[video] Changing Lanes

PS: I fully intend to keep my speaking coaching as my #1 priority. I have 2 spots that just opened for my club starting this month. Here’s the link: http://www.speakerlauncher.com/ClubHybrid.html

Who’s Got Your Back?

We’ve all heard the message that we need to stop working IN our business – on a regular basis – to work ON our business.

When you get sucked into the vortex of day-to-day business “to do’s”, it’s easy to forget to move your strategy forward.

So how do you ensure that you stop to strategize on a regular basis? Here’s my formula:

SET THE GOALS. Everybody is used to sitting down a couple of days after the New Year to set out their goals, but when are we accountable for moving those goals forward? There are many different systems, but I believe the most productive people review their goals on a daily basis.

PUT THE TEAM IN PLACE. Whether you have a mastermind group, a business networking group or a team of staffers, meeting with other people to hold yourself accountable can be highly effective.

MEET REGULARLY. My Mastermind team meets every two weeks; so I know that at least every two weeks I am going to think about my business strategy. This is more than worth the cost of joining. (Note: there are many free masterminds, but I wanted to ensure I had some very smart people leading the group, so joined a paid group).

MAKE IT A PRIORITY.  I could blow off some of the mastermind calls but I make moving my business forward my #1 priority. Are you making your business strategy a #1 priority?

I hope this post will get you thinking about stopping to work ON your business on a regular basis.

If you’d like to share your success formula, please post a comment below.

See you soon Wealthy Speakers!

PS: What a surprise that I have a new group coaching club starting in September! (This is my version of the mastermind). If you want to have a group and a coach to hold you accountable for 10 months, check out this very affordable option. http://www.speakerlauncher.com/ClubHybrid.html

Summer Goals, Cha-Chings & Flip Flops

I love this post so much I’ve reposted it and there is a bonus at the end, check out the PS!

My summer time goal has shifted quite drastically over the past 5 years.

Where I used to be aggressively thinking about marketing and how to ramp up biz for the Fall, now I base the success of my summer on my flip flop tan line (and my bank account).

If the tan line well defined and I’ve got some money, I’ve done a good job!

Is it silly and not very strategic to base success on a tan line?

Perhaps, but isn’t the point of having your own business to be able to dictate how you spend your time? To me it’s proof that I’ve had fun!

If you are in the early stages of your business and you’re working like a dog – please know that things will get better!

Why not set the goal that next year, you’ll take 2 weeks off? And in 3 years, maybe a month?

(I’d love to hear your goals or your summer time wins – just comment below.)

For me, the best feeling in the world is to be sitting at the cottage on the porch, sipping a glass of wine and I hear “cha ching” from my laptop.

That means I just made a sale.

Closing a deal or making a sale while doing nothing is absolutely brilliant!

So this summer you can be thinking about:

a) what product you can develop to increase your cha-ching

b) what do you need to let go of in order to move your business forward this fall

c) what other passive incomes streams can you consider (clubs, membership sites, online content)

d) and, how can you take more time off next year!

I’ll see you soon Wealthy Speakers.

ps: The Wealthy Speaker is all about creating the lifestyle of your choice.  If you haven’t read it yet, I hope you’ll check out this bonus that includes 2 full Chapters.  And, by all means, please pass it along to other speakers!
http://speakerlauncher.com/PassItOn.html

Are you Missing a Branding Opp?

This is going to be a short post, but it’s a juicy one!!!

No question email communication has become a way of life. For some people, it has completely replaced the phone.

I have about 9,500 professional speakers on my e-mail broadcast list, some have multiple addresses listed with me. (See below as I need some help with house cleaning).

If you are using an address for business that is GENERIC (ie: hotmail, gmail, comcast) then you might be missing a branding opportunity with your clients. Every time they see your gmail address, they are NOT seeing your website URL. Yourname.com or yourbrand.com becomes embedded when they have communicated with you several times.

Are you missing out on this opportunity?

If so, get ‘r fixed.

See you soon Wealthy Speakers.

PS: I’d like to ask you to look at all of your e-mail accounts and see if you are receiving multiple e-Tips from me. If so, just hit the REMOVE option at the bottom of the e-mail to be taken off the list.

Which Orbit Are You In?

And which Orbit would you like to be in?

One of my Club Members Jim Czegledi, was talking about how he’d improved his business over our 10 months together. He said “I’ve moved into a new orbit which is richer with decision makers”.

It brought to light that there are stages in our business and I love that term “Orbit”.

Orbit 1 (Chicken Dinner) This is stage 1 for many speakers; although some do skip past it. This phase is where you get out and speak for anyone who will listen. It’s your practice phase with mostly services clubs and free chicken dinners from local associations.

(This phase can also be called the Rubber Chicken Circuit).

Orbit 2 (Squeaking By) This stage is where you start to get paid. The fees aren’t super high, but you are feeling more appreciated. Local small businesses and local associations may be your clients.

