Excerpted from Panel Discussion for Health and Wellness PEG
1999 National Speakers Association Western Winter Workshop

By Vickie Sullivan

The below top ten trends and strategies show that opportunities abound for health and wellness speakers who are willing to be creative in differentiation, application and leveraging activities.

In general:

TREND #1: Corporate markets are decreasing in-house instructor-led classes on soft skills training.

Many speakers make the argument "Healthy employees are more productive employees" as a way to justify entry into corporate markets. Won’t work -- Corporate decision makers are not only focusing on training that deals with specific work behaviors, but are also focusing on computer based training to deliver the information. Good news though for inspiration/survival speakers: these topics are in demand for special events, and speakers with high profile visibility are getting the biggest fees. Strategy: Shift away from this market -- unless content is applied to "high achievers" market (See below). High achievers understand how health ties into a specific benefit, such as staying ahead of the curve. This mindset values the topic, and is willing to pay for unique perspectives, and experiences that will help them implement a healthy regime into a hectic lifestyle.

TREND #2: Content will be king. Because so many nutritionists, dieticians and authors are willing to speak for free, decision-makers are questioning the need to pay health and wellness speakers. Speakers who get top fees have two things in common – they provide information not readily available by the "free experts" and they have high profile visibility. Health and wellness speakers are really "unhealthy" in these areas – of the 176 speakers listed under "Health and Nutrition" in the NSA directory, less than 24% had a Website. Worst yet, 25% of the sites weren’t accessible, and less than 10 had content beyond the speakers bio and programs. Introduce critical beliefs … nuggets of wisdom. Strategy: Differentiate content unless you are a personality/celebrity.Unless visibility is so high profile that the marketplace considers you a celebrity, most speakers need to provide more in-depth content than the free expert speakers. Ways to differentiate include: the implementation angle – how don’t folks do this and why; the application angle – foods for anti-aging, or peak performance, or brain food. Remember, a book doesn’t make you a personality – national media, along with comedian-like presentation skills create that persona.

TREND #3: Corporate universities and other "large sources" are marketing their services outside their core constituencies.

Corporate universities are increasing exponentially, so if the corporate market does buy health topics for employees, those programs occur here. By and large, the faculty comes from community colleges and universities. (And the fees for speakers from community colleges are very very low.) To combat stress, consultants are including soft skills in larger packages of services, and some department heads will allow attendance at a public workshop, such as Career Track or SkillPath. Entering an already crowded market are large companies such as American Airlines and 3M, who make their training division available to the outside world. Good news: it’s all abundant info.

Strategy: Apply differentiating content to upper levels and to special events. Upper management programs are immune to this dynamic, as these topics can be useful for executive development or even board retreats as a "break." Incentive meetings and other annual meetings could be an interesting opportunities, especially for inspiration/survival speakers.

Trends in association markets:

TREND #4: Association markets building on-line communities.

According to American Society of Association Executives, more than 50% of their members are earmarking major investments to building on line communities, creating great opportunities for visibility that can make speaking engagements a given. These also change the way education and information will be disseminated and how it will be paid for, so speakers who can create implementation tools will see much more leverage. Strategy: Create bookings by increasing presence in on-line communities. Associations will need plenty of "stuff" to make the site interactive, so speakers who can moderate discussion groups, create on-line quizzes and assessments, or even little things like "the mental minute" or "peak performance tip of the day," can create high visibility. Visibility that will create beyond speaking engagement to more "partnership" with associations to include a wide variety of services and products. TREND #5: Association markets want to take care of the "whole" member.Associations know that corporate markets are downsizing efforts on personal and professional growth, so do it so they are taking up the slack with not only classes but a wide variety of other formats. Publishing will be big here, as associations are forming different formats, such as web-based training, to allow members to learn. Many associations are partnering with universities, so there is a narrow window of opportunity that may be closing soon.Strategy: Apply differentiating content to high-profile industry issues. Application is key here – speakers must slant all content to solve a challenge/create some peace of mind for the association member. Examples: "peak performance in constantly changing environments," or "have high energy, even in the afternoons." Many associations are reporting that they are getting 3 to 5 proposals for every concurrent session slot from nonpaid speakers, so visibility, differentiation and sponsorship are keys here. TREND #6: Spouse programs are expanding to include fitness and sports.Demographics have changed, so spouse programs are no longer gender-based, (like shopping trips.) Instead, many programs are activity-based, providing interesting opportunities for speakers who can tie their message with a related activity.

