a way to open your heart—to the secrets it holds
so you can fully express all your pain and your passion.
Start living each day like it’s the last one you have.

I call it Speaking From Your Heart
And we all can do it!

THANK YOU Jack Barnard and fellow beings

If you want to make a difference in your speaking and transform the way you deliver I suggest you consider Speakers’ Bootcamp, Authors’ SpeakEasy, the Video Demo Showcase and getting listed on Speaker Services. Feel free to e mail me susan@speakerservices to set up a free session to talk with me as to how we can help you.

The following post is from Six Minutes- A Public Speaking and Presentations Skills Blog- Andrew Dlugan

- Research a topic – Good speakers stick to what they know. Great speakers research what they need to convey their message.

- Focus – Help your audience grasp your message by focusing on your message. Stories, humour, or other “sidebars” should connect to the core idea. Anything that doesn’t needs to be edited out.

- Organize ideas logically – A well-organized presentation can be absorbed with minimal mental strain. Bridging is key.

- Employ quotations, facts, and statistics – Don’t include these for the sake of including them, but do use them appropriately to complement your ideas.

- Master metaphors – Metaphors enhance the understandability of the message in a way that direct language often can not.

- Tell a story – Everyone loves a story. Points wrapped up in a story are more memorable, too!

- Start strong and close stronger – The body of your presentation should be strong too, but your audience will remember your first and last words (if, indeed, they remember anything at all).

- Incorporate humour – Knowing when to use humour is essential. So is developing the comedic timing to deliver it with greatest effect.

- Vary vocal pace, tone, and volume – A monotone voice is like fingernails on the chalkboard.

- Punctuate words with gestures – Gestures should complement your words in harmony. Tell them how big the fish was, and show them with your arms.

- Utilize 3-dimensional space – Chaining yourself to the lectern limits the energy and passion you can exhibit. Lose the notes, and lose the chain.

- Complement words with visual aids – Visual aids should aid the message; they should not be the message. Read the Presentation Zen book and adopt the philosophy.

- Analyze the audience – Deliver the message they want (or need) to hear.

- Connect with the audience – Eye contact is only the first step. Aim to have the audience conclude “This speaker is just like me!” The sooner, the better.

- Interact with the audience – Ask questions (and care about the answers). Solicit volunteers. Make your presentation a dialogue.

- Conduct a Q&A session – Not every speaking opportunity affords a Q&A session, but understand how to lead one productively. Use the Q&A to solidify the impression that you are an expert, not (just) a speaker.

- Lead a discussion – Again, not every speaking opportunity affords time for a discussion, but know how to engage the audience productively.

- Obey time constraints – Maybe you have 2 minutes. Maybe you have 45. Either way, customize your presentation to fit the time allowed, and respect your audience by not going over time.
- Craft an introduction – Set the context and make sure the audience is ready to go, whether the introduction is for you or for someone else.

- Exhibit confidence and poise – These qualities are sometimes difficult for a speaker to attain, but easy for an audience to sense.

- Handle unexpected issues smoothly – Maybe the lights will go out. Maybe the projector is dead. Have a plan to handle every situation.

- Be coherent when speaking off the cuff – Impromptu speaking (before, after, or during a presentation) leaves a lasting impression too. Doing it well tells the audience that you are personable, and that you are an expert who knows their stuff beyond the slides and prepared speech.

- Seek and utilize feedback – Understand that no presentation or presenter (yes, even you!) is perfect. Aim for continuous improvement, and understand that the best way to improve is to solicit candid feedback from as many people as you can.

- Listen critically and analyze other speakers – Study the strengths and weakness of other speakers.

- Act and speak ethically – Since public speaking fears are so common, realize the tremendous power of influence that you hold. Use this power responsibly.

Andrew Dlugan enjoys studying public speaking and delivering presentations. He has taught courses, conducted seminars, coached speakers, and emceed events. He is an award-winning public speaker and speech evaluator.

Andrew has an engineering background which spans cancer research, satellite data analysis, and web technologies. He is a father and husband who resides in British Columbia, Canada. Contact Andrew: dlugan@gmail.com

The Speakers’ Summit08 rocked and they asked for more. Gimme more. And we are planning another Summit for October.

Here’s a few comments from attendees, a few photos and below are two very short video interviews I did with Robin Klickstein and Anutza Bellissimo and Steven Bloore.