Orbit 3 (Making a Living) At this point, you are no longer taking any freebies. You are working at the state or provincial association level and the corporate groups are starting to get larger with bigger budgets. Now you are making a good living at speaking! Woo hoo!

Orbit 4 (Sweet Spot) Your clients have started to send limos for you at the airport, cool! Your fees are now above $10K. You’re working with seasoned meeting pro’s who want a unique experience and ROI. Your clients are corporate and large associations.

Orbit 5 (Speaking Celeb) You’ve become a celebrity within the industry. You may have a bestselling book and your fees are beyond $15K. Limos are a common thing in your world and you may have a team of people that help your business and travel run smoothly. Chances are you are dealing with heavy hitter executives with Fortune 500′s and National or International Associations.

What orbit are you in? Please comment here, we’d love to hear from you.

See you soon Wealthy Speakers!

ps: I’m maxed out on my personal Facebook page, please come by and “Like” me at:
http://www.facebook.com/Jane.Speaker.Launcher

What’s Under Your Umbrella?

For years I’ve been touting the strategy of becoming known for one thing.

Focus is helpful in any business, and most of us need it in order to be our most productive. The question is “what do you want to be known for 5 years from now?”

There are people who can pull off several different business initiatives and make it look easy – these are the exceptions. These are the true entrepreneurs.

But for most, I think the umbrella helps us see our business in a nutshell and can help keep us focused. For a PDF of the umbrella click here.

The top of the umbrella is where you write in your area of focus, your expertise (what your empire is all about). For instance, you might write “Leadership Communication” at the top of that umbrella. In the white space in the middle, you’ll write in your topics. These could include various topics of speeches, books, etc., all relating back to the way you communicate as a leader. The arrows below are your revenue streams, the various ways you get your message out: keynotes, workshops, consulting, coaching, product, public seminars, membership clubs, etc.

This umbrella serves as your business model. The ideal situation is that you have only one umbrella and all of your ideas fit within it.

Some entrepreneurs may have 2 or more different umbrellas on the go. Again, that’s not easy; but stay tuned for the Frog Chronicles, I’m going to be expanding my business and I believe following my journey may provide some lessons.

See you soon Wealthy Speakers!

ps: If you’re uncertain about your umbrella, you might consider signing up for a Focus 40 session, an inexpensive way to gain clarity on your business model and positioning. http://www.speakerlauncher.com/focus40.html

The Economy’s Mood Swings

The pendulum idea applies to nearly everything in life.

Sometimes it’s created by a knee-jerk reaction, like in the case of our camping last year.

My husband and I camped in a 2 man tent with our 50 lb dog, rather squishy! This year, the first tent we purchased was meant for 13 people. Oooops way too big, the pendulum swung too far! (Anybody need a tent?)

The pendulum often swings too far in order to correct a negative situation, thus creating another negative situation.

The goal is that it settles back to center (ie: 6 person tent). In the case of the economy and our speaking business, the pendulum still applies.

The pooh hits the fan, the economy breaks down and corporate buyers cancel meetings and stop spending altogether. This knee jerk reaction affects the economy even more because not only are speakers now out of work, hotel employees, airlines, every one working in the meetings industry is now affected and the economy erodes further.

The pendulum swings too far.

But then it starts to right itself. Companies start planning their meetings again. Perhaps more cautiously. Perhaps less extravagantly.

So where does that leave us? Right now the pendulum is heading back to the center from the knee jerk reactions of two years ago.

I’m hearing things like:

“2011 is shaping up to be my best year ever”
“everybody wants a deal but they ARE booking”
“the phone is ringing again”
“just booked multiple dates”
“my Canada and overseas work carried me”

Sometimes all we can do is wait, but while you are waiting there’s an opportunity: to get better, to re-tool, and to build relationships with people who will ultimately become clients.

See you soon Wealthy Speakers!

ps: Speaking of getting better, that Joe Calloway DVD has now SOLD OUT!!! BUT, we now have Diary of a Killer Keynote available for digital download at an all time low price of $37. http://speakerlauncher.com/tools.html

The Difference Between Good and Great

Every year American Idol shows us the differences between singers who are good, and singers who can
really go the distance.

Greatness.

(Yes, a few slip through the cracks and Pia was a great example of that… but I bet she’ll go by way of Jennifer Hudson).

There are millions of people who can sing who never get a recording contract or become famous. The same goes for speaking.

Our industry pie will always contain a large percentage of people who are making a living vs. a small percentage of people who are getting wealthy.

Which category do you want to be in?

If you’d like to create more wealth with your speaking – give some thought to how you can take your presentation from good to great.

Now you might say, “my presentation is just fine, I just need more marketing”. That might be true, but I would also lay odds on the fact that most speakers need to push it harder to get better….to be truly great.

