Copyright © 2011 Gary Yamamoto The Business of Successful Speaking Proven Secrets to Becoming a Million Dollar Speaker You're Probably a Great Speaker  Perhaps it was at a local sales club meeting or at a friend's wedding that you were told how great a speaker you were. In fact, after each presentation, people have told you how much they enjoyed your speech. Some have even said that you were as good as any professional speaker they ever heard. It was at one of those moments that you thought of becoming a professional speaker. You discovered that professional speakers make a lot of money. In fact, they make a lot more in an hour than you do in a month. What a life they have. They arrive for their presentation, tell a few stories, and they are gone. You realize that they just made more than your month's salary. You heard that some even make more than you can in a year. With the talent to be a professional speaker, you want to get into the professional speaking business. You want to cash in on your talent. However, you don't know where to start. There's a lot of questions in your mind and you need practical answers. The Authors Know the Business The authors, Andrea and Gary, know how difficult it is to start in this business. After all, they did it from scratch. When Andrea and Gary started their business, they knew nothing about the speaking business. Other than attending a couple of meetings where a local speaker spoke, they were totally in the dark about the professional speaking business. But as fate would have it, they were thrown into the business. Over 20 years ago, Andrea had just lost her job. At the same time, Gary had just sold his part of a publishing business. So they decided to start a speaking business, primarily creating products and giving local seminars. At that time, they did not even know that there was a profession called, "professional speaker." While Gary was not a newbie to giving speeches, he did not know about marketing and running a speaking business. Andrea knew about marketing, but did not know where to find the clients and how to effectively market to them. Ignorance may be bliss, but now when you're starting a business. But they had faith and an unbreakable work ethic and they began. Fortunately, as life often does, intervention was on its way. It was a fortunate day when we met Dottie Walters who owned a speakers bureau. She advised them to start a speakers bureau. They did not even know what a speakers bureau was, but decided to follow Dottie's advice. They called it, "Gold Stars Speakers Bureau," after Andrea's last name. Thus they started their long and arduous learning curve, learning from successful professional speakers. They tried different marketing and sales techniques, which gave them very little results. They joined the speaker's association and attended their meetings and conventions. They did everything they possibly could, pumping all of their meager earnings right back into the business. After a few years, they had spent much of their total investment of nearly 100 thousand dollars. Have You Been There? Perhaps you've been where they were or you don't want to be where they were. In either case, you want to learn from their lessons to take a short cut to your speaking success. If you have been there, you know what it's like. You've tried everything and nothing seemed to work. You're steadily losing money, regardless of how hard you try. You may even get a lot of expert advice, but it somehow doesn't work for you. Finally, after more than 3 years of little result, they realized that they were well on their way to failing in this business. Out of desperation, they considered going to a professional speaking consultant for advice. He was very expensive charging six thousand dollars for a two-day consultation. It was their last desperate effort if they were ever going to succeed in this business. The consultation was brutal. They were told them what they were doing wrong and given guidance on what they needed to do. They were given a month to do what he had asked. They kept sending him examples of what they had done and he kept making corrections. At their second consultation, they went over everything. They then getting everything in order. Back in those days, they were doing mailings through the Post Office. They were rushing to get everything ready. They printed their brochures on their printer until it burned out. They then went to a copier place to get the rest done. They printed each envelope with the name and address of the prospects they had found. They then folded the brochures by hand and put it into an envelope, sealed the envelope and placed a stamp on the corner. They used their tongues at first to seal the envelopes and lick the stamp. It didn't take too long for them to adapt to using a small sponge to do the job. It was the beginning of December when they went down to the post office with the finished envelopes. With the relief of having completed the mailing, they checked their bank account. They had only about two thousand dollars left. Andrea reminded Gary that if they didn't do well in January, they would have to get a real job. Perhaps you have been where they were. You are trying to make your life work and you are feeling as if your back is to the wall. Read on, because the story continues. Now that the job was done, Andrea asked what they should do. Gary proposed they take a break and go to Hawaii to visit his folks. They would have the use of his parent's car and could stay with them. It would be a very inexpensive vacation. So they did. Andrea and Gary got back a couple of days after Christmas. There were no calls on their phone and nothing in the mail. So they began to clean the room in their house that served as their office. They were psychologically getting ready for whatever was coming. On New Years Day, They decided to stay at home. Of course we were anxious about what was going to happen. Andrea said a prayer. In her prayer, she said that if they were supposed to do this, it has to happen now. On the next day, the phone began