National Speakers Association Pro-Track: March Meeting – The Kaleidescope Shift

Business Communication,Public Speaking

The Third meeting of the Pro-Track training sponsored by the National Speakers Association, Northern California, took place on March 18. This month’s focus was choosing and developing a target market for your professional speaking career. Someone remarked that choosing a niche or target market was like looking into a kaleidoscope: one small twist in perspective and the whole picture changes. I felt, like some others in the room, that I had hit a wall with Pro-Track this month. There’s so many books on the reading lists, so many options to consider. Actions, as always, speak louder than words ( Blogging about things is maybe a middle way). Simply choosing an area of focus and doing something is better by far than sitting around thinking about it.

We heard from two speakers who had been doing something well for over twenty years.

Jenny De St Georges

Delivers trainings and presentations on dental practice management. The first weekend she spoke she made $20,000 and she has not looked back. Some of her tips and tricks:

  • It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.
  • Don’t just teach people how to do something, but how to communicate what needs to be done to others.
  • International audiences are looking for credentials.
  • Clients always appreciate a speaker who can think like a meeting planner – suggest ways they can save money with the hotel or venue.
  • Perfectionists are prone to delays and procrastination. Just do it.
  • Don’t create to-do lists for each day – focus instead on the tasks you need to accomplish this year, then break it down by month and week.
  • Outsource your office management needs to WebOffice
  • Brainstorm with MindJet.
  • Develop a reputation for being on-time – don’t delay the start of a speech just because the audience are still registering, those who came on time deserve to be honored.
  • Take Q&A’s throughout your presentation to really impress an audience with your knowledge of your topic and ability to think on your feet.
  • Rather than Powerpoint, consider using workbooks with ‘fill in the blanks’ sections for the audience to take notes in. Have a complimentary copy available for download on your web site – without the key words no-one can steal your content.
  • You can’t give an audience a solution unless you first outline the problem for them. Draw out their problems and issues at the start of the training. Identify weaknesses in their present methods before you offer up a solution

    • Ric Giardina

    I was amazed to discover that Ric and I had both worked at MicroPro back in the mid-1980’s. I was buried in Technical Support getting my start in the computer biz, he was in the executive suite as Corporate Counsel. Seems like a lifetime ago. WordStar, Control KD.

    Ric now speaks on a variety of topics to corporate America: Authenticity, Balance, Community, Discipline. He moves between speaking, facilitating and training. You need an ability to do all three to succeed. He communicates the wisdom people need to succeed in a world buried in data and information. Some speakers just give you data, and leave you wondering “So What”. People pay good money to hear real wisdom. Arrive at least a day early at a conference. Hang out at the reception and use what you hear in your speech.

    Ric’s Ten Thoughts on Corporate Clients:

  • Choose your expertise and your niche – just make sure your niche is actually yours. The narrower your field the better your chance of being a unique expert.
  • Not all ‘Corporate clients’ are ‘corporations’. Think ‘business to business’. Be expansive.
  • Don’t put all your eggs in one basket, or even two or three baskets. Son;t be too tied to the vagaries of one market or one big client.
  • Relationships are key to corporate work. Do whatever is necessary to connect with people from the heart.
  • Associations can be the doors to a line of repeating business.
  • The corporate market is not looking for speakers or trainers – the corporate market is looking for solutions.
  • Be yourself. Corporate leaders are looking for authenticity in their business relationships.
  • It’s never ever a ‘one night stand’ – develop relationships for repeat business.
  • Be accommodating and flexible but be real – you are running a business.
  • It’s never what you think it is, so ask. be curious not contentious.

    • Ric had a great reading list:

    You Are the Message by Roger Ailes
    Transitions: Making Sense of Life’s Changes by William Bridges
    Corporate Celebration: Play, Purpose, and Profit at Work by Terrence E. Deal, M. K. Key
    Leadership is an Art by Max Depree
    Your Authentic Self: Be Yourself at Work by Ric Giardina
    Emotional Intelligence : Why It Can Matter More Than IQ by Daniel Goleman
    The Abilene Paradox and Other Meditations on Management by Jerry B. Harvey
    The Corporate Mystic : A Guidebook for Visionaries with Their Feet on the Ground by Gay Hendricks, Kate Ludeman
    The Change Handbook: Group Methods for Shaping the Future by Tom Devane, Peggy Holman
    Jesus CEO : Using Ancient Wisdom for Visionary Leadership by Laurie Beth Jones
    Work As a Spiritual Practice : A Practical Buddhist Approach to Inner Growth and Satisfaction on the Job by Lewis Richmond
    The Fifth Discipline by Peter M. Senge
    A WHACK ON THE SIDE OF THE HEAD: How You Can Be More Creative by Roger von Oech
    Managing to Have Fun : How Fun at Work Can Motivate Your Employees, Inspire Your Coworkers, and Boost Your Bottom Line by Matt Weinstein
    The Heart Aroused : Poetry and the Preservation of the Soul in Corporate America by David Whyte

    Wendy Kruger

    Was with a Speakers Bureau. She ran the numbers for us. Bureaus take 25% of the booking fee. Increase your existing fees to cover this, since fee integrity dictates you have the same fee structure if you go direct with a client or through a bureau. Their speaker’s fees start at around $2,500 per speech on a regular basis before they sign with the bureau. They get a submission from someone wanting to sign with them every day of the year – over 300 annually. Lots of competition.

    posted by Theboss on 03.27.06 @ 8:18 pm | 1 Comment

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    […] Ric had tutored Pro-Trackers back in March when he spoke on how to sell yourself to the Corporate market. This afternoon he spoke on “performance” – meaning the sytems that professional speakers need to have in place to support their business. […]

    By Ian Griffin’s Blog » National Speakers Association Pro-Track: September Meeting - Inside the Sausage Factory on 09.17.06 6:13 pm

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