Thank you for growing me in the way that you do so well and with such care.- Nancy Jenkins & Mark Burlazo

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

Thank you for a wonderful summit! learned much and left sooo inspired!!- – Chandra Galasso

Susan Levin, along with Jack Barnard and the rest of her brilliant team, focused and refined my presentation in a weekend! -Blair Tindall, Speaker/Author- “Mozart in the Jungle: Sex, Drugs, and Classical Music”

Moira Shepherd wrote:

I had a fantastic time at the Speaker’s Summit presented by Susan Levin and Jack Barnard this past weekend. Their wonderful speakers included Linda Hollander, Michelle Price and Sheryl Roush.

– Best of all, the people attending the event were amazing. There’s something about being in a room full of folks committed to making the world a better place. The energy emanating from everyone both dazzled and warmed me.

– It’s easy to feel as though you’re doing it all alone when you’re a home-based entrepreneur like me. You wonder if anyone listens. If what you do makes a difference. If your work makes a contribution in some way.

– Then, you come to something like the Speaker’s Summit and realize you have been seen, your words have been read and your impact has been felt. And that more is possible. Whereupon the speakers show you new worlds and possibilities that can open up for you.

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. – Moira Shepherd

View a short video interview with Robin Klickstein. I interviewed her as we had lunch together.

View my short interview with Anutza Bellissimo and Steven Bloore

At the Speakers’ Summit08 I talked about Creating Info Products -take a look at this short video I created.

I will be using the video for selling the mp3 of the talk on the description page and I will make it available for folks who want to hire me for the presentation to their groups and I might put it in my e-zine as well as in the Speakers’ Summit08 description of my talk and I am sure that I will find other uses for it as well.

Here is a short list of info products that you could create which was part of my handout at the Summit.

TURN YOUR EXPERTISE INTO PROFITS

➢ Books
Published or Self-Published

➢ Mini-Books
Smaller versions of your book with cut-down content used as premiums

➢ E-Book- Compile related product information or instructions into an ebook. You could publish it in text, pdf, html format

➢ E-Book Of Reviews – Publish an ebook of stuff that’s related to your target audience that you could review like products, web sites, movies, etc

➢ Dictionary Of Terms-Publish a web directory or ebook dictionary of terms relating to your specific business industry or subject.

➢ Audio/MP3 Books

➢ Transcripts- Create an ebook of text transcripts of a related live event. It can be a seminar, speech, class, interview, etc.

➢ Article Compilation

➢ Blog Compilation

➢ Teleseminars – Expert Call Ins Set up a date and time when your customers can call up and talk directly with experts that are related to your industry

➢ Online Video-Allow customers to download or view a related how-to video or informative seminar right over the internet.

➢ Webinars over the internet

➢ Audio/MP3 Programs
Allow customers to download and listen to a recording of an expert that is being interviewed right over the internet

➢ Video Trainings- DVD’s/MP4’s

➢ Multi-Media Products
Combine Printed materials, video and CD’s

➢ Home-Study Courses
Multi-media product format designed to be a complete system in a box.

You may know that I bought a flip video camera and I have been learning how to use it. This past weekend we produced our annual Speakers’ Summit I was able to capture several snippets of the various programs. I will share one of the videos with you in my posts for the next week or so.

John Kremer listed tips in his e-zine today about how to use video for marketing. As you will see I am already using the videos I created as he suggested.

Below you can see the short video of Jack Barnard who spoke at the Summit on FOUR-PLAY: THE FUN-DAMENTALS for an ORGASMIC PRESENTATION.

How I plan to use her video is to post the short video on my product page for the mp3. I also put it on youtube on my speaking channel and on Facebook.

Tips oh how to use video

1. Create short videos about your products and services, upload them to your website, and include video links in your press releases.

2. Speakers, create short video snippets of your presentations and post them at your site

3. Use videos to demonstrate how to use your product.

4. Authors, create short little videos that discuss portions of your books.

5. Take visitors on a tour of your website using a screen-capture software program like Camtasia.

6. Shoot your own video of events the media won’t cover, and submit the video to local newspapers and TV stations, many of which offer consumer-generated video at their websites.

7. Use video on a one-page sales letter. If a picture is worth a thousand words, video can close the sale.

8. Generate leads and pull traffic by creating videos and posting them to YouTube and other video-sharing sites.

9. Use video at your blog, or create a video blog on a free WordPress platform.

Jack Barnard, Master Presentation Coach speaking at the Speakers’ Summit08.

