Why TSL?
I had been speaking for many years dating back to 2008. I speak about digital marketing for small businesses. I had spoken several times to the BBB in Arizona and The American Association of Marketing in Phoenix. So I am not new to speaking. However, after speaking at the AMA one year, an audience member approached me and asked if I would be interested in speaking to their healthcare company and asked me what my fee was.
That was the first time I realized I could get paid for my expertise in digital marketing through speaking. I thought two things – wow, this is incredible and two, these people I have been speaking with for years owe me some money!
This realization led me to research “How to get paid as a professional speaker?” and that is how I found The Speaker Lab
WHAT WERE SOME A-HA’S AND TAKEAWAYS?
From the beginning, I understood that I had to transition my thinking from just speaking to owning a speaking business. I had to approach it just like a business. So, I needed to think of my value proposition, my product and my sales strategy.
The content around the CRM in TSL course really put everything together for me. It gave me the tool to measure what am I was putting into the business. We all know, what we put into something will change the outcome. I like having the CRM as a took to measure and track my outcomes.
I was also surprised at how well the system of email outreach worked. I literally have booked gigs from sending a simple outreach email. In my business, I am used to smile and dial. We have to pick up the phone and call leads. In my speaking business I am finding success by following the email outreach system laid out which has been pleasantly surprising.
WHAT IS YOUR NEW NORMAL AS A PROFESSIONAL SPEAKER?
I am still running my own business full-time so my time is limited. I have a goal to speak 3-5 times per year, for now. With that said, my goal is based on the fact that I have to make my full-time business my priority. I am definitely not working my pipeline consistently as I should, probably because I know once I do, I will be full with speaking gigs.
For now, each Friday I plan for the next week. I make a to-do list and my goal is to dedicate 45-minutes for my speaking business per day. I shut everything off during that time, set a timer for 45-minutes, and I work my pipeline.
I’ve booked 4 speaking gigs to date which I am happy with. My long term goal is to one day be at 2 per month, but due to time limitations with my own business, I have had to prioritize accordingly.
WHO WOULD YOU RECOMMEND TO THE SPEAKER LAB?
One of the things I noticed about The Speaker Lab is you really care about your students’ success. The fact that we’re having this conversation says that you care about me doing well. So I think that it’s important that anyone I recommend to TSL have a desire to be committed and successful in the program. Otherwise it’s a waste of time for everybody and wasted resources the student.
I wouldn’t recommend it to someone who is not willing to put in the work. The Speaker Lab is for people who are motivated to make their speaking dreams a reality.