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by Burt Dubin

How to collect even higher speaking fees by creating alliances with sponsors…

Can you believe that a perfectly simple, marvelous, easy-to- implement marketing idea can be largely ignored by the community of professional speakers?

Can you imagine having an organization with deep pockets of cash promoting your programs at their expense, building your name and fame in markets you want to penetrate?

Can you picture this cash-rich sponsor sending along a logistics person-on the speaking tour they’ve set up for you-(Be still, my beating heart!) to handle all the physical details like room set-up for you.

And, of course, you may as well fantasize your sponsor then doing all the advance publicity to be sure you address a packed house. Well, hold on to your hat because all the above is true. It’s real. It’s happening now for 2 speakers. They are-in alphabetical order-Michael Chatman and Barb Schwarz, CSP. This article is due to their generously revealing how they do it.

What is a sponsor:
A Sponsor is a group, a company, any cash-generating, profit- making entity that can benefit from exposure to your target market. Sponsor needs you because they want to market to the same folks you target. When you work together you create a triple win. The third winner is your target market. If your target market is schools and their students, logical sponsors include retailers, wholesalers, manufacturers. They get their name and logo on your handouts. They get great PR. They are the good guys. Remember the firms that place soft drink, snack and candy machines in the schools, suppliers of uniforms for school athletic teams. Purveyors of the foods served in the school cafeteria.

I share these insights anecdotally. I do not pretend to have access to any wisdom beyond my own experience. What I say here is true for me. You alone can decide whether it is true for you. And this may not be all there is. It’s simply what I get here and now:

Photographers who do class pictures, school ring vendors. Every entity that makes money from providing equipment, supplies, consumables to the school. If you address sales professionals, cellular phone companies, computer companies, vendors of everything salespeople buy are potential sponsors.

If you speak to real estate agents, title companies, escrow companies, mortgage companies, etc., are appropriate sponsors.

In any industry or trade group that buys from a group of vendors, any member of that group-including vendors presently frozen out by trade custom or long-time habits-is a prospective sponsor of your programs.

Your sponsor, or sponsors, use funds from their advertising or promotion budgets, funds already committed to be spent somewhere, to advertise and promote attendance at your programs.

How do sponsors benefit from promoting you:
Exposure of their products and their company before the program starts through the publicity created by any of the interested parties.

Sponsor can do a Pre-program presentation. You can sometimes, depending on the venue, give Sponsor table top display space in the back of the room. Sometimes you can arrange for sponsor to have a booth. Sponsor name and logo may go on all printed materials, including any tickets, book covers, albums, bumper stickers, your letterhead.

In media interviews you always mention sponsor’s name. Sponsor’s representatives can sit down in front and you can introduce them during program. Sponsor’s customer goodwill and loyalty is enhanced. Sponsor may get more direct business because they sponsored you.

Is there to be signage at this program? Arrange that each sponsor have the exclusive sign for their type product. If sponsor markets a soft drink and refreshments are to be served, you arrange that sponsor is to have exclusive pourage rights with no other soft drink to be made available.

There may be $ generated from your product sales-and you need to agree in front whether you get all this or whether sponsor shares. You can create a data base of attendees or of key influencers for later follow-up.

Burt Dubin may be reached at www.speakingsuccess.com or +800-321-1225, or, from overseas, 928-753-7546.  Or you can E-mail Burt at burt@BurtDubin.com. For a free subscription to Burt’s Speaking Biz Strategies Letter, send an e-mail to Burt with a one-word message, Subscribe.

by Heather Hansen

Have you ever been really excited about going to a conference just to be unpleasantly surprised by the quality of the speakers?

There are some really high caliber speakers in the world, many of which charge thousands of dollars for a 1-hour keynote speech, but many of them still haven’t mastered the very basics of public presentation.

Please, don’t let yourself fall into these traps! But don’t feel bad if you’ve done some of these things because even the pros slip sometimes!

1. You look awful

If I am wearing nicer clothes than you and I’m in the audience, you’ve got a problem. One of the very first lessons I learned about public speaking (when I was 12 years old) was that how you look matters more than what you say.

