I’m going to tell you about a speaking gig I did in Finland and hopefully you have a big ‘aha’ moment when you’re done reading this.
When I first got the call to do an event in Finland, I thought about how cool it would be since I’ve never been there. They called about 6 months in advanced…maybe 7 (not exactly sure)…and here are the details:
Total Speaking Fee = $12,500
Airfare = $5,000 (business class)
Other expenses (hotel, etc) = N/A…but I stayed for about 5 days
And here’s the moment that made me smile…
When I was getting off the plane, they had someone pick me up and bring me to the hotel. And when we were in the car, I asked him how they found me.
But then he said something interesting…
…He said…
To be honest, we almost didn’t hire you because after looking at your website and everything, we thought we wouldn’t be able to afford you. And we thought you would already be booked up.
Think about that.
They spent around $18,000 when you include the speaking fee and expenses (flight/hotel/etc). They also contacted me 6/7 months in advance.
So when he said that he thought I charged more, and I would be booked up…that was a huge compliment about my marketing materials (he didn’t know he was complimenting my marketing materials…but I did).
They must have thought my speaking fee alone was about $30,000…or more.
Also, most speakers get booked about 2 months in advance. So the fact that they hired me at least 6 months in advanced…and still thought I would be booked up…demonstrates the power of great marketing materials.
When they were hiring me, I didn’t think about my speaking fee because they were paying what everyone else was paying. But what made me smile was the fact that my marketing materials did it’s job…it made me look like I charge a lot more than what I do.
Your marketing materials are directly linked to the amount you charge as a speaker.
(And the more you charge, the better your clients are…the Finland clients were awesome)
When another speaker asks me ‘how to get paid speaking gigs’ …but they don’t have the right marketing materials, they’re putting the cart before the horse.
In the past, I tried to send out an email about several speaking gigs that I couldn’t do (because of schedule conflicts) and unfortunately, since most speakers don’t have good marketing materials, I couldn’t recommend them.
Think about it from a meeting planner’s standpoint…
You get an email from a speaker, and they want you to hire them to speak at your event. The speaker says he charges X amount. So what are you going to do?
You’re going to look at the speaker’s website. Their video footage, etc.
But what if it looks bad? Are you going to hire that speaker?
Of course not. You won’t even respond.
But what if you got the same email, from another speaker, and you LOVED his website. He had plenty of videos, testimonials, etc. Is he more likely to get hired? Of course he is.
I get several emails from speakers who say things like, “If you book me a gig then I’ll give you X%.”
(don’t even get me started on this…just watch this video)
But you know what these speakers are missing? Marketing materials. A great website. Videos.
The problem is never… ‘how do I find speaking opportunities’ …because finding events is very easy. The real problem is…what do you need to have in place to get hired once you find these events?
(If you want to watch me review other speaker’s websites then go here)
How many calls would Tony Robbins have to make before he books a paid gig? One? MAYBE two?
Why is that?
It’s because he has the right marketing materials in place. He has all the social proof. The testimonials from celebrities, tons of video footage, pictures, etc.
If you want more paid gigs, get your marketing materials fixed.
Here are some articles to help you fix your marketing materials: