Where are You on Your “S Curve”?

There’s that old saying, what goes up must come down.

And if you believe the philosophy behind the S curve in business, you’ll understand why.

In last months Voice of Experience (NSA’s monthly audio) Mike Rayburn talked about the S curve and how you need to re-engineer your business before you get to the bottom of the cycle.   Sage advice.

For those of you on the way up, you can still use this guide to prepare.

But I have a suspicion that if you’ve been in the speaking business for more than 7 years, this snake like curve has lashed out to bite you in the butt a time or two.

Often (as Michael Gerber so eloquently puts it) we are working IN our business so much that we forget to work ON our business.

Many speakers can’t see the forest for the trees because they are simply too caught up in the day- to-day of the biz.

So here’s one idea…..

Blow up a diagram of an S Curve (you can google to find one that you like – Ashridge Business School of the UK was kind enough to loan me theirs) and post it on your business bulletin board.

Using stickers, post-its or push pins track where you are in your business with the date and keep moving it each month. Now you can consciously track your business swings.

(Warning, may be related to mood swings!)

When you look at your curve and find yourself at the bottom, trying to figure out how to pick up and start again, (here comes my shameless plug) think about dropping me a line. I am known for helping people out of the forest and I have a whole new host of programs that can help you catapult. http://speakerlauncher.com/coaching.html

Gotta run so I can print my S curve right now!!!

New Decade, New Marketing

Yesterday during my workout, I was watching “So You Think You Can Dance”. There was a section where they stopped the auditions and told the dancers what the do’s and dont’s for this year were.

First thing to go? The male booty shake. No surprise there – who wants to see that?

So what’s in and what’s out for this new decade in speaker marketing?

OUT: Positioning as a ‘speaker’. The joke is if your topics list is as long as your client list, you are positioning incorrectly.

IN: Positioning as an ‘expert’. Be the expert, the authority in your field. Even if you consider yourself a motivational or inspirational speaker, figure out what the outcomes of your message are and sell those in your marketing.

OUT: Cheesy speaker photos. If your photo has you holding a mic and you are standing in front of a white screen, then you probably need an update.

IN: Live audience shots. Take your photos in front of your perfect audience. If you want to speak to large audiences, have someone take a shot from the back of the room for you so that your prospects can see you speaking live. There is still a need for some close up shots of you, a well done head shot can show your prospects who you really are.

OUT: Hire Me, I’m a Speaker! I talked alot in 2009 about doing a marketing Flip Flop. This is where we move our marketing to be about the client and their outcomes, rather than it being all about us.

Here’s a link to a past tip on this:

http://www.speakerlauncher.com/blog/68/does-your-marketing-need-a-flip-flop/

IN: A strong outcome oriented promise. Let the client know what will change for them if they work with you. Be clear, be concise. Too many different ideas and your prospects will be confused.

I hope this tip helps you get the New Year rolling in the right direction!

PS: If you haven’t picked up your copy of The Wealthy Speaker yet, what are you waiting for? Here’s the link to the special system price: http://www.speakerlauncher.com/tools.html