Latest / Networking Unleashed: Building Profitable Connections / Networking Unleashed: An Interview with Antoniette Roze and Michael A Forman, Professional Speaker

Transcript

Networking Unleashed: An Interview with Antoniette Roze and Michael A Forman, Professional Speaker · Networking Unleashed: Building Profitable Connections

• 0:17
  Welcome to Networking Unleashed, Building Profitable
• 0:21
  Connections, the show where relationships become
• 0:24
  revenue and connections fuel results. I'm your
• 0:28
  host, Michael Forman, and today we're diving
• 0:31
  into the business side of speaking, how experts
• 0:34
  can turn their voice into a consistent income
• 0:40
  source. My guest is the author of book, banked
• 0:44
  and in demand and breaking and break the booking
• 0:47
  ceiling. And she helped subject matter experts
• 0:51
  create their own stage revenue stream and speaking
• 0:55
  empire. We'll explore how networking is the secret
• 0:59
  ingredient to booking more engagements building.
• 1:04
  I'm sorry. building more engagements, building
• 1:08
  visibility that converts, and creating a sustainable
• 1:11
  business around your expertise. If you ever wanted
• 1:15
  to leverage your knowledge, expand your influence,
• 1:19
  and make speaking a real business, not just a
• 1:23
  side hustle, this episode is for you. I'd like
• 1:27
  to welcome today, and I'm sorry, and Tony Rose.
• 1:32
  And if I'm mispronouncing that first name, I'm
• 1:35
  terribly sorry, but I'd like to bring you on
• 1:38
  to the podcast. Give us a little bit about your
• 1:40
  background and just welcome to the podcast. Thank
• 1:43
  you for having me, Michael. That was a beautiful
• 1:45
  introduction. It's Antonia Rose and it's a mouthful.
• 1:49
  So no worries on that at all. I'm happy to be
• 1:52
  here. I love your podcasts and networking unleashed
• 1:56
  building profitable connections. I think communication
• 1:59
  is key in business and in life in general. So
• 2:03
  I'm happy to dive right in. Perfect. Perfect.
• 2:07
  So I came up with 10 questions, which we're going
• 2:10
  to go back and forth with, but we'll see where
• 2:13
  it goes. So first one, you say speaking should
• 2:17
  be a business model, not just a side hustle.
• 2:20
  What's the single biggest mindset shift someone
• 2:24
  must make to treat it that way? Really excellent
• 2:28
  question. This is key, right? Many of the clients
• 2:32
  that I work with are high achievers, high performers
• 2:35
  in some area. Maybe they've devoted their careers
• 2:39
  to being a CEO, a doctor, even have an attorney,
• 2:42
  whatever it might be. And they come to a place
• 2:45
  where they've spoken. quite a bit in the line
• 2:48
  of their profession. And now they want to just
• 2:51
  pass the torch on the day to day and step more
• 2:54
  into the speaking side of their business model
• 2:58
  and their revenue model. I think the biggest
• 3:02
  misconception I know the biggest misconception
• 3:05
  is they can Get an agent, get on a few bureaus
• 3:11
  and they're fabulous and they've got some really
• 3:13
  important content. So it's just going to work
• 3:16
  for them and it's not yet. It's parallel to really
• 3:22
  great college football player wanting to make
• 3:25
  the NFL or somebody who has. with the star in
• 3:30
  their high school or community theater and they
• 3:33
  want to make it big in Hollywood, right? There's
• 3:36
  beautiful talent out there who may never actually
• 3:40
  make it to those higher echelons of those types
• 3:45
  of careers. And it's really similar with speakers.
• 3:49
  So when you come in just thinking, I'm going
• 3:53
  to have somebody else throw me some opportunities
• 3:55
  and it's all going to come together and snowball
• 3:58
  from there, that is you're in for disappointment.
• 4:03
  if you go in seeing the long run, right, because
• 4:06
  there's a ramp to any business that you build,
• 4:09
  knowing that there's going to be some groundwork
• 4:11
  that has to be laid, and there's going to have
• 4:14
  to be some promotion that has to happen for you
• 4:17
  to catch on. And then you're off to the races,
• 4:20
  right? So when you treat speaking and corporate
• 4:24
  training, something you and I were speaking about
• 4:26
  just before going on air, as a business is going
• 4:30
  to work for you. But you can't just, let's liken
• 4:35
  it to say, you want a corner street gas station,
• 4:39
  right? You can't just say, I want a gas station,
• 4:42
  but I want somebody else to build it for me.
• 4:45
  and me reap all the benefits. There's some work
• 4:48
  and some investment of your time, resources,
• 4:51
  and energy that needs to go in upfront. However,
• 4:54
  in the speaking and corporate training industry,
• 4:57
  when a speaker makes it, it's a six, seven, sometimes
• 5:01
  eight figure career. So if they can see the bigger
• 5:05
  picture, and be willing to put out that effort,
• 5:10
  then it's going to happen for them. If they think
• 5:14
  that they're just going to join some bureaus
• 5:16
  and grab an agent, that's all part of the ecosystem,
• 5:19
  but that's just a small part of that whole equation.
• 5:24
  So that's what I mean by that. That's perfect.
• 5:27
  That's a perfect analogy. I've only been speaking
• 5:30
  full time for about three years, and I work from
• 5:35
  eight in the morning to about five in the evening.
• 5:38
  And I prospect for a full hour and a half to
• 5:40
  two hours every day. And I've owned my own businesses.
• 5:46
  I've owned pizzerias, restaurants, the whole
• 5:48
  thing. And I'm not quite sure which one takes
• 5:51
  up more time. Okay. So I was sure less than that
• 5:55
  pizza. Listen, we had New York pizza, my brothers
• 5:59
  and I own the pizzeria. And there was better
• 6:02
  pizza. I'm telling you, I'm down in Georgia now.
