JOLT! Your Speaker Sales: Secrets & Strategies to Energize Your Business
Commitment is KEY! “When you’re committed, you move and you shake in a whole different way.” — Larry Long Jr. Commitment is the foundation of success. Think about your current level of commitment to your speaker business, and specifically, your sales efforts. On a scale from 1-10, where do you stand? Are you merely interested,…
The Art of Amazement: Things I Did Right—and What I Got Totally Wrong—to Build a Million-Dollar Speaking Business
There’s much more to being a great keynote speaker than simply having on-stage skills that inspire and amaze. It’s about creating moments—those powerful, emotional points that bring an audience to the brink of tears or laughter—and then sending them out the door feeling their time was not just spent but invested in something personally and…
How To Make Money in The Speaking Industry
I think the speaking business is one of the toughest ways I have ever chosen to make a living. Making sales calls to land consulting jobs or new coaching clients, I have always found easier than winning a speaking engagement. There are so many reasons this business is hard: The market is crowded – you…
The Phrase That Pays
When describing what you offer your clients, there’s a secret phrase you can use that’s guaranteed to get them almost 20% more engaged with your sales pitch. Before you can use it, there are a few things you need to know. You have to know the difference between features and benefits. And you can’t review…
Three “Must-Knows” to Deliver an Amazing Speech
For this article, I’m departing from my normal NSA topics of sales and marketing, which have been the topics of every presentation I’ve ever given at a convention (now known as Influence), a winter meeting (now known as Thrive), or an NSA chapter meeting. Today, I’m writing about something that has made me a better…
Speak Less, Influence More!
Wayne Dyer often used a powerful metaphor: “If you squeeze an orange, what do you get?” Of course, the answer is orange juice. His point? When life puts you under pressure, what’s inside is what comes out. After 38 years of speaking, my last five have been the most transformative—not the easiest, but definitely the…
Your First Thirty Seconds: Arouse Interest in Your Subject
Imagine you have just 30 seconds to transform a room of strangers into a captivated audience that will hold on to your every word. This is your moment to make a powerful first impression in any presentation—whether it’s a high-stakes sales presentation to win a training contract, an educational seminar, or a keynote speech to…
The Payoffs of Speech Customization
Two hundred doctors had assembled for the event. It was a leadership conference at the LA Biltmore Hotel for hospital chiefs of staff. As I sat in the audience, I saw one physician after another “present his papers.” These were the dullest speeches I’d ever heard! The audience was half asleep and some were even snoring. The…
Keynote Speakers: Rethinking the Throne – Is Content Really King?
For decades, the mantra ‘content is king’ has echoed through conference halls, asserting that experts are chiefly valued for their knowledge. This perspective suggests that we, as speakers, are paid for our expertise. Indeed, in roles such as coaching and training, this holds true; clients pay for tangible results and actionable insights. However, my experience…