a blog, a website, a place for my stuff
When I choose speakers and information marketers to work with I look for those who are or can rapidly become SAVVY MARKETING PARTNERS. Together we will work to add valuable tools to your marketing skill set and purposely take your business to another level. Here's the type of cut-to-the-chase information I share. Online and on the record. You can't say you didn't know.
PEACE.
Rick
Sometimes you gotta look at a bunch of bad ideas, just to stumble upon one stroke of genius. Maybe not everybody, some people just have strokes of genius everyday. But for most people I've found that strokes of genius are few and far between. But they don't have to be. If you want some new ideas to move your business forward, you gotta start having bad ideas - and lots of them! It's sort of … [Read more...]
It's been a while, but I recently attended a couple of teleclasses. One of them was pretty good, the other - not so much. I used to provide some teleclass training and consulting, so I thought I'd dig out some of the material I put together for those trainings. If you're going to lead a teleclass, here's some things that might help depending on the style of your teleclass and how much … [Read more...]
Have you ever wondered why bureaus, agents and salespeople don't want to represent your up-and-coming speaker business? You're better than a lot of 'successful' speakers out there, but it seems like they're always looking for someone better. Other times it seems like you need to be already booking yourself and making so much money that you don't need them. What... Is... The Deal? (I think that … [Read more...]
I heard a stat that says 31 out of 32 start up speakers fail. I think I've worked with all 31 of them and a few 32s here and there. I've seen entrepreneurs and executives from just about every industry venture into speaking as a business either full or part time and I've learned a few things along the way. Here are a half dozen things I think you should think about if you're planning on calling … [Read more...]
'Talking Heads.' That's what newscasters are sometimes referred to as - you know, the ones sitting behind the news desk. When you're putting together you speaker demo video, you might consider using a few talking heads to drive home the benefits of your program. Here's two ideas. Instead of always getting your testimonails immediately after a workshop, set up a time to visit a current or former … [Read more...]
Most testimonials for speakers and trainers that I've seen come across to me as ego gratification at best and down right lies at worst. Whether in print or on video, most of them in some way say, "You were great!" and that in my opinion is the world's easiest lie to tell. Okay, maybe I exaggerate, but I'll bet you it's in the top ten! But it's not the fault of the person who's giving the … [Read more...]
If you want to make your life easier in the edit booth when making a speaker demo DO NOT video your workshop, keynote or presentation from start to finish. Unless you plan to use it to review your performance or create a DVD product there's a more strategic way. Here's my take on the subject. 1. Take short and sweet video clips of less than 10 minutes. This will make it easier once you begin to … [Read more...]
Although I know people who can make anything complicated, getting decent video clips at your speaking gigs or workshops can be pretty simple these days. Getting a catalog of clips is one of the first steps to producing good demo videos. With a today's technology, a little forethought and a little know-how, you'll be able to market yourself a little better with each gig... even the ones you do … [Read more...]
Here’s what I think goes into a speaker’s workshop or speech description. Don’t think this post is just for up-and-coming speakers who don’t know any better. Many experienced speakers do not have thorough topic descriptions. They do most of their selling themselves and can get on the phone with a client and adlib their way through. But if you want to make your selling job easier (or … [Read more...]