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Sought After Speaker Summit

Man yelling now
Blog, Faith, prayer, Spiritual Gifts, Travel, Writing

Sought After Speaker Summit Part 9

Recently I attended Caterina Rando‘s Sought After Speaker Summit speakers’ training. This is part 9 of my Sought After Speaker Summit blog series. You can read part 1 here, part 2 here, part 3 here, part 4 here, part 5 here, part 6 here, part 7 here, and part 8 here.

Some of the things I learned from Caterina’s training were what NOT to do as a public speaker. These included:

    Beth Jones & gift winner Ana Muniz
    Beth Jones & gift winner Ana Muniz
    Show up! You don’t want to cancel at the last minute, unless it is a true emergency like sickness or death in the family, a cancelled flight, etc. If you call to say you can’t make it just because you have a little cold or are PMSing and depressed today, this will quickly blacklist you as a professional speaker. (If you are really sick, though, please don’t go! You won’t deliver your presentation well, and this will be a disservice to the event planner and the audience who deserve the best! Recommend another speaker to replace you, if possible.)
  • Connect with the audience before, during, and after your speaking time. Be available and approachable! Don’t be a “grab and go” speaker – speaking, grabbing your stuff and going home right after you speak. Look into their eyes as you speak; walk out into the audience to be physically close to them. Don’t let the podium be your little safety net! Be with your peeps! Talk with the attendees before and after you speak.. This builds the know, like and trust factor and is smart speaker etiquette. I love praying with women after I speak; it’s a wonderful opportunity to minister to the heart of the women personally.
  • Network at events where you’re speaking. If there are multiple speakers, don’t sit with only the speakers at breaks, lunch or dinner. Sit with the attendees so there is not a barrier between you and the audience of “us and them.”
  • Don’t be a high maintenance, diva speaker. You don’t want to be kind of speaker who demands a Starbucks latte’ or 3 bottles of Fiji water. If you try to act like a celebrity, you are less likely to be booked! Don’t have a long list of “must have” demands before your speaking time.
    Man yelling now

    Don’t be a high maintenance speaker

    Work with the AV equipment they have; if necessary, bring your own that you and your staff can operate. Be friendly and open to the planner, staff and attendees, not rude. Leave a thank you note for the event planner/staff, expressing your gratitude. Practice great follow up techniques after events; they may ask you to come back next year or another time!

  • No verbal agreements! You need a contract, Letter of Agreement or Letter of Understanding. This needs to be your own agreement, stating what is important to you; don’t wait for the planner to send you one. You need to have a speaker agreement even for marketing talks. This is a super tip that Caterina has learned. It doesn’t matter how well you know this person; get it in writing! Be sure that you and the event planner or contact person has signed and dated it before the day of event. This includes your  speaker fee and the date you will receive it, such as on the day you speak. Clarify that you want a private hotel room if the planner is booking your room. One time when I flew out of state to speak somewhere, I discovered that I had a “surprise” room mate (another speaker) at the hotel. Neither of us knew about this before we arrived!  If you’ve asked for a deposit prior to the event (I do this, to make sure they are committed), be sure you have received this first.
  • At the same time, honor yourself. Caterina has found that a lot of events don’t hold their numbers. When an event planner contacts you, let her know that you’re happy to put it on your calendar now if what was promised is delivered, if the date is available, and if the pay is right – but give yourself an out if you revisit it in 2 months and only 5 people have signed up for the event. This is a way to honor yourself. Put it all in writing. However, by the 6 weeks mark, be firm about whether you are committed to speaking there.  (My disclaimer: if God tells you to speak there anyway, obey Him!)
  • Don’t shout. Use the mic! Even if there’s only 20 people in the room, you want a mic. Using a mic will preserve your voice. I found by creating my own local event that having 2 mics was wisdom!You want everyone to be able to HEAR you, and to have a backup if necessary. AV equipment costs a ton of money, up to $175 for 2 days. Power point projector can cost $500. Be sure to ask about and then check the equipment before you speak somewhere.
  • Practice takes away the anxiety and fear. The more platform time you have, the less anxious you will be. When you go to a new level (such as speaking to 1000 people after only speaking to crowds of 50, 100, or a couple of hundred people), you will experience anxiety again.
    shy girl speaking

    shy girl speaking

    But the more you do it, the less fear you will have. In sales on calls, you can visualize the person on the other end waiting for your call. For speaking, you can imagine people sitting on the edge of their seats, waiting to hear your important message.

