SPEAKER SERVICES NEWSLETTER Vol. 32 -- JUNE 2001 http://speakerservices.com To unsubscribe: sussan@speakerservices.com Remove in subject line Get Listed in the Directory: http://speakerservices.com/adv_pkt.html Content: New & Renewing Speakers A Note from the Publisher Promotions/Advertising Articles: 1. Finding Your Buying Audience , Vickie Sullivan 2. Twenty Tips For Spellbinding Speeches by Eileen Kugler ____________________________________ New and Renewing Speakers: http://speakerservices.com/categories/allspeak.html Lorane Gordon: Inspirationalist opens door to a future of profound life transformation Naz Keynejad: Marketing whiz's do's and don'ts maximize direct-mail results Dawn Kohler: Need inspiration? Award-winning entrepreneur offers innovative strategies for success. Len Merson: Productivity expert guides you into a new paradigm where overwhelm no longer exists and work is creative and far more profitable, both professionally and personally Natalie Petouhoff: "Doctor of Change*" turns ordinary meetings into transformative events Susan Simmons: Professional coach guides audiences along pathways of true life callings Dina Weinberg: "Safety Zones" set stage for personal and organizational success _______________________________________ A Note from the Publisher Susan Levin Are you like me searching for the conferences that book speakers? If you answered yes then I have good news for you. I spent the last three months researching the internet and found a good sampling of associations that have conferences and websites so you could see what kind of programs they organize. I was bleary eyed from looking at so many websites. However, I do have a special report available of over 250 trade associations that do book speakers and if you would like to have that list then simply e-mail me with your request. It's only $59. We have a few speaker spaces left for the Video Demo Showcase June 10 and if you are in Los Angeles and would like to be part of the audience let me know. That sound like a TV commercial doesn't it? Our next showcase will be October 21. Talking about commercials have you considered putting a commercial on your website? I've been writing to you about this idea for months. It's called streaming video. We can coach you, shoot you and stream your video to put on your website for a very reasonable cost. Please remember you don't have to be a speaker to do this. If you have a website and you want to personalize it then we should talk. Take a look at a few samples. Judith Searle: http://speakerservices.com/fee/searle_j.html Ellen Reid: http://smarketing.com. By the way if you are planning on attending NSA in Dallas in July we could arrange to have your video done during that time. Speaker Services offers a myriad of services from our web directory for speakers to connect with meeting planners to speech and marketing coaching, ghost writing, video production services to internet and e-mail newsletter consulting. We are happy to assist you in any of your needs to grow your business in the world of speaking. Best Regards, Susan Levin ____________________________________ PROMOTIONS/ADVERTISING I'm celebrating my 20th year as a newsletter publisher in 2001. My services include writing, editing, typesetting, design, printing and mailing. Newsletters for NSA customers John Alston, CSP, Kevin Davis and Lynne Tully have brought them increased visibility and more business. Need help with yours? Call/e-mail for great samples. Jeff Rubin 877/588-1212; jeff@put-it-in-writing.com. http://www.put-it-in-writing.com ___________________ LIST OF RADIO TALK SHOWS William A. Gordon edits a list of radio talk shows that interview guests. The 200-page list is updated daily and provides contact information (including producers' names, phone numbers, faxes, e-mails, and URLs) for over 750 locally produced and nationally syndicated shows. Sample pages are available on request. E-mail NRBooks@aol.com and mention Speaker Services. ___________________ You talk. I'll type. Specializing in Transcription for Speakers. Contact Adele (Ask for NSA references.) "Adele is fast, efficient, reliable and affordable. Who could ask for more!" Dan Janal, author of "Dan Janal's Guide to Marketing on the Internet." Toll-free: 877-Type-4-You (877/897-3496). http://www.type4you.com ___________________ Turn Your Speeches Into Booklets Turn your speeches and expertise into best-selling booklets to use as an income stream, a marketing tool or both. Paulette Ensign has personally sold over 500,000 copies of her own booklet without spending a penny on advertising. Discover how to surpass her results as many of her clients and students have done. Visit www.tipsbooklets.com for free and fee-based products and services to guide your success...TODAY ! ___________________ Special Reports Available. #1 Speaker Bureau List compiled by Susan Levin, Speaker Services. Includes phone numbers, e-mail address, website. Over 160 bureaus including Europe, Canada, Asia and Cruise Ship Contacts. $39 via e mail -- $49 for print version includes postage. #2 Trade and Professional Associations with Conferences and Meetings Over 250 contacts, phone numbers, e-mail addresses and websites $59 via e mail --- $69 for print version includes postage. Associations from education, health, nursing, libraries, human resources, business and more plus a list of industry magazines. To order e-mail to susan@speakerservices.com or call 310-822-4922. ______________________________________________________ FINDING YOUR BUYING AUDIENCE , Vickie Sullivan For many speakers, the biggest marketing cost isn't a demo video or website. It's the number of