ringing. It was wonderful. They did more business in that January than they had the whole year before. They never looked back after that. This Could be Your Story Does the beginning of their story sound familiar to you? If it does, they know what you are going through. They know because they've talked to a lot of speakers who are struggling in this business. The speakers have been calling Gold Stars Speakers Bureau to get some insights and information. Unfortunately, Andrea, Gary, and the staff are so busy with the bureau that they don't have the time to spend with anyone. One day, after receiving two calls from speakers asking questions about the speaking business, Andrea and Gary decided to do something about it. They started writing a book that will answer most of the questions that they have been asked over the years. They put in what they have learned with the idea of helping a speaker go from beginner to becoming a great speaker. How Will It Help You? Will this book help you in your speaking career? Ask yourself if the following describes you: • You don't even know if you want to be professional speaker and would like to find out what is involved • You are a good speaker but you don't know how to get yourself booked. • You hate to make cold calls because you have had some prospects turn you down, yelled at you, hung up on you, or cut you off. • You don't have a demo video or a one sheet. If you have a demo video, it is not selling you. • The prospects are not interested in your topic or presentation titles. • You don't know how to handle contracts. • Your emails are not answered - perhaps they are not even opened. • Speakers bureaus don't want to represent you, much less even talk to you. • You don't know what fee to charge. • You don't know best way to handle travel expenses. • You don't know what meeting If any of these sounds like you, we have the answers. You see, we have seen a lot during our 20+ years as a speakers bureau. We have seen thousands of demo videos and one-sheets and know what the clients have said to us. How do we know? We have a unique and powerful advantage. Clients will tell us why they rejected a speaker. They tell us things that they would never tell a speaker. So we gain an inside edge on what prospects and clients are looking for in their speakers. More importantly, we know why clients reject certain speakers. We also know what make them choose a certain speaker and not others. What Will You Get From "The Business of Successful Speaking?" There are tremendous advantages you will get from out book. It will do the following: • Cut your learning curve and accelerate your career. • Save you thousands of dollars by keeping you from making amateur mistakes. • Save you years of hit and miss, struggling to find out what works. • Save you from under pricing your services. • Save you from leaving money on the table with a client. • Give you over two dozen ways to parlay your speech into additional streams of income. • Show you who your competitors are. This will arm you when going up against them and explaining your advantages to your prospect. • Give you the best advice from some of the best professional speakers in the world. • Show you what has to go into a contract and why you don't want to use the client's contract if at all possible. • Tell you why you need to create your own contract and why you must have a contract lawyer. • Show you different ways of handling your travel expenses. • Show you what meeting planners are really looking for. • Show you how to approach speakers bureaus who can book you. • Give you links to our website where you can see speakers using the techniques we are explaining in the book. • Avoid the most critical mistake when working with speakers bureaus that will make them not want to work with you. • Book comes in both hardcover and e-book formats. The e-book has links directly to our website where you can see what we are talking about. The Contents What is the price of this book? Is this book expensive? Knowing what they know now, if someone was to offer this book to Andrea and Gary  back when they just started, they would have quickly paid a thousand dollars for this book! It's that valuable. But they're not here to take ask for that--they're not even asking for a half of that, or even a half again of that. Before you make up your mind, perhaps it would be wise for you to see what the book contains: Chapter 1: The Speaking Business-the big speaker difference and what meeting planners are booking. Chapter 2: What Makes You a Professional Speaker-are you good enough to make it in this business. Chapter 3: The Business of Speaking-what it takes to start and run a speaking business! Chapter 4: The Speaker's Office-what equipment and programs you need to succeed. Chapter 5: How the Economy Affects the Speaking Business-a critical discussion on bullet proofing your business. Chapter 6: Types of Speakers-the 5 different types of speakers and what makes them different. Chapter 7: Types of Presentations-the different types of presentation that are being booked and how to prepare for them. Chapter 8: Accessories and Props-what are being used by speakers with video examples. Chapter 9: Pricing Your Presentations-how you should charge for the different types of presentations and ramifications for setting it the wrong way. Chapter 10: Practice and Free Speeches-how to get the most out of your practice sessions and when you should give free speeches Chapter 11: Who Speakers Bureaus Rate Speakers-learning what bureaus look for is worth the price of this book. Chapter 12: Sales and Marketing: Prospects and Clients- strategies, contact methods, networking, social media, and other marketing methods. Chapter 13: Working with Speakers Bureaus-what bureaus are looking for, what they expect from you, how to handle all aspects of your booking. Chapter 14: Marketing to Speakers Bureaus-you may only have one chance to market to a bureau, and you need to know what to do and what not to do. Chapter 15: What a Decision Maker Expects from a Speaker- how to communicate with the