  • Get your speaker sheet done. This is a simple tool that gets you booked or you DON’T get booked if you don’t send it out.
  • Don’t have a pic with your dog or cat or family in it. Women love furry babies (and regular babies), but this is your professional photo to help you book speaking gigs. Make sure that people can really see your eyes in your picture, because the eyes are the window to the soul. You want a dynamic picture with a big smile, that is positive, uplifting, and makes you seem trustworthy (hopefully you are!). You can use a body shot if the brochure is two pages, but generally a good, quality headshot is best. A corporate photo looks dated. Be brand consistent.
  • Don’t use a bio like a resume’.  Remember personal branding words in your speaker sheet. “Dynamic and inspirational.” Make sure it describes you as an incredible speaker.
  • List 3 titles of talks, not 10 or 20,. You want your 3 talks that get the most pickup. If you have 15 or 20 talks listed, this will make decisions difficult for the event planner. Put your best stuff on there. What else do you do–coaching? She will look at it and think, ‘This speaker is a perfect match for us!” You can have different speaker sheets, or tweak your bio/speaker sheet just for that conference.
  • Don’t accept no.  The answer is yes until they say no! The event planner and the attendees tell you they loved your presentation and they are leaving inspired. If you offer to speak again next year, and they say they have a different speaker every year, offer to be a breakout session or workshop speaker.

You want to be not just a memorable speaker they enjoyed, but a sought after speaker who is booked solid throughout the year. Remember these do’s and don’t’s and you will be!

Beth Jonees, International Speaker/Author

Beth Jones, International Speaker/Author

*******Do you need a speaker for your late fall of Christmas event this year, spring 2014 or spring 2015? I’m now booking speaking engagements. If you’d like me to be a speaker at your event, or to talk with me more, email me at elizabethdjones@gmail.com or contact me here.

beach
Blog, Business, Coaching, Faith, Spiritual Gifts, Travel, Writing

Sought After Speaker Summit Part 8

Last weekend, I had the privilege of attending Caterina Rando‘s Sought After Speaker Summit in Los Angeles, CA. This is part 8 of my Sought After Speaker Summit blog series. You can read part 1 here, part 2 here, part 3 here, part 4 here, part 5 here, part 6 here, and part 7 here.

On Friday night, Caterina Rando offered an optional Q & A Session for anyone who was interested to ask her more questions. My friend Shelley calls me a question box. I always ask people questions because I am very curious and want to learn new things. The Friday night session was primarily dedicated to writing a book.

Here are more tips Caterina gave us for writing a book: Just choose the things from this list that apply to YOU.

    • When writing, you want to be educational, motivational, inspirational, and transformational. It’s tricky, but you must include all these. It must be reader-centric – not about you! Use exercises and stories to engage them.

      Beth Jones, speaking at Women of Destiny conference

      Beth Jones, speaking at Women of Destiny conference

    • Use your story, but bring it back to them.
    • At the end of a chapter, always have a call to action.
    • You can write standing up, while working out, by buying the Treadmill Desk or NextDeskFit.
    • The back matter of your book (marketing pages) is more important than the front matter (dedication, contents, acknowledgments). Plant seeds. Say something like, “For more information on Beth Jones’ speaking, visit www.BethJones.net. Or, “Here’s a coupon code to get xyz on my website.” In the back of Caterina’s books, she has resources of her trusted alliance partners to get a special code.
    • Your book is like an expensive brochure. You need your bio, your picture in the back (back cover or inside sleeve), your speaking topics, the url for your speaking page, etc.
    • Books need to be evergreen, relevant in 5 to 10 years from now.
    • Use massive distribution. Hire people to help you with your book. Repurpose the content. Put your book on the Kindle/Nook. A book carries a lot more weight so use massive distribution. Amazon has a POD division. Give your book away on Amazon for 1 to 3 days. This will give you exposure and visibility, and you can truthfully say your book is an Amazon best-seller!

