Give a gig, get a gig

Paying it forward is not a new concept.

Remember Haley Joel Osment’s character (Trevor) from the movie ‘Pay it Forward’ several years ago? The 11-year old boy inspired thousands with his concept of helping 3 people.

But we all need a reminder every now and again.

Sam Silverstein gave us one during a recent edition of NSA’s Voices of Experience when he talked about a colleague of his dropping a gig in his lap.  There was no arrangement between them, the friend just did him a “solid” by introducing him to a client, which turned into a booking.

So here’s what I’d ask you to do.

Think about a speaking colleague who could use a gift – someone whose talent you know and trust.

Then think about a client that you’ve worked with who might be a good fit for them.

Without any formal agreement with the other speaker, simply pick up the phone or drop the client a line to introduce your friend.  Word of mouth can be so much more powerful when coming from a trusted source.

The idea is that we give without thought of what might return.  That said, if you are a recipient of a gig, I hope you will in turn, give a gig.

If everyone on this list does it, that’s 5000 gigs, just imagine!

Give a gig, get a gig.  Got it?  Good.

What Can We Learn from Miley Cyrus?

Today is my 45^th birthday.

I figure 45 is about the half way mark.  If all goes well, with modern technology, I may live until 90.  Now for my clients who have survived cancer, climbing accidents and hippo attacks (yes, it’s true) I know that life is precious and that I can’t take anything for granted.

And, as the eloquent line from 17-year old Miley Cyrus’s new song “The Climb” tells us, it’s not about reaching the top of the mountains, it’s about the climb.

It’s about the journey of life.

So being at the ½ way mark, I have to check in and ask myself, “am I living my life by design or by accident?” “Am I enjoying the journey?”

I must confess, that for the most part, for the past 10 years since employing my first coach Rich Fettke, I am!  Thank you Rich for helping me start the design.

I live in the house of my dreams and look out onto the river every day (it’s like wild kingdom back there complete with geese, deer and beavers!)  My husband, John, is the partner of my dreams.  I waited a seriously long time to find the one who was perfect for me and it was worth it.  We have our family and friends close by.  Our 2-year old grandson brings us a lot of joy and laughter.

We travel and enjoy life and each other.  I take every Friday off and on most weekends in the summer, we escape up to Lake Huron.   My business runs itself and I’m lucky to be able to say that I make money while I sleep.  (You gotta love that!)  And, I get to help people improve their lives and careers.

Did this all happen by accident?

Actually, I described this life in detail in my journal the year I was turning 40 and at the time, none of it was true.  I had no idea where I would find the man of my dreams or how I would live on the river.  Business was good, but I hadn’t written a book or developed any passive income.  But I did believe that it was possible.

More importantly, I knew that I would enjoy the climb no matter where it took me.

My question for you is……

Are you living your life by design, or by accident?

I hope that you will say by design, but if not……

Here’s what I’d recommend:

Write a description of a day in your life 5 years from now.  Write it as though it’s already happened.  Who is with you?  What are you doing?  Where are you living?  How does your business run?  How do you feel?

Continue to come back to it frequently, review it, update it.  Your brain doesn’t know what’s real and what’s not possible so go for it in a big way!

Think big, think mountain big!

But remember, as Miley says “enjoy the climb”!

PS:   After chatting with my colleague and fellow author, Michael Port, I realized the best birthday gift I can give myself is to think even bigger about who I am and what I am capable of.

Why shouldn’t we all be thinking bigger? Michael’s new book “The Think Big Manifesto” is your road map to be more… and think bigger about who you are and what you are capable of.  My copy of  “The Think Big Manifesto” is on it’s way and I can’t wait for it to arrive!  Get yours today.  Go to: www.thinkbigmanifesto.com

Are You a “Just Do it” Speaker?

When it comes to running your speaking business, there are 3 types of speakers:

1.  The Hopeful Speaker
2.  The 2/3rds Speaker
3.  The “Just Do It” speaker.

The Hopeful Speaker is talented on the platform and has a desire to speak more, but does not know how the industry works or how to excel in it.

