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Professionally Speaking
Who says talk is cheap? Seasoned public speakers draw more than $10,000 a pop and even lesser-known orators can easily earn $2,000 per appearance. Fierce competition among presenters for a slice of the $75-billion-a-year meeting market has created opportunities for speakers bureaus, marketing specialists, voice coaches, and movement consultants. Here we profile three small companies that are reaping big profits from the public speaking boom.

Niche Marketing When Vickie Sullivan answered a trade journal ad in 1987 for a 10-hour-a-week job promoting a personal-growth speaker, she had no idea it would lead to a business opportunity. "But within a week, I knew I had found my calling," she says. "The work was fulfilling to me. If my client was able to motivate or help just one person in an audience, then I felt that I had done something beneficial by bringing them together." The client was so pleased with Sullivan’s keen public relations, negotiation, and marketing skills that he sent a referral after only three weeks of working with her. Soon after completing her second project, Sullivan got her third client whose income she tripled within six months. 

As more people spread the word about Sullivan’s great work, she quickly became highly regarded within the public speaking field. Frequent presentations at the National Speakers Association (NSA), Institute of Management Consultants, and Meeting Professionals International solidified her reputation as an expert. Sullivan’s success is proof that word-of-mouth referrals really work. Although she’s never spent a cent of her own on advertising, she estimates that 1995 gross revenues for Sullivan Speaker Services were close to $***,***. Her clients also have impressive track records. Their average fee is $3,000 per engagement.

In addition to promoting speakers from her Scottsdale, Arizona, home office, Sullivan, 35, also advises clients on how to build revenues by identifying and targeting markets that would benefit from their expertise. "Marketing materials must offer solid proof that a speaker is worth the fee," she says. But as the industry continues to become more competitive, a slick brochure simply won’t be enough. So she helps clients stand and deliver by offering a comprehensive 15-point marketing consultation package that covers such issues as positioning, fee settings, lead generation, and insightful and unique content development. "Being good isn’t good enough any more," she says. "You have to have the ‘Wow’ factor.

LAURA BYRNE PAQUET lives in Ontario, Canada, and specializes in small business, career, and travel topics.

94 February 1996

For more information call Vickie Sullivan (602) 961-4318 Fax (602)961-4398 e-mail: info@SullivanSpeaker.com