A one-sheet is one of the most important elements of your presentation packet. Along with a 3 camera video demo and a great one-sheet you are on your way to getting booked. Karen Saunders owner of MacGraphics, a design firm weighs in today about one- sheets.

They’re the workhorses of any marketing program. They hit the streets for you, and they’ve got muscle. Everything you want someone to know about your expertise and services – all in one place. So if you don’t have one, you’ve got to get one!

Picture this: You take the time to get involved in various networking groups – or maybe you do some cold calling – or maybe you happen to meet someone who may have a genuine need for a person just like you. So now what? Well, there’s a simple and effective way to share your expertise. And it’s called a one-sheet.

Here are seven questions that a typical decision-maker would ask you in person at a first meeting, so get ready to answer:

- How would you describe your area of expertise?
- Who are your presentations designed for, or what type of people do you work with?
- If we hire you, what are the benefits for the leaders of the organization? For the participants in the ranks? For organizational progress?
- What have you done that makes you such an expert?
- Which groups have you worked with before?
- What did participants think of you?
- How can we reach you for more information?

Now that you know what questions they will ask, there’s a clever formula to including all of these elements in your one-sheet.

You’ll cover all the bases if you include the following points:

- The topics/programs you address
- Who you target audience is
- Benefits (put them right in the headlines)
- Your biography
- A client list
- Testimonials
- Contact information (list it all – phone, fax, email, website)

And don’t forget the secret ingredient – you. Even if you have all of these other elements in place, the icing on the cake will be your own personality.

Let me give you an example. My client, Doug Butler, is a speaker whose message is “Cowboy Wisdom”. I’ve built his one-sheet around the western cowboy theme, and it’s now part of his brand. We included lots of cowboy graphics, an action shot of him with a lasso, and a portrait shot of him wearing a cowboy hat with his guitar. His one-sheet reflects his personality, and it’s what participants want from him.

You’ll add credibility if you can include logos to show your affiliation with any industry or professional organizations that will be recognized by your target market. Be sure to include your own logo along with a clever tag line. Doug uses this tag line: “Forge a firm foundation with Doug’s tried-and-true Cowboy Code.”

But these techniques don’t stop with the one-sheet. You can carry them over to all your other marketing materials! With these must-have elements in your one-sheet, you can turn your prospects into sales, and watch your revenue grow!

Karen Saunders is the owner of MacGraphics Services, a unique design firm for today’s entrepreneur. Whether you outsource your promotional pieces or are a do-it-yourselfer, Karen takes the mystery out of marketing.

Note: At the Speakers’ Summit, May 2 and 3 in LA- One Sheet Expert, Sheryl Roush will be talking about Solid Gold One Sheets along with 5 other expert speakers. Join us and bring 2 friends for a modest investment of $397 total. Click here to learn more.

One of the biggest mistakes speakers make is offering too much information in their programs. Somehow speakers seem to think that they have to give more then less so that their audience will get it! Check out the video below that TJ Walker did on Data Dump Before You Speak.

Another thing happens too-the presenters forget to involve the audience and when the audience is not involved what happens? They tune out.

Here are a few suggestions for organizing your presentation:

- In an hour talk have 3 to 4 points

- Support your points by telling stories that the audience can relate too

- Involve the audience by asking questions and don’t forget to repeat their answers so everyone can hear them

- Create a simple partner exercise that supports your point and don’t forget to ask a few folks what their experience was and don’t forget to repeat their answers

There is much to learn about organizing your presentations. And if that is not enough you also need to connect, have confidence and of course content. We call that the holy triad.

If you are interested in learning more about great presentations join us for the 3rd annual Speakers’ Summit in LA on May 2 and 3. I am offering an unheard of fee to attend $397 and bring 2 guests. Do you know anyone who might be interested? This is a once a year event. Please look closely at the program

Jack Barnard, my partner will be talking about the THE MAGIC OF SPEAKING IS INVISIBLE at the Summit. He says, “You can have all the outside stuff together, you can be fire-branded, media-trained, slickly structured; have well-designed, colorful one-sheets, possess a commanding voice, connect like peanut butter and jelly, and look like Dr. McDreamy…but if you’re not truly cozy surfing the present moment, results are compromised. It’s all about the present moment. That’s where the promise of speaking and presentation is brilliantly delivered.”