They don’t know what they don’t know.

The Hopeful Speaker may sit and hope that it will happen, or they try to hire people to make it happen for them.  And hiring people to launch your business rarely works because you need to understand your own business before you can train someone else to run it for you.

It’s often the blind leading the blind.  No offense to the seeing impaired.

The 2/3rds Speaker is also talented on the platform and has a base of knowledge about the business.

They know that there are areas of the business that they may not understand, and therefore, they may avoid them and allow issues to go unresolved.

For example.  You’ve heard about blogging but you haven’t been sure where to start or what to write about.  So you register a blog or hire someone to develop one for you.  But then it sits…. lonely, unblogged, unmonitored. 

The 2/3rds Speaker may have a bit more luck with hiring.

The “Just Do It” Speaker, is talented and continues to hone their talent.  They take all areas of the business and learn them completely.  If they need help with technology they learn it first and then hire experts to assist.

The “Just Do It” speaker understands and can answer any question about their business whether it be platform mechanics, database management, their sales funnel or technology.

Here’s what I recommend:

To figure out which one of these is you, write a list of all of the aspects of the business (presentation skills, marketing, technology, admin, etc.) and rate yourself on a scale from 1 to 10 (10 being high) on each.

• If you find yourself with a lot of low scores, then you may put yourself into The Hopeful Speaker category
• Just a few low scores, then you’re in The 2/3rds Speaker category.
• No low scores, CONGRATULATIONS! Pat yourself on the back for being a “Just do it” Speaker.

Take the results of the above and work on 1 or 2 issues at a time.  Seek knowledge where it’s needed.  Don’t try to do it all at once, you’ll be overwhelmed and get stuck again.  Of course, how can I resist plugging The Wealthy Speaker when it includes step-by-step help on nearly all areas of the business? http://www.speakerlauncher.com/tools.html

If you suffer from any type of perfectionism, get over it.  When it comes to developing anything from speeches to new websites – do the best you can and then launch it.  You’ll hone and tweak over time and it will be closer to perfect. But don’t wait for perfection or you’ll never get off the ground.

Just do it!

Ps:  I am a 2/3rds person moving towards Just Do It.  Three weeks ago when we did the blogging teleclass with Scott Ginsberg, I was pretty “blog-norant”.  But today I know more.  Check out my new blog and let me know what you think by leaving a comment or Tweet.  http://www.speakerlauncher.com/blog/

KICK OFF QUIZ ’09: What’s your Determination Factor??

2009 is shaping up to be a year that could be challenging for some and prosperous for others.

With the news networks spouting economic doom every day, there’s no question that decision makers may choose to old on more tightly to their money. That doesn’t mean they won’t ever spend. Perhaps it means smaller budgets and tighter timelines.  And as always during tough times, return on investment will be top of mind.

Your determination to make your business thrive in 2009 means doing all the right things. Do you have the right stuff?

Let’s rate your determination factor.  Answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to the following:

1.  Do you have an unwavering level of commitment to your subject matter and expertise?

Read more

What’s Football Got to do with Speaking?

Several things have popped up in my personal life
lately that have left me a tad stressed.

I won’t bore you with all of the gory details, but
let’s just say that having a 15-month old move in
with you, renovating a basement and purchasing a
property for a handicapped family member all at
the same time can be enough to drive anyone to
drink.

One of my clients, Michelle May, MD shared a
analogy with me that has been extremely helpful.
She said that when things get hectic in her
business (and life) her goal is to ‘move the ball
forward’ every day.  Like on the football field,
the players may not be going for a touchdown on
every single play, but they are attempting to
advance the ball.

Sounded good to me. And I think it might be useful
for you in your business as well.  Because let’s
face it, we do sometimes tend to focus on the lost
yardage, rather than a gains.

So here’s a strategy that you might apply when
your business (and life) starts to feel
overwhelming:

1.  Stop.  Assess what’s going on around you and
make a list of all of the things that need
resolving.  If your list is huge, you may need to
choose 3 things at a time to work on.

