Speaker Services News, October 2004
http://www.speakerservices.com

To leave list:see details below
Content:

Content:
1.   A Note from the founder, Susan Levin
2.   New & Renewing Speakers
3.   Request for Info, Tips and Advice
4.   Article: The Power of Choice
      Which Revenue Stream Works For You? Vickie Sullivan


From the founder, Susan Levin


The Video Demo Showcase is just around the corner. On October 9th in Los Angeles, 18 speakers will be creating their 3 camera shoot video demo with a live audience. On completion these folks will have a fully edited piece that will help them get hired for speaking engagements.  I still have room if you would like to be in the audience e ail me susan@speakerservices.com for the address and be our guest for lunch.  Our next showcase will be the weekend of April 16.

By the way we offer one camera shoots for authors, consultants, coaches or any professional who would like to a 3-5 minute video on their website or to send out to the media.  If this interests you contact me for more information.

Do you want more speaking engagements? Do you want to do radio interviews? Speakerservices.com connects speakers/authors with audiences through our web directory.

Talk to me about getting listed on our website. Ask me for the speakers guidelines to get started in writing your listing. Click on the tab above Directory Listing for rates and advertising packet.

I am offering a package deal when you sign up on speaker services website which includes 3 hours of coaching with one of our master coaches on presentation, content, branding, storytelling, humor, media coaching or whatever it is that you need to move your speaking forward. This is for beginning to seasoned speakers.

Are you interested in getting booked in the college market?
Join James Malinchak on Thursday, October 21, 4-5:30 PST in a teleclass on How to Get Booked to Speak at Colleges.  Learn Everything About How to Get Booked to Speak at Colleges & Make $250,000+ a year! -Even If You Don't Know Where to Start!

James Malinchak (www.Malinchak.com) has been called "The King of the College Speaking Market" and makes more money in a month speaking at colleges than many speakers make in a year...and he's only 33-years old.Colleges have large budgets for booking speakers, YOU just need to know who to contact.

See http://www.speakerservices.com/teleclasses to sign up and if you can't make it preorder the CD.

All of our past teleclass CD's are available for purchase at
http://speakerservices.com/products along with the handouts.

I've included a great article by friend and colleague Vickie Sulllivan, The Power of Choice Which Revenue Stream Works For You?

Susan Levin
Speaker Services
310-822-4922

NEW SPEAKER-  10/04

Jeffrey Levine, MBA, CPCC -- S. California, Western US
Coach with high-powered business background helps solve work/family balance challenges and reveals keys to a fulfilling career that reflects who you really are.
Career, Men's Issues, Parenting/Children
http://www.speakerservices.com/speakers/detail/80

TIPS & ADVICE

FREE Seminar for first 25 folks

Two of our speakers Adoley Odunton and Deborah Deras are presenting a seminar on TIME EXPANSION: HOW TO ACHIEVE MORE WITH LESS EFFORT which will help you get control of your time and your life, increase your income and productivity and gain an extra hour each day. It takes place on

Saturday, November 6, Westin LAX Hotel, 8-5pm.  Tickets are valued at $297. The first 25 people who call and mention "SPEAKERS SERVICES" can attend *FOR FREE*. They expect to sell
out so call now to register: 1-888-886-6847 - For more info www.synergyunlimited.net


Feature Article

Which Revenue Stream Works For You?
As seen in Professional Speaker Magazine, January/February 2004

By Vickie K. Sullivan

Like many moms, mine would often ask, "If your friends all decided to jump off a cliff, would you do it too?"  Not understanding that my life depended on my answer, I once (and only once) responded with, "Well, they act like they know what they're doing."

This might explain the thinking behind many speakers' choices to expand their revenue streams.  In simpler times, the formula was straightforward and it worked:  Look at what other successful speakers are producing and adapt the same kinds of formats for your market.  That's how you knew it was time to wrote that book--when all of your friends were doing it.

Alas, those days are gone.  As the speaking industry has grown past the standard motivational speech or content-driven workshop, options for creating new products and services have exploded.  And so has the risk.  Not all revenue streams are created equal.  A mistake in choice can not only result in wasted time and resources but also in losses in branding and reputation in the marketplace.

Result:  the choice has to become more strategic, and therefore, requires different criteria to make a decision.  Let's explore these three strategic questions, which will help speakers lower their risk in choosing the most profitable way to expand.

1.  What is my current business model, and upon what assumptions is this model based?
Most speaking businesses were born by accident, when one good presentation many moons ago launched a speaking business.  In those good old days, the choices on revenue streams were simple:  create "stuff" to sell in the back of the room.

Now, a more strategic approach is needed.  Savvy business owners outside the profession have discovered the power of speaking to promote their revenue streams.  They're using other business models with success.  Result:  many more options to prosper have emerged.  Past NSA President Mark Sanborn, CSP, CPAE, has compiled 52 different business models that involve public and professional speaking, and there are even more, he notes.

For speakers who developed their business models by default, these changes in the marketplace force some self-examination before determining which revenue streams to pursue.  If your business model is not similar to your colleagues' (or the marketplace perceives your expertise differently), executing other speakers' plans for expansion will yield different results for you than those touted at NSA meetings.

Jose Santiago, CEO of Performance Source, Inc., a strategy consulting firm based in Mill Valley, Calif., has influenced the redefinition of value creation in industries as diverse as financial services, diamond jewelry and business-to-business software sales.  He insists that any prevailing business model rapidly absorbs one's entire view of reality, limiting opportunities and ultimately preventing growth.  Standing outside of that model to fully "see" it is the first challenge.

"Like many top executives do, it's easy for speakers to forget that they're working within a business model," says Santiago.  "Whether they know it or not, their philosophy on creating value, a way of making money or promoting a service offering can slide into a product of habit, unconscious personal preferences, past successes and what others are doing--much more than the product of careful, strategic analysis of markets themselves and the future."

Practical application:  Create a "Cosmo"-style test for your business model.  Ask five of your top clients to state your value to them in one sentence.  If you get five different responses, your business model could be based on the "strategy du jour."

2.  Is this product/service consistent with my brand?
Speakers have unique advantages over other business owners in that visibility in their marketplace lends itself to quickly creating an identifiable brand.  The trick is to make sure that the revenue streams contribute to--rather than detract from--the image they have worked so hard to create.

Under the guise of reinvention, speakers may find that their core essence gets lost along the way.  To expand into bigger-fee markets, it's tempting to let the application of expertise spin past the brand.  With this in mind, Marjorie Brody, MA, CMC, CSP, president of Brody Communications and a prominent speaker in the leadership market, not only had the vision to re-examine her strategy but also the guts to pull back efforts to reinvent her business.

No one understands this dynamic better than best-selling author and daytime TV star Dr. Phil McGraw.  McGraw had plenty of competition in a market where nine out of every 10 talk shows fail every year.  His decision to expand his business by launching a TV talk show was not taken lightly, according to his communication strategist Libby Gill.

A member of McGraw's inner circle, Gill explained the key to making the show the most successful daytime TV launch since The Oprah Winfrey Show started 16 years ago.  "In a world filled with pop psychologists and overnight experts, we had to distill his authority to its purest form so it would be distinct," she says.  "Then we had to keep that integrity across all other product and media outlets so he was perceived as one in a class of one."

Gill further describes the ramifications of that key decision.  "that's why you won't see Dr. McGraw featuring topics about remodeling your den, picking a new hairstyle or overhauling your financial portfolio.  Even though plenty of hosts would tackle these types of topics, that is off brand and not consistent with who he is."  She notes, "When you have that core uniqueness and you distill that down to its essence, your choice of avenues must be consistent with that essence.  Then there is no competition."

Practical application:  Ask yourself if in the effort to reinvent your business, is your core uniqueness distilled enough to apply consistently?  Are you motivated enough to expand into a certain area consistent with my core uniqueness?  What avenues are you willing to walk away from to protect your brand?

3.  What are the value equations I should entertain? 
This is when outside perspectives and collaborations come in.  Too many speakers (even industry veterans) rely too much on their "gut instinct" based on past experience, advice from NSA buddies and current clients.

The result:  isolation and a bias toward what has worked before, rather than what can work now.

According to Gill, every new venture for the "Dr. Phil" brand undergoes rigorous discussions and analysis for feasibility, involving experts in those areas.  He doesn't rely on past successes going forward.  "He takes every project seriously and won't hesitate to walk away if he or his advisors find something that doesn't fit," she explains.

Clearly, there's nothing wrong with trusting intuition or looking for ways to increase revenues with the current base.  But what about vehicles to gain footholds into new markets?

The trap:  expansions that are used to get into new markets are too often based on past assumptions, forcing the speaker to enter into a new market blindly rather than joining forces with others who could be conduits.  This is a major reason why new market efforts fail.

How can isolated speakers avoid this pitfall?  By following the advice experts give their clients and looking for outside perspectives and collaborations.  Both Santiago and McGraw use experts in other fields to propel their projects forward.  "I'm always on the lookout for people I can get together with to produce value for them, value for myself, and value to the marketplace so that the total value created is greater than the sum of the parts," Santiago explains.  His latest project:  joining forces with an international jewelry expert to test a new model for jewelry store sales of diamonds.  It encompasses changes in the value chain, from the structure of the wholesaler offering all the way to customers' value perceptions of diamonds.

As for McGraw, cross-disciplinary teams are always a part of the plan.  Latest example:  he is extending the momentum to his already best-selling book on weight loss by collaborating with nutrition experts to distribute a new line of nutrition products.  This move proves the logical extension between education outlets such as books and specific implementation tools like nutritional products.

Practical application:  Ask yourself whether you have enough diverse opinions on your team to ensure objective analysis?  Is there outside expertise you could benefit from?  Who could you collaborate with other than your colleagues who could provide implementation tools for your expertise?  What revenue stream alternatives haven't you considered?

With age comes the realization of just how wise my mother's words were.  Too many of us give up the power of choice to decide what direction our revenue streams should take.  Instead of relying on market intelligence and strategy, it is far too tempting to look at what our friends are doing and apply one of their business models to our situations.

Those who are willing to decide by business model, brand and value will use more strategic criteria--and be assured that their choices are the right ones for their business.

Since 1987, Vickie K. Sullivan, President of Sullivan Speaker Services, has generated millions of dollars in speaking fees, book advances and ancilliary income for her clients. Sign up for her free market intelligence at http://www.SullivanSpeaker.com.

Publisher's note: Vickie did a fabulous teleclass for us on High Paying Speaking Engagements and Trends in the Industry and can be ordered on CD-just click on our products tab above.








 UPCOMING EVENTS


10/4 & 10/11 Teleclass
Business of Speaking: Creating a Marketing Strategy, Susan Levin
learn more

 10/9 or 4/16/05
Video Demo Showcase in Los Angeles, 3 Camera Shoot learn more

10/21 Teleclass,
Get Booked to Speak at Colleges, James Malinchak  learn more


10/27 or 11/22  in Los Angeles
Market Yourself as a Speaker,
Susan Levin learn more