703 March 2016 - Behind the Podium

VOL 7, ISSUE 3 • MARCH 2016

Page 10

THIS MONTH FEATURES Behind the Podium (ISSN 1949-5544) is published 12 times a year as a resource for emerging professional speakers, business leaders, technical gurus, educators, and other subject-matter experts.

Editor Bryan Caplovitz welcomes your input (editor@behindthepodium.com) .

Behind the Podium publishes the opinions of experts and authorities from many fields; however, the use of those opinions is no substitute for accounting, legal, investment, or other professional services. Material may not be reproduced in part or in whole in any form whatsoever without the written permission of SpeakerMatch. SpeakerMatch is the world’s largest source for speaking opportunities.

Behind the Podium is published monthly, by SpeakerMatch, 4807 Spicewood Springs Road, Suite 1120, Austin, TX 78759-7944. $24/year, $4.95/issue (US funds). Periodicals postage paid at Austin, TX. Behind the Podium is a trademark of Simply Speaking, Inc. Copyright © 2016 by Simply Speaking, Inc. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to SpeakerMatch Subscription Department, 4807 Spicewood Springs Road, Suite 1120, Austin, TX 78759-7944.

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06 How To Get Prospects To Read What You Write Headlines aren’t just for newspapers anymore.

08 Do You Want to Make More Sales?

5 Ways to Help Remember, if you sound the same as everyone else, you have no advantage.

10 Be the Speaker That Planners Want To Book Your bottom-line growth and long-term viability may depend on it.

12 7 Tips to Cultivate Your Motivation Personal Development Trainer Sid Savara offers his advice.

LIKE TO WRITE? Speakers, if you’re interested in contributing to Behind the Podium, we’ve got a handy editorial calendar online. You’ll find our monthly calendar of topics and article submission guidelines.

LOOK FOR THE EDITORIAL CALENDAR AT BEHINDTHEPODIUM.COM

LET US KNOW WHAT YOU THINK ABOUT THIS ISSUE! USE HASHTAG (#BTP) ONLINE AT: Facebook.com/speakermatch @speakermatch SpeakerMatch Group feedback@behindthepodium.com

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QUESTION OF THE MONTH

What type of sales and marketing do you do?

How do you rank these methods?

1. Direct mail 2. Email/website 3. Phone calls 4. In-person networking 5. Social networking 6. Other (specifics, please)

SHARE YOUR WISDOM WITH THE COMMUNITY: FEEDBACK@BEHINDTHEPODIUM.COM

ALWAYS REMEMBER TO SAY THANKS! One of the easiest ways to build a lucrative, sustainable speaking business is with repeat business and referrals. A little work nurturing your relationships with your clients can pay off big time for both of you.

For a client, you can become a trusted, reliable, resource. If you “get” them, you make a meeting planner look good.

For you, repeat business and referrals can make your sales process much easier. You can target your marketing materials specifically to individuals you know.

Everyone appreciates a thank-you and good follow-up. Little token gifts mean a lot. Sending a meeting planner a little box of dark chocolate (which you know is their favorite) and a thankyou card reinforces the notion that you are a good choice, and encourages them to throw some more business your way.

DO YOU HAVE A FOLLOW-UP STRATEGY TO SHARE WITH OTHER SPEAKERS? LET US KNOW!

EDITOR’S NOTE

EVEN SPEAKERS NEED TO PAY ATTENTION TO SALES AND MARKETING There’s no such thing as a successful business without sales.

It can be a lot of work developing, revising, and refining a speech. Hours of practice to get your delivery just right. And it’s what most speakers expect to be doing as a speaker. As a speaker, you want to spend as much of your “speaking business” time doing what you do best, on stage in front of an audience.

you wrote, from a networking opportunity, or from a number of other sources. And if you have the right tools in your toolbox, you will be ready to make a sale when the opportunity is in front of you. This month we have some great tips from some industry experts to help you be ready with your sales and marketing.

