If you want to make big money speaking, there are a lot of things you must have in place. And I will be sharing a bunch of them with you here for free.
But I want to share one strategy with that make or break your speaking career fast if you ignore it…
Never Confuse Your Market.
This is a big one. When I first started speaking, I really thought I could speak on leadership, customer service, sales and marketing among many other topics.
After all, I had some knowledge on many topics because I was reading the books!
That’s crazzzzzzzy!
Listen, I know you are smart. You have been around. And over the years, you’ve accumulated great knowledge. But that doesn’t mean you have to teach everything you know. How can you?
The fastest way to lose your credibility and be a struggler in this business is to offer a menu of topics you can talk about. There will always be the temptation to try.
Does that mean you are not qualified to speak on other topics? No! Does that mean you should never offer other topics? No!
But you should never confuse your market by coming to the front door with a bunch of stuff. Instead, use them as your back end.
And that too requires different strategies. I say this because even then, you should not overwhelm your market with too many choices that are not directly related to your front end. I’m sure I’ll be touching more on that point later.
You should see me smiling!
I never forgot one guy who came to speak at my local speaker chapter’s association. His advice for us was to offer a cafeteria menu style in order to stay booked. And he meant right up front.
It’s like you are looking for a heart surgeon and the first one says, “I can do the heart surgery, foot surgery, examine your eyes, and deliver your baby, too. When do you want to schedule your heart surgery?” I bet you’d run away and start looking for a true expert.”
Well, come to think of it, there was something about the speaker I mentioned above that hinted he wasn’t doing all that great in his business. Interesting… Isn’t it?
You know, I don’t have all the answers. That longtime speaker may have a good point. But I just couldn’t see his point. And I’m saying this based on solid evidence. I know there’s a better way than his way if you want to make big money speaking.
I’ll share it with you in the next post.
Personally, I don’t think that is true but I guess I am not in the realm of the business of motivating people through speaking but only through my words. However, I just finished my doctorate degree and one year from finishing my law degree. Dreams and success are determined within you; your special topic to me is your heart desires.
Your heart captivates an audience just like when a lawyer has to captivate a jury. If the audience can feel you coming from the heart; you will have their hearts as well.
I would say that Jack of all trades; master of your own personal dreams and the success within you.
Put your faith in God and let him guide your message; even through failure sometime success is about of your destiny. Sit back and learn from the failure; maybe a success turned inside out. Maybe wrong time and wrong place; never give up on you.
Roderick Van Daniel.
Hi Rene. Just read this post about the “cafeteria menu” style speaker. Reminds me of the old saying “Jack of all trades, master of none.”
You are exactly right. Thanks for sharing.
Hi, How can i get to realize my potential and know which areas or topics that i can tackle with great ease? am a starter. Kindly help.
Hi Renee,
Your communication style , conviction and personal story set you apart from many other speakers and it is always a learning experience hearing you speak. I have been dreaming of becoming a motivational speaker for quite a while now and I am willing to go the extra mile to make it a reality. Can you please provide me with information on how to get started.
Renee, I would truly appreciate your helpful guidance.
Thank you,
Natasha Barrett
Hi Natasha,
Without going into the strategies to build a speaking business for now, getting started is not hard at all. It’s a decision you make right now.
Take one small step to convince yourself that you are starting. Even if you just buy a domain name for your site or choose the topic you want to talk about.
Just do something–whatever you can. Do not be overwhelmed. It’s like any business. One foot in front of the other. Finally, keep reading this blog. There are a lot great tips to help you get started.
Rene,
Good point about the cafeteria menu – it truly is a recipe for disaster. Offering too many programs has a number of drawbacks but the biggest one I’ve found is the extra time you spend switching gears.
Thanks,
James
Absolutely!
You have to focus your energy and thinking on being the expert on a specific topic. Then go wide in that topic.