And that is only one of his talks. The other talk is quite racey and I am sure it will get your attention. Are you ready for this? FOUR-PLAY: THE FUN-DAMENTALS for an ORGASMIC PRESENTATION

My colleague T J Walker has a short video with great tips click here to listen Data Dump Before You Speak

He says, “If you want people to fall asleep while you speak, cover 38 facts and 27 bullet points. However, if that information is really important TJ has a solution.”

You may be aware that I launched the Speakers’ Community a membership site in early November. I offered 60 days for free until the end of Dec ’07 to give folks an opportunity to experience the value of the Community and if satisfied then $49 a month would be debited automatically from their account.

I worked hard to offer instant valuable bonuses as well as a Community Listing in the directory which is open to the public and to the members to find one another.

I invited guest experts each month onto the monthly teleclass and recorded the conversation to add to the library. Additionally the Inner Marketing Circle once a month has been inspiring and with lots of coaching happening and the replay is archived.

I thought I was giving great value for $49 a month. Afterall, a teleclass call charge might be $49-$99 and one on one coaching could be $250 an hour plus a listing in the Community Directory. At least that was my thinking.

And yesterday I heard a voice saying add more value. So here’s what I did. I added 13-14 audio/mp3 recordings all of which I had created in the past year and began the Audio/MP3 Library page for the members.

Here’s a partial list of the recordings in the Library.

- SUPER STRUCTURE and BRANDING, Jack Barnard

- COMMUNION, COMFORT & CONNECTION, Jack Barnard

- THE BUSINESS OF SPEAKING: CREATE A WINNING MARKETING STRATEGY, Susan Levin

- RUN YOUR BUSINESS WITH THE HELP OF A VIRTUAL ASSISTANT, Terry Green

- MARKETING: WEB 2.0 STYLE: Turn Your Intellectual Assets Into Internet Profits, Michelle Price

- INCREASE YOUR INCOME BY CREATING AND SELLING INFORMATION PRODUCTS, Susan Levin & Patsy Bellah

- PLUG and PLAY PROFITS: Convert Your Passion into Blockbuster Audio CDs Rob Schultz

- GET YOUR BOOK WRITTEN and PUBLISHED, Jean-Noel Bassior

- PRODUCE & PUBLISH STREAMING AUDIO & VIDEO USING AUDIOACROBAT, Dave Barrett, Owner of AudioAcrobat

- GET BOOKED AT COLLEGES, James Malinchak

- ONE SHEETS, Sheryl Roush

- SPEAK ON CRUISE SHIPS, Daniel Hall and here is the recording for you to listen to.

What is the value now? Priceless!

Here’s the point of my sharing this with you. I had all of this information already created in various places ie: my file cabinet, on various web pages and you probably do too.

In thinking back to this past May when we did the Speakers’ Summit I visioned doing a blog and a membership site and a TeleSummit based on the Speakers’ Summit all realized now. However, I remember thinking how I could repurpose and reprogram much of the material and I did it yesterday.

Here’s the good news I still have lots more to repackage including videos mp4′s and I will be adding that to the Speakers’ Community Library.

After the New Year we are offering 30 days for free for the Speakers’ Community however, once you join you have access to the library, the live teleclasses and the Inner Marketing Circle with me and a guest each month plus you can post your own profile in the Community Directory.

BTW: In January TJ Walker will be my guest for the monthly teleclass interview and he will be talking about how content is the king/queen and how you can repackage and reprogram your content into books, tips for your blog and so much more.

You can be on the call if you sign up for the Speakers’ Community!

Hey and if you don’t get the added value you can cancel your subscription.

I would enjoy hearing your comments. Please offer them.

At the Speakers’ Summit this past May I took a survey asking the attendees if they would be open to a membership site and I received an astounding YES.  The question was- how could we stay connected with each other and keep on learning virtually? None of us wanted the Summit to end-as it was rich with information and bonding.  Hence the Speakers’ Community website was born.  It took 6 months to build the Speakers’ Community Membership Site and I  announced it a week ago. Have you seen it yet?

It does not take the place of our online directory www.speakerservices.com which brings speakers and authors together with audiences. However, what it does offer is a community of like-minded individuals who want to shave years off their learning curve and gain access to the marketing secrets that work for the pros. Another perk, is to post your listing in the Community Directory which is open to the public as well as among members. Who knows someone might want your services!

