If you have ever felt like you are out on an island, by yourself, doing this business alone, keep reading. About 20 years ago, I attended my very first NSA (National Speakers Association) conference in Washington, DC. I was working as an agent for a speaker at that time and she was gracious enough to
Have you ever gone through a period of time in cruise control? You’re just going with the flow. You know you could be doing better, but you’re feeling pretty chill about it. The phone rings, the emails come in, you deliver a pretty good product. And then something changes and POW! You shift it into
Peter Drucker once said “Whenever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision.” As entrepreneurs, we have risk built right into our DNA. However, that doesn’t mean that we don’t want to analyze our decisions carefully. Recently, I took a risk that cost $10,000. I took a course to learn how to
Most of my clients are super smart people. They have talent ooozing out of their pores. They are powerful communicators on the platform, and really terrific writers. But where do they fall short? At asking for the business. I don’t necessarily mean in person (although that may be the case with some), I mean in
Recently I was working with a speaker who had a background in law enforcement. More specifically, his job had been to talk to the press when something police related was going down in his county. So naturally, communication was his area of expertise. When discussing “fire” strategies (rolling out your new offerings to your target
Last week I interviewed Michael Port, who has built his following to over 100,000 people. Basically, where Michael goes, people follow (and they buy). I took one really helpful tool from this interview. Michael’s technique is to create URGENCY around all of his ideas and initiatives. His example was that when he had an idea
I recently sat next to a speaker at a CAPS Chapter meeting who had been in the business for over 30 years. But recently, his health had become an issue. He was not able to get on a plane anymore. Without revenue beyond speeches, his work (and potentially his income) were in jeopardy. No doubt
The other day there was a debate on one of the daytime talk shows about Adam Sandler’s new movie. A guest, Cristela Alonzo, had read for a part in the new movie and said she passed because she didn’t want her nephews to see her in such a negative Hispanic stereotype. Cristela has her own
When it comes to building a speaking business, the biggest complaint I hear is that speakers aren’t getting as many bookings as they would like. So it makes perfect sense that they might think about approaching bureaus as a part of their marketing plan. But are bureaus really going to solve your problem? In most
I’m going thru an amazing course right now that has me really identifying my perfect customer. Trying to be all things to all people – even in a tight niche like mine (speakers) – can be a challenge. So imagine you’re a speaker who says “my message is great for anyone”. I think you’ll find
Have you ever noticed that when you deliver a presentation where people are familiar with your work, and love you already, you do a better job? It happens in coaching all the time. When someone has seen you speak or is referred by a fan, the wheels are greased and you don’t have to start
I have had amazing coaches. And I’ve had coaches that really didn’t live up to the hype. One seemed to have dropped off the planet at the end of a mastermind that I paid pretty big bucks to attend. But, even in that situation, I was forced to stop and think about my business on
If you have ever felt like you are out on an island, by yourself, doing this business alone, keep reading. About 20 years ago, I attended my very first NSA (National Speakers Association) conference in Washington, DC. I was working as an agent for a speaker at that time and she was gracious enough to
Have you ever gone through a period of time in cruise control? You’re just going with the flow. You know you could be doing better, but you’re feeling pretty chill about it. The phone rings, the emails come in, you deliver a pretty good product. And then something changes and POW! You shift it into
Peter Drucker once said “Whenever you see a successful business, someone once made a courageous decision.” As entrepreneurs, we have risk built right into our DNA. However, that doesn’t mean that we don’t want to analyze our decisions carefully. Recently, I took a risk that cost $10,000. I took a course to learn how to
Most of my clients are super smart people. They have talent ooozing out of their pores. They are powerful communicators on the platform, and really terrific writers. But where do they fall short? At asking for the business. I don’t necessarily mean in person (although that may be the case with some), I mean in
Recently I was working with a speaker who had a background in law enforcement. More specifically, his job had been to talk to the press when something police related was going down in his county. So naturally, communication was his area of expertise. When discussing “fire” strategies (rolling out your new offerings to your target
Last week I interviewed Michael Port, who has built his following to over 100,000 people. Basically, where Michael goes, people follow (and they buy). I took one really helpful tool from this interview. Michael’s technique is to create URGENCY around all of his ideas and initiatives. His example was that when he had an idea
I recently sat next to a speaker at a CAPS Chapter meeting who had been in the business for over 30 years. But recently, his health had become an issue. He was not able to get on a plane anymore. Without revenue beyond speeches, his work (and potentially his income) were in jeopardy. No doubt
The other day there was a debate on one of the daytime talk shows about Adam Sandler’s new movie. A guest, Cristela Alonzo, had read for a part in the new movie and said she passed because she didn’t want her nephews to see her in such a negative Hispanic stereotype. Cristela has her own
When it comes to building a speaking business, the biggest complaint I hear is that speakers aren’t getting as many bookings as they would like. So it makes perfect sense that they might think about approaching bureaus as a part of their marketing plan. But are bureaus really going to solve your problem? In most
I’m going thru an amazing course right now that has me really identifying my perfect customer. Trying to be all things to all people – even in a tight niche like mine (speakers) – can be a challenge. So imagine you’re a speaker who says “my message is great for anyone”. I think you’ll find
Have you ever noticed that when you deliver a presentation where people are familiar with your work, and love you already, you do a better job? It happens in coaching all the time. When someone has seen you speak or is referred by a fan, the wheels are greased and you don’t have to start
I have had amazing coaches. And I’ve had coaches that really didn’t live up to the hype. One seemed to have dropped off the planet at the end of a mastermind that I paid pretty big bucks to attend. But, even in that situation, I was forced to stop and think about my business on
Relationships still run the speaking business (yes, even now). Jane has laid out three of the reasons to help you get more bookings!