In this Special Report for Speakers/Authors Compiled by Susan Levin, Speaker Services

What Every Speaker Should Know About the Speaking Business (and were afraid to ask)
 

- What Meeting Planners Look for When Working with Speakers

- About Video Demos

- Getting a Handle on Our Changing Marketplace

What Meeting Planners Look for When Working with Speakers

• Are you easy to work with? The desirable speaker or trainer is organized, professional in all communications, and is flexible as opposed to “whiney” and demanding. Make their job easier and they will use you again and recommend you to others.

• Are you an expert in your topic? They look for a presenter who can communicate effectively with impact, drawing in and captivating the audience.

• Do you take the time to learn about their organization and customize your presentations for their people?
They want someone who will take the time to research, and then adapt your presentation so that it is relevant and appropriate to the culture and climate of their organization.

• Do you engage the audience? Decision makers want a presenter who will get the audience involved and invested. They look to see if your audience seems sincerely interested and responsive to you, as opposed to someone who is just tolerated.

• Will you help the company achieve its goals? If their goal is to create long-term change, they need to be convinced that you can accomplish this before they invest in you. If they are looking for entertainment, they want to know that what you do will achieve this for the majority of their people.

• Do you have a video demo? Is it streamed on your website?

A great video demo can be your ticket into places you could have never reached without it. It can increase the number and the caliber of your bookings. It can be sent through the mail, streamed on your website, and even sent by e-mail. For most serious speakers and trainers, it is an absolute necessity for success.

Many meeting planners and executives will not even consider a speaker or trainer without seeing them in action. So your video demo can get you in the door, but then you have one chance to impress your prospect quickly. There is a lot of competition out there, and most professionals have a demo video. To stand out from the pack it’s essential for your video be creatively and intelligently designed, with excellent quality. It can mean a significantly higher income.

It makes sense to invest in a demo, but to increase the return on your investment, you need to design your demo to target, reach and persuade those who have the power to say yes or no to you. With that type of planning, you're shooting at your target with laser guided precision! Without great planning and execution, you are just shooting arrows with a blindfold on.

Of course every speaker and trainer is unique, so each video should be unique. The tone, pace and image of your video will differ from others because of who you are and what you do. However, there are some basic attributes that appeal to most decision makers. It is up to you and your video production company to communicate that you have those qualities.

Tips on Video Demos:

Your demo video is like a five to seven minute sales call. A quality three camera professionally produced demo video lets your client know that you are a professional, experienced and in-demand speaker. A poor quality video has the opposite effect, and will usually not be watched at all.

• Stream your video and post it on your website so that you can be seen right away. • Make a CD or DVD of your demo to send out to the planners when it is requested.

A quality demo video can: - Help you get in the door and past the "gatekeepers" to the decision makers. - Make a quick and great impression. - Show your unique style and how the audience responds to you. - Entice potential clients. Grab their interest so they'll want to hear more of your presentation. - Give you a quality tool to reach thousands of potential clients by streaming on the web. - Increase the caliber of your bookings. - Get you hired and increase your income!

Susan Levin is a publisher, speaker, seminar leader and marketing consultant for speakers and authors. Based in Los Angeles since 1975, Susan has owned and created businesses ranging from a clothing line, a single's organization, lecture series and symposiums to publishing magazines. In 1992 she sold the well-known Los Angeles-based magazine "Conscious Connection," that she published for seven years and began publishing the print edition of Speakers For Free and Fee Directory.

After eight years of publishing the print Directory she made a decision to discontinue the print publication and pour all of her efforts and energy into the web edition of Speaker Services: http://speakerservices.com. She's seen this exciting trend coming since 1994, when she began the Speaker Services web edition. She recognized that increasingly, consumers and business people are conducting more and more of their daily affairs on the Internet.