speeches they give away, in the hopes that the "exposure" will lead to more clients or engagements. In front of a "buying" audience, exposure can make your business. The problem: such audiences are becoming harder to find. Who are they? There's a lot of confusion about "buying" audiences for two reasons: one, there are many kinds of "buying" audiences. A buying audience for an author who wants to sell a $20 book will be very different than an audience for a speaker who wants more $5,000 speaking engagements. It all depends on why you are speaking and what you want to generate. Secondly, the market doesn't make the above distinction for speakers. Many buyers assume that their audience is the greatest and therefore, speakers should speak for free. Because so many speakers are willing to speak for free, buyers start to believe that their audience is a buying one. So, they tell speakers "Oh, we don't need to pay for speakers -- everyone speaks for exposure." Bottom line: it's your job to determine which audience deserves your free speech. The marketplace won't do it for you. Hard to find Finding the buying audience used to be easy. For corporate product sales and training, any audience with managers would work. That's no longer true. Why? Training budgets have centralized, taking buying power away from many managers. Same situation with products -- managers can buy one copy for their library but not for every person in the department. The same is true for the personal growth and development market. For these speakers, the sales and the entrepreneurial audiences were great. This market has been saturated, and sales are dropping. Result: you can't depend on audience makeup any more. Key factor So, how can you identify your buying audiences? Here's a rule of thumb: the higher the price point of what you are selling, the more sophisticated and subjective the audience is. Remember, you're not the first speaker that has tried to sell the audience after the speech -- the higher the price tag, the more advanced material and higher performance values the audience has been exposed to by previous speakers. And their decision to buy is based on their comparison between you and other speakers they have seen. In short, the bar is raised in proportion to the price point. That's why in the eyes of the marketplace, any audience is a buying audience -- it all depends on the price. Therefore, your success rests in going beyond the expectations of the audiences that are able to buy your books, products or services. Bottom line: not all audiences are created equal. Adjust accordingly. Attention marketing experts: a mini survey by management consultants Towers Perrin shows that many employees don't fully understand their company's brand promise. Seen as a long-term commitment, this kind of training is a great way to leverage current client relationships. Have a great relationship with your local chapter of ASAE (American Society of Association Executives)? National headquarters are moving toward more sharing of branded products and services with local chapters. This stronger pipeline will enable your advocates better access to pitch your products to the national association marketplace. Speaking of ASAE, their Book-A-Speaker program is now online featuring bio, travel, speech outlines, fees, etc. Partnered via www.speakersdirect.com -- only speakers on that system are listed. Associations launching online programming will use private companies rather than pay for infrastructure, freeing up budgets for creating content -- and hiring experts to create it. Great opportunity for industry niched experts. What Buying Audiences Want You've been invited to speak to your high level buying audience. Now the real work begins. Three things are crucial to position your work to this discriminating group. Credibility What buying audiences want to know is what is your track record -- what did you do? And more importantly, what happened as a result of your efforts? Did you win any awards, or break any records? We're not talking about scientific research here. You need to be accurate but don't split hairs. And don't think that just because it was a long time ago that you can't mention it. Results are results. Be specific about it. Best place to put this information is in your bio and introduction. Also weave your experience as stories and examples. Creating Cachet Buying audiences consider themselves a cut above, so their speakers must be too. How do you prove that? By naming names, the bigger the better. Have you worked with cool high-profile clients? Did someone else honor you in some way? Did national mainstream media feature your work? Or better yet, describe your work in a unique way? Drop a few of those names in your bio and introduction. Being specific is important here too. Why do you think that Second City Comedy troupe opened up a speakers bureau for the corporate market? Or get big bucks to teach executives improv skills? Because their albums are instantly recognizable. It creates a certain cachet about their work. Return on Investment This one is the most important: Return on Investment (ROI). There are two major reasons why ROI is your friend. First, measuring your results positions you away from being a "sage on a stage". You create the persona that your work is more than just speaking, critical for selling ancillary services to the audience. Secondly, you've just created a peer-to-peer relationship with this audience. They get results and you have just shown that you do too. You're on the same page. This mutual respect can be leveraged big time. Buying audiences measure ROI in two ways. For experts, creating