person who books speakers, get around gate keepers, etc. Chapter 16: Creating Effective Marketing Material-the types of marketing material clients and bureaus expect, different marketing channels to use, writing copy, etc. Chapter 17: Your Booking contract-elements in your agreement, invoicing, your contract vs. the client's contract, and using a lawyer. Chapter 18: Important Factors to Consider when Accepting a Booking-critical elements that must be included in your contract. Chapter 19: Travel Arrangements-what to do and what not to do. Chapter 20: Payments and Travel Expenses-different methods of handling and billing for expenses. Chapter 21: Creating Products from Your Speech-repurposing your speech and creating additional streams of income. Chapter 22: Checklists-packing list and travel expense lists. Chapter 23: Best Practices of Professional Speakers-the best practices from some of the best speakers in the world. Chapter 24: The Successful Speaker's Life-what to expect when living the life of a successful speaker. Chapter 25: Summary-summarizes the critical elements of the speaker's life. Supplement A - NSA and Chapters Supplement B - Marketing Checklist Supplement C - Sample Contract Supplement D - Questionnaire Supplement E - Customizer - Speech Supplement F - Customizer - Training Supplement G - Packing List Supplement H - Travel Expenses Supplement I - Speaker Evaluation Supplement J - Proposal Supplement K - Testimonials Supplement L - About Gold Stars Speakers Bureau Supplement M - Bookings and Contact Information The Solution If you are serious of succeeding in this lucrative business, this book is a must have. It will quickly let you know what the expectations are in this business. You will learn what you need to do and what you need to avoid. Of course, to further speed your career, we have created a workbook that goes along with the book. As you read the book, ideas will pop into your head. The workbook allows a quick and easy way to make notes on what you can do to accelerate your progress. We also have a couple of e-book on improving your speaking skills. Of course, you are already good at giving a speech. However, it is easy Your Investment What is it going to take to get this great solution to your questions on the business of professional speaking. We said it would not be even $250. In fact, it is not even $100. You can get this book for an investment of only $29.95 plus shipping and handling. That's it! What normally costs speakers upwards of thousands of dollars to begin, will only cost you the price of a good dinner. If you really want to accelerate your career as a professional speaker, you should get the workbook along with the e-book version that you can keep in your computer for a quick reference. All of it is less than $100 U.S. Summary Here is what you are getting: • More information and insights than you could get for a full-day consultation with the authors or with any other consultant. • What the speaking business is like. • What the people who can book you for speeches are looking for. • How to create your marketing material. • How to create your contracts and what critical mistake you must not do. • How to get listed with speakers bureaus and what you should not do. • How to handle travel and expenses. • How to invoice your clients and how to best structure your payment schedule to maximize cash flow. • The best practices of some of the best speakers in the world. • What to expect in your new life as a successful professional speaker. Buy Now! Go to our store and purchase the book that will transform your life. Discover the critical keys that will accelerate your career as a successful professional speaker. Your price for this priceless book is only: $29.95 At this price, how can you go wrong? To go to our store, click on the following link: Products A Few Testimonials from Some of the Best Professional Speakers "If you think you're going to be successful just because you've got a 'good speech' - think again. Unless you master the business aspects of speaking, you've just got a hobby, not a career. Andrea and Gary cut your learning curve and give you a head start with 'The Business of Speaking.' Hey, the speaking business is just that - a business. The speech is only the beginning."      Joe Calloway, CSP, CPAE      Author: Becoming a Category of One   "This is the most detailed, up-to- date text book for beginning or seasoned professional speakers. Everything I’ve learned the hard way over 30+ years of being in the business is in one easy to use document. If only I would have had this when I started out!"      Mike McKinley, CSP, CPAE      2008 Cavett Winner and NSA Past President   "Many speakers have wonderful platform skills, fantastic content and absolutely no marketing savvy. This book can help great speakers become well-known speakers! "The Business of Speaking should be required reading for anyone entering the speaking business! Your fantastic message and wonderful delivery really don’t matter, if not one is listening. The Business of Speaking will help ensure that you have an audience."      Marshall Goldsmith      Author: What Got You Here Won't Get You There   "This is the most comprehensive flight plan for the business of speaking I have ever seen, written by two experienced and successful industry experts. A must read for speakers plotting their career."      Howard Putnam      Former CEO Southwest Airlines      Author: The Winds of Turbulence   "Andrea and Gary truly understand that success as a professional speaker has less to do with your ability to give a great speech. They have outlined the path to help you focus your business, intensify your selling efforts and to run your speaking business as a business. I wish this book had been available when I began my professional speaking career in 1982! It would have saved me thousands of dollars and years of trial and error."      Jim Pancero, CSP, CPAE      Professional speaker, consultant & trainer for over 27 years.   "I have said this for years: The job is not doing the speech, it is getting the speech. Andrea Gold teaches you how to get the speech, as well as how to run your speaking business. Throughout this book she reveals secret after secret on how to get into the business and be successful as a professional speaker. Where was this book when I was first getting started?"      Shep Hyken, CSP, CPAE      Author: The Cult of the Customer   "On a scale of 0-10 the book, The Business of Successful Speaking, is an 11. Whether you are a new speaker or a veteran this book is guaranteed to provide you with the tools to take your career to the next level. It's a "must have" book for your library and contains everything you wanted to know about the speaking profession but were afraid to ask."      Barry Wishner      Professional Speaker and Author   "While addressed to the newer speaker, even seasoned "pros" will find nuggets of "Gold" (and a touch of Yamamoto) in this timely and important book. Combining the talents and experiences of this bureau-speaker partnership, you will learn much from their proven expertise in the "business of speaking." So, whether you're just starting out or have been around for a bit, you will find this book a valuable and exciting learning tool as you begin or continue your journey."      Edward E. Scannell, CMP, CSP      Past National. President, National Speakers Assn.   "Gold and Yamamoto have poured years of experience onto these pages. This book provides the fundamentals for newbies in the industry and several key secrets for seasoned speakers. Times change; demands change; etiquette changes. This book prevents a mistake that can cost a career, and puts you on the path to quick success. It's easily worth ten times the price!"      Dianna Booher, MA, CSP, CPAE,      Author: The Voice of Authority and more than 40 other books   "Andrea Gold is one of the “good guys” in the bureau business. I have always valued and appreciated her council. She and Gary have captured the essence of what it takes to be successful in their new book. For the emerging professional speaker, this will be an effective roadmap for success. For the experienced professional speaker, this book will be a much needed tune up. Wherever you are in your speaking career, you need this book, NOW!"      Ed Rigsbee, CSP   "Let's get to the point. If you want to become a successful speaker then you have to read this e-book. It's simple, It's informative and it's invaluable. I wish it was available when I got started."      Steve Rizzo, CPAE   "Andrea and Gary are two of the best in the business and for them to share all this information in one book is amazing! This book will help you to Grow and Go to the next level! I highly recommend this book!"      Willie Jolley, MA, CSP, CPAE      AUthor: A Setback is a Setup for a Comeback   "Andrea Gold’s new book is insightful, impactful, and invaluable to anyone who is serious about the speaking business. The profession has needed a good book on the ‘business of speaking’, and this is it! Read it and you will get a powerful overview of what this business is all about and how to prosper in it."      Don Hutson, CSP, CPAE      Author: The One Minute Entrepreneur   "A freaking bargain!!!! New speakers will pay $99.00 for it without a problem. And they should invest a hundred bucks to learn what they DON'T know."      Ross Shafer      Author: Nobody Moved Your Cheese   "You will shorten your learning curve and increase your earning curve by reading and applying this book's messages. Andrea Gold and Gary Yamamoto have written a vital guide for anyone who is building a practice as a speaker. I know how valuable this book can be for you because as the co-creator of The Professional Speaking Institute I have spent hundreds of hours isolating the steps and skills necessary for success as a professional speaker. All of those business skills are covered in this book. Use it as your handbook. Keep it filled with tabs and highlights to recall the best ideas and tips. Use the forms and checklists, don't just read it, devour it."      Jim Cathcart, CSP, CPAE      Author: Relationship Selling and 13 other books.   "Andrea and Gary have hit a home run. This information is must read for any speaker. For emerging speakers, here is a step-by-step guide to jump start a successful speaking business. And for the experienced speaking professional, this is an excellent reminder on how to move to the next level. You can’t move forward if you don’t invest in yourself!"      Marsha Petrie Sue, CSP, MBA      Speaker, Author, Executive Coach   "Just got done reading your book. It was excellent."      Nate Booth, DDS      Speaker, Author, and Success Detective   "I love this book, thank you so much. So many things I never even thought about. Wow, I love it. Could not put it down, every paragraph is 'wow'. I usually sleep by 10 pm. Last night I kept reading it until midnight, still I was not sleepy but I had to sleep by the clock."      Nina Dhillon      Motivational Speaker for Women   "If only I could go back and undo some of the mistakes… many of them expensive mistakes… I made early in my speaking career! Andrea Gold’s e-book The Business of Speaking would have saved me thousands of dollars, hours of frustration and years of making less money than I should have made.   "Each time I get a booking from Andrea’s bureau, I still learn more from her. If you want to jump-start your career, Andrea’s information and ideas will help you make it happen."      Larry Mersereau, CTC      Author: Stand Out and 3 other books on sales and marketing   "Wow! I will champion this book to anyone and everyone I meet who wants to be a speaker or trainer! This is the definitive A to Z guide to everything a new speaker (and veteran for that matter) needs to know to build and sustain a successful speaking career. My only complaint is that it's way too cheap!"      Ross Shafer      Author: Nobody Moved Your Cheese   "To the beginning speaker this will be like drinking from a fire hose… skip the first million, go straight for the second!"      T. Scott Gross, CSP, IFR, EMT, PDQ      Author: Microbranding, and Why Service Stinks