The more I think about it, the more I realize that the way for you to get the most out of Speaking Lifestyle is for you to ask questions about your speaking business and for me to reply on here.
That way, you can get information that’s specific to your current situation and know what the next step is.
Below are a few questions I got from speakers…and here are the answers. If any of these apply to your speaking business then make sure you implement the answers.
Question:
I’d like to know what is the ideal amount of speaking niches/topics that one can specialize in. I cover on trading as well as motivational speaking, hence 2 niches.
Am I on the right track or should I focus on just one niche?
Answer:
It’s best to focus on one thing but you can still combine both.
Not too long ago, I listened to an interview with Jay Abraham and Tony Robbins. In the interview, Jay said that the only person he know’s who’s really good at multiple topics is Tony Robbins. And then Tony said something interesting…
Tony Robbins said that it looks like he talks about multiple topics but he only talks about one thing. He focuses in on what makes a person successful, pulls it out of them, and models it.
By doing that, he can go to any industry… Real Estate, Sales, etc …and figure out what the top person does, and then teach it to other people.
You can do the same as Tony Robbins.
Your main topic can be Trading but you can always include motivational elements when you’re speaking. In fact, you almost always have to.
The best speakers are the ones who can inspire, no matter what speaking topic they talk about.
So you want to figure out what’s your main focus, specialize in it, and then relate that speciality to other industries.
Question:
I’m trying to decide what system to use for contact management. I would use it for letting specific groups (of contacts) know if I have or had a great gig (kinda like you do!) and also use for social media linking as well as follow-up work.
What do you use? I am looking at Constant Contact and Mail Chimp.
Answer:
Right now I use two tools.
Insightly is used as my CRM to keep a database of the people who hired me and the people/events I want to connect with. It’s not used to email them, it’s used more like an address book.
And Aweber is used for my email lists.
However…
…We’ve been looking into Active Campaign instead of Aweber.
It’s more expensive but it’s also more dynamic.
When you’re building your list as a speaker, it’s not enough to just have a big list, you also want to maximize it. And the best way to do that is to make sure you segment people on your list (and do tons of other things).
That’s why we’re going to switch to Active Campaign.
Another option [one that we would have done if it weren’t for Active Campaign] is to use Aweber and Aweber Pro Tools. Using both of those tools can help you create a dynamic list that’s very responsive.
I also want to point something out…
In your question, you said that you want to use the system for letting specific groups know if you have a gig and also use it for social media linking and follow-up work.
…Whenever you’re using any of these systems, you have to always think about the person on the other end, not yourself.
People don’t want to hear about your speaking gigs unless it’s related to them directly.
Imagine if I sent you an email about the speaking gig I did last week or the speaking gigs I have lined up in the next few days. You would think, “Um, ok, good for you buddy. Now where’s my coffee?”
The only time you hear me talk about my speaking gigs are when I have a specific lesson I want everyone to learn from it.
And you want to think along the same lines.
Don’t ‘update’ people unless the update is in direct relation with the things they care about the most.
Question:
I’m a entertainer and I want to get started in speaking, as a professional keynote speaker and trainer. Im not really 100 % sure how to do this, I want to talk about customer service because it is an area that just keeps jumping in my face.
I am always treated with below that average customer service and I just watch it going down hill more and more everyday. So, it is a topic that I feel could use improvement and I can help with.
So, what do you suggest? Where should I start.
Answer:
As an entertainer, you already have a leg up on most speakers because when a company hires a speaker, what they really want is a form of entertainment.
Now when you say that you want to talk about customer service, you have to think for a second…
Just because it keeps jumping in your face doesn’t mean it’s something you should talk about. You have to think about the big pictures…
- Is it something companies will hire you for?
- Is it a good market?
- How many speakers do you see who talk about customer service?
I personally don’t know too many.
Now you might be thinking that’s a good thing but it rarely is.
A market with no competitors means it’s not a sustainable market.
And before you jump into the customer service market, do your research on the top guys in the industry.
- Who are they?
- What are they talking about exactly?
- Who hired them?
Sit down for an entire day and research the market.
And btw…
I’m not talking about the ‘customer service’ market. I’m talking about the ‘speakers who speak on customer service’ market. Those are two different things.
If it were me, I would enter the ‘leadership’ market or ‘sales’ market and relate everything back to customer service.
Here’s an example…
Leadership: “Great leaders focus on customers. They make sure that the customers are treated well, etc etc. And everyone in your company is a leader. Everyone from the CEO to the guy at the cash register. If the guy at the cash register treats customers bad then the business will lose money in the long run.”
Sales: “The way we sell is changing. It’s no longer about being pushy and getting someone to sign on the dotted line. You have to have great service. You have to care for the customer you’re talking to or they won’t buy. And everyone in this business is a salesman. If someone walks up the to cash register and…”
Make sense?
Never confuse what you want to talk about with how to sell what you talk about.
You can talk about customer service, but companies don’t hire speakers to talk about customer service. Companies hire leadership speakers, motivational speakers, sales speakers, etc. And from there, your message can be about customer service.
So your first step is to figure out if it’s a good market to begin with.
Then you have to figure out how to sell your topic (don’t confuse the topic with being able to sell it).
And then you want to build your speaker marketing materials and start selling yourself.
And that ends the Q&A’s for today.
There will be more to come soon. If you have any specific questions related to your speaking business (it can be anything) then just send an email or make a comment on this blog.