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 was a toss to Jerry Seinfeld.)
Here’s what they really saying to you – in fable or parable form. Just pretend you’re in grade school or at the foot of the mount or something. Let me tell you a little story…
“You are hiring our bureau (agent, etc.) as a lumberjack to go into the redwood forest and bring you back a tree or two (aka gigs) - and a lumberjack, no matter how skilled, sturdy and muscled requires a sharp ax to do his job. It is your job to supply the ax. We can only take the ax you give us and swing it according to its effectiveness.
“If your ax is sharp (aka a set of professionally produced marketing tools), we can work strong and we’ll look forward to a fruitful harvest and getting you many gigs. If your ax is not sharp, it will be the ax – not us – that does what a dull ax does.
“As smart lumberjacks, we’re always looking for the sharpest ax – because only an ax will do.
“Yes. We look for great speakers. But working with a great speaker with weak or no marketing tools is like trying to karate-chop a redwood to the ground! There is no degree of black belt – nor any amount of yelling ‘Timber!’ that can get that done. WE NEED AN AX – A SHARP AX. Go away and come back when you have one.”
– Your Friendly Neighborhood Speakers Bureau, Inc.
So, if you understand the story, you’ll understand not only why bureaus and agents keep overlooking you, you’ll also get why you haven’t been as effective at selling yourself as you’d like to be. By the way, it’s also why your sales people all burn out or aren’t very effective to begin with. Everybody gets tired of karate-chopping them trees!
If your ax isn’t sharp – sharpen it. If it is – keep it that way! If you let it get dull – put it down and save yourself the frustration. The speaker with the sharpest ax gets the gig. Go turn yourself into Paul Bunyan.
PEACE.
PS. I forget to add that even if you have a sharp ax, they get dull after a certain period of use. Sharpen your ax on a REGULAR basis – that means periodically updating your marketing tools. If your success rate hasn’t been up to par… that means your ax was never sharp in the first place.
PEACE.
Rick, I dig this post and I’m working on sharpening my ax! I’ve refined a series of videos from my mounds of footage and I’m pleased with the turn out. I loved your metaphor for the ax and marketing tools. You’re right. If speakers don’t provide you with the tools you need, how can you possibly convince anyone to hire them?
We live in the digital and entertainment age and without a video of your in action – you’re almost dead in the water.
Check out my new series on YouTube/LIGMO.
Thanks for all of the encouragement and tough love.
Live. Love. Learn. Laugh. LIGMO!
Millicent St. Claire