But all of that work would be pointless without clients. Even if you have a full-time staff to handle your sales and marketing, you should ALWAYS be thinking about where your next client will come from.

For more tips and ideas about sales and marketing for speakers, check out the SpeakerMatch group on LinkedIn.

Your next client could come from a referral, a previous client, public relations, an article you wrote, direct mail, from a book

Bryan Caplovitz Founder, SpeakerMatch

BEHIND THE PODIUM MARCH 2016 | 3

LET’S TALK

HEY MEMBERS — WE WANT TO PAY YOU!

We will give you $25 just for letting us know when you get booked!

Sometimes the meeting planner doesn’t let us know if they book a speaker. Help us keep track of your booking, and we’ll give you a $25 account credit! If the meeting planner hasn’t marked your application as “accepted, “ or if you are booked through a Direct Request, let us know!

SpeakerMatch has set aside $2,500 for up to 100 members who let us know about their experience in getting booked through our service. All we ask is that you send us at least 50 words so we can publish your experience in a future edition of Behind the Podium or in other SpeakerMatch marketing materials.

We’ll accept up to 2 submissions from each speaker.

SUBMIT YOUR STORY TO FEEDBACK@BEHINDTHEPODIUM.COM

MEMBER FEEDBACK

Marques Ogden Former NFL athlete, and current Bestselling Author of Sleepless Nights: THE NFL: A BUSINESS AND FAMILY

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TRENDING HEALTH

WATCH YOUR BACK!

Take sit-ups out of your exercise routine To stay fit, many speakers like to do calisthenics when they travel. If you don't mind calisthenics but hate sit-ups, there's good news for you. Exercise and military experts are taking sit-ups off their routines in order to prevent back injuries.

A recent editorial in Navy Times called for banishing the sit-up from physical readiness tests sailors must pass every year. The editors call it "an outdated exercise today viewed as a key cause of lower back injuries. Sit-ups can put hundreds of pounds of compressive force on (continued on page 12)

TRAVEL

BACK OFFICE

NEW WAY TO FLY FIRST CLASS More than 30 airlines around the world now hold auctions to sell upgrades to first class or business class. Some even auction off the chance to have an empty seat beside you in coach.

Airlines know who their frequent travelers are and which ones pay for the most expensive seats. Those elite fliers have typically had the right to upgrade using cash or miles. Many times they qualified for free upgrades. That left a slim chance for a lower-level business flier ever to luck into an upgrade but it also left the airline giving away revenue.

That may be changing as airlines experiment with auctions, giving people a chance at upgraded seats for less money.

BACK UP YOUR WEBSITE If you have your own website, backups are essential. Yet many website owners don’t think about them until they have a problem.

There are lots of options for making a backup of your site, including some free backup options offered by many hosting companies, and free plugins for WordPress.

Beware, however, that if your server goes down or if your website account is compromised, restoring from the backup could be difficult.

Many airlines now use Plusgrade to offer passengers a path to an upgrade 72 hours before a flight. This works right from the airline website. Mobile app Seatboost.com, offers passengers an auction right at the gate. Passengers on the flight bid against each other via the app to win the upgrade.

Virgin America uses SeatBoost auctions at the gate an hour before boarding on Las Vegas flights. Bidding starts at $10, $30 or $50, depending on the length of the flight and whether passengers are also bidding on extra leg-room seats in coach or a first-class seat.

We recommend MyRepono (speakermatch.com/resources/ myrepono) as an inexpensive option for making secure backups on a separate server.

BEHIND THE PODIUM MARCH 2016 | 5

PUBLICITY

HOW TO GET PROSPECTS TO READ WHAT YOU WRITE Headlines aren’t just for newspapers anymore.

H

eadlines sit on top of your press releases. They are the subject lines of your email.

They are the first words your prospects read in your blog posts, your YouTube videos and your sales letters.

No matter where the headline is, it serves the same purpose: to get the reader’s attention.

