Do You Own Your Word?

Our industry lost a great speaker (and great person) this week.

Keith Harrell was a speaker who was admired and respected by many.

And his career was fascinating to watch.

Keith Harrell owned a word.

His word was Attitude.

About 15 years ago, I thought attitude was too soft of a topic to base an entire career on. You could say I had a bad attitude about “attitude”.

But Keith did exactly that. He built his entire career on one little 8 letter word. The Wall St. Journal was so intrigued that they wrote a full page about him. And because he combined that focus with his super fantastic talent, his fees went far beyond average.

Keith would want us to keep on learning, so….

Do you own a word? When people think about you, do they associate you with one thing?

A few more examples:

Vince Poscente: Speed
Mark Sanborn: Fred
Michael Gerber: eMyth
Mary Beth Kuzmeski: Red Zone

It’s not necessary for it to only be one word, but owning a word or words is definitely something for all of us to ponder.

Q. What do you want to be known for 5 years from now?

Want to share your word or words? Comment below

See you soon WEALTHY SPEAKERS (my words).

PS: And speaking of Wealthy Speakers. I have 5 spots left in my next group coaching club starting on November 4th. Check it out… http://www.speakerlauncher.com/ClubHybrid.html

Are You the Best Thing Since Sliced Bread?

Sometimes I hear people who book speakers talking about how speakers approach them. The speakers ask “do you have a couple of minutes?” and then proceed to keep them on the line for a half hour telling them how great and unique they are.

So what’s the problem here?

Bureaus, meeting planners and decision makers have likely heard it this before. You can tell them how great you are, but chances are very, very good that they are not going to take your word for it. You are going to sound like every other speaker who has gobbled up their time.

And, there are MORE new speakers breaking into the market than ever before. So that means people have much less patience for the Gabby McGabberson’s of the world.

So how do you break through and get noticed?

The #1 way to get discovered by a bureau or a decision maker is to be great on the platform and have clients tell them about you.

And when you find yourself starting in to your “I’m the best thing since sliced bread” spiel. Stop! Ask yourself the question “what’s the one thing I want to learn from this phone call?” Perhaps you ask whether or not they ever book your topic. If they say “tell me more” then you have an opening. If not, respect their time and hop off the call when you get your answer.

The ideal situation?

A client or bureau has heard about you from several different sources before you ever pick up the phone to call them. Around the 3rd time, they are going to think “I keep hearing about this speaker, maybe I need to check them out”.

When they are seeking you out, that’s when you are in the perfect position.

See you soon Wealthy Speakers!

PS: Want to know more about working with bureaus? Check out Chapter 6 in The Wealthy Speaker. Here’s the link if you don’t have your copy yet. http://speakerlauncher.com/tools.html

Recession Means Getting Back to Basics

George C. Speaker has been in the business for 20 years and has thrived for most of them. But his calendar in the past 12 months has been hit hard. Business is down nearly 50%.

So what does George do?

Well, back when I first entered the business, there was a process that we followed…..’call-send-call’. Call a prospect, discover their needs, see if they’re a fit, send over some information, call and follow up.

(You can read more about call-send-call process in The Wealthy Speaker, Chapter 5). http://www.speakerlauncher.com/tools.html

George needs to get back to basics and start connecting with his clients and prospects in a meaningful way. So what might that look like?

Step 1. Identify your prospects. Pick a target market based on who needs the ideas that you provide. Develop a list of organizations to approach.

Step 2. Establish expertise. Consider writing an article for your target industry that discusses the problem and your ideas as the solution. The article may help you get a foot in the door.

Use your research to help build industry relationships. And, make sure you include a call to action at the end of the article that drives people to your website.

Step 3. Discover your prospect’s needs. Is there a problem that you can help them solve with some consulting or training? Is there an event that might require a pro with your message?

When it comes to finding events, searching associations is often easier and more productive than corporations. Association events are often held at the same times each year and are listed on their websites. This search engine on ASAE’s website can be useful.  http://www.asaecenter.org/Directories/AssociationSearch.cfm

Step 4. Be in the right place at the right time.

By planting seeds and continually fertilizing, we allow the prospect to get to know us. This is where our newsletters and blogs are helpful.

Build your list of prospects and regularly send them something that is helpful. When they have a need for your expertise, you’ll be in a great position to get the business.

Be sure to include a bit of promotion (perhaps a “ps”) with each tip so that your list is well aware of your offerings.

Step 5. Follow up. This is where many of us drop the ball. Staying in touch via newsletters is one thing, but picking up the phone or dropping a personal note or e-mail to see how they are doing, is another.

Getting back to the basics means reaching out and connecting rather than waiting for the phone to ring. We all (including George) need to ask ourselves every day ‘how am I moving my business forward?’ And, most importantly, we need to take action.

PS: There’s nothing like good press to help boost your career. We did an awesome teleclass with PR expert Marsha Friedman ‘Harness the Power of Publicity’ and it’s available now on MP3.

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