Yes, that’s right. Disappointing, isn’t it?

You can use all the flowery prose you like, but if you don’t look well-groomed, professional and credible no one will care too much about what you have to say.

2. You forget you’re wearing a clip mic

When you’re wearing a clip mic, please don’t look down at your shoes when you speak. You actually shouldn’t be doing this anyway, but it’s even more annoying when you’re wearing a mic because you end up yelling, spitting and/or breathing heavily into it!

Also be careful that you don’t hit the mic when you gesture. Finally, make sure that your jacket isn’t rubbing up against it every time you move.

All of these extra noises are distractions to your audience.

3. You tell inappropriate jokes

It just amazes me in this day and age when political correctness is such a hot topic that so many people can still stand up in front of audiences and make inappropriate, sexist or just plain sexual comments to large groups of people.

Cut it out! It’s not funny. It’s just unprofessional.

4. Your examples don’t fit the culture you’re speaking to

I can’t even count how many metaphors I’ve heard over the past few weeks referring to basketball and baseball or examples using basketball and baseball stars. If you’re speaking in a country outside of the United States, use some examples that make sense to your audience. Here in Singapore you would get a lot farther talking about badminton, football (that’s soccer) and cricket!

5. You think that yelling is the same as motivating

Really, it just hurts our ears. If you want to yell to make a point, please move your mic away from your mouth before you blow out the speakers.

6. You pace the stage

It gets very distracting watching a speaker endlessly walk back and forth across a stage. It almost makes me dizzy.

It also gives the impression that the speaker is nervous, can’t stand still or is literally darting questions or issues.

Stand tall and proud (in one spot) and deliver a powerful message. Use movement when changing topics to signal a new train of thought.

7. You stand behind the lectern and read your speech

I simply couldn’t believe it when not one, but THREE of the speakers I have seen lately simply stood behind their lecterns and read their speeches - word for word.

What a waste of time!

I could probably find those speeches somewhere on the internet and read through them myself, skipping the boring parts, and be done in less than half the time I spent watching them read their scripts.

8. You try to speak with your mouth closed

For those of you who have tried this, you’ve probably found that it’s pretty hard to do. When you’re standing in front of a large group of people, it is so important to enunciate your words.

Open your mouth, project your voice and speak CLEARLY. I can’t stress it enough.

What’s the point of giving a presentation if we can’t understand what you’re saying?

9. Your power point slides are illegible, and the ones we can read are littered with typos

Check, double-check and then triple check your slides. Pass out copies of the slides to three friends and have them repeat the process. It is really important that your slides are error-free.

Of course if they are like the slides in most presentations, we probably won’t be able to read them anyway because there will be too much information and the text will be too small.

In that case, it doesn’t really matter.

10. You have no stage awareness

I know that speaking in public is hard enough without having to think about the stage too, but it is just so important! Be aware of where you are on the stage. How far away you are from your notes, the laptop running your presentation or your water are all important things to know.

The silence can be unbearable not only for you, but also your audience as you walk all the way across the stage because you forgot what you wanted to say next.

Also be aware of the lighting. Sometimes lines are drawn on the stage and you will be asked not to cross them. There is a reason for that! It’s so that we can SEE you.

Heather Hansen, founder of Singapore-based Hansen Speech & Language Training, is an executive speech and language coach, writer and trainer. Become a star speaker! Join her mailing list today at http://www.hansenslt.com to receive a free special report and her monthly newsletter, Speak like a Star!

…for Making the Leap Without Falling into the Abyss
Contributed by Jane Atkinson

How do you turn your success as an author into a speaking career? Here are 8 simple tips to make the transition painless and profitable.

1. Find Out Who Will Pay

First, you need to consider whether someone will pay for the information or expertise you have to offer. People offering kudos on your book is great for confidence and book sales, but when they offer to pay you to speak to their organizations, you know you’re onto something.

