Archive for fee paid speaking
PLEASE DON’T Write a Book in 30 Days
Posted by: | CommentsThe average best-selling author spends 12-24 months writing their books, yet there’s a bunch of people promising new speakers they can do it in 30 days. These are the same people claiming the speaking business is easy and you can throw a speech together overnight and you don’t even have to be a good speaker to deliver it. I heard these same lies when I got started in the business in 1996, and thank God I met Bill Gove. Bill Gove was from the old school. You know, the guys who believed a hand shake was as good as a contract and your word was your bond? Bill set me straight and told me the truth. Because he was honest with me, I had the chance at fulfilling my dream as a speaker. He warned me about listening to people selling a product or program on the premise that the business was easy. Any successful speaker who’s honest will tell you how tough this business is. It’s doable and it’s worth it, but you will pay a price for your success. (like any other business) Listen this post (9 minutes) and make your decison about writing a book on the FACTS…instead of listening to people who stand to profit from ignorance. If I sound angry in this post, it’s because I am. This is the greatest industry in the world and it’s being tainted by profiteers selling snake oil who could care less if you succeed or not. (Think George Washington Duke in Rocky 5) It’s a small group of people, but they’re growing because no one seems to have the guts to call them out. I’ll look forward to your conments. Steve Siebold (9 minutes)
Should speakers thank the audience?
Posted by: | CommentsSeems like a pretty easy question to answer, but speakers have different beliefs about this. We get this question at every session of the Bill Gove Speech Workshop, and we give the workshop philosophy to the participants. Bill Gove, the father of professional speaking, felt very strongly about this. Listen to this 2-minute audio post and let us know what you think.
Audience “Shocked and Stunned” by Senior Executives Comments on Speaking Business
Posted by: | CommentsI interviewed a senior executive last weekend in Atlanta at the Siebold Success Network meeting for almost 2 hours onstage, and the audience of speakers was shocked at what she had to say. This executive hires some of the biggest speakers in the business, and she told the truth about what it takes to get hired at this level. As I’ve been saying over and over again in this blog, there’s a large group of speaker trainers getting rich telling people how easy the speaking business is and how you don’t have to be a good speaker to make it. They’re telling the masses of new speakers exactly what they want to hear. The problem is new speakers don’t know the truth from the lies, and they often choose to follow the path that looks easiest. That’s why I’m fighting these liars by interviewing corporate executives who hire speakers. The speaking industry is a wonderful business, and we need more thought leaders who are also competent presenters. The only chance a new speaker has to break into the business, (outside of getting famous) is to learn how the business really works and what organizations are looking for. Listen to this post, and join us in Atlanta June 11-13, for the next session of the Siebold Success Network. www.sieboldsuccessnetwork.com Over 4,000 contracts were signed last weekends between speakers and referral agents. All we were missing is YOU!
Steve Siebold
Is Your Speech Good Enough To Survive The Great Correction of 2009?
Posted by: | CommentsBack in 2001-2002, post 9/11, over 1200 professional speakers went broke when corporate training and travel budgets were frozen after the terrorist attacks on New York City. This represented the professional speaking industry’s first major economic correction. The middle class of the speaking business went belly up, and almost everyone I knew in NSA thought it was a disaster. The truth is it was one of the best things that’s every happened in our industry. Individuals and organizations had more problems than ever, and were desperate for help, because many of them were suffering for the same reason. Ultimately, they turned to the most innovative speakers/trainers/consultants who had the greatest value propostion and were capable of solving their problems. While the middle class of speakers were still trying to sell pedestrian content and motivational platitudes, the top speakers were getting wealthier delivering creative solutions to increase sales, retention, customer service and every other bottom-line result. In 2009, the speaking business is experiencing it’s biggest correction in it’s 60-year history, and it looks like only the best speakers with the most relevant content will survive. This is GREAT for the customer! It means all of us have to get off the gravy train we’ve been riding for the last 5, flush years of this business and refine even our best material, not to mention our platform skills. Only the best in the business will survive the ‘great correction’ of 2009! In objective reality, isn’t that how it should be?
Steve Siebold (7:08)