The headline must be so captivating that it grabs the reader’s eyes and won’t let them go anywhere but to the next sentence, or the next click to read the rest of the article.

consider using them for your blog posts, press releases, and article headlines.

SELF-DRIVING CAR HITS CITY BUS

Those ideas work great for print publications, blog posts, article headlines, press releases and email subject lines.

That works. Use it for real news.

However, most speakers don’t make real news. We make feature news. By that I mean we write articles about how to improve your life or profile pieces about how great we are. Here are a few examples:

So it is important to understand what goes into a great headline.

FIVE WAYS TO MOTIVATE YOUR SALES TEAM

OLD SCHOOL HEADLINES You are probably familiar with the standard newspaper headline.

It shows news:

CANDIDATES TOWN HALL SET FOR TONIGHT

VIRTUAL REALITY PRODUCT FINALLY SHIPS

10 TIPS TO HELP YOU LOSE WEIGHT FAST You’ve seen these headlines on the covers of magazines as you dash through the airport on your way to your next speech.

They work incredibly well and you should

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NEW SCHOOL HEADLINES

However, if you want the article to be found on Google, you might want to use this tactic I use to get my press release clients listed on page 1 of Google nearly every time. Here’s the secret: Use your keywords as the first words of your headline.

For example:

NEW GRATITUDE MARKETING BOOK SHOWS FINANCIAL PLANNERS HOW TO ACHIEVE 2016 NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS

SALES LEADERSHIP SPEAKER RON KARR SHEDS LIGHT ON THE SECRET TO STAYING HAPPY AT WORK

THE MINDBOGGLING TALE OF HOW A MOM FOUND THE BABY STOLEN FROM HER 18 YEARS EARLIER

THE ONLY HOODIE WITH A SIX MONTH WAIT. IT’S WORTH IT. BELIEVE ME.

In the olden days, “mind-boggling” would never make it into a headline. Editors wanted just the facts told in a straightforward or interesting way.

BEREAVEMENT BOOK HELPS EXPECTANT MOTHERS DEAL WITH GRIEF, LOVE, AND LOSS These headlines for press releases were on page one of Google for their keywords. This tactic works!

Here are two other examples from sites I never heard of that use persuasive language, not descriptive language:

YOU’RE IN FOR A BIG SURPRISE IF YOU OWN A HOME.

However, today, the rules are changing.

The media wants people to read their materials and they realize they have to use sensational words to do so.

Headlines, like the Internet, are constantly evolving.

No matter where the headline is, it serves the same purpose:

So how do you decide which headline to use?

TO GET THE READER’S ATTENTION

If you wrote a Top 10 list, you’d write:

HEALTH COACH JILL JONES SHOWS 10 WAYS TO LOSE WEIGHT That’s because you want your keyword and your name (or your book category) to be listed first. It’s just the way Google wants to see things.

NEW HEADLINE TRENDS You also need to be aware of the new trend that is sweeping the web. Here’s an actual headline from the Washington Post, one of the most respected newspapers in the world:

You’ll also see “shocking” headlines after the real news stories on newspaper sites.

These are usually paid-for ads, but they carry headlines that were once considered over the top. However, they are rapidly becoming the norm. Use them judiciously, depending on your audience. Here are a few examples:

THIS IS THE BEFORE PHOTO. YOU WON’T BELIEVE THE AFTER FOTO. This was from HGTV, a highly regarded source.

It comes down to knowing your audience. Will they find your headline interesting and useful? Then use it! Will they find it over top or offensive? Don’t use it.

If you suffer from writer’s block you might want to get a free copy of “My Perfect Headline Generator.” It contains templates and formulas for dozens of headlines that fit just about any content you can create. Get your copy by going to https://prleads.leadpages.co/headlines/.

It’s available for free!

DAN JANAL has helped thousands of speakers get publicity with his consulting and coaching services, as well as helping them save money on discounts to sending out press releases via PR Newswire. For info go to www.PressReleaseSender.com or email him at dan@prleads.com.