• 6:05
  and they don't hold the candle. I know. My mom's
• 6:08
  from Brooklyn and they knew pizza. Yep. Absolutely.
• 6:14
  Absolutely. Okay. So walk us through the first
• 6:17
  three revenue streams an expert should build
• 6:21
  when turning speaking into a business and which
• 6:25
  one should they prioritize and why? A beautiful
• 6:28
  question. And a very relevant and important question.
• 6:32
  So yes, those fabulous keynote checks, right?
• 6:35
  And they're a little bit romanticized. Ooh, they
• 6:38
  got a $15 ,000 check for an hour talk. How incredible.
• 6:44
  That hour talk took many hours. Number one, to
• 6:49
  get the gig. and then to work out all the negotiation
• 6:53
  details and then the pre and post details, right?
• 6:56
  So many hours right there. Of course, many hours
• 7:01
  preparing for the talk itself and then travel
• 7:04
  and all the things. So there's a whole lot more
• 7:06
  to it. Then... You got $15 ,000 for an hour of
• 7:11
  your time. Side note really quick before I go
• 7:13
  on from there, no one ever pays you for an hour
• 7:15
  of your time. They're paying for the decades
• 7:18
  that brought you to those unique solutions and
• 7:22
  point of views that you can offer that might
• 7:25
  spark some strategies within those who are there,
• 7:31
  right? And troubleshoot some problems for an
• 7:34
  organization or a person sitting in the audience.
• 7:38
  one new idea can completely change the whole
• 7:41
  course, the trajectory of either their life or
• 7:44
  their career. That's what these organizers and
• 7:47
  event planners, that's what they're looking for.
• 7:49
  That's what they're paying for. They're not paying
• 7:51
  for your hour. So that's another kind of misnomer
• 7:53
  that speakers step into. Wow, this is a really
• 7:56
  great career because I get paid $15 ,000 an hour.
• 7:59
  There's a whole lot more that goes into that
• 8:02
  ecosystem. Speaking of that ecosystem, the most
• 8:05
  successful speakers and corporate trainers don't
• 8:08
  only go for that keynote check. And this actually
• 8:13
  answers your first question and your second question.
• 8:15
  Because if you're only after that keynote check,
• 8:18
  great, you'll get there, but you're leaving a
• 8:21
  whole lot of not only income, but also impact
• 8:26
  on the table. So a couple of other things that
• 8:30
  I like to see. Every different speaker creates
• 8:33
  their own ecosystem. It really needs to be in
• 8:35
  alignment with them, their archetype, who they
• 8:38
  are, what they bring to the table. Number two,
• 8:41
  who it is that they're going to be creating these
• 8:43
  solutions for, their avatar. We all heard of
• 8:46
  that. But then also, it needs to be in alignment
• 8:50
  with their non -negotiables, the kind of lifestyle
• 8:53
  that they want to build for themselves. All of
• 8:55
  these pieces need to go together, right? So that
• 8:59
  said, it's going to be different for each speaker
• 9:02
  what those other revenue streams are. But here
• 9:04
  are some examples, some very common and strong
• 9:07
  examples. Number one, consulting packages. Obviously,
• 9:11
  you go into an organization and you bring forth
• 9:16
  some ideas, some possibilities, some solutions
• 9:19
  to whatever problem that they're facing. Maybe
• 9:21
  it's retention, maybe it's team communication,
• 9:25
  breakdowns in SOPs or flows, whatever it might
• 9:29
  be. You bring those solutions, but in a talk,
• 9:32
  you can really only present possibilities. You
• 9:35
  really can't roll up your sleeves and get much
• 9:38
  done in one sitting. So you can say, I'm $15
• 9:43
  ,000 for a talk, or you can work with me in a
• 9:47
  set of three sessions with your leadership teams
• 9:50
  after the talk for X many dollars. That is super
• 9:55
  powerful because once they hear your solutions,
• 9:57
  see the possibilities, then yeah, they want to
• 10:00
  sit down at the table with you and say, okay,
• 10:01
  now how do we put this into action? How do we
• 10:04
  implement this? So that is an obvious way to
• 10:08
  package your fee sheet. The other thing that
• 10:12
  let's say you do happen to be a speaker or a
• 10:16
  corporate trainer that cannot afford the on -ramp
• 10:20
  and the on -ramp for prosperous speaking career
• 10:24
  is about a year to 18 months, sometimes shorter,
• 10:27
  sometimes longer, depending on a lot of factors.
• 10:30
  But if you go into it seeing there's going to
• 10:32
  be an on ramp, but then once you put that pedal
• 10:35
  to the metal, as long as you never take your
• 10:37
  foot off the gas, then you'll never have to re
• 10:40
  enter that on ramp again, because you're reaping
• 10:43
  the fruits now of the labors that were happened
• 10:46
  six months ago or a year ago. So it's always
• 10:49
  a kind of forward. forward -moving momentum.
• 10:52
  But let's say you don't have that six months
• 10:55
  a year or 18 months. You need to earn money right
• 10:59
  now as you're on the on -ramp. Some of the things
• 11:02
  that I love to see speakers and corporate trainers
• 11:05
  do is to create something that you've done very
• 11:09
  well, digital courses. You can author a book.