      Walking with God ebook by Beth Jones

      Walking With God ebook
      BethJones.net/beth-jones-estore/

    • If you have your book available on audio, never read your book. It takes practice for those to sound good. Use professional editing. Caterina advises not to do your own editing; hire a VA. Use good headphones. A good mic is the Bluebird.
    • Survey your clients to find out what they want in your new book or your new program. Give them options for helping you choose the book’s cover or title or chapter topics. Say, “I’m creating my 90-day Catch a Star and Make Your Dreams Come True program. What do you want me to include in this program?” Facebook is a great place to survey: “Here’s my 10 titles. Which one do you like best or what other title would you use?”
    • Your one title may not resonate with your niche! Be benefit focused.
    • Be brand consistent with your book.
    • Just do it. Stop getting ready to get ready to get going to start. One client told Caterina that she was “in beta.” She had one year of her coaching, a year in her mastermind group, and her revenue was growing but she was running her business like a corporation. It was taking her 2 years to get out there. The longer you do that, the longer you are pushing off your revenue!
    • Send your book to the Library of Congress to copyright it.
    • Buy an ISBN so it can be tracked on Amazon. You can buy one for $125 or a block of 10 for $250 (or more).
    • On vacation, be on vacation. Caterina said it’s hard to shift to business space when she’s on vacation somewhere. It just doesn’t work.

      Beth Jones on Jacksonville, FL beach

      Beth Jones on Jacksonville, FL, beach

    • Create events talking about your book. Be loud and proud about being a speaker. Tell family, friends, or clients: “I want to go to Houston. Do you know of any massage therapists I could speak to while there?” This may not be an event, but you can create an event ahead of time! “If you put 25 people in a room, I’ll come and speak to them.” Learn to power think. Do workshops to promote your book!
    • Be open to travel anywhere in the world. If you are thinking you’d love to speak at that event to promote your book or programs, you might be able to speak next year at it! Sometimes Caterina pays for her traveling on her dime. It’s worth it. She took her dad to Venice, Italy and he cried. Traveling is a great opportunity of life.

      Me on the beach at Half Moon Cay, Bahamas

      Me on the beach at Half Moon Cay, Bahamas

*******
Have you read my book Bahama Mama: When God Uses Ordinary Women For His Extraordinary Purposes? Check it out by clicking here. Just $5!

Sought After Speaker Summit binder
Blog, Coaching, Faith, Speaking, Spiritual Gifts, Travel, Writing

Sought After Speaker Summit part 3

Sought After Speaker Summit binder

Sought After Speaker Summit binder

This is part 3 of the Sought After Speaker Summit training. You can read part 1 here and part 2 here.

Who was there?

There were women from all walks of life at this training – all ages, races, economic classes, faiths or religions, marital status, education, work experience. I think we all had the same goal: how to achieve success, how to reach the next level in our businesses. And I think success is something you have to define personally, what it looks like for you.

For me, success does mean building substantial wealth. Not to buy new toys, but to help get our family out of debt, build wealth for us and our children’s futures, and to travel all over the world for both missions and pleasure.

To me, success also means life-work-family balance. God and my family come before my business. They are my priorities. At the same time, they need to honor and respect when I need to work on projects.

This doesn’t always happen. I’ve talked with other speakers and entrepreneurs, who have said it happens at their houses, too…they get interrupted just as soon as they start working on something important!

God spoke to my heart last year and told me that my family is NOT an interruption. To realize they matter more! This is something I continue to work on and ask God for help daily.

One of the reasons I choose to work from home is because I love being the CEO of my business, setting my own schedule, taking time off when I want or need to, spending time with those I love. I am using the spiritual gifts God has given me in my work, fulfilling my purpose and my dreams in speaking, writing, coaching, and traveling.