BEHIND THE PODIUM MARCH 2016 | 7

USE YOUR WORDS

DO YOU WANT TO MAKE MORE SALES? 5 WAYS TO HELP

Remember, if you sound the same as everyone else, you have no advantage.

In

your business, how long does it take for you to go from an inquiry to a serious sales presentation with the buyer or executive team? Weeks?

Months? When the time comes, are you prepared? Do you know exactly what to say in order to customize your presentation to meet your client's interests? Or is your presentation the same no matter who the client is?

Companies in all industries spend months training their sales professionals on product knowledge, the history of their company, and the reasons that their products and services are superior. The

Over the years, trainers have heard many different versions of the same problem.

So what is the drastic mistake these knowledgeable sales professionals make?

They all follow the same presentation formula:

Sales presentation skills trainers are continually appalled to find that thousands of “Your sales pitch lacks the usual raptures and sales professionals fanciful claims, yet you are our top salesman. are not adequately How do you explain that?” prepared. They repeatedly make the same drastic mistakes. Sadly, throughout big void in the training, however, is the their sales careers they are often not failure to teach them how to ask the right trained to stop making dumb mistakes. questions of their clients and then Is it their fault or their companies’?

As one executive said, “We only hire seasoned sales professionals with at least 5-10 years of experience selling technology-related products. We naturally assume that they can tell our company story. We had a meeting where they had to present to our executives, and we were horrified at how terrible they were.”

communicate their message from the prospect’s point of view.

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

This is who I am.



This is who our company is.



This is what we do.



This is why we are the best.



This is who does business with us.



We would like your business.

Remember, if you sound the same as everyone else, you have no advantage.

You might not want to think that your prospect is sitting there during your sales

presentation thinking, “Who cares? Why do they sound like everyone else? What difference will this make to our company?” Unfortunately, many of them are.

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In the beginning of the relationship, remember that the key to connection is conversation, and the secret of conversation is to ask questions.

product or service. Based on their answers to your questions, structure your presentation around these points:

The research clearly indicates that today’s The quality of the information you receive buyers are more educated about what depends on the quality of your questions. they are looking for, and their Take notes on what they say. expectations of a sales person are When appropriate, feed back greater. their words in your If you have an appointment, the prospect conversation and then in your proposal. has most likely already researched your Our prospects never disagree with company. Often they know more about themselves! your company and your products than When you are discovering if they have a your newer associates do. need or how big the opportunity is or Selling isn’t about you or your products; how much it is costing them without your it’s about how your prospects will benefit product or services, let them do most of from them. To be persuasive, you need to the talking. appeal to the other person’s rational selfFor your initial conversations, interest. People make decisions for their even if you know your reasons, not yours. discovery questions backwards and forwards, write them down. If you Here are five easily-employed are part of a team, collaborate with your techniques to help prospects teammates and add their input to your make decisions in your favor: list, since it’s easier to be creative with a couple of minds working on the Forget your company history or industry jargon which might challenge.

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4

1

be the biggest “who cares” of all. A bored mind gets distracted and will likely cut your meeting short. Use phrases such as, “Based on 15 years of helping clients of your size and complexity, I have discovered . . .” or “With the last five clients in your industry, I have found . . .” or “In our 20 year history, our leadership has always . . .”

Work that information into your presentation without belaboring the point and by focusing on their challenges, priorities, or interests instead.

There is no true quality without consistency. Your company and clients are best served when everyone on your team, from novice to most senior sales associate, follows the same questioning and presentation structure.

5

Clarify how your prospects can benefit from your



Congratulations on your success!



Thank you for the opportunity to present our solution.



You told us you are most interested in . . .



Here is how we can help you accomplish your goals . . .

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Hundreds of our satisfied clients will tell you . . .

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Based on what you have heard, what questions can I answer?

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Our next logical step is to . . .

In the initial discussions, keep your sales questioning conversational; it’s not an interrogation. During the formal presentation, answer the prospect’s concerns in a way that brings in your past experience with other clients like them.

