Jim, a true Georgia Peach, gave us TONS of great insights about “making your speaking career happen” vs. waiting for it to happen. In addition to his fill-in-the-blank handout, here are some juicy notes from the meeting.
First, Jim suggested we invest in the following directories. (But don’t waste money on the latest version, buy last year’s or one that’s a couple of years old because all you really want from them are the telephone number and website of the association.)
- National Trade and Professional Associations of the United States
- State & Regional Associations of United States (a gold mine) – because these groups have more events and need more speakers; think about it, there are 50 state associations and only one national association for each group
- Corporate Meetings and Event Planners Guide
- Directory of Canadian Associations
- When calling Canadian organizations, don’t refer to their meeting as the annual conference or meeting or convention, call it the “Annual General Meeting” or “AGM”
- Use their terms – provinces vs. states; use their city names as well as cultural references like Tim Horton’s (Canada’s Dunkin’ Donuts)
- Fun Trivia – Current Canadian Prime Minister…Stephen Harper
- Don’t be thrown by the published “budget number” in the directories – many times the real budget and the printed budget are different because the printed budget number is based on a survey often times filled out by an underling who doesn’t know all the facts
Jim’s Telephone Script – what he says when he calls them out of the blue
- Opening lines
- “Hi, I’m Jim Mathis, can you help me please?” (and don’t refer to yourself as Jim Mathis unless that’s what you normally call yourself)
- “Could you connect me to the meeting planner for _____________________? (And then say “the association” or “the bankers” or “the nurses” or some part, but not all of the association name)?” You sound more like an insider, not a sales person, you could even be a member. 90% of the time they’ll put you straight through
- If they tell you “no,” say, I have a question about the annual meeting.”
- I really need to talk to this point because it’s really important
- On call backs – ask for the person only using their first name, i.e. “Is Judy there?” Not, is Judy Williams there?
- Voicemail
- “Hi this is Jim Mathis, I have a question about the meeting for 2010 (next year), can you please call me, my number is…” Be intentionally nebulous. (They’ll think you’re a member.)
- Building a Relationship Over the Phone
- When they call back, say, “Hi, my name is Jim Mathis, I’m a professional speaker and I work with organizations like yours that hire speakers for their meetings and I was just calling to see if you fall in that category?” (It’s the only yes/no question he asks them during the entire conversation.)
- “like yours” – Jim shrugs his shoulders and almost chuckles as he says this
- When they call back, say, “Hi, my name is Jim Mathis, I’m a professional speaker and I work with organizations like yours that hire speakers for their meetings and I was just calling to see if you fall in that category?” (It’s the only yes/no question he asks them during the entire conversation.)
- If no, “Well, I appreciate your time today, I offer a free kit/newsletter that contains articles and ideas about how to thrive in a down economy…” Most people say, “Yes, please send it to me.” Jim has gotten gigs years later because he put people like this on his mailing list and faithfully sent them valuable info.
- If yes, “Great, that’s wonderful! When you’re bringing in people like me, what are you looking for because I’m not sure if I’m a good fit for your organization or not.”
- If yes/still interested, “When will you be making the decision about speakers for your event?” Or, “When will you be closer to making a decision?”
- Jim NEVER discusses fee on the initial call. “You know I’m not the money guy, my assistant handles all that. You’re welcome to call her to go through my fees, etc.”
- I have a kit/newsletter that I can send. (Most organizations now ONLY want things electronically.)
- I’d also love to send you a copy of my ezine, too. Just to give you a sense of what I’m all about/give you a flavor of my thinking and programs.
- When would be a good time to call you back?
Closing – getting hired over the phone
- “When we were talking back in ______, you asked me to call you back around now and I’m just being faithful.” (Usually gets a laugh.)
- Be ready to play back to them what we talked about in the previous phone conversation.
- “Is this a good time to talk?” Respectful. Honors their time.
- (This is the hard part because sometimes it takes 15-30 calls in this stage.)
- Sometimes they’ll say, “We can’t afford you.” He replies, “You never know. You might be surprised.”
- Jim’s assistant always quotes a price range – “We’re between X and Y…depending on what you need Jim to do.”
Miscellaneous:
- Jim makes 30 calls/day and his assistant makes 15-20 calls/day. He has a third person do follow-up on leads and he pays her only a commission on the gigs she actively closes.
- Jim has a 12-page color magalog he sends out – looks like a real magazine; has a $7.95 price on it, a UPC bar code, articles, lists of his programs, products he sells, etc. It makes him look BIG TIME!
- He’s cnstantly tinkering with his website to make it more benefit-oriented and less about his features
- FU with corporate people – “Can you help me, I was told you that you were the only person who can help me?”
- Focus more on all the things that can go right, not the things that can go wrong
- Great Pre-Program Questionnaire Question: “What are your people doing that you want them to quit doing when I’m done speaking?”
- Nobody ever grew when they cut back.
- If you ever get into a debate on price, you’ve lost,
The biggest takeaway for me.
- Jim asked everyone what their dream speaking destination was, i.e., where in the world would you just LOVE to give a speech and get paid for it?
- I said “Maui.” Other answers were Jackson Hole, Bermuda, and Key West.
- Then Jim asked us, “In the last 30 days, what specific steps have you taken to speak in that destination?” Wow.
- He continued, “It’s not just going to happen on its own.” So true.
See you on November 10 when we’re going to learn how be our own business coach.
Giddy up!
Steve
El Presidente