• 11:13
  I wouldn't think I wouldn't I would Caution putting
• 11:17
  energy there until you are financially stable
• 11:20
  and you're not hurting for money because it's
• 11:23
  not going. It's a definite door opener. It's
• 11:25
  an authority booster. It's not really a revenue
• 11:29
  maker direct revenue maker. It can help you open
• 11:32
  doors to other revenue opportunities Just caution
• 11:35
  a lot of people think I'm gonna write a book
• 11:38
  and then I'll hire you to get me on the stages
• 11:40
  It's backwards one of the there's two ways for
• 11:44
  immediate income for speakers Number one is some
• 11:48
  sort of product or service that they can be offering
• 11:51
  in the meanwhile, right? A digital course, workshops,
• 11:55
  live workshops, create your own events, there's
• 11:57
  those kinds of things, but also you can create
• 12:02
  a proposal for sponsors to sponsor you to go
• 12:08
  and speak at unpaid events or unpaid opportunities
• 12:12
  and you don't have to overtly promote a product
• 12:16
  or service, but you're basically representing
• 12:19
  another company that kind of aligns with your
• 12:23
  theme, who you are, what you're about, obviously
• 12:26
  a product or service that you believe has integrity
• 12:29
  and that you believe in. And I have seen quite
• 12:33
  a few speakers, even established speakers, but
• 12:36
  definitely emerging speakers utilize some sponsorships
• 12:39
  to get those opportunities that are otherwise
• 12:43
  unpaid. paid as they're building their careers.
• 12:47
  So there's all kinds of ways that you can go
• 12:50
  about it. Of course, that would be me rolling
• 12:53
  up my sleeves with you and figuring out what
• 12:55
  that perfect formula is for you. But there's
• 12:58
  certainly ways out there where there's a will,
• 13:00
  there's a way. Very good. Very good. That should
• 13:04
  give a lot of people, many speakers, different
• 13:08
  ways to think about their revenue stream. while
• 13:12
  they're building their speaking business. And
• 13:15
  then some I've authored a book. I have eight
• 13:18
  digital courses. I have all that going. I created
• 13:22
  a networking group per se that meets every week.
• 13:26
  So all these little things, but I've even thought
• 13:31
  of. Thank you for that. And you did mention my
• 13:34
  book, book banked and in demand. And I just wanted
• 13:37
  to give a little caveat there because it's perfect
• 13:42
  to what we're talking about right now. It has
• 13:44
  been put on the side. So I'm in the midst of
• 13:49
  writing it, and I've been writing it for about
• 13:51
  three years. I love it. It's actually so close
• 13:53
  to being done. But any time bigger projects come
• 13:56
  along, it's the first thing to be put to the
• 13:58
  side. It's a passion project. I absolutely love
• 14:01
  it for the people who, for whatever reason, can't
• 14:05
  hire me. They're not a good fit, so they're not
• 14:07
  accepted into the agency, or there is an upfront
• 14:10
  investment to work with me on an active level,
• 14:13
  so maybe they don't want to make the investment.
• 14:15
  I still want them to have what they need to really
• 14:19
  get themselves on that on -ramp, moving in the
• 14:21
  right direction, so they don't circle the mountain
• 14:24
  and waste a lot of years. not really getting
• 14:27
  to those milestones that they want to get to.
• 14:29
  So it's in the works, but I just wanted to clarify,
• 14:32
  it's not published yet. OK, OK. That was my read
• 14:37
  that wrong because I thought it was already published.
• 14:39
  But that's a book that I think we're all waiting
• 14:42
  for. So we'll see. All right. OK, break the booking
• 14:47
  ceiling. What are the top three mistakes experts
• 14:52
  make that keep them from getting paid stages?
• 14:56
  and how do they fix it? There's two things that
• 15:00
  come to mind immediately. The first is obvious,
• 15:03
  and you alluded to it earlier. I commend you.
• 15:07
  You are one of the very few speakers who are
• 15:10
  consistent in scheduling in that daily outreach.
• 15:14
  And that just has to happen. In our ecosystem,
• 15:17
  we know the numbers. So it takes a lot more than
• 15:21
  you think. I'm not talking about you, but than
• 15:24
  the average speaker out there. believes, right?
• 15:27
  I'm going to put out 10 pitches a month, maybe
• 15:29
  50 pitches a month, and that's going to generate
• 15:32
  me some paid speaking opportunities. No, it takes
• 15:39
  hundreds every single month. And on top of it,
• 15:43
  that mounts because you've got the hundreds that
• 15:45
  you reached out to, let's say in July, and then
• 15:49
  you need to follow up with them. in August while
• 15:53
  you're reaching out to that whole new set of
• 15:57
  opportunities in August. So it just mounts that
• 16:00
  way. They underestimate how much it really takes
• 16:04
  to get that engine fueled and running for them
• 16:07
  to get that income certainty. As a speaker or
• 16:11
  corporate trainer, it's well worth it because
• 16:12
  it the rewards are very big but if you want those
• 16:15
  consistent three to five engagements booked on
• 16:19
  your calendar that you can count on month after
• 16:22
  month unless you're taking December off but you
• 16:24
  still don't let your foot off the gas in December
• 16:26
  because you're going to feel it in the spring
• 16:29
  if you do. You've got somebody working in the
• 16:32
  background for you still doing that outreach.
• 16:34
  Day after day, it is rote and it's a lot of work.
• 16:39
  As I know, the average speaker can't do it on
• 16:41
  their own. That's where we step in. We make sure
• 16:43
  that gets done for them. We manage the whole
• 16:46
  process for them so that they can be a speaker,
• 16:50
  a corporate trainer. They can be an author, right?
• 16:52
  Be the thing that is more in their lane without
• 16:56
  compromising that level of... constant consistent
• 17:00
  outreach. That's what it takes. It takes hundreds
• 17:02
  of touch points every single month to ensure
• 17:06
  that in time, you're going to have that income
• 17:10
  certainty in that booked out calendar on a regular
• 17:12
  basis. So that's number one. Oh, my goodness.
• 17:17
  Repeat the last part of your question. Okay,
• 17:21
  the three mistakes experts make when what are
• 17:25
  the top three mistakes? Okay. Sorry, thank you.
• 17:29
  The other mistake is they think that. Displaying
• 17:33
  their fabulousness is going to get them a gig.
