Dedicated to Jennifer White, who spent 33 short years making a difference and lighting up a room. Her light will shine on in everyone she touched.
Investing in Marketing Tools: Timing is Everything
Conventional wisdom is that to become a professional speaker, you must have tools such as a demo video, a book, promotional materials, websites etc. Unfortunately, too many speakers have interpreted this to mean that these tools come first. This mistake can be fatal.
Cart before the horse
The grain of truth here is these tools are needed in a traditional speaking career, when bureaus and agents are getting the engagements. The hubris is that only "real" speakers have demo videos, one-sheets, etc. What’s changed: buyers are using their own resources to find speakers, instead of relying on the standard tools. The demo video is no longer the price of admission.
The death spiral
Peer pressure among speakers can unduly persuade newcomers to spend money way too soon on tools that will only be discarded as their speaking takes off. The "spend and spend again" approach has dire consequences. Typical example: an expert spends $10,000 for a video, website, and printed materials. When the market doesn’t respond, they now have to spend more money (with someone like me) to find out why the tools aren’t working. They usually learn that the video et al doesn’t place them in the paid speaking market and they have to start all over. By that time, cash flow is too tight to implement the best market strategy, so they’re stuck. Result: Wasted money, wasted time, no bookings and no tools to get them bookings. I’ve seen speakers (especially authors) twist in the wind for years in this process. It’s not pretty. First things first
Before spending one dime on any marketing tool, get very clear on three things:
- Your most profitable path
- Your most profitable audience
- Your most profitable point of view
Most experts have a variety of topics to speak on. Your job is to find out which way is the most profitable and will sell to the highest fee audience.
You don’t get this information by gazing at your navel. You get the best strategy by intersecting your expertise with current market conditions. Find trends that are coming up and determine how to capitalize on them. And then gear every tool to that end.
With that direction, your marketing tools will be the best investment yet
What Doesn’t Work in Marketing Tools
So many marketing tools such as videos and one-sheets make that short trip to the trashcan. Below are common reasons why and ways to make sure your material is seen and saved.
Videos
Long introductions – Buyers want to see you speak, not some made-for-TV story about why your message is important. Keep the bells and whistles to 30-second intro. Remember: No introduction can make up for bad footage.Weak opening – The buyers’ decision to see the rest of the video depends on their reaction to the first segment of live footage. It amazes me how weak that first segment will be – pace will be too slow, or even someone’s introduction of you. The first footage the buyer sees needs to be the strongest. Whatever is the strongest, goes in first. Stories with no point – It is a given that paid professional speakers can tell a story. But far fewer ones make a great point with their stories. You’ll be on the top of the list if you can show how your message is different.
One-pagers
No clear message – Most collateral lists the topics that everyone else talks about. Instead, use your credentials to create a compelling point of view that is different. If you’re a humorist, don’t just tell folks you are funny – prove it with testimonials and your humorous perspective on a particular subject.Writing too weak – Too many speakers depend on copywriting to cover up their lack of focus. Copywriters are great wordsmiths, but don’t know the market well enough to determine your differentiation. (That’s not their skill set.) Result: too many speakers saying "I am funny, thought-provoking and inspirational." Instead, give the writer your credentials and point of view. Give the writer enough information so the reader can decide for themselves if your message is compelling enough. Bottom line: Tools only are as effective as you make them
Welcome to the 21st Century!
I heard that all the time in response to my explanation
that Splash was a "snail mail" newsletter. Due to the
overwhelming feedback (especially from our international
subscribers who were getting it a month late) I am
happy to report that splash is now online. And yes,
Murphy’s Law was involved in the project… You’ll
notice that two sections are dropped because they are
already on the site: tips
and trends on market intelligence and events to see when I’m in your neighborhood. For
easy navigation, I’ve also named created categories
for the articles: Strategic Focus, which will
cover more broad issues and Implementation Ideas to
make your efforts effective. We’re open to comments
and feedback – just let me know how we can do
this better at info@sullivanspeaker.com
I’ve just spent almost a year writing a book that has just been published.
I thought that once the book was published, the speaking invitations would come
in but they haven’t. I’ve spent a lot of money promoting the book
to media and websites. I’ve even gone on tours. Nothing seems to be getting
paid speaking engagements. What’s wrong with this picture?
You’ve made one of the biggest mistakes in speaking: build it and they will come. Just because you have a book, doesn’t mean that speaking engagements now will fall out of the sky. Authors are everywhere, many speaking for free to promote their book. Why should anyone pay you just because you have a book?
When the market ignores your efforts, it’s a sure sign that you invested more in producing the vehicle (i.e. the book) than the strategies that make that book generate speaking engagements. A better approach: invest in market intelligence that would identify your most profitable audience and determine a strategy for reaching that market. Then develop your book and marketing efforts around that audience. Be prepared that this book might be a lost cause. If it is, don’t throw good money after bad by trying to make it work. Use the book for credibility and move on to a better strategy. It’s the expensive lessons that we don’t forget.
There are a lot of folks who can help but be careful. There are also a lot of charlatans. The High Cost of Bad Advice exposes some of the common claims and advises how to separate the good, the bad and the rip-offs.
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