Whether your topic is motivational, inspirational, or based on a business expertise, you need to do your homework to make sure your topic is one that the marketplace values—and, more important, will pay to hear. But while content is immensely important, style is usually what differentiates you from the crowd and will increase your fee quickly. Consider your style. Are your technique and presentation strong enough to make you a pro?

Once you’ve done your research and know you are ready to enter the speaking industry, follow the tips in the rest of this article to get started.

2. Make Freebies Count

Get out and speak to anyone who will listen—for free—but only for a set period of time. The best way to turn a free speech into paid engagements is to ask the audience for help from the platform. I call it the “help me speech.” It’s two simple sentences that you can include right before the closing of your speech: “As you can see I am passionate about this topic. If you know of any company or association that could benefit from this material, please hand me your business card before you leave.” That’s it. Then use those business cards to follow up and build a database for future marketing.

I remember my first job as an agent in the speaking industry. My speaker handed me a stack of cards she had acquired through her help me speech. I spent three months working through that pile, and it filled her schedule for the next three years.

3. Develop a Killer Speech

A killer speech is the best form of marketing. No flashy brochure, no innovative postcard, no cutesy giveaway can top it. Audiences will remember a great speech that motivated or moved them. Focus more time and energy on having a great speech in the first three years of your professional career. You will increase your odds of success dramatically.

4. Broadcast Your Credibility

Put together a bio that will establish you as an expert in your field. (Being an author is definitely a plus.) It needs to establish why clients should hire you over all the other speakers they might consider. You’ll want to position yourself as an expert first and a speaker second. Brian Palmer of National Speakers Bureau in Chicago says, “Clients don’t want to hire speakers; they want to hire smart people who happen to speak.”

5. Develop Professional Marketing Materials

In order to get booked, you’ll need to develop materials to promote your services. A website is your first priority. Print materials may not be necessary, depending on your market. Many speakers start with basic websites that allow visitors to see exactly what they do, whom they do it for, and how they do it. Always test your marketing materials with prospective clients before launching them. Ask this question: “Would this piece make you want to hire me?”

6. Establish an Appropriate Fee

Establish a speaking fee and post it on the wall of your office. You don’t want to be pulling a number out of the air every time you have a conversation with a prospective client. In order to set a fee, do some market research. Ask other speakers for advice—and ask clients, too. Remember, the client is paying for the twenty years of experience that goes into your speech, not the sixty minutes that you actually speak.

Fees are truly a state of mind. I once worked for a very successful motivational speaker. When I started working with him, he was earning $2,500 per speech. We set some goals and decided we wanted to aim for $10,000 per speech. While he agreed at the time, I found out five years later that he thought I was dreaming. But he set his mind on the goal and there was no stopping him. Today, that speaker earns more than $1,000,000 per year in speaking fees.

7. Strategize

Just like books, speaking requires a sales and marketing strategy. Define your target market, start making the calls, and send your website link or marketing materials to people who could hire you. The key to your success is going to be consistency and clarity. Touching the same group of people four times a year could pay off handsomely down the road.

8. Match Client Needs, Don’t Sell

When talking to prospective clients, your goal is to see if your service matches their needs. It helps to have some sales skills, but knowing that you won’t always be right for every client can alleviate some jitters you might have about cold calling. Be clear on the value you offer before picking up the phone.

A good technique to keep you focused is to post a list of the values you bring to organizations. For example:

I provide a strategy for increasing sales.
My strategy covers three areas that are integral to selling success: authenticity, integrity, and value.
My average client’s ROI (return on investment) is a 25 percent increase in customer loyalty.
Starting any new business is a tricky venture, and small business skills, such as strategic planning and cash flow management, are required. But knowing that you have a killer speech and a valuable message to offer the world, and marketing that message correctly, will help you move down the path of becoming a handsomely paid professional speaker.

Jane Atkinson has been helping speakers catapult their businesses for more than 15 years. She has worked as a business manager for several high-profile speakers/authors, such as Vince Poscente, Joe Calloway, and boxing legend Sugar Ray Leonard. Jane was also the vice president of International Speakers Bureau in Dallas. Her new book, The Wealthy Speaker: The Proven Formula for Building Your Successful Speaking Business, is available at www.SpeakerLauncher.com.

Written by Craig Harper 

We all understand what happens to our body as it ages. Without intervention (an exercise/activity program) we know that our muscles waste, our lung capacity decreases, our heart gets weaker, our bones become brittle, our flexibility and mobility decrease, our reaction time slows, our posture suffers, we move slower, and we become more susceptible to illness and injury.

Unless of course we happen to live a naturally active lifestyle (one where we regularly expend lots of energy, move, lift, stress our body — consistently do stuff physically).

I have written before about a concept called biological age (also known as physiological age) and we have established that by controlling certain variables (diet, lifestyle, exercise, stress levels) we can “turn back” our body clock. Even though we may be fifty (chronologically) we can ‘build’ ourself the body equivalent to that of a typical thirty year-old (in terms of cardio-vascular function, strength, bone density, blood pressure, and flexibility). If you’ve punished your body for fifty years it may be a different story, of course, but at the very least, you can turn back the clock a little and see a notable improvement in health, physical function and overall fitness.

What happens (typically) with a large percentage of the population is that we get to a point in time when we simply stop moving as much. We stop lifting, walking, hammering, climbing, cleaning, working — doing physical stuff. As soon as this happens, our body begins to age at a faster rate. The rate of aging is hard to quantify, as it varies from person to person, but let’s just go with “a much greater rate.”

For many people, retirement should be renamed the-beginning-of-the-end; they stop doing pretty much everything that kept them in shape. (I’m talking about from a health and function perspective here, not from a looking incredible perspective.)

I’m not suggesting that we all work until we’re ninety five, but for some people, the day they retire is the day they stop using their mind and their body in a significant way. It is the day they begin to deteriorate. Ironic, when you consider how excited most people are about that day.

And while it’s common and ‘normal’ for some of us to train our body in an effort to stay young physically, surprisingly, the majority of us don’t consciously take a similar approach when it comes to keeping our mind in shape. We don’t consciously ‘exercise’ our mind like we do our body.

Consider these two facts:

1) People typically slow down mentally as they age.
They experience short-term memory loss (where are my keys?), process information more slowly, find it harder to concentrate and focus, are more easily confused, become vague, and tend to be less creative and less adventurous.

2) They don’t have to!
Countless studies, and simple observation, tell us that our mind, like any other muscle (it’s not a muscle but you get my point), needs to be trained to stay in shape. Excluding people with specific medical conditions, we find that people who have remained mentally active as they have aged typically see little or no deterioration in their level of brain function.

The moment we stop using it, we start losing it. The good news is that our brain (like our body) is amazing and can adapt (grow ‘muscle’) at any age. We can (to an extent) undo some, if not most, of the damage. It’s great to be in shape physically but what’s the point of having four percent body-fat, Olympian biceps, and veins on our veins, if we have a mind like a Dalmatian?

After years of helping people get in shape physically, here are my tips for developing and maintaining a high-performance mind.

1. Set goals.
The moment we stop setting goals is the moment we start going backwards. Without goals we don’t have to think, plan, rationalise, problem solve, or create (as much).

2. Laugh.
It’s not illegal to laugh, be silly, or have fun as you age. Although some grumpy old farts will take me to task on this, they’re wrong. “Hey Johnnie… pull my finger.” (So juvenile.)

3. Play.
“We don’t stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing.” Two of my favourite people in the world are a (nearly) seventy years young couple who ski, ride mountain bikes, run up and down sand dunes, hike, lift weights, travel, help others, play practical jokes, and hang out with ’silly’ young people.

4. Study.
You don’t have to go back to college and get your PhD, although you might, but maybe explore short courses, workshops, anything to blow out those cerebral cobwebs and get those rusty cogs turning once again.

Most people stop (consciously) learning when they finish school. Pity. One of my staff (Rona) is fifty-two. She started university for the first time last year. She will graduate with her bachelors degree in Exercise Science when she’s fifty-four and has already informed me that she wants to continue studying once she completes her current course. The other day she told me, “it’s the best thing I’ve ever done in my life!” (Condolences to her husband!)