• 17:36
  Maybe they were a CEO or an executive. Let's
• 17:40
  not see you. Let's say they were an executive
• 17:42
  of Fortune 50. Let's say it's an executive of
• 17:45
  Microsoft or Google and they have spent 30 years
• 17:48
  with the company that obviously got a lot of
• 17:52
  leadership. Material. to share and impart with
• 17:57
  other corporations. That's highly valuable, right?
• 18:00
  But when you lead with I'm fabulous, you are
• 18:04
  not speaking to what the organizer needs to decide
• 18:10
  to book you. So you speak to the problem and
• 18:14
  the solution, the outcome, the ultimate outcome,
• 18:17
  you lead with outcome, and then you back it up
• 18:20
  with credential. Many speakers go out there and
• 18:23
  they basically are giving their resumes like
• 18:25
  applying for a job, right? They're giving their
• 18:28
  resume everywhere. That's not it. You do your
• 18:33
  research on the company and the opportunity.
• 18:37
  Let's say it's a company that has an annual C
• 18:41
  -suite retreat that they take their top leaders
• 18:45
  to. You do as much research as you're able to
• 18:48
  on that particular retreat. Who spoke at it?
• 18:51
  the in previous years who was hired to speak
• 18:54
  and though there's easy ways to figure that out
• 18:56
  a little bit of a insider insights there but
• 18:59
  there are ways to figure that out and it really
• 19:02
  gives you an idea of what they like to accomplish
• 19:05
  during those retreats and then when you create
• 19:08
  that program proposal or just that introduction
• 19:11
  to begin with it's all about meeting the need
• 19:16
  And then backing it up, of course, with credential
• 19:19
  and clout and social proof and testimonials and
• 19:22
  all of those things. But those come after once
• 19:26
  they realize you can come and be an answer to
• 19:32
  a problem that they have, then you're worth it.
• 19:35
  Because one shift that you make for an organization
• 19:38
  or an event planner can save them untold. millions.
• 19:46
  Well, I'm speaking specifically to organizations.
• 19:48
  You bring in a fresh idea or a fresh solution
• 19:51
  to this ongoing problem that they've been facing,
• 19:54
  it can save them untold millions and headaches,
• 19:58
  even when it comes to retention. There's studies
• 20:01
  out there that say how much just replacing one
• 20:05
  key employee can cost an organization in terms,
• 20:08
  not only in terms of money, but in interruption
• 20:11
  in the flow of the whole process. So they know
• 20:14
  that. They just need to know you are a sure bet
• 20:17
  for an answer to a problem that they're facing.
• 20:21
  And then that $15 ,000 is peanuts to them. If
• 20:25
  you go in on fabulous, then yeah. prove to me
• 20:30
  why I want to give you $15 ,000, $20 ,000, $25
• 20:33
  ,000, whatever it might be, because then you're,
• 20:38
  you're proving your worth in a whole different
• 20:40
  way versus showing them that there are other
• 20:44
  ways to approach this problem of absenteeism
• 20:48
  of, I've been using the example of retention
• 20:51
  or of lack of internal communication streams,
• 20:55
  those kinds of things. Those are big problems
• 20:58
  within major organizations. So as long as they
• 21:02
  can see you are a sure bet to an answer to something
• 21:07
  that they are struggling with, the problem that
• 21:09
  they're facing, then you throw yourself away
• 21:13
  on top of that big stack of other people vying
• 21:16
  for that particular opportunity. That's great.
• 21:20
  That's great advice. You're saying that really
• 21:23
  when you're a speaker or doing a workshop or
• 21:26
  anything else like that, it's not just answering
• 21:28
  an email. You have to do research. You do research
• 21:32
  into the company, you do research into the retreat,
• 21:35
  if that's what the workshop is, and you have
• 21:38
  to work. So it may take you a little bit before
• 21:40
  you answer that email, but there's a whole lot
• 21:44
  more work that goes into it. That's what I have
• 21:48
  found, but it's much more enjoyable for the speaker
• 21:53
  to go in there and knowing that they have an
• 21:57
  answer to their problem. Because if they really
• 22:01
  like you that much and you brought an answer
• 22:03
  to their problem, you know what? They'll invite
• 22:06
  you back. I have one more if you'd like one more.
• 22:10
  Sure. Absolutely. First, I'd like to speak to
• 22:13
  what you said. You're spot on, Michael, for sure.
• 22:16
  I also have a podcast. It's ranked in the top
• 22:19
  10 % and what there's 5 .5 million podcasts worldwide.
• 22:24
  So I'm super proud of that, but not necessarily
• 22:27
  because I'm so fabulous. It's more because it's
• 22:31
  only about a year and eight months old and We
• 22:35
  didn't try to grow to those ranks. We were just
• 22:38
  speaking to the problems within the speaking
• 22:41
  industry. And that's what attracted the people.
• 22:44
  So that's what excites me the most, right? It
• 22:47
  proves my, my motive operation. So that's been
• 22:50
  a lot of fun. It's speak packed, speak packed
• 22:53
  .com later. I'm sure we'll talk about it, but
• 22:55
  it's specifically for speakers and corporate
• 22:57
  trainers. And for me to have that kind of show,
• 23:01
  I have to understand. my audience my speakers
• 23:04
  and corporate trainers in order to track them
• 23:07
  at all and before coming on your podcast I Made
• 23:12
  sure to listen to some of your episodes by the
• 23:16
  way. I really like the AI one We could talk about
• 23:18
  that later. That was the reason the AI one was
• 23:20
  very good, but networking unleashed, building
• 23:24
  profitable connections. If I were to just show
• 23:26
  up and just then it would be all about me. I'd
• 23:31
  never looked at your podcast. I never listened
• 23:33
  to it. I never did any homework on you or the
• 23:36
  show prior to even accepting this opportunity.
• 23:40
  Thank you for the invitation. Number one, it's
• 23:42
  highly rude, but also it's highly unprofessional.
