Shawn

Over the last two years, we’ve been sharing the systems we discover that have allowed speakers to do things they…

One of the reasons I love this industry is that it's so easy to level the playing field. If we…

We’ve spent a lot of time showing speakers how to find, qualify and reach out to folks who can hire…

There’s a term in gambling called ‘stacking the deck.’ It’s when a player arranges playing cards in such a way…

In today’s world, audiences are looking for more from their speakers than just great stories or insightful points – they’re…

If you’re looking for something to set you apart from other speakers, no matter how long you’ve been speaking, whether…

One of the biggest myths in the professional speaking industry is the idea that you have to ‘niche to get…

  There’s a famous saying in sales, that salespeople should always be reciting their ABCs -  ‘Always Be Closing’. Unfortunately,…

Every organization has a slightly different way of hiring a speaker, because every organization is unique and has unique challenges…

When we have too many things we could be doing to get in front of people who can hire us…

Taking initiative on your speaking business means taking the initiative on your revenue. That looks like researching prospects, reaching out…

I was monitoring an online thread in a professional speaking group recently, and someone asked,  “What are everyone’s payment terms?”…

If you’re taking the initiative on your speaking business and your sales, you’re going to run into objections. Objections in…

In the world of sales, there’s a coveted title called ‘rainmaker.’ These are the folks who make it rain sales,…

For many speakers, they approach reaching out to people with the mentality that they have to earn their way onto…

Most speakers are dedicated to ensuring folks know their name, thinking that’s going to be the secret to getting on…

  People buy from people, and when we’re dealing with folks organizing the types of events that bring in speakers,…

It’s scary to pick up the phone and speak to a stranger who didn’t expect your call. But what if…

For more than a year, we’ve been focused on sales systems for speakers, because we’ve learned that unless we’re running…

Setting keynote fees has always been a tricky issue for speakers, because what we offer – expertise communicated professionally –…

If you’ve taken the monumental step of researching places to speak and reaching out to folks who may be able…

While we’ve focused almost exclusively on sales systems in past podcasts and articles, the sheer amount of things we could…

Whether a speaker is just getting their business started or has been in business for decades, there will come a…

If you’ve been following our work at Speaker Sales Systems over the last year, then you know we advocate taking…

For professional speakers, the toughest part of a sales process is often not getting a conversation, or even talking about…

Speakers are great at using their career milestones when asked ‘what do you do?’ or ‘why should I hire you?’…

Speakers are beginning to realize that if they’re not filling their calendars with conversations with people who can say ‘Yes’,…

Speakers who wait for the phone to ring and inbound inquiries to show up in their email accounts were living…

When someone decides to be a professional speaker, they rarely have experience running their own business, and ever fewer have…

As more and more speakers move to virtual presentations, the most common (and difficult) question that comes up is: What…

When we look at the most critical step of the sales process professional speakers engage in, there isn’t one –…

Many speakers are moving their live events to virtual platforms, and unfortunately are making the same mistakes (and some new…

If you are a professional speaker who understands that in order for your business to be in your hands, then…

In the world of sales, there’s an old saying that a salesperson should constantly be practicing their ‘ABCs’ – as…

Whether we are running a speaking business in a COVID-19 world where events are shut down, or whether we’re running…

During the industry-wide shutdown of the events we planned on, speakers are falling into two main camps: 1. Those who…

For speakers, there’s no lack of things they can do to build their businesses, and the options can get overwhelming:…

Stop Selling Your Keynote Speech If you’re reading this, you may never be a ‘celebrity speaker’ (unless you’re Bill Clinton…

In the midst of an industry-wide shut-down, what can speakers do to ensure their businesses survive and be ready to…

Speakers’ very skillset is often the same thing that kills their sales. What is the very thing that gets speakers…

Email. Bane of our lives and lifeline. But for professional speakers, email may be doing more harm for our business…

There’s something that scares most people enough that it rates above ‘death’ as the #1 fear. And that’s presenting in…

If you’ve taken the brave step to take control of your speaking business and are actually conducting outreach to folks…

At speaker sales systems, we’re all about systemizing success to increase our impact and income in the speaking business. But…

Because we’re all about sales, we’re all about sales conversations. And as it’s said, “the one who controls the questions…

One of the most contentious issues among professional speakers is whether or not to customize their talks. Having discussed this…

While we’ve discussed the value of sticking around after a talk to generate more business, there’s something a lot of…

This week, we’re focusing on an important part of the selling process, and it’s what happens after the sale is…

In the world of speaking, we’re asking event planners, executive directors, CEOs and business executives for thousands of dollars to…

In part 1 of this series, we explored how important it is to stop seeing (and selling) yourself as a…

We’ve shared it before, but it bears repeating: Stop selling speeches. Start selling solutions. We’ve covered why every professional speaker…

The biggest challenge speakers have is not killing it on the stage in front of thousands. For many, it’s having…

There’s a myth in the speaking world about how to state fees to prospects that is taught by many coaches,…

When it comes to running a speaking business, most speakers focus on the wrong questions: How to improve stories, concluding…

It’s a fact – the best salespeople in the world, in any industry, don’t remain that way by resting on…

A method more and more organizations are using to select speakers is the 'RFP' (request for proposal) or 'call for…

A lot of speakers pride themselves on being able to be on an airplane an hour after they leave the…

There’s one thing that will make a meeting planner, executive director or CEO round-file a speaker, and one thing that…

We’ve spoken many times about the value of omni-channel marketing. As a refresher, it’s the strategy of using electronic, print…

If you’re judging the success of your speaking business by how many gigs you’re booking, you’re destined to living in…

There’s a time of year when it’s socially acceptable to watch movies about being killing one another – and we…

If you’ve been following this series, then you’re getting great idea for generating more sales in your speaking business. Where…

It’s bound to happen at some point – someone that a speaker is trying to contact will stop talking to…

We’re leading this week’s content with a heck of a promise – if you implement what you learn here, you’ll…

Want to know the one question that will shut up many speakers (and most entrepreneurs)? “How much did you keep…

Wait - No fees? How do you make money? Hold on a minute - because there's a lesson here that…

If you’re a speaker and have money to spend, there are people happy to sell you a list of ‘prospects’…

Reaching out to folks is scary - no doubt about it. You're an interruption in their schedule. You're time they…

Maybe you’re still waiting for that TEDx logo on your website or the New York Times Bestseller.  That’s why you’re…

What would it be like if you had an army of decision makers out there marketing for you? For most…

Why Professional Speaking Is A Horrible Business Model Telling family members that we’re giving up steady pay to be professional…

As speakers dedicated to building a real business, we know storytelling is only a small portion of our jobs. “How…

Stop Selling Your Keynote Speech If you’re reading this, you may never be a ‘celebrity speaker’ (unless you’re Bill Clinton…

If you are looking to grow your speaking business (and if you're not, you might have stumbled onto the wrong…

If building a better speaking business is one of your goals, then you’re a marketer and a salesperson. As such,…