In reflecting on my own journey as a professional speaker, I am embarrassed to say how long it took me to understand the lessons I'll share with you here.
I'm sure when you read them, you'll say, "duh." But, when you're embarking on a new career path like I was several years ago, these are often the points that more experienced speakers tend to skip over telling you.
I think it's important to learn these lessons early, because your likelihood of longevity in the business will be much greater.
So, without further ado, here are the 5 counterintuitive business realities that every successful speaker fully embraces:
1. The more "no's" you get, the more "yes's" you get.
Speakers who get a lot of gigs also get a lot of rejections (behind-the-scenes). But, what YOU see is the social media feed of a busy speaking schedule, maybe with 1 or 2 "relatable" posts about rejection.
I know this from experience, both my own as well as other successful speakers in my circle.
Namely, this is a simple math problem. If you're getting more "no's", you're likely putting yourself out there for more opportunities. And, in doing so, your chance of getting "yes's" also increases.
We think our first priority should be getting "yes's" because that means we are booking events like wildfire. But, hot flames also burn out quickly.
Our first priority really should be building up the stamina and resilience to make it through 50+ "no's" (often consecutively) — this is a more realistic expectation, by the way, regardless of what others openly tell you.
The people you see getting tons of gigs are also the same people who are getting tons of "no's", but they are the ones that keep moving forward without blinking. It takes practice, but you can too.
2. The fewer applications you submit, the more gigs you'll get.
Most events that require an application to speak fall into 1 of 3 buckets:
- Pay-to-play (i.e., you pay to speak),
- Speak-for-free (i.e., you get $0, but maybe a free admissions ticket), or...
- Small-budget speaking (i.e., you get maybe $500 or less).
Rarely will it be a true paid opportunity (where you're paid a true speaker fee).
Likewise, many of these opportunities are for abstract presentations, breakout sessions, webinars, etc. In other words, companies and event organizers aren't often seeking true keynotes through a mass "call-for-speakers" online application.
It doesn't mean these aren't still valuable opportunities, particularly if you simply want to get more experience speaking, regardless of venue, format, or payment.
But, if you're looking to strategize effective use of your time to target paid keynote opportunities, these come primarily from relationships or building a subject-matter-expert business, with some coming from bureaus or other means — not from online applications.
So, if I were starting over Day 1 in my professional speaking business, I personally would spend less time submitting cold applications for calls-for-speakers and a lot more time networking and building relationships (which I enjoy doing anyway). And, calling event planners directly.
3. You will lose gigs for being both too expensive and too inexpensive.
Losing a gig for having a speaker fee above an event budget isn't a surprise. It happens often, and it's nothing for anyone to feel bad about — neither you nor the event organizer.
But, the question I'm often asked is, "should I lower my fee to get more gigs?" The answer to this is nuanced and a personal decision, so we won't dive into it here.
But, you most certainly can still lose gigs for pricing yourself too low.
You're probably thinking, "wouldn't events be THRILLED if they got a great speaker for a steal?" Perhaps.
But, your fee also can indicate your level of experience and content quality, particularly for those who select speakers for bigger stages where they expect to have a notable speaker budget.
So, pricing yourself too low, just to be in the running for more events, doesn't necessarily solve your booking problems either. I literally know people who have lost great gigs for this exact reason.
Fee structure is an art — and fee flexibility is too.
Bottom line is, set your fee based on the demographic you serve, the experience you have, and the collateral and products you've established (i.e., books, courses, etc. that demonstrate this isn't just a lunch-and-learn topic you offer).
Try to avoid wildly fluctuating fees, as this impacts your perceived value, as well as whether clients can trust your fee integrity.
If you want to have some flexibility, offer an initial range they can expect, with a specific quote occurring following the discovery call. We can talk more about ethical pricing considerations in another newsletter issue, but this at least gives you some food for thought.
Alternatively, some industries say you can consider pricing based on the "value" you provide, or "the cost you save a company by solving their problem", but I think this strategy has mixed results — in today's speaking world, I see more event organizers wanting to understand the tangible assets you provide, rather than the nebulous value-based (or "transformational") pricing that worked in the recent past.
4. You will get ghosted by people who reach out to YOU.
This one always makes me laugh a bit.
You'd think that once you start getting inbound leads — in other words, people reaching out to YOU for your services — that you've reached cruising altitude in your speaking business.
But, here's a peek behind-the-curtain.
Some individuals reach out via my website to inquire about my speaking for their company or event — BUT, when I reply, I get no response.
Why in the world would someone who actively sought ME out not respond? A few reasons. But, I'll cover one that we often forget about.
There's a portion of my inbound leads from what I like to call "tire-kickers."
After inquiring further about their event, my first email reply also asks what their speaker budget range is. Here is a copy/paste of one of my emailed replies (feel free to use it!):
"Lastly, may I ask what your budget is for the event? I aim to tailor all sessions to the individual goals and budget of each organization, so that the content is most relevant and impactful for your audience."
As speakers, budget range is valuable to know so that we can propose ideas that accommodate their budget and goals. But, it's also important to set the expectation from the beginning that you don't speak for $0.
"Tire-kickers" are those who don't reply once they find out you don't speak for free — it's a silly expectation to be surprised by, but nonetheless, some people don't see the legitimacy of our profession. Regardless, this is something you want to screen, even very softly (as suggested in the wording above), prior to setting up a discovery call.
5. Glowing reviews don't translate into new opportunities.
There are few feelings in the world that are as fantastic as getting off stage and hearing how much people LOVED what you shared and the experience you created. It still makes me so happy.
But, just because people were thrilled with your session doesn't mean it automatically translates into future business — which, frankly, is the thing that determines whether you can continue this speaking business you love and impact audiences around the world.
So, you need some mechanism to follow-up and build relationships over time with audience members who were moved by your event.
It's somewhat easier if your goal is simply to sell books or products, for example, because there's no greater customer enthusiasm for your product than immediately after you get off stage — and, they can purchase on the spot. But, to be booked for another speaking gig through an audience member, for example, there's obviously a significant time delay for when that may come to fruition (if at all).
In essence, even if someone raves to you about your performance, very rarely will there be a new speaking opportunity on a platter for you once you get off stage.
Likewise, you need to assume this responsibility for relationship-building — even if people take your card and say, "it would be great for you to come and speak at our company," they forget, get busy, or shift priorities.
So, whether it's a post-event survey (with the event organizer's consent), post-event breakdown call, sharing free downloadable resources with the audience, digital business cards, or other easy and electronic means, if possible, get their contact information and take ownership to stay in touch.
More on that topic another time.
Conclusion...
Speaking courses and social media posts often tell a very linear story of success — a "build a keynote, market it, and they will come" mentality. This is only part of the story though.
In reality, this business is cyclical, circuitous, and counterintuitive. I'm telling you all this because I want you to stay in it — you can get discouraged, but I'd hate for you to throw in the towel just because you didn't know these counterintuitive realities that actually indicate you may be on the right track.
The Law of Averages says that while a small few will experience the direct and linear path to success, the vast majority won't — but it doesn't mean those in the latter group won't still see success. It also means that the same "direct path to success" that worked for a small few is often something that can't be replicated for the majority. So, all this is to say, be gentle and patient with yourself.
I look forward to seeing your speaking careers blossom! Let me know how I can help.
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Dr. Kathryn Preston
Keynote Speaker
info@kathrynpreston.com
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