This is what God made me for. I love it! 🙂

Some of the topics covered at the Sought After Speaker training were:

  1. The 10 Steps To Becoming a Sought After Speaker
  2. Create a Compelling Vision and Make Your Business Thrive With Speaking!
  3. How to Get Your Speaker Sheet Done
  4. InfusionSoft -The Easiest Way to Grow Sales
  5. 10 Different Ways to Add Revenue and Clients To Your Business with Speaking
  6. How to Make Your Offer to Come Home with Clients
Caterina Rando

Caterina Rando
SAS Training, Los Angeles

I’d guess there were about 75 or more women there. The room was full. Some of the Sought After Speaker training attendees were clients in her advanced programs. On the second day, they led workshops on different topics that were their areas of expertise:

  • 5 Things to Do With Blogging and SEO to Get More Clients
  • Feng Shui Strategies (I stayed far away from this one!)
  • Create a systematic schedule of events for a successful email marketing campaign
  • How to Use Social Media to Become a Sought After Speaker by Yvonne Elm Hall, who I sat by and talked with the first day. She has tripled her revenue working with Caterina! I LOVE her pretty website and heart logo!
  • How to Sell Your Services on EBay
  • How to look Like a Successful Sought After Speaker, by KL Moore.

I made two new friends, who sat at my table, so I was really excited about that. KL is a Christian, and I told her I didn’t believe in coincidences with her sitting right beside me! KL is in Caterina’s advanced business program and encouraged me to sign up for her advanced speakers’ program next year. She’s praying for God to show me what to do, and we exchanged emails and plan on talking again!

KL Moore, petite, pretty and powerful, is standing on stage here (first on the left) as Caterina asked her and her other advanced program clients to come forward to share how the programs have helped them in their businesses.

KL Moore, Image Consultant & Speaker

KL Moore, Image Consultant & Speaker

Here’s Vanessa at my table – the very pretty Asian, tiny woman on the right. The other women at my table were so sweet, but I forgot their names – guess I need to practice this skill, as Caterina would say! I think the woman in the middle was Nancy and the woman on the left was Julie – but don’t quote me on that!

Notice the cute, colorful orange binder on the table that Caterina gave us for the training. It has sheets with helpful tips and action steps for us to write down and begin.

Vanessa Pearson, Financial Advisor

Vanessa Pearson, Financial Advisor

Here’s Yvonne (middle seat), looking at the camera. Yvonne is a Social Media Brand Strategist. Hers and KL’s workshops had great info.

Yvonne Elm Hall, Social Media Brand Strategist

Yvonne Elm Hall, Social Media Brand Strategist

Another woman I met, Janet McIntosh, is a VA (Virtual Assistant), so I got her card! I may need her as I intend to apply what I learned at this training!

After lunch and during a couple of the breaks, 80’s music played and some of the women danced. That was fun.

Some women danced

Some women danced

Caterina had some leftover goody bags from a previous training, and this goody was in the pink bag: Woman Entrepreneur Extraordinaire – secrets of business success, written by multiple authors.

Women Entrepreneur Extraordinaire book

Women Entrepreneur Extraordinaire book

Caterina autographed it for me, signing it, “Beth, Expect Success!”

Beth, Expect Success!

Beth, Expect Success!

Yes, I do!!!

This week I”ll share some of the things I learned with you! I’m thankful to God for this amazing opportunity, grateful to Ray for working overtime shifts for me to be able to go, and to Heather for letting Leah stay with her while I was gone and Ray was at work.

What do you think about this post? What trainings have you gone to for speaking or your business, and what was your big aha? Mine was the amazing content and how “available” Caterina was with the attendees! I also loved making a new friend, KL!

Leave your comments below.

Beth Jonees, International Speaker/Author

Beth Jones, International Speaker/Author

 

Beth Jones, International Speaker/Author

http://www.BethJones.net

Do you need a dynamic keynote speaker for your women’s conference or event? I’d love to work with you to help make your event a great success! To book me as a speaker, email me at elizabethdjones@gmail.com or contact me here.