• 23:45
  How many more speakers show up to an actual speaking
• 23:50
  opportunity paid or in every speaking opportunity
• 23:53
  is paid. We'll talk about that here in a moment.
• 23:56
  It's just what's it paid? What is the payment?
• 23:59
  We can talk about that, but I just show up because
• 24:04
  I'm fabulous and I give my talk, but with no
• 24:09
  interaction with the audience before. Maybe even
• 24:14
  during or after I just give my spiel and I get
• 24:18
  off that is not very effective. It's not very
• 24:21
  memorable and Organizers don't really appreciate
• 24:24
  it. So do your homework it whether it's on a
• 24:27
  podcast Do your homework right when somebody
• 24:30
  shows up to my show and they've never even listened
• 24:33
  to a podcast Sometimes I just shut down the whole
• 24:35
  thing because it just isn't If they don't understand
• 24:40
  me and my show and my audience, then to me that
• 24:45
  just shows a real lack of professionalism. So
• 24:48
  that's really your job as a speaker to know your
• 24:50
  business, to know your audiences, and every audience
• 24:53
  is different. The third mistake that I'll share
• 24:55
  and then we can move on is those speakers who
• 25:00
  quote unquote won't speak for free. They're looking
• 25:04
  at it wrong. And I get it. We've all done those
• 25:08
  free talks and they can get really tiring. But
• 25:11
  if you are strategic and you see the bigger picture
• 25:15
  and you're looking at it, there are no free engagements.
• 25:19
  You may not get that keynote check, but there
• 25:22
  are so many. There's so much other value in a
• 25:27
  given speaking opportunity if. It is, you do
• 25:31
  your homework and it's filled with right fit
• 25:34
  people, decision makers, or people who you can
• 25:39
  shake hands with, open doors to other opportunities
• 25:42
  for both sides, for them and for you, right?
• 25:45
  That is invaluable. Generally your next best
• 25:48
  engagement comes from your last best engagement.
• 25:52
  So you're really hurting yourself if you say,
• 25:54
  I'm not going to speak to associations or I'm
• 25:58
  not going to speak to local business groups because
• 26:02
  they're not paying me. That's very short -sighted.
• 26:07
  If you go, number one, there are ways to monetize
• 26:10
  it. Then that's a whole talk in itself. But the
• 26:16
  keynote check is one portion of a payment that
• 26:21
  you get for any engagement, paid by host or not.
• 26:25
  So really rethink what are those key relationships
• 26:29
  within the industry that I need to build? How
• 26:34
  do I keep myself top of mind? So I'm the obvious
• 26:36
  choice when the opportunity arises, because timing
• 26:40
  is everything. Positioning is everything. So
• 26:44
  positioning, visibility, timing, that can only
• 26:47
  happen when you're getting yourself out there
• 26:49
  virtually or in person, staying top of mind.
• 26:53
  So that's really another big mistake that I'm
• 26:56
  just going to hold out for that 15, 20, $25 ,000
• 27:00
  keynote and nothing less will do. Kind of missing.
• 27:05
  You're missing the bigger picture. Yep. You're
• 27:08
  missing a whole lot because as you're talking,
• 27:10
  I'm thinking about what I've gone through and
• 27:14
  all of my free speaking engagements. This month,
• 27:17
  October, it's almost October, I have a speaking
• 27:20
  engagement with a local business association
• 27:23
  that obviously it's free, but I don't think about
• 27:26
  that. I think about A, who I'm talking to, but
• 27:30
  their network of people, of the people that are
• 27:33
  there. So not just talking to them, I'm talking
• 27:36
  to their networks. And the last keynote, It was
• 27:41
  a workshop last workshop that I did. I got there.
• 27:45
  Listen, I'm a firm believer in getting there
• 27:47
  early. If you're early or on time, if you're
• 27:49
  on time, you're late. Amen. That's the way that
• 27:52
  that's the way that I grew up the military in
• 27:54
  me. Right. But before my sessions began, I went
• 27:59
  to the back of the room and I was talking with
• 28:02
  everybody, speaking with people. So when I got
• 28:05
  up on stage and went, oh, he's the speaker and
• 28:08
  I made. something to say that Jack in the back
• 28:11
  of the room, he had this problem. And let me
• 28:14
  tell you, everybody has that problem. And I went
• 28:16
  on further. And so that brought the back of the
• 28:19
  room up front. And it's just the way they look
• 28:24
  at it. Yeah, I find that more enjoyable. Listen,
• 28:28
  I love speaking. I have a passion for speaking.
• 28:31
  When I get out in front of everybody, that's
• 28:35
  my play time because I love it so much. Okay,
• 28:39
  so how do you decide whether to chase visibility,
• 28:45
  more eyes, versus viability, actual income? Give
• 28:51
  me a real metric or rule that you use. So I see
• 28:55
  it a little bit differently. I don't see it as
• 28:58
  chasing visibility or viability. I see it as
• 29:02
  being visible and viable, right? So as long as
• 29:05
  you're visible, you're viable. You can be the
• 29:07
  best thing, the best absolute speaker or trainer
• 29:11
  for an opportunity. But if you're not findable
• 29:15
  and you're not positioned right, then you're
• 29:19
  not viable, right? So they go hand in hand and
• 29:22
  it's part of the job. But there's always going
• 29:25
  to be part of every career that may not be the
• 29:30
  immediate income earner, but it is what makes
• 29:35
  you viable. Visibility makes you viable. So get
• 29:39
  yourself out there in all the right places, not
• 29:41
  indiscriminately. Really hone in on who you can
• 29:45
  help most, who you love helping. And that's the
• 29:50
  first order of business when we get a new client.