2.  Visualize a positive outcome.  Write down what
you want to happen as if it’s already taken place
imagining the most perfect outcomes possible.  I
find this helpful on two levels because it gets me
focused on what I do want to have happen and it
gets the worry outside of my head and on paper.

3. Put a sign or post-it note on your desk that
will remind you to ‘move the ball forward’ every
day.  This means taking action.  Do something,
anything to make progress on your chosen task.

4.  Assess.  At the end of each day check in and
see how you did.  Most people tend to beat
themselves up over what they didn’t get done
rather than recognize how much they moved the ball
forward.  A gain is a gain.

I find that even in the throws of major change, if
I can advance the ball even a few yards, I feel
better at the end of the day.  Dealing with
disability challenges, wheelchair travel and
government health care and can be a serious head
ache.  But each phone call, each application form
completed, each e-mail with a question answered
is a win.  And right now, I’ll take all of the
wins I can get.

In fact, if you have a win this week and would
like to share it with me – write me an e-mail with
‘I moved the ball forward’ in the subject line.

Let’s support each other and we can all win the
game of life and business!

ps: You’ve been asking, and now it’s finally here!
Digital recordings are now available from our
teleclasses.  And the Joe Calloway teleclass on
Recession Proof Your Speaking is the first
available. For details on the MP3 or WAV, click
here.
http://www.speakerlauncher.com/AudioTools.html

Are You a Triple Threat of the Speaking Industry?

With all of the competition style reality t.v., we hear a lot about ‘the triple threat’.  That’s someone, for instance, who is an actor, a singer and a dancer all rolled into one.

Or, in the case of the Olympics, USA’s Michael Phelps might be considered the ‘triple threat’ of the swimming world.

Well I believe the speaking industry has people who are triple threats as well.

These people will grow their businesses more easily than most and will thrive. Those are people who speak well, sell well and stick well (to their lane).

Let’s see how you stack up:

Speak Well:  When you go to a speaking engagement, does it often result in more business? Would you consider yourself to be a killer keynoter?  (I’ll stick to keynotes for the purpose of this tip but feel free to improvise based on your business model).

I just returned from NSA in New York and I saw  a keynoter who I thought had the ‘speak well’ piece nailed.  Marshall Goldsmith was genuine, polished (but not too), conversational, funny and highly thought provoking with fresh material.  I gave him a 10.

On a scale from 1 to 10, how would you rate your speaking skills?

If you rated them low, then you may want to put something on your ‘to do’ list that will help move your skills up a level.  There’s no better form of marketing than a great speech.

Sell Well:  I’ve often had clients tell me ‘I can’t sell my  way out of a paper bag’.  They have a mental barrier that selling isn’t their thing and it gets in the way of building a booming business.

Take someone like Jeffrey Gitomer for instance. Now, obviously, he’s a sales expert so he has a jump on all of us.

Do you think when he’s on the phone with a client, he’s thinking to himself  there’s no way this client will have the budget to bring me in’?

Heck no!  He’s confident that he’s got what they need and if they want him badly enough, they’ll find the money!

On a scale from 1 to 10, how strong are your sales skills?  Are you closing business? Many speakers think ‘oh I’ll just hire someone else to sell me’.  But who is going to train them in the techniques that result in closed business? Often, it’s the blind leading the blind.  I would guess that 70% of these relationships fail due to poor training.

My advice?  Become a sales guru yourself and if you must hire, find someone to help with administration.

Now the third strength could be any one of a number of things. But when thinking about what could make or break a speaker’s career, I truly believe (no surprise) that focusing on a ‘lane’ or sticking to an expertise is the key.

If someone speaks well and sells well but is all over the place in their focus (which would then translate to their marketing) they are sunk.

Remember that old saying… a confused buyer never buys.

On a scale from 1 to 10, how strong are you when it comes to being clear and sticking to your lane/expertise?