So my marketing strategy is to give folks a trial run, offer them instant bonuses, access to the teleclasses and the Community Directory for 60 days until the end of the ’07. After that it is $49. You can Join Now.

The response has been great-not 100 or 200 sign ups however, 25 for the first week makes me happy. Folks are slowly posting their listings so keep checking back at at the Speakers’ Community Site to see who you might want to connect with and or perhaps you might join us for a teleclass. The first one is November 12 with Chellie Campbell, How to Make a 6 Figure Income Without Leaving Home. You need to join to have access to the teleclasses but what the heck-give us a try!

Other topics that I will be interviewing our experts about will be on Book Marketing, Sponsorship, Presentation Skills, Web 2.0-Social Networking, Media and more…

See ya at the Speakers’ Community.

Susan Levin

Today’s post is all about how speaking can lead to more business by Jeff Wolf written for Rain Today. Before we get to the post I want to share some of our services with you. I think you will agree after reading the following article that it is helpful to have training.

Speaker Services, my business offers lots of training for developing presentations as well as a marketing venue through our online paid listing service to get your message out to the public. E-mail me at speakerservices@ca.rr.com and request the guidelines for getting listed. BTW: We have been in business since 1992.

Yesterday I posted several video testimonials from the Speakers’ Summit

When you have a moment please take a look at what our clients are saying about our training. The Summit is offered once a year in May.

The Speakers’ Bootcamp is another opportunity to work with us. This is offered 3 times a year and is a five day intensive. Next time will be March 26-30 and we only take 20 people. If you are interested in seeing how we coach our folks contact me and I can send you a short instructional mp4 video for viewing. Oh yes, I have a 60 minute audio Q & A on the Speakers’ Bootcamp page that you can download and listen to at your leisure.

The Speakers’ Community Membership Site is coming along and I will be telling you more about it in the very near future and offering you 30 days for free to check us out. You can read more about my intentions if you click on the ink above that says Speakers’ Community.

I want to remind you that being media savvy plays a big part of your speaking practice. That is way we always include media training in all of our trainings. The 3rd MediaSpeak Symposium is scheduled for October 11, 12 & 13. I encourage you to check it out and to attend. This event is for anyone who has a service, product or book who desires more exposure via the media. Reminder: Early registration fee by Sept 1 and save $150.

I welcome your comments please send them my way.

Okay Jeff Wolf take it away. Speaking Your Way To More Business
You are trying to build your book of business. With the competition getting nimbler and more aggressive, it hasn’t been easy. Clients are unfaithful, yet they’re demanding more of your time. You have tried to be a consultative business developer, working on building relationships. You’ve been trying to do as much as you can with limited time.

One way to improve your business development — for yourself, your firm, and your colleagues — is to get out there and give a talk to a roomful of people. Presenting your positions shows you as an expert, or, better, the expert, in your area of specialty. Speaking to a captive audience allows you to make your points and deliver your strongest messages. The crowd will hang on your every word. You are the authority everyone came to see and hear.

If you do it well, you’ll find this form of business development is incredibly successful. It attracts new clients. You become a people magnet. They’ll walk up to you, engage you in conversation, slip you their business cards and say, “Please call me.” Translation: “I like your message and think you are the type of professional with whom I want to do business.” The calls and emails will continue for several weeks as word of mouth spreads through the business community.

Sadly, most speaking opportunities end up wasted. All that worry about the presentation, the pressure of the prep work and, at last, the performance, result in an empty-handed return to the office.  But you can come back with a list of potential clients who are excited about working with you and your firm. As a professional speaker and presentation skills coach, I have seen many service providers speak in front of audiences over and over. Most have no clue how to give their audiences a motivating and memorable experience.

A Golden Opportunity Wasted

I recently gave a keynote address in Los Angeles and, prior to my talk; the association had a lawyer give the membership a legal update. His thirty-minute monologue of facts and figures, presented in a droning, monotone voice while leaning on the podium, was a disaster. I watched in disbelief as a golden opportunity to connect with the audience slipped away, second by second. Every two or three minutes, groups of people got up and walked out.

Flabbergasted, I watched an audience of over 500 people, previously excited to be there, shrink by about 50%. When the speaker finally finished, he garnered a smattering of half-hearted applause – mostly because he had finished. The emcee thanked him and asked, diplomatically, if we could all take a 10-minute break — so they could regroup everyone for the next presentation – mine.

