Getting booked to speak at these four conferences was nice, but that's not even the best part.
One of the conferences I was booked to speak at only had a speaker budget of $2,500 for a keynote speaker. When I learned there would be 3,000 students and 400 advisors I immediately accepted their budgeted fee because I knew of the potential.
Most public speakers would simply accept the speaking fee, sign the contract then move on. Huge mistake! Remember, you are running a business and why are you in business? That's right, to make a profit.
Smart business-people try to make as much profit as possible from every transaction. The same should be true for you as a public speaker. You should be trying to make as much profit as possible from EVERY public speaking engagement.
Let me explain exactly what I did to illustrate how I turned that $2,500 into about $33,000! Pay close attention because I want you to begin thinking this way, and if you will, I guarantee you'll begin making a tremendous amount of extra money, rather than just relying on getting a speaking fee.
I asked the event coordinator if he would be interested in having each student receive an autographed copy of one of my books, but it wouldn't cost him anything? Naturally he said yes! I then asked how much the registration fee was for the students to attend the conference? He said he would be setting the fee probably at $89, but it could go as high as $99. I said that if he would set the fee at $95, then each student could get a copy of my book (3,000 total students) and it wouldn't cost him anything.
He would keep $89 per attendee for conference fees while the remaining $6 would cover book printing, shipping and handling and a small payment to me. In addition, we would set up a booth at the conference so that each student can get his/her book personally autographed. He could even promote in all of his conference promotional materials that each student who attends will receive an autographed copy of my book (which retails for $11.95). He loved the idea and said yes to the deal!
Let me share some financial numbers with you:
Cost to print each book: approx. $1.00 per book (Total $3,000)
Shipping each book: approx. $ .46 per book ($1,400 for 3,000)
Total Revenue: $18,000
Total Cost: $ 4,400
=======================
Book PROFIT: $13,600
NOTE: You MUST have a book to do this type of deal. In my experience, conference coordinators WILL NOT do this for shirts, hats, posters, flyers, CDs etc. A book is perceived to be of more quality. I learned this the hard way. Once I created a book, deals like this began happening.
ACTION STEP 1:
Get your book finished. Many new and experienced public speakers who have hired me for consultations have heard me say NUMEROUS times! You can't make money like this until your book is actually done! Make it a priority to get it done!
ACTION STEP 2:
Start thinking-outside-the-box when you are booked to speak! Suggest this exact type of deal. Will it happen each time? No! But what if it did happen only one time? Would you have a problem accepting the extra money? Didn't think so! By the way, this is the THIRD deal I've done THIS YEAR and I'm currently working on another right now! Do the math on the extra money!
Here's the rest of the story of how I took the $16,100 ($2,500 Speaking Fee + $13,600 Book Profit) to $33,000:
I'll be speaking at 8:30 p.m. on a Friday night at the conference so I mailed to all the college coordinators within a 3-hour drive of where I'll be speaking asking if they would be interested in a "block-booking" for their campus at a reduced rate since I'll be in their area. In addition, there wouldn't be any expenses. Out of the 34 colleges 4 said yes (12% return....not bad). My normal college rate is $5,500-$10,000 but I offered them a block-booking rate of $2,500 flat (meaning no expenses).
I then mailed to about 20 high schools in the area with the same block-booking offer. I offered them a very low speaking fee of $1,000 flat, rather than my normal $5,500-$10,000 youth speaking fee. Two high schools said yes (10% return)!
Plus, at the conference I'm keynoting I'll be selling my other books and motivational CDs. Typically, I can count on about 10% of the audience buying additional products (I know this from tracking my results from past conferences. You should be tracking all of your results too).
3,400 Audience Members x 10% = 340 buyers
I'll offer a great package deal at the conference to make sure it's too good for them to pass up. I'll give them two of my other books and a CD of my live talk for $20. Why $20? Because when people go to conferences they typically carry $20 bills in their wallets.
My total cost for each package = $5 ($1.00 per product plus shipping them to the conference)
YOU should be following the exact process I just described above!
Why Is Public Speaking Important
I made what I consider to be 3 big mistakes recently when I was introducing someone. I outlined the information to cover, jotted some statistics to share, and carried them with me onstage. Unfortunately, because we were running short for time, the introduction didn't powerfully lead back to the audience benefit and my total admiration and respect for the upcoming speaker.
For some strange reason, I didn't make the time to practice what I was going to say out loud. Not practicing aloud caused me to relearn 3 very important things.
1. When you introduce someone, even if it's with a testimonial, the focus should never be on you. To get your sincere message across every single time, your words & your actions need to be completely of service to the person you are introducing. What you say must always focus on the benefit of your audience listening to the next speaker's wisdom.
2. It is of vital importance when you introduce someone to build them up to motivate your audience to hang onto every word the upcoming speaker will say.
3. You don't need a list to share from your heart. Just keep it short, simple & sincere to achieve maximum impact.
The learning point here is that even if you are a professional speaker, you must always practice any speech that you will give aloud beforehand, if possible. Hearing yourself speak aloud usually makes it instantly clear where your focus should be and what words are "listener & speaker friendly" meaning easy for the audience to understand and easy for you to articulate and express comfortably.
It is imperative that you time yourself especially when introducing someone else. Your message needs to be short & sweet with a clear takeaway. What's a "takeaway"? It's the one action you want your audience to take or the one piece of information you want them to remember.
Another tip when you introduce someone is to make sure that you do a fantastic build up and always end with the person's name. For example, "Put your hands together and make some noise for a man who traveled all the way from Ann Arbor, Michigan --- a man who's in the top 1% of marketers & entrepreneurs in the world -- THE man who is about to teach you how to create outrageous wealth ----Mr. --- Stephen --- Pierce!"
Let's talk for a moment about mistakes. Frankly, we learn far more from our mistakes than our successes. As a matter of fact most mistakes aren't even noticed by your audience. So don't "beat yourself up" when you don't perform as well as you think you could.
Finally, don't do what I did and learn from my example. Don't expect to be perfect and always practice what you will say on your feet and out loud before public speaking even if it's just a quick introduction.
Welcome the opportunity to learn from your mistakes and give yourself credit for being courageous enough to speak in front of an audience. The best public speaking teacher is practice. Congratulate & celebrate you each step of the way and enjoy the journey one speech at a time.
Both J. Malinchak & Deborah Torres Patel are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
J. Malinchak has sinced written about articles on various topics from Public Speaking, Online Business and Online Marketing. James Malinchak is the Founder of the College Speaking Success Boot Camp and has taught hundreds of people just like you how to get paid BIG MONEY speaking for colleges and corporations. For a FREE Special Report, ?The 10 Deadly Speaker Marketin. J. Malinchak's top article generates over 4400 views. to your Favourites.
Deborah Torres Patel has sinced written about articles on various topics from Interview Questions, Family and How to Sell on Ebay. Deborah Torres Patel is an internationally acclaimed expert on self expression and the fine arts of voice & communication. To receive ongoing tips & subscribe for complimentary online voice, presentation & public speaking training sign up at. Deborah Torres Patel's top article generates over 14800 views. to your Favourites.
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