(For a step-by-step process for picking a lane, read Chapter 3 in The Wealthy Speaker). http://www.speakerlauncher.com/tools.html

In an industry where a large percentage of speakers struggle to have a thriving business, you must consider sharpening the ‘triple threat’ tools in order to build a long term highly profitable business.

Happy sharpening!!

PS:  To assist you with tool #1 – Speak Well, we’ve had guest expert and triple threat Joe Calloway on a recent teleclass called ‘Recession Proof Your Speaking’. http://www.speakerlauncher.com/AudioTools.html

What Would Jim Do?

In a recent conversation with a client, we were
discussing the idea of positioning as an expert
vs. a speaker.

Because my client is a business author, I
suggested he think about business authors that he
admires when making decisions about his business.

He said he admired James Collins, author of ‘Good
to Great’.

‘Okay perfect’, I said.

He suggested a little later in the conversation
the idea of him personalizing each demo video that
went out, with a little message from him for each client.

‘Not a bad idea’ I said, ‘do you think that Jim
Collins would do that?’

‘Well, probably not’.

Later we were discussing the merits of putting
your photo on your business card.

I said ‘would Jim Collins put his photo on his
business card’?

‘Probably not…. point taken’.

When establishing yourself as an expert, think
about an expert that you admire and ask yourself
what they would do in the same situation.

I stopped short of asking my client to wear a WWJD
bracelet.  He got the point – loud and clear.

Happy expert-cution!

ps:  We have another JC coming to share his
expertise with us this September.

You won’t want to miss our next teleclass:
Recession Proof Your Speaking with guest expert
Joe Calloway.

Joe is a role model for many speakers and we’ll be
talking about how to make yourself the first
choice for clients.

Here are the details:
Date:  September 11, 2008
Time:  2pm – 3pm Eastern
Sign up:
http://www.speakerlauncher.com/teleclass.html

pps:  PRE-TELECLASS HOMEWORK:  If you haven’t
already seen Joe Calloway in action, you may want
to check out the ‘Diary of a Killer Keynote’ DVD
that includes a full speech by Joe.  There is
special pricing for clients and Wealthy Speaker
purchasers – check it out.
http://www.speakerlauncher.com/killerkeynoteDVD.html

Have you cleared the land for your empire?

A few months ago, I wrote an eTip about supporting
your empire with everything you do… from focus,
to developing speeches, writing, products, etc.

When analyzed, it often turns out that our
activities are not moving us towards our financial
goals.

Here’s that tip again in case you missed it:
http://tinyurl.com/5hn3lf

But before you build your empire, you’ve got to
clear the land.

So what does that mean?

Making space (or room) in your business for your
new empire is the key to building something
profitable and long term.

It’s impossible to move forward, while hanging on
to the past.

- Some of you may need to stop speaking at low
fees.  Especially those who work for low paying
seminar companies which are calendar eaters.

- Perhaps you’ll need to pick a lane and drop
some of the programs that you’ve been doing that
don’t serve the empire.  When you create a new
business using all of your old materials, you’re
really not moving forward.  Let ‘em go!

Remember Greg’s story from The Wealthy Speaker
(page 36)?  He narrowed from several training
topics to being an expert on leadership.  His
company became much more profitable yet he worked
less.  Now that’s building an empire!

- I imagine that many of you have alot of ‘busy’
stuff in your schedule – things that take time
but don’t necessarily create revenue. Farm them
out or drop them!

- Get over your need to have a calendar that looks
full, and start concentrating on high pay off
revenue activities.  That might mean increasing
your fee if you have been hesitating.

So the question is….

What do you need to let go of to clear the land
and make room for your empire?

Take action….

Make a list of all of the activities that eat up
your time and then get to work making it shorter!

I hope you will take action today to start
clearing the land!

Happy empire building!

PS:  In building my own empire, I have resolved to
let go of giving my time away for free.  When I
look back at my 2007-08 calendar, my 30 minute
sample coaching sessions have eaten up a large
chunk of my time.  So I’ve developed a new
plan!  Check it out here:
http://www.speakerlauncher.com/coaching.html

If you’re interested in coaching with me, I’ll
honor my previous rate card until June 30, 2008.
(those rates are no longer posted, but can be
quoted to you in person).  Drop me a line!

Are You Supporting Your Empire?

The year 2008 is nearly upon us and it is an
opportunity for us to evaluate and
strategize.

One of the mantras that my clients create
during our work together is ‘support the
empire’.

Sounds like something straight out of Star
Wars, doesn’t it?

But really what it means is supporting the
lane that you’ve chosen with every new idea,
product or speech that you develop.  You may
not consider your business an empire, but I
think it’s a great word to help us all think
bigger.

I can’t tell you how often I’m talking to a
client who has an idea for a new product or
speech that has absolutely nothing to do with
the growth of their business.  It takes them
off focus and usually does not get the
attention it needs to get off the ground.

I use an umbrella for a visual of the empire.
Here’s a sample so that you can see how it
looks:

http://www.speakerlauncher.com/umbrella.html

At the top of your umbrella on the outside,
write a label that best describes your lane
or your expertise.  This is the title of your
empire and should be very broad.

Some examples might be sales, leadership,
teams, attitude, etc.

Next step, while keeping an eye on the
empire, in the middle of the umbrella, write
down the topics that you deliver that support
the empire.

You may drop some topics in this exercise,
the fewer the better because clients don’t
believe that you are an expert in 10
completely different topics anyway.  For
example on the sales front you might have:
Sales leadership, closing skills, and
negotiating topics.

Finally, falling underneath the umbrella,
like rain would drip off the sides, write
down your distribution channels (revenue
streams).  Again with the sales example, you
might list keynotes, workshops & training,
coaching, consulting, and teleclasses as your
product mix.

When you’re finished, you should be able
to see anything that doesn’t fit and remove
it.

And moving into 2008, when you have an idea
for a new product or revenue stream, you can
look at your umbrella and ask yourself this
key question:

Is this idea going to support the empire??

http://www.speakerlauncher.com/umbrella.html

Happy holidays everyone!  Until 2008.

Are you running your business, or is it running you?

I’m getting married this weekend. Right now,
aside from being excited, I’m especially
grateful for the benefits of being an
entrepreneur.

From the start of my business more than
6 years ago, I decided that I was going to do
things based on what was perfect for me. It
helped that I had just gone through a class
given by the authors of ‘Attracting Your
Perfect Customers’.

http://www.perfectcustomers.com/?af=929

What I learned from Jan & Stacy was that it
was okay to set your business up according to
what you desire. I thought ‘Really? I can
ask for what I want?? What a concept!’

They said that your perfect clients will not
only understand, they’ll appreciate it. So I
decided I would only do coaching between the
hours of 11am and 3pm and that I would take
every Friday off. I was also determined to
keep it simple. When my book came out I
hired a fulfillment house to handle all
product orders without my involvement.

Right now, as I leave for 2 weeks vacation,
without a worry, I am happy to report that my
plan is working!

So let’s check to see how well you’re running
your business – here are a few questions:

What does your perfect day look like? How
often do you have a perfect day?

How often are you bending over backwards to
accomodate clients and put yourself into a
win-lose situation?

How well do you have your business set up to
run without you? Do you need to put support
people in place?

How many services do you offer that you don’t
enjoy?

Do you sometimes negotiate your fees and feel
bad about it later?

How often does business get in the way of
down time or vacations?

If you’re not running your business the way
you want, it may be time to make some
changes. Otherwise, what’s the point of
being an entrepreneur?

I hope that while I’m away on my honeymoon
(without phones or computers you’ll be
analyzing your business and deciding to make
some changes. Or maybe you’ll pat yourself
on the back knowing that you are running your
business exactly the way you like!

All the best,

ps: If you’d like to pick up a copy of
Attracting Your Perfect Customers or take the
Attraction Class – here is the link:
http://www.perfectcustomers.com/?af=929

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