5. Learn a new language.
Research tells us that people who speak two languages regularly age (mentally) at a slower rate than their unilingual buddies. They stay in shape (mentally) for longer. It even delays the onset of Alzheimer’s. Now, if you spoke three languages…

6. Express yourself creatively.
Write something: a book, some poetry, a business plan, or start your own blog. Paint, draw, or sculpt. My father began to paint at sixty-five, and now is an awesome professional artist. Invent something. A lot of the best inventors are crusty old guys. Come on, you crusty old guys… invent something!

7. Read.
Not just romantic novels. Read stuff that makes you use your brain, challenges you a little. Makes you think, reason, and remember; exercise your brain.

8. Consciously try and remember stuff.
It’s there, you just need to dust it off. Find your old school photos and name all your classmates. Try and remember (and replay in your mind) moments in time. Your first boyfriend’s, next door neighbour’s, brother’s… name (the one you kissed).

9. Do some mental workouts.
Crosswords are fun and great for your brain. Puzzles, problem solving stuff, Su Doku: force yourself to think, reason, and calculate.

When you have time on your hands is the best time to brain-train: In the car, on the train, on the bus, or in waiting rooms, do maths problems, spell words, and try to recall specific information. Hmm, what does DNA stand for again? What is the capital of Poland?

10. Have a project.
Something to keep you thinking, communicating, planning, solving problems, and remembering. In general, bench pressing your brain.

Might be landscaping your property, starting a not-for-profit organisation, building a small business, rebuilding your 1956 Buick, climbing Mount Everest — whatever it is that keeps you stimulated, learning, adapting, growing, and mentally in shape.

Now, what was my first girlfriend’s favourite color and what was that perfume she always wore?

Hang on a minute — what was her name?!

A keen martial artist I discovered that my performance was not purely a reflection of training, diet and rest. I discovered that positive influences were crucial to my competition success. I learnt that positive influences had to become a cornerstone of all aspects of my life. It took me years to realise this and years to change it. I tried to surround myself with like minded people the old adage comes to mind. “You can choose your friends, but you cannot choose your family”. I needed some extra help and discovered a world of help at the local bookshop.

Seven years on my life has changed. My house is full of inspirational books, articles, pictures and goals I have set myself for this year, five and ten years. For anyone new to personal development and even the seasoned scholar (how many times have you revisited a book only to find a gem of information you cannot believe you missed), here are five great tips I regularly read and am sure every inspirational and motivational speaker believes in.

1. Monitor Your Inner Conversations
The downward arrow or spiral of thought is a classic concept in cognitive psychology and often discussed in books combating depression. Whether you suffer depression or not, we are all subject to the negativity our minds produce and if we are to truly succeed in this life, we need to overcome those shackles.

Chosen to lead a new project at work your self doubt kicks in. You have been drawn into the downward spiral. Before you know it, you are telling yourself you cannot possibly do it, that you are a fraud and other people are better than you. It can spread into the rest of your life, damage your self-esteem and make life a misery. There is no logic, no sense and the spiral sucks in every other aspect of your being and self worth. This is a gross simplification and as a young man, I experienced it first hand.

Controlling the thoughts that run through your mind, choosing not to take notice of the negative, illogical thoughts that appear from nowhere. Replacing the negative thoughts with positive thoughts, positive visions.

Remember the saying “if you can hold it in your head, you can hold it in your hands?” Well the same applies to negative thoughts. Keep an eye on them and kick them out.

2. Decide What You Want – Then Write It Down
What do I mean? I mean do not simply get up, go to work, watch TV then repeat. You are not a machine. To coin a Les Brown phrase (paraphrase) “A dog can only be a dog” you can be anything you want to be. More than a third of UK individuals claim to be unhappy with their jobs and their hours.