Make sure you use more of a “You” focus than an “I” or “We” focus.

Remember, prospects are more interested in themselves than they are in you.

Finally, don’t forget to ask for their business!

Patricia Fripp is a Hall of Fame keynote speaker, executive speech coach, and sales presentation expert.

When your message must be memorable, your presentation powerful, and your sales successful, Patricia and her interactive web-based training at www.frippvt.com can help.

BEHIND THE PODIUM MARCH 2016 | 9

MAINTAINING A SUSTAINABLE SPEAKING BUSINESS

BE THE SPEAKER PLANNERS WANT TO BOOK

Your bottom-line growth and long-term viability may depend on it.

There's an old joke among speakers that if you want to generate more business from meeting and event planners, you definitely shouldn't call them. True as that may sometimes be, the fact is that planners expect speakers will contact them to solicit new engagement opportunities, and you won't be doing yourself any favors in filling your calendar if you develop the habit of simply waiting for planners to come to you.

want to find out how to make their lives better and leverage new opportunities.

Your audience wants to directly connect and collaborate with you and your expertise, and they want to be able to engage and interact with your subject matter in a meaningful, high impact way.

What this means for you is that you need to become more multifaceted and wear more hats, evolving into much more than a traditional speaker by also becoming a consultant, trainer and meeting facilitator all rolled into one.

directly with your audience for maximum participation. Approaching your engagement with this mentality should be the underlying foundation for how you offer your speaking services to planners.

Planners are looking for presenters who can deliver this type of interactive, innovative solution.

When you learn to do this well, you’ll not only position yourself to get repeat and referral business, but you’ll also Although some planners prefer to deal distinguish yourself from your competitors with speakers who come highly who are falling short in this department. recommended by a trusted source or As an added benefit, planners will Speakers aren't just speaking anymore speakers who they’ve already worked recommend you, and your brand with in the past, there certainly are many they're expected to provide tangible awareness will naturally grow. Here are solutions and a list of value-added services things you can do to make yourself a more some other ways to set yourself up for that will contribute to a transformational greater sales success by generating more attractive hiring candidate in the experience for the audience individually meantime. business with planners. and collectively.

For starters, you can make sure your GIVE MORE TO GET MORE Clients and planners notice whether mindset is in the right era. In times past, Instead of thinking about how you can get the term speaker was limited to someone you’re able to provide these meaningful solutions with impact or not, and to what more or make more, start thinking about who delivered a keynote or general extent. That’s a tall order, but it's exactly how you can offer more and provide presentation, giving a 30 to 90 minute more. The quality of the creative session of their best material. That used to what meeting planners are looking for solutions you're able to present to those when it comes time to make speaker be enough to impress planners, but interested in hiring you and the overall hiring decisions. today's audiences want to be more value you bring to your marketplace is engaged and feel more motivated and This all means you must do your directly proportional to your income inspired within that short presentation homework and preparatory legwork in potential. What's more, the more window. Beyond simply being passive order to ensure that you do everything in generous you are in your business attendees, audiences in 2016 and beyond your power to co-create your event 10 | BEHIND THE PODIUM MARCH 2016

