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1. I'm a
Toastmaster with a full-time job. How long will it take me to become a
full-time paid speaker? That depends: The elements
that yield speaking business success are inside of you. They include
tenacity...a will that's unyielding. Plus at least a bit of charisma.
Folks want to feel good in your presence. And energy, the more the
better. Diligence in keeping every promise you make is a requisite.
Intuition, gut wisdom, helps a lot. And motivation, a powerful vision
of the possible for you. Some people rocket ahead. Others don't. In
sum: How long it takes depends on you.
2. How much money can I earn
for a speech when I'm starting out? Little or nothing. Get
good first. You know you're on the way to being good when an audience
member comes up to you with glistening eyes, takes your hand in both of
theirs -- and asks you plaintively how much you'd charge to come to
their company and say what you just said.
3. Is it better to have one
speech or several presentations on different topics? At the
start, one speech.
4. What is the biggest
misconception about what it takes to become a professional speaker?
There are two: That you think you're better than you are and that you
don't know how very good you are. And one more, the biggest of all --
not realizing that speaking is a business...and business disciplines
always apply.
5. If I were already working
with you and found I had $1,500 to devote to my speaking business, what
would you encourage me to spend it on? Your question is very
broad. I'd look for the speaking business asset you most need at the
time and guide you to acquire it.
6. What is your advice about
speaking for free? Speak free. Anywhere and everywhere any
group is willing to listen to you. Speak free. After that, speak free
some more, this time before selected audiences every member of which
could hire you to speak. Later, speak free for your favorite causes.
7. How will you help me figure
out what topics to speak about that someone will pay me for?
Very good question! I'll be as brief as possible. We start with your
personal history, adventures, education, experiences, philosophy,
feelings, and yearnings. These make up the unique essence of
consciousness that is you.
We match
your uniqueness to what the meeting market wants now. This market
includes corporations, associations, organizations and groups of all
sorts. Each has its own perceptions of the values and insights, the
feelings and satisfactions, the outcomes and solutions they desire from
the intervention of outside experts.
I show you
how to deliver what they want. You discover how to engage your
uniqueness. You identify your most appropriate topics and issues. Then,
together, we identify the best niche markets for you now. You start
giving free speeches locally. (You don't quit your day job until you're
making more speaking part-time than your day job pays you.)
We proceed,
one-on-one, to complete the Million Dollar proprietary processes I
conceived. (Yes, that's what I invested in the research.) These
processes are infallible. They can't not work. (That's why you get a
Money-back Guarantee.) The work may take you days, weeks, or months.
The speed at which you advance is up to you. You move ahead on several
fronts all at once.
One morning
you wake up smiling, happier than you've ever been. You're glowing and
grateful for your awakened realization. You're a successful and
well-paid speaker.
8. I want to make sure I'm
learning from someone who is current with the business today. How many
times a year do you book yourself as a professional speaker to meeting
planners? Does the spacecraft designer fly off into space?
Does the fashion designer walk the runway modeling fashions? Does the
designer of bug-proof veggies farm the fields?
In my
full-time speaking career (1978-1988), I boosted myself from obscurity
to nation-wide success. (I cracked the code. I designed my successful
speaking business.) By 1989, more and more USA speakers were at my
gates. They wanted my help. They implored me to show them how to do
what I proved I could do over and over. They longed to drink from my
well of wisdom. They hungered for my methods. This ain't braggin'
reader, it's the plain and simple truth.
I felt a
higher call. I had to share my gift, my talent. Touching lives was
wonderful. Touching the lives that touch lives is better.
Today, I
serve the world of speakers. I attend every major convention of
speakers world-wide. I'm a regular in Europe, (Professional Speakers
Association of Europe,)in Australia, (National Speakers Association of
Australia,) Canada, (Canadian Association of Professional Speakers,)
and the USA (National Speakers Association) In addition, I'm a Member
of the International Federation for Professional Speakers.
And, I
usually participate, whether by speaking or by hosting a Meet The Pros
Table wherever I go.
Further, I
host and lead an annual 6-day Boot Camp and Retreat for my Inner Circle
Members in Sedona, Arizona.
Most
important, I study our business with the passion of a lover. I research
trends endlessly. My findings are published -- and eagerly awaited --
worldwide. Nobody else dares do what I do...and nobody does it better.
9. As part of your Speaking
Success System, do you do coaching of presentations and critiquing of
tapes. Do you review marketing materials, brochures, one-sheets, etc.
Yes.
10. There are others who give
marketing advice or presentation coaching advice to speakers. What
makes you and your Speaking Success System unique? It works.
It's the fruit of my mind. It is the world's exclusive resource for
success in the speaking business. Others sell the tools for success. I
offer the reality of success as an expert who speaks. Which do you
prefer? Which would you rather have?
11. I attend the NSA
Conventions and workshops and listen to lots of tapes. What does your
System give me that I can't get there? Guaranteed success in
the business of speaking for money.
12. How did you get the "1
Speaking Success Road" address? Observation yielded this for
me. Rene Gnam, a direct mail specialist, uses 1 Response Road,
then his city, state, and 9-digit zip, as his "street address."
Publishers Clearing House has 1 Winners Circle, then city,
state, and 9-digit zip as their "street address."
I thought about this. Since my theme is speaking success (fellow
speakers being my market), I addressed an envelope to myself with this
address: 1 Speaking Success Road, Kingman AZ 86402-6543. It
promptly arrived at my post office box. That's the key. Get a PO Box
and get one at the smallest possible convenient post office branch. NSA
member Tom Antion, to whom I gave this idea, wasn't able to make it
work. His post office is big and has a large turnover in help.
Use a 9-digit zip. That seems to matter because post office mail
sorters are taught to read the numbers of the zip code rather than the
words of the address.
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