Archive for professional speaking
How to get booked as a professional speaker in the Fortune 500
Posted by: | CommentsIf you’re interested in speaking for the biggest, richest companies in the world but you haven’t been able to figure out how to do it, don’t feel bad. Fortune 500 companies have multiple gatekeepers whose only job is to screen and block calls from unknown vendors. The good news is there’s a secret to cracking the code, and there’s a group of speakers from 10 countries around the world who have banded together to help each other make it happen. All this group is missing is you! Listen to this post and then visit www.sieboldsuccessnetwork.com Steve Siebold
Is The Speaking Business Really That Easy?
Posted by: | CommentsThere’s a group of people in the speaking industry telling emerging speakers how easy it is to become a successful professional speaker. Back in 1996, the year I started my full time speakering career, I heard the same thing. It turns out the people perpetuating this lie are profiting from it. Chances are they’re trying to sell you a seminar, book publishing deal, or CVD or DVD product that tells you how to make it. Some of these people are even telling speakers they don’t have to be good on the platform to make it. Of course none of what they say is true, but new speakers don’t know the charlatans from the good guys. Thank God I met Bill Gove back in 1996. Bill set me straight and told me who to listen to and who to run from. He showed me the honest side of the business as well as the dark side. Bill Gove is the most honest man I’ve ever met in this business, and this post will hopefully pass on some of his wisdom to you.
Steve Siebold
Do you REALLY BELIEVE what you speak about?
Posted by: | CommentsThe personal development/self-help industry is once again being accosted by the national press in the United States. The catalyst seem to be the Sweat Lodge tragedy that occurred at the James Arthur Ray event in Arizona earlier this month. (more comments on that at www.mentaltoughnessblog.com) My question for speakers is; are you delivering a message you really believe in? Are you giving your audiences all of you? Are you writing and speaking at the pinnacle of your ability? Are your books, CD’s, DVD’s and other speaker products world class, or just 2nd rate knock off’s of Think and Grow Rich? The great correction of 2008-2009 has taken it’s toll on many speaking careers, but the fact is the best of breed have survived, and in some cases, grown even bigger. The truth is the speaking business is better than ever, but only for the speakers who are writing and delivering a unique message at a high level. Once again, this business has seen another extreme example of survival of the fittest, and among the traits of the fittest is 100% belief in their message. I’ll look forward to your commentson this 7-minute audio post. Steve Siebold, CSP
Steve Siebold on Good Morning America
Posted by: | CommentsPublic Speaking and Television: Could it Catapult YOUR Career?
Posted by: | CommentsIn the last 13 years as a professional speaker, I’ve probably reached a couple million people with the mental toughness message. Last week, through the power of television, more than 10 million people, most of whom probably never heard of me before, saw me on NBC, FOX, and NBC/Australia. I’m in the beginning of a publicity tour for my new book, Die Fat or Get Tough: 101 Differences in Thinking Between Fat People and Fit People. You can see the Today Show and FOX interviews at www.diefatbook.com My challenge to this week is to listen to this post and think about how you can use the medium of TV to boost your business as a public speaker. Just today, we started running the first of a series of infomercials promoting the Bill Gove Speech Workshop around the country. Could you use informercials to promote your speaking, training or consulting? Do you have a product or program the general public may be interested in? Do you have something controversial to say that may interest the press? I’ll look forward to hearing your comments. Steve Siebold
The Holy Grail of Keynote Speaking
Posted by: | CommentsThe professional speaking business is loaded with misinformation and misconceptions. The biggest may be that the business is all about marketing. While sales and marketing is critical, you MUST have a GREAT product to get great results. Many new speakers are being told you don’t have to be good to get booked, and that’s an outright lie. Corporations aren’t stupid, and they’re not going to pay thousands of dollars per hour for an amateur speaker posing as a professional. Make sure you’re good before you start marketing. Listen to this post and learn what I see as the holy grail of this business. Once you master there two critical skills, you’re ready to marketing like a madman! (or madwoman!)
Steve Siebold ( 4:00 )
The Professional Speaker Show
Posted by: | CommentsCheck out www.professionalspeakershow.com for some of the best video training on how to earn a substantial living as a professional speaker. Mike Stewart and I developed this video magazine to give speakers inside information on the art and business of professional speaking from a 7-figure per year perspective. As of July 2, 2009, we have over 70 hours of video training on the site, and we’re adding new video’s every month. We took several hours of backstage video last quarter that takes you behind the scenes of speaking to packed auditoriums with thousands of people in the audience. This training will cut years off of your learning curve and help you make money in the greatest business in the world! Listen to this post and then check out the website at www.professionalspeakershow.com Steve Siebold ( 2:00 )
Siebold Success Network Update: Speakers Audition Videos Due by June 5, 2009
Posted by: | CommentsIf you want to speak at the Siebold Success Network meeting in Atlanta, July 11-12 listen to this audio post and upload your 2 minute video as soon as possible. We have speakers, trainers, coaches and consultants flying in from all Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, England, France, Mexico, Canada and across the United States. Thousands of deals will be done and contracts signed during this 48 hour deal-fest. If you missed the conference call update earlier this week, this post is a 13 minute synopsis. If you haven’t registered yet, go to www.sieboldsuccessnetwork.com. We don’t have a lot of seats left, but there are a few as of today. The format we’ve chosen dictates that we limit the number of speakers and attendees. See you in Atlanta!
Steve Siebold ( 13 minutes )
Public Speakers promoting books on Television
Posted by: | CommentsOne of the best ways to promote your book is by doing TV interviews. TV gives you and your book added credibility, while showcasing your ability to communicate effectively in different mediums. Once you obtain a digital copy of each interview, you can post them on your website for additional promotion. Last week I was a guest on a HOT new morning show with a large audience base of 4 million throughout South Florida, to talk about my new book, Die Fat or Get Tough: 101 Differences in Thinking between Fat People and Fit People. (www.diefatbook.com) As you can see, TV interviews move quickly, so you have to answer questions in short sound bites that grab the audiences attention. This interview was 3:30 seconds in length, but I was able to get the essence of the books message out in the first couple of questions. Check it out and see what you think.
Steve Siebold (3:30)
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)