This is one of many sad examples of service providers wasting not only their own valuable time, but also the audience’s valuable time while leaving a bad impression in the minds of 500 potential clients. When I talk with service providers who have just given a presentation, they usually think they have done a tremendous job. Yet, no one comes up afterward or they never receive any calls or emails from the members of the audience. They then tell me, “Speaking is a waste of time and it just doesn’t generate business.” My answer to these providers is very simple and straightforward: “If you give a great speech, business will follow.”

The Key To Success

If you are going to be a presenter, the expert, the font of wisdom, you must remember one central fact. It’s not about you. It’s about them, the audience, the listeners, and people who are investing their precious morning, afternoon, or evening to hear and see you.

They listen intently with one question in mind: what’s in it for me? They want to be engaged by your personality and passion for your subject matter. If you are passionate about your topic, your listeners will become excited about it, too. If you deliver your message with enthusiasm, voice variance, and convincing inflections, staying clear of the podium and employing dramatic body language, you will become a people magnet.

That podium puts a wall between you and the audience. Ditch it and connect with the people you want to win over. Don’t let the podium be a barrier – that just tells those folks you’re nervous and uncertain. Remember, you’re the expert. You know your material frontwards, backwards, and inside-out. Come out in the open and be open. Stand tall and confident. Connect. Smile and use a tone of voice that makes people feel good.

Here’s something to take to heart. A famous UCLA study on communication found that:

• 55% of communication is body language
• 38% is tone of voice
• 7% is the actual words

A Success Story

Last year, I spoke at an event attended by over 700 people from companies large and small. After my speech, I sat in on a couple of workshops. One was a presentation by an attorney to about 75 people. A podium stood at the front of the room, but she didn’t go near it. Instead, she walked from side to side and up and down a few rows. Why? To connect with her audience. She carried herself with poise and dignity, and was passionate about her subject. Everyone could see that she knew her stuff and was well-prepared.

She gave her talk with energy, passion, and style. When it was over, I counted 25 people who went up to her and handed her their cards, saying they were interested in speaking further with her. After the room emptied, and while she was packing up her things, I walked up to her and introduced myself. We talked about how her presentations were generating new business for her firm and the self-evident benefits for herself.

She said she had been doing approximately eight to ten presentations a year. Each year, her speaking had led to increased revenues. We shared a knowing laugh when I told her our consulting firm has seen the same results.

When I asked her what the key to her success was, she said, “Most lawyers think it is a waste of time to speak because they don’t want to make the effort to practice. Most of my colleagues have the attitude that it is always about them but, in the real world outside of law, it is all about the needs of the audience. That’s why I continue to speak and keep growing my practice at an unbelievable rate each year.”

My friend e-mailed the following video that he saw on You Tube - Elvira Speaks
When you have a chance take a look at it-it’s a riot.

You’ll probably agree after viewing it that you do need to be prepared to speak!

Many of my colleagues feel as I do that it is vitally important to have a coach and to continue to take seminars to enhance their skills.

At Speaker Services we offer lots of training. The Speakers’ Bootcamp is a great intensive for honing your speaking skills. Our next Bootcamp is March 26-30, ’08.

The MediaSpeak Symposium is great for anyone who has a service, product or book and wants to get more publicity.

Does any of the following sound like you?

You want to:

- Communicate your key message to the news media, audiences and clients

- Position yourself as a savvy media guest/expert

- Create grabber sound bites that attract attention

- Sell books on the radio and TV

- Develop dynamite pitches that attract producers and editors to spotlight you now

- Choose the best promotion strategies for print, TV, radio or Internet

- Discover how to pitch to multiple media outlets

- Become a sought-after talk show guest who gets booked again and again

- Convince newspapers and magazines to run feature stories on you and your work

- Nail any interview without getting clobbered

- Craft print and online media kits that reporters will love

- Adapt your ideas into a screenplay or TV pilot

Then you need to be at the 3rd annual MediaSpeak Symposium, October 11-13.

Psst: sign up by Sept 1 and save $150.

Would you like to have a video presence on your website? The BizSpeak and Video Workshop is a one camera shoot with a full day workshop attached to it.

There are just a few slots open at this time. Grab one-it’s only $497. A steal.