• 29:53
  It's three intensive sessions of hammering all
• 29:56
  of that out because we don't want to build an
• 29:59
  empire for you that you're going to resent once
• 30:02
  you actually Achieve that success. We want to
• 30:05
  build the empire. You actually want to live in
• 30:08
  long term so you can only know that by Seeing
• 30:13
  all of those pieces of the puzzle and then once
• 30:16
  you do Then you are willing to do that outer
• 30:20
  bank I guess we can call it part of what gets
• 30:24
  you the core of what you're actually after and
• 30:27
  positioning and visibility are They go they go
• 30:31
  along with the job There's no way to be a sought
• 30:35
  after speaker or corporate trainer without it.
• 30:37
  You need to be putting out content, free content
• 30:40
  on a regular basis, whether it's through getting
• 30:44
  on other people's podcasts, showing up at your
• 30:47
  local business, regional business meetings, creating
• 30:51
  social posts in the right settings, the right
• 30:54
  groups, LinkedIn, if you're not on LinkedIn and
• 30:57
  you're a speaker or corporate trainer, why aren't
• 30:59
  you on LinkedIn? There's just... It's one in
• 31:03
  the same. Visibility positioning equals viability.
• 31:08
  It's so true. I write articles for an online
• 31:11
  magazine. It's called speakeredge .io. And on
• 31:16
  there, I write about three articles a week. And
• 31:19
  I do that just for name recognition. And it was
• 31:24
  true because last month, a person from Las Vegas
• 31:28
  was talking to this person in California. And
• 31:32
  he asked me, who is Michael Foreman? Because
• 31:36
  his name is all over the place. And so it was
• 31:40
  really so that's it. So it's working. So I'm
• 31:43
  writing those articles for name recognition.
• 31:45
  You bring up a really good, really very vital
• 31:48
  point. And that is, Michael, that somebody's
• 31:53
  job is actually on the line to choose you. over
• 31:58
  the next guy. Their job is at jeopardy. So the
• 32:02
  more Googleable you are, the more featured you
• 32:06
  are by other people, other people took a risk
• 32:09
  on you, then that puts that organizer at ease
• 32:13
  and it will bump you in positioning for that
• 32:17
  particular speaking opportunity. So you're doing
• 32:20
  it right. Michael, you should fill up at least
• 32:24
  three pages if somebody Googles your name because
• 32:26
  they're going to take your your speaker assets,
• 32:29
  write your press kit, all the beautiful things.
• 32:31
  Great. They have those are going to set it aside.
• 32:33
  And what are they going to do? They're going
• 32:36
  to Google your name. And if you're out there,
• 32:41
  face after face, you've been on podcasts, you
• 32:43
  have magazine articles out there, all the things
• 32:46
  that it that really puts them at ease. You've
• 32:50
  got some maybe media spots, ABC, NBC, whatever
• 32:54
  Fox News had you on and featured you. then they
• 32:58
  took a risk on you. Nobody likes to be the first.
• 33:01
  So if they Google your name and you might have
• 33:03
  two pop -ups and it's your own website, then
• 33:06
  that's going to be a little bit more unsettling
• 33:09
  for that organizer. It's just the way of human
• 33:13
  nature. By the way, yes, have a LinkedIn profile,
• 33:15
  but going back to what you said about that newsletter,
• 33:19
  there's also ways to create your own. LinkedIn
• 33:22
  has an incredible free feature for anybody. You
• 33:27
  don't even have to have the paid version of LinkedIn
• 33:29
  to do this. And that is to create a LinkedIn
• 33:32
  newsletter. And every single new connection that
• 33:36
  you get, they send out an invitation to your
• 33:41
  newsletter. We have, as a matter of fact, Michael,
• 33:43
  I might like for you to be a guest author for
• 33:46
  an article, but we have Keynoters High Impact
• 33:49
  Edge. I can't tell you how much feedback Get
• 33:55
  from that and when we're late, which isn't very
• 33:57
  often we hear it So, you know that there are
• 34:00
  people really waiting for that content. That
• 34:02
  is one more layer of keeping you searchable findable
• 34:06
  and top of mind and also really Showcasing your
• 34:12
  point of view and the solutions that you bring
• 34:15
  and the way that you bring it your delivery style
• 34:17
  all of those things Okay, if you go to SpeakerEdge
• 34:22
  .io and read some of my articles, I'd love to
• 34:26
  know what you think. Okay, and you go to Keynoters
• 34:30
  High Impact Edge and LinkedIn, and I'm definitely
• 34:34
  going to go to SpeakerEdge .io. Yeah. Good. Good.
• 34:42
  We'll do that and we'll report back. Okay, sounds
• 34:45
  good. Sounds good. Okay, tell us about a time
• 34:49
  you've heard a single speaking gig into multiple
• 34:53
  consistent income streams and What was your exact
• 34:57
  playbook? Okay, say that say the question one
• 35:02
  more time Well, it's about a time you turned
• 35:05
  a single speaking gig into multiple consistent
• 35:09
  income streams Okay, I have an example of not
• 35:17
  this summer, but last summer. Was it last summer
• 35:20
  or the summer before? Time blends together so
• 35:23
  fast. Anyhow, I was a speaker at an engagement.
• 35:29
  Now, my home base is in Texas. So I flew to Florida
• 35:32
  to a very, extremely expensive hotel. And it
• 35:36
  was like $45 a day just to park there. Got a
• 35:40
  room at the hotel and... So I only did, it was
• 35:48
  an unpaid by host talk, but the only reason,
• 35:52
  there were two reasons why I accepted it. Number
• 35:54
  one, I never book my speakers for events that
• 35:57
  I'm not familiar with. So I wasn't familiar with
• 36:00
  this one. It was fairly new. However, it looked
• 36:03
  like all the pieces were there. So I was interested
• 36:06
  enough to go and I thought if I'm gonna be there,
• 36:08
  why not speak as well? So that was one reason.
• 36:13
  The other reason was the organizer said that
• 36:16
  they had expected 8 ,500 people to be in the
• 36:20
  audience. When I spoke to the organizer a month
• 36:22
  out, she told me that they had sold 6 ,500 tickets.