Strategy: Cultivate alliances with golf courses and other facilities. Hotels are doing a lot of work here, so speakers can align their message to a hotel-planned activity. Examples: stretching exercises before golf, eating for energy before tennis, inspiration before rock climbing or other high adventure activities.

TREND #7: "Activity/Adventure" programs are increasing in incentive markets.

Incentive meetings have come a long way from being just one big party – demographics have dictated many changes. One of the biggest: more activities-based programs from low risk (such as cooking classes) to high adventure (like river rafting.) The number of incentive programs are also increasing to include more non-sales personnel, to increase retention and to create camaraderie. Great opportunities in this market for both broad topics speakers like health and fitness, and inspirational speakers. well here too, like before the event/adventure… Strategy: Create an "experience" around your topic. For example: Nutrition with cooking classes. Instead of promoting classes to incentive meetings, speakers can create their own experiences by joining forces with others. Example: A nutrition speaker works with a chef to provide cooking classes. For high adventure groups, inspirational speakers can give perspective before the event, and other experts can even debrief afterwards as a demonstration of the mind/body connection. TREND #8: More individual programs in incentive markets.The second biggest change in incentive markets is the "do your own thing" offerings by many companies. Instead of spending time as a group, menus of different trips are offered to customize the experience. This dynamic also creates great opportunities, and not just limited to classes and programs … again, emphasis is being given to creating experiences. These experiences are being customized both within the same geographic location (such as five different things to do in New York City) and in separate locations (five "winners" chose individual trips from a menu of 10 different locales.)

Strategy: Create a "menu item" and align with others in your area. In other words, create an experience that you can approach an incentive decision-maker and say, "here are some possible additions to your menu when you arrive in my city." Keep in mind that offering don’t have to be geographically based – work with incentive houses to create information/classes to go with their experiences.

Trends in "achievement" markets:

TREND #9: The "achievement" market will continue to boom.

The achievement market are those outlets that attract folks who are already high achievers – they are interested in achieving to new heights, creating balance and not losing the success they already have. (Examples: incentive markets, sales associations.) This can be a tough audience, as achievers are sophisticated and have heard many of the master speakers. This market loves to be challenged, so speakers must go beyond the basics. For speakers who have differentiated content, achievers have no problems spending significant amounts on follow up services and products. Keep in mind that aspiring achievers also attend. Strategy: Apply content to peak performance, staying ahead of curve, etc. Again, these folks are interested in health as a way to keeping their edge, or because their lifestyles have had an adverse effect on their health, so create content for those areas. Also focus on implementation. Visibility is tied to credibility, so indirect efforts are just as important as generating direct revenue. TREND #10: Identify outlets by demographics vs. industry.Many speakers on broad consumer topics such as cancer awareness, phobias etc. already do this instinctively; they know that identifying a market by like-minded beliefs is critical. Speakers with more general topic such as nutrition and health who have historically tried to get bookings in the association and corporate markets need to follow suit. Speakers will increase leverage by working with more audiences who are already sold on the topic but need specific help, rather than audiences who need to be convinced. (Professional speaker Alan Weiss once said "Working with struggling people creates a struggling business.") Narrowing the marketing approach to target demographics leaves the positioning broad enough to make significant revenue but also focused enough to differentiate. Strategy: Use association websites to determine member profiles.

Ask yourself: who do I really want to work with and where do these folks hang out? Where and how do they get their info? What do they want to do with that information? Intersect these answers with association websites to get creative about where to speak and who to create with. Media outlets are another great source for reaching a specific demographic group.

"Vickie helped me reposition my expertise in a way that set me apart from my peers and immediately enabled my target audience to see the value. Result: I generated speaking opportunities in the new marketplace within 60 days. And all without cold calls!"

Pamela S. Harper, President Business Advancement Inc

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