dealings the more you'll start positioning REPEAT AND REFERRAL BUSINESS information with presents you with an yourself as a superior speaker, which will in opportunity to introduce them to your It's a well known sales fact that it's far turn help build your reputation as services and offerings. An important part someone who planners want to work with. easier to do more business with one of your marketing strategy should be customer many times than it is to try to capturing contact information through secure a new customer. The same holds What exactly can you do to offer more your website, at your speaking true for your speaking clients and the value? Beyond the basic principles of engagements and even with cold calls. meeting planners you work with. Those fundamental practices like showing your who hire you should want to work with appreciation with thank you cards, gifts or you again or recommend you to their The quality of the planner relationships similar gestures after your gig, you can networks, so give them enough reasons to you establish and nurture over the longdemonstrate your generosity by overmake you a go-to speaker option for years term will determine your overall success to come. ‘Nuff said! delivering on your time and and marketing results. communication. Ask yourself how you can Find more content like this at: become differentiated from other speakers BUILD AND NURTURE YOUR http://academy.speakermatch.com PLANNER DATABASE by making sure planners, clients and prospects hear from you regularly and with Networking purpose. Whether that means offering free RICHARD ANDREWS is the Director of Education at with planners consultations, various client benefits, SpeakerMatch Academy. He has a diverse writing, should be an training and consulting background in various complimentary or discounted products and important business settings, including Internet marketing, services, helpful newsletters or anything element of ePublishing, branding and online community building. else you can think to provide generously, your marketing Richard has worked with leading speakers and experts, the reciprocity that will develop over time activities. Every including Jack Canfield, Robert Kiyosaki, Les Brown, and in terms of relationship building and your others.

Richard holds a Master's degree in education, and is a certified planner you meet credibility for excellence and PR specialist.

Contact him anytime at richard@speakermatch.com. and exchange professionalism will be well worth it. contact

This Month’s Assignment

1 2 3

Determine how relevant and clearly defined your solutions are.

Revisit your program and ensure that your stage presentation is optimized to allow your audience to connect and collaborate with your presentation. Strive to become the engaged, interactive, solutionsbased speaker that planners will value and recommend.

Become more generous and focus on reciprocity.

How can you benefit your clients, prospects and planner partners in ways that will advance their interests and differentiate you from your competitors as a giving, value-added thought leader?

Carve out more repeat and referral business.

Build and nurture your planner database and develop real relationships with those in the meetings and events community. Develop your reputation and increase your brand awareness - your ability to do so

will determine how much repeat and referral business you generate.

BEHIND THE PODIUM MARCH 2016 | 11

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HERE ARE 7 TIPS TO CULTIVATE YOUR MOTIVATION From Personal Development Trainer Sid Savara

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Find your mantra. It's those few words that remind you what matters to you and get you to take action.

Example: "I am the master of my own destiny."

your other goals suffer as well. Take a break. Run, walk or stretch for half an hour. You'll come back refreshed and ready to work.

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Motivate yourself daily. Motivation Remember your peak moments. builds upon itself. Lack of motivation These times of triumph remind you of is fifth on the list of the of the 7 reasons who you are. They're the times you felt people fail. you were at the top of your game, the Remember that this moment is times when you felt most fulfilled, most precious. Remind yourself that if you stretched and most present. Use those waste this opportunity, you may never get moments to fuel motivation. another. Each moment of your life is Get Active. When you don't exercise, important now, so feel the motivation not only will your fitness suffer but build inside you.

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5

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Don't let the slump start. It's the little things that lead to a motivational slump. It's skipping one workout to hang out with friends, then two. Don't fall into that trap.

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Get off the "failure treadmill." No Motivation = Fail. When you see yourself falling into the same old routines, take action right away, and use that momentum for further progress.

Lack of motivation is one of the primary reasons people fail. Start by getting some small wins – so you can feel the benefits of taking action in your life.

WATCH YOUR BACK! (continued from page 11)

the spine, according to the Spine Biomechanics Department at Canada's University of Waterloo.

Those compressive forces combined with repeated flexing motions can squeeze the discs in the spine. It eventually causes discs to bulge, pressing on nerves and causing back pain, potentially leading to disc herniation.

Instead of sit-ups, they recommend exercises with a modified curl-up with hands placed underneath the low back and shoulders barely leaving the ground.

performed with a forearm on the ground as a person moves up and down.

The plank uses muscles on the front, side and back of your midsection or core, while a sit-up requires just a few muscles, expert say.

One exercise, called the plank pose, has expanded beyond yoga classes and is used widely in physical training in place of The Navy and Marines are revising the sit-ups. Lying on the side with the body elements of their fitness tests in order to held straight from heel to shoulder, it is make them more effective.