• 36:29
  So I'm like, great. I knew there was going to
• 36:31
  be multiple stages at all times, but I expected
• 36:33
  about maybe 1 ,000, maybe 1 ,200 people in my
• 36:37
  audience, which that to me, that's a six. That's
• 36:42
  a six figure event for me even not getting paycheck
• 36:46
  from the. host and the way that I do it. So I
• 36:51
  accepted, I went there, they gave me a certain
• 36:53
  number of tickets to give away. So of course
• 36:55
  I gave them away to my speakers. Three of my
• 36:57
  speakers took me up on it. They also went to
• 36:59
  the very expensive hotel, right? To enjoy this
• 37:02
  opportunity, see me speak, all the things. We
• 37:05
  get there and it's just so beautifully done.
• 37:07
  They've got the archways, all the banners. They've
• 37:11
  taken up a good portion of this pretty big the
• 37:14
  whole like two or three floors of this big hotel,
• 37:17
  and there's breakout rooms, everything is done
• 37:20
  impeccably. And I come from the producer space,
• 37:24
  I used to produce large scale events, there was
• 37:26
  a whole vendor hall with tons of vendors. The
• 37:32
  problem was, I was, all of us were just seeing
• 37:38
  speaker vendor sponsor lanyards. We weren't seeing
• 37:42
  any attendee lanyards. And it was pretty thin.
• 37:47
  Like, where's the people? We were here. Where
• 37:50
  are those 6 ,500, 8 ,500 people? Pretty quickly
• 37:54
  in, we realized that we were duped. And I don't
• 37:57
  think that the organizers meant to dupe us. They
• 37:59
  just made a critical mistake, which a seasoned
• 38:02
  producer like me would know, but they didn't
• 38:05
  for whatever reason. What they had done is, yes,
• 38:08
  they sold the $6 ,500 tickets. 6 ,500 tickets,
• 38:12
  but they sold them in groupings to corporations
• 38:17
  and organizations who then handed out the tickets
• 38:20
  to their employees who never even asked to go
• 38:22
  to this event. They weren't going to lose work
• 38:24
  and get on an airplane and fly to this very expensive
• 38:27
  hotel to go to an event they never even asked
• 38:30
  to go to. So it was a little bit deceptive there.
• 38:33
  I have never, Michael, ever in my 30 years in
• 38:37
  the industry seen vendor floor an exhibit floor
• 38:42
  revolt there was screaming there was throwing
• 38:46
  of things these people flew from in from all
• 38:49
  over the world with boxes and boxes of their
• 38:53
  wares believing that it was going to be a pretty
• 38:56
  substantial event and Anyway, there was a lawsuit
• 39:01
  after all the things. But I decided instead of
• 39:03
  going down that route, I was just going to make
• 39:05
  the best of it. There were some really fabulous
• 39:07
  speakers. Of course, I wanted to shake hands
• 39:09
  with. Really long story short, when I got up
• 39:12
  on my stage, which I expected to have hundreds,
• 39:15
  if not 1200 people in my audience, I had 10,
• 39:20
  three of which were my own speakers. So I really
• 39:23
  only had seven. But because of the way that I
• 39:27
  do things, it was a $33 ,000 event for me. It
• 39:32
  was still a disappointment because I expected
• 39:34
  a lot more than that. But not only that, the
• 39:38
  relationships I made, I still have. And the networking
• 39:42
  that I was able to do during that time has paid
• 39:45
  off in some significant other ways. So it's all
• 39:49
  about attitude. It's all about that whole ecosystem,
• 39:52
  that diversity that we talked about coming into
• 39:55
  this interview. In contrast, there were other
• 39:58
  speakers who were just so upset. They just wanted
• 40:00
  to get through their talk and leave. One good
• 40:02
  example of that was this brilliant doctor who
• 40:06
  gave this brilliant talk. All of my speakers
• 40:09
  actually went to this talk. I wanted to be there,
• 40:12
  but they had me emceeing as well, so I didn't
• 40:14
  get to go to this particular one. But something
• 40:16
  they shared with me at the end of it was this
• 40:19
  woman was so visibly upset that she had four
• 40:22
  people in her audience, three people of which
• 40:25
  were my speakers, that she just wanted to get
• 40:28
  through it and get out of there. She was really
• 40:29
  good. And the other person who was in the room
• 40:32
  was, how do we get a hold of you? How can we
• 40:34
  go in next step with you? And she said, there's
• 40:36
  my Instagram or whatever it was. that could have
• 40:39
  been a client, one new client from an opportunity,
• 40:43
  the lifetime value of that one client, who they
• 40:45
  refer to you, what they, the next levels they
• 40:48
  may go with you can really equate to $100 ,000,
• 40:52
  just depending on who you are and what you offer.
• 40:55
  So to me, she spited herself because the event
• 40:59
  wasn't exactly as she had hoped, and most events
• 41:03
  won't be. There's going to be some things. You're
• 41:06
  not going to have the microphone you thought
• 41:07
  you're going to have. There's going to be some
• 41:08
  things. I think that flexibility and making lemonade
• 41:13
  out of lemons is an art and a gift if you are
• 41:20
  a speaker with that kind of attitude. Absolutely.