customized solutions is key. For humorists and other performers, benchmarking the meeting is the goal. Make sure you get clear about the objectives and get agreement from your clients about how ROI will be measured. You want to create a track record here and bragging rights to boot. Any Questions I just met with a training manager who said that she never pays speakers, but if I spoke for free she would refer me to folks within the company who do. Should I do it? Selecting speakers is such a subjective decision, it's great to have a champion in your corner. The key question here is: Will she really help to get you in? Negotiating this kind of arrangement takes some finesse and diplomacy. If you usually don't do that kind of speaking, tell her that, and also express openness to doing something different. Ask what kind of support you can expect -- focus on the role she will play, rather than the process. Writing a letter after the speech is one thing -- making sure the right people show up to this free speech is another. A lot of folks bluster about their contacts and clout, so don't buy into everything you hear. No one can guarantee they can get you selected. Buy they can promise to go above and beyond to champion your cause. Since 1987, Vickie K. Sullivan, President of Sullivan Speaker Services, has generated six-figure revenue streams for hundreds of experts and industry leaders who use public speaking as a marketing tool. Sign up for her free newsletter at http://www.SullivanSpeaker.com. ________________________________________ TWENTY TIPS FOR SPELLBINDING SPEECHES by Eileen Kugler 1. Find out as much as you can about your audience before you prepare your speech. 2. Focus on what your audience wants and needs to hear -- not what you want to tell them. 3. As you prepare, give yourself an opportunity to think creatively about your topic by tapping into creative times ... walking the dog, taking a shower, other non-stressful times. When you get a new idea, jot it down and put it in a folder for later use. 4. Be conscious of the length of your presentation and you prepare. 5. Develop an overall theme for the presentation, and make sure you keep to that theme throughout the speech. 6. Don't overload a short speech -- make just a few points, and make them well. 7. Use conversational language. Remember the spoken word is different from the written word. 8. Don't use jargon or acronyms that you don't define. 9. Get the audience's attention with a strong opening. The more you can customize your opening for that particular audience, the better. 10. Mention something unique about your knowledge or approach to the issue to establish credibility. 11. Use transitions between points to keep your audience focused on your theme. 12. End with a strong closing that emphasizes key points in a commanding. 13. Keep a file of quotations that reinforce your message. A dramatic quotation from a well-known source can add punch to a speech, but only if it reinforces the points you want to make. 14. Humor is also a welcome addition to a speech. Keep a file of stories or jokes that you like. The essential point is, again, to make sure that the story or joke clearly relates to your message. 15. Before you go before any group, PRACTICE. Time yourself to make sure you will stay within the limits. 16. Don't read your speech! Practice your presentation until you are so familiar with your presentation that the words flow comfortably from your mouth 17. Computer-based illustrations or overheads are a good way to emphasize key points or illustrate themes. A few slides can illustrate a point, but use them sparingly because they require lowered lights (that reduce attention). 18. Make sure the information on each transparency or slide is limited, and is easily read in the back of the room. 19. Don1t let technology overtake the human element of your speech. You want them to remember you, not the slides. 20. As you give your speech, make eye contact with audience members as much as possible. Speak to each person "individually." Eileen Kugler helps professionals deliver a message that can1t be ignored. She presents dynamic keynotes and training seminars on essential communications skills. (703) 644-3039 or EKugler@KuglerCom.com ______________________________________________________ PROMOTIONS/ADVERTISING RATES: Get your message out to speakers 2,500 plus and meeting planners in this fast growing newsletter. $50 a month, 25-50 words of text and a link to your website, or 6 months for $275 paid in advance. Terms: Deadline is one week before the end of each month Payment must be received in advance To get started: 1- Email your advertising copy to susan@speakerservices.com 2- Provide payment by credit card-specify length of time ************************ Previous issues are available at http://www.speakerservices.com/nl/index.html To contribute information to this newsletter send via e-mail to: susan@speakerservices.com. Letters and comments are happily accepted. To remove yourself from this newsletter send an e-mail message to susan@speakerservices.com with remove in subject. ************************ Book Speakers: http://speakerservices.com. Get Listed in the Directory: http://speakerservices.com/adv_pkt.html Workshops: http://speakerservices.com/services/la.html Video Production Services: http://speakerservices.com/videoprod.html Speaker Audio Tapes/Books http://speakerservices.com/products/index.html ************************ Speaker Services Susan Levin 4023 Meier Street LA, CA 90066 310-822-4922 FAX: 310-822-9025 Toll free- 877-773-2800 e-mail: susan@speakerservices.com website: http://speakerservices.com