When I went to You Tube today to see the Elvira Speaks video I created an account and uploaded 2 short videos. One is with Jack and me talking about Why Video is Important and the other is of one of our speakers Suzanne Stanford talking about Internet Safety. Click here to view them. Suzanne’s is a one camera shoot that we shot at the Speakers’ Summit.

If you are a speaker and you want to get booked for speaking gigs it is necessary to have a 3 camera video shoot in front of a live audience. We offer a Video Demo Showcase twice a year for 18 folks. Take a look at some of the streaming samples on my website. I have 2 openings for Nov 4.

I got sidetracked today with the Elvira Speaks video and now I have to get back to work!

More later.

Susan

My colleague James Malinchak weighs in today telling us how to get booked to speak at college commencement ceremonies.

Colleges do pay for speaking. Remember all those student activitiy fees your parents paid or perhaps you are paying right now? Some of those fees do go for paying speakers.

Speaker James Malinchak, ‘America’s Hottest Young Speaker, is the creator of the two top-selling speaker courses, ‘How to Make BIG Money As a Speaker,’ and the ‘College Speaking Success Home Study Course.

If you are interested in breaking into the college market James teaches a bootcamp called College Speaking Success and it is scheduled for November 29-Dec 2, 2007 in Las Vegas. Click here to learn more about the program.

If you are curious about it you might want to purchase the CD from the hour talk James did for the Speakers’ Summit on How to Get Booked to Speak at Colleges. Click here to check it out. I can send it as a CD or an MP3 let me know how you prefer it.

Here’s James and me at the NSA Convention in July ’07

As a speaker, if you get a college President who likes you and wants you speak on their campus for commencement, you´re in. However, while it may sound prestigious to serve as a commencement speaker, it´s really not because you have to sit through the entire commencement ceremony.

Some of these college commencement ceremonies can last five or six hours. As a commencement speaker, you´re usually sitting right on stage with the President, school trustees and other faculty members.

I don´t care how you attempt to maneuver it, it just doesn´t look good if the keynote speaker leaves in the middle of the commencement ceremony.

However, if you don´t mind the ceremony, then you could do very well as schools have budgets for good commencement speakers. I used to do 5-6 commencement speeches a year in the month of May. If I made an effort to market to college Presidents, I know I could easily get booked to speak for 20-30 a year.

Several years ago, one school even paid me a speaking fee of $2,500 to deliver a five-minute talk. (This is not a misprint!)

Actually, it was the most difficult talk I have ever done in my life. What can you possibly say in five-minutes that is effective? I told two quick inspirational stories and said, “Go get em!”(ha, ha).

You may think that charging them $2,500 for a five-minute talk is absurd. One thing you must begin to understand is that you cannot under value and under price your time, knowledge, experience and expertise.

Whether it´s a five-minute program or forty five-minute program your fee should be the same. I explained to the school coordinator who booked me for the five-minute talk that whether I talked for 45-minutes or five-minutes, my fee didn´t change because I still had to go through the hassle of traveling to the engagement, etc.

A few days ago I talked about Alex Carroll the Radio PR Guy. He has a database of radio talk show hosts and producers who book speakers/authors for their shows. Today I am sharing a tip from him on how to create a pitch or media hook plus examples of radio show listings from his database.

Also included in this post is one of my favorite recommeded resources audioacrobat.
Have you considered doing your own radio show or podcasting? Or do you simply want to have an audio prescence of your website or blog? How about recording a teleclass and creating a product from it? You can do all of the above plus more if you have audioacrobat.

AudioAcrobat is a powerful and easy online radio and audio/video content development tool and a recording, streaming and hosting service. All of your audio messages are automatically converted into a single of html code that can be uploaded to any website. Dave Barrett, the owner offers training every week. See the schedule for the week of July 9 & 10. below. Try it out for 30 days for free. Click here to try it out.

You can see how I uploaded an MP4 of our speaker and authot Julie Thong to audioacrobat click here and to listen to audio see Lisa Marie Platske . Listen to a replay of a teleclass of a Q & A teleclass that I did with Jack Barnard on The Speakers’ Bootcamp or take a look at the Speakers’ Summit Hot Seat Video’s we produced . If you would like to develop a one camera streaming video for your website or blog etc you might want to attend the BizSpeak and Video Workshop September 15 &16 in Los Angeles and also see the streaming samples that I uploaded to audioacrobat .