Masters of any industry continually refine and re-engineer. And that’s what we need to do.

1. Study other artists (singers, comedians, film, TV and Broadway actors).

2. Find a coach or mentor (someone who will push you)

3. Don’t buy in to your audience hype. “You’re the best speaker I’ve ever seen” should boost your confidence but doesn’t mean you are finished. When you’re getting 2-3 spin offs from every engagement, then you might be able to relax.

4. Focus. The majority of people try to do too much in a speech when often less is more. Developing a call back or through line that allows people to easily understand what you shared with them will help. AND, they can easily share it with others (spin off).

So keep working hard on it and when you marry a great speech with good marketing, you will move into the next level of wealth.

See you soon Wealthy Speakers!

PS: A really good example of focus was Joe Calloway’s Let it Go speech several years ago in Phoenix. We dissected that speech (plus you get to watch the full speech). We still have a few hard copies left, check out the Diary of a Killer Keynote DVD. http://speakerlauncher.com/tools.html

Lessons from Charlie & The King

Have you ever been nervous about speaking in front of a group? (Just ask Charlie Sheen how he felt in Detroit).

The fact is, on many lists the fear of public speaking is well before fear of heights and even fear of death.

At the opposite end from Charlie’s train wreck, The King’s Speech is a beautiful story about someone stepping into their full power. And truly, if you know your subject matter, power and confidence can carry you through.

Even seasoned professional speakers can lose their mojo at times.

Certainly a rough engagement or an unfavorable review can shake your confidence.  Heck, the economy shook some of the most successful speakers to their core just a year or two ago!

Perhaps you’ve got the “speech of your career” coming up in front of the largest, most important group to date. What’s a person to do when dealing with nerves?

1. PREPARATION. I read an article that said “the more you prepare the worse you will do”. I disagree. When you know your material inside and out you are positioning yourself for success. What you really want is to have it so ingrained that it comes out sounding more like a conversation than a speech. And for the seasoned pro who may have lost their mojo, preparing new material will help re-ignite the flame that may have gone out during the storm. There is nothing more powerful than fully immersing yourself in new content.

2. GET BACK ON THE HORSE.  When you’ve had a setback, the key is to get back up. No matter what you think about Charlie Sheen, after bombing in Detroit, he got back on the stage in Chicago and that took some serious guts.  Ask any professional speaker and they will tell you about the time they bombed.  We’ve all had a bad speech and it takes some courage to take the stage again, but you must.

3. BREATHE. My former boss, Olympian Vince Poscente always talked about the power of oxygen getting to the brain when getting ready to go into a high stakes race/speech/meeting. Taking 10 deep breaths helps you relax, but also keeps the brain working at high efficiency.

4. STEP UP. Tony Robbins used to do a powerful piece in his weekend events where he would challenge his audiences to “step up”. We repeated it so often during the weekend that the term “step up” still has a powerful effect on me. Stepping up means being your most powerful. The best version of you. A thought leader.

And in The King’s Speech that’s exactly what needed to occur for King George VI to get through his first war time broadcast. It was a goose bump moment. If you haven’t seen the movie, I believe it’s a “must see” for all speaking professionals.

See you soon Wealthy Speakers!

How do You Handle the Haters?

You look over in the middle of your speech and notice someone who has their arms folded and a major scowl on their face.

What do you do?

I call these “haters”. But that word is probably a bit harsh, but “mildly to moderate dislikers” doesn’t have the same ring to it, now does it?

About 6 times a year I speak to groups of professional speakers. You’d be hard pressed to find a more warm and generous audience. But awhile back one of my audience members was sending me some pretty negative vibes. And when she challenged something I was saying, I felt daggers coming from her tongue and a particularly nasty tone.

(Perhaps I’ve exaggerated this in my mind, since it’s so rare something like this happens).

I responded with my counter argument, and we moved on, but it was hard not to notice her sour look for the rest of the hour.

When you write a book, a blog or give a speech, you are opening yourself up to a certain level of criticism – I guess that’s why more people don’t do it, eh?

So what can we do?

1. Develop a thick skin. I have a feeling that time and experience is the best way to develop this. (Would love to hear your techniques, please comment below, I know you trainers and bloggers have a million stories.)

2. If you get a negative evaluation, look for a lesson in the criticism, if there is none, move on. Let it go.

3. Focus on the percentage (usually 95%) of the people that did like your work. Not everyone will like you, and that’s okay.

4. And my lesson with the woman a few weeks ago – don’t assume that you know what the person is thinking. Rosita Perez, one of the legends of our industry, had a great story about a woman scowling at her and it turned out Rosita looked like her ex husband’s new wife!

See you soon Wealthy Speakers,

PS: I’ve had a wait list going for my group coaching, so I just added a new Club starting in April, check it out.
http://www.speakerlauncher.com/ClubHybrid.html

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