• 41:25
  So many things came through my mind as you're
• 41:27
  telling me that story. And one to mine was when
• 41:31
  I got there early and half the staff didn't show
• 41:35
  up. And I was there helping them clean up, set
• 41:40
  the tables, set the chairs. You don't have to
• 41:43
  do this. You're a speaker. I said, yep, I'm doing
• 41:46
  whatever I can to make it easier on you. And
• 41:50
  they were so thankful, so thankful. Yes, love
• 41:54
  it, love it. I think I miscalculated my time
• 41:56
  today. Michael, I do have a hard stop in about
• 41:59
  three minutes. Okay, so let me just ask you the
• 42:03
  last question. We're going to bring this full
• 42:05
  circle. For experts who are stretched thin, what's
• 42:09
  the one automation or outsource you'd implement
• 42:12
  first to free up time and grow revenue? Okay,
• 42:18
  that's it, right? That's the foundation of everything
• 42:20
  that grind that daily grind Make sure you've
• 42:23
  got all your business systems in place. That
• 42:25
  means you have to have a real CRM You have to
• 42:28
  have automations in place not that I encourage
• 42:31
  you automate outreach. You can never audience
• 42:33
  automate Never effectively automate unless you
• 42:38
  happen to be a celebrity and just throwing your
• 42:39
  name out there, but the Most of us cannot automate
• 42:44
  relationships effectively, so that needs to be
• 42:47
  hand -touched, but you can automate the nurture
• 42:50
  sequences, the follow -ups later to stay top
• 42:54
  -of -mind. You need to have your pipelines and
• 42:58
  just all of those business systems. Make sure
• 43:00
  you have those in place. You should have an assistant.
• 43:03
  If you're serious, you have an assistant, right?
• 43:07
  If you don't want to deal with any of that, contact
• 43:09
  me. And that's what we do. And we will do that
• 43:12
  with and for you. You need to be freed up to
• 43:15
  be that. influencer, that thought leader. If
• 43:18
  you're down here in the mire of the grind and
• 43:22
  that's what it takes running that machine, you
• 43:24
  want to be driving the machine, you don't want
• 43:26
  to be the machine. And number one, that's a big
• 43:29
  mistake that holds a lot of speakers back. is
• 43:33
  to either underestimate the importance of the
• 43:35
  machine or trying to run it themselves because
• 43:37
  it's just not sustainable long term. Sometimes
• 43:40
  we've got to do that when we're first starting
• 43:41
  out, burn the candle at both ends, but do it
• 43:45
  in a way that you're working yourself out of
• 43:46
  that job so that you can bring on a team like
• 43:50
  me, like my organization WPC Speakers Global,
• 43:54
  to be able to link arms with you and do that
• 43:57
  right alongside with you. Antonio, I want to
• 44:00
  tell you this was fantastic. I could talk to
• 44:02
  you for another two hours about follow -up, about
• 44:06
  networking, about everything else. What is the
• 44:09
  best way for somebody to get hold of you if they
• 44:12
  want to be coached, they want your services,
• 44:15
  whatever they want? What's the best way they
• 44:17
  can get hold of you? Thank you for that, Michael.
• 44:19
  So if you'd like to be interviewed by me to see
• 44:22
  if you're a good fit for my roster, there's no
• 44:25
  cost. Michael, I got to interview you, which
• 44:27
  I loved. I loved learning more about you. You
• 44:30
  can just go to speakerbooker .com and make an
• 44:33
  appointment. You do have to apply for an appointment,
• 44:36
  but if it seems like you're... You're a good
• 44:39
  fit for our agency. I will certainly meet with
• 44:41
  you and we can talk further. Other than that,
• 44:44
  be sure to find me on LinkedIn. Look up Keynoters
• 44:47
  High Impact Edge and read my newsletter and go
• 44:51
  to Speak Packed, Speak and then Packed as if,
• 44:56
  as in we're all on this journey to impact with
• 44:59
  the power of our voice. speakpact .com or just
• 45:02
  look us up on any major podcast platform and
• 45:06
  follow us. I think I really appreciate that you
• 45:08
  follow our podcast, Michael, and you shared with
• 45:11
  me that you have really gleaned some insights
• 45:14
  that are just those deep kind of insider insights
• 45:18
  that you only get from those who have already
• 45:20
  gone before you and have done the journey ahead
• 45:23
  of you. I love your podcast. I just, I listen
• 45:28
  to them very carefully and I get so much information
• 45:31
  from it. You have no idea. But anyway, thank
• 45:34
  you very much for coming on the podcast and I
• 45:36
  hope to speak with you soon. Thank you, Michael.
• 45:39
  It was a pleasure. Lots of fun. Well, hold on
• 45:45
  folks. Don't go anywhere. Let's hear from our
• 45:48
  sponsors. David Neal, co -founder Revved Up Kids.
• 45:53
  Revved Up Kids is on a mission to protect children
• 45:56
  and teens from sexual abuse, exploitation, and
• 46:00
  trafficking. They provide prevention training
• 46:02
  programs for children, teens, and adults. To
• 46:06
  learn more, go to revvedupkids .org. Henry Kaplan,
• 46:11
  Century 21. When it comes to making the biggest
• 46:14
  financial decision of your life, leave it in
• 46:17
  the hands of a proven professional, Henry Kaplan.
• 46:20
  Henry is a global real estate agent with Century
• 46:23
  21, celebrating his 41st year in business. No
• 46:27
  matter where you're moving, Henry has the right
• 46:30
  connections for you. You can contact Henry at
• 46:34
  561 -427 -4888. A huge thank you to our guests
• 46:42
  for sharing such incredible insights today. And
• 46:45
  of course, a big shout out to you, our amazing
• 46:48
  listeners, for tuning in and spending your time
• 46:51
  with us. If you're interested in my digital courses,
• 46:55
  being coached, or having me come and talk to
• 46:57
  your company, just go to Michael and fill out
• 47:01
  the request form. Remember, networking isn't
• 47:04
  about being perfect. It's about being present.
• 47:08
  So take what you've learned today, Get out there
• 47:10
  and make some meaningful connections. If you've
• 47:13
  enjoyed this episode, please don't forget to
• 47:16
  subscribe. Leave us a review and share it with
• 47:19
  someone who could use a little networking inspiration.
• 47:23
  Let's keep the conversation going. You can find
• 47:25
  me on Apple, Spotify, Pandora, YouTube, or my
• 47:30
  website, Foreman .com slash podcasts.