BTW: On July 23, I am offering a free teleclass with Nita Vallens, talk show host for KPFK, Inner Vision and Jill Lublin, Guerilla Marketing. We’ll be talking about online media rooms and what producers/hosts say they look for in a compelling guest. Sign up Both of these ladies are speaking at the MediaSpeak Symposium in October.

At the MediaSpeak Symposium you will learn how to pitch to the media and actually have an opportunity to pitch live to radio, TV and print folks.

Back to Alex’s tip:

The first step towards being a guest on big radio shows is coming up with a great “media hook,” or “show pitch.”

Here’s a fill-in-the-blank formula that you can use to create a show pitch that is guaranteed to grab a producer’s attention virtually every time …

* Pitch Formula: “___ things you must do immediately when ______________”

And here’s a couple of examples of how you might apply it:

Show Pitch: “5 things you must do immediately when you find out the company you work for is about to be bought out”

Show Pitch: “3 things you must do immediately when someone starts yelling at you … or threatening you”

This is a very versatile show pitch formula and can be used for almost anything. The word “must” makes it especially compelling, and the word “immediately” makes it urgent. Here’s some more examples: “7 things you must do immediately when the Fed starts lowering interest rates,” or “when your flight gets cancelled,” or “when the principal calls and your kid’s in trouble,” or “when you notice an odd growth on your skin,” or “when you wake up from a bad nightmare,” or whatever. It’s pretty much limitless.

If you are ready to pitch to talk shows I suggest you purchase the database listing which includes 1,264 radio shows, faxes, e-mails, websites, categories, show descriptions, time slots, number of listeners, frequencies, markets, time zones, news directors, public affairs directors, program directors, and more … for each show.

And it is the only database available of just the big shows. Here’s the link to order the talk show database.

Sample of radio talk show producers on Alex’s list.
Rank, Host, Producer, Phone, Address

#1, Sean Hannity, James Grisham, 212-613-3800
WABC, 2 Penn Plaza, 17th Fl., New York, NY 10121

#2, Michael Savage, David Ruben, 541-664-8827
Talk Radio Ntwk., 724 E. Pine St., Central Point, OR 97502

#3, Howard Stern, Gary Del’Abate, 212-584-5100
Sirius, 1211 6th Ave., New York, NY, 10020

#4, Dr. Laura, Fax pitches to 818-461-5140, 818-377-5300
Premiere, 15260 Ventura Bl-500, Sherman Oaks, CA, 91403

#5, George Noory, Lisa Lyon, 541-955-0100
Premiere, 777 NE 7th St., Grants Pass, OR, 97526

#6, Bill O’Reilly, Ron Mitchell, 212-301-3000
Fox News, 1211 6th Ave., New York, NY 10036

#7, Glenn Beck, Stu Burguiere, 610-617-2033
WPHT, 10 Monument Rd., Bala Cynwyd, PA, 19004

#8, Laura Ingraham, Mike Kincaid, 541-664-8827
TRN, 724 E. Pine St., Central Point, OR, 97502

#9, Jim Bohannon, John Stolnis, 202-457-7997
Westwood One, 2020 ‘M’ NW, Washington DC, 20036

#10, Mike Gallagher, Jason Hiatt, 972-831-1920
Salem, 6400 N. Beltline Rd, Ste 210, Irving, TX 75063

Here are the upcoming comimentary AudioAcrobat training choices:

Monday – July 9, 2007

Basic Training…75 minutes

2:00 PM Eastern Time (EST)
1:00 PM Central Time (CST)
12:00 Noon Mountain Time (MST)
11:00 AM Pacific Time (PST)

———————————-

Podcasting and Video…75 minutes

Please have an audio recording for this class

7:00 PM Eastern Time (EST)
6:00 PM Central Time (CST)
5:00 PM Mountain Time (MST)
4:00 PM Pacific Time (PST)

***************************

Tuesday – July 10, 2007

Podcasting and Video…75 minutes

Please have an audio recording for this class

2:00 PM Eastern Time (EST)
1:00 PM Central Time (CST)
12:00 Noon Mountain Time (MST)
11:00 AM Pacific Time (PST)

————————

Basic Training…75 minutes

7:00 PM Eastern Time (EST)
6:00 PM Central Time (CST)
5:00 PM Mountain Time (MST)
4:00 PM Pacific Time (PST)

***************************

Conference Call Number: (605) 990-0001

Remember you can try it out for 30 days for free.