So how do you decide? Start by noting your five biggest achievements, your five proudest moments. Next, make a list. Write down everything you want to achieve, everything you would like to do. Then separate them into one year, five and ten year lists. Straight away you can start to see how your think. If you have lots of one year goals and no ten year goals you need to start thinking longer term. If you have no short term goals, well how do you achieve a long term goal? How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time and the larger long term goals need smaller ones to help you along and keep you motivated.

Ok so what I am getting at is goal setting. Personally I found Jim Rohn’s goal setting methods very good. Les Brown says, write them down and check them three times each day. The important thing is that you write them down and review them regularly. Another proven method.

3. Take Action
As obvious as it seems, make this one a motto regardless. How many times have you said “I’ll do it tomorrow?” Ever heard of “Analysis Paralysis?” When you think, plan or simply wait of the right moment you are not taking action. All the planning and best intentions in the world will not change your current situation. If you are waiting until you have more time or have more money. Forget it. Get going now.

The past does not exist, the future does not exist. Only this moment now exists. This moment right now, as you sit at your computer reading this. Right now there is just you and I. Everything that happens from here onwards will be sculpted by this moment. By the action you take right now. Have a quick look around and be “present”. Eckhart Tolle talks about this in his book “The Power of Now”. It is fantastic book and discusses the impact of negative thoughts too. I highly recommend it.

I could put all three points into one simply sentence. Become a positive, goal setting doer. Changing your life is as simple as that.

I love Mahatma Ghandi and I love this quote “Be the change you want to see in the world.”

by Alvin Phang

I know I am not yet a popular public speaker or motivational speaker, but I strongly believe that these skills that I am about to share will be able to impact some part of your life.

There is a saying that 90% of the world’s money are earned by the rich people which are 10% of the population of the world. I do not know how truth is that but based on my own experience I felt it kind of truth based on 10 friends I have survey.

Most people who were like me, grew up in a family where they got their children into an education system where they say it’s important to get a job to make money. But not a single subject was taught to us on how to build business, isn’t that strange when we know most successful people who are rich have businesses! It was until when I was about 21, when I pick up this book call Rich Dad Poor Dad my concept about rich people changed =)

That book talked about 4 types of people in the world within 4 quadrants. And it’s kind of truth what he says makes sense. While 90% of most people who are working will think about how to pay those bills, 10% of rich people will be thinking how I can take my money to invest and create passive income.

For those of you who are in business, maybe you can relate to this about passive income. But if you got no clue what that is, I strongly recommend you get that book Rich Dad Poor Dad =) It really open my mind so much about business.

As a young man who had no experience in business, I decided to start a mini store of my own at those night markets where I actually place my items on the floor to sell. Surprisingly people do buy 2nd hand stuff! From that experience, I learnt that money is not easy to make in business. It takes hardship and sometimes even tears just to make $10 as I have ever stand for 10 hours and only made $50! How’s that for a start.

I was about to give up that time but I knew I was still young and had nothing to loose. Then came a silly decision I made to open a store with 3 friends. Which in the end was a big mistake because I did not know having too many partners is even more worst! There were fights and quarrels among us about money but all that was gone when I decided to close it.

However then, because I wanted to be rich I still did not give up but went on to explore other ways to make money. Then after attending and listening to motivational tapes and speakers I realized the reason why I was always failing was my mind was too small to think that I can ever made a Million Dollars. It was just a few minutes before I got the idea to write was that I told my friends a secret how Millionaires become rich. You may disagree with me on this as this is based on what I have experience, the formula to succeed in business are determine by these few factors.

1. Who You Hang Out With Often (Your Inner Circle)
2. Your Goals In Life
3. Your Drive And Determination To Succeed
4. You Must Be Willing To Fail Numerous Times
5. Willing To Take Any Risk And Just Going For It

My formula to succeed goes like this:

Success = Goals + Effort

It took me I think 4 years to know this but I hope what I just shared with you will open your mind or at least give you some inspiration to go to a bookstore to pick up a business book =)

If you are currently working now in a 9 to 5 job, just ask yourself this question. Will you be able to see yourself in your current job in 30 years time and be happy about it and retire? That is how important building passive income is and that is why successful people create profitable businesses.