← The Amy Porterfield Show
The Amy Porterfield Show
Getting Paid to Speak: How to Land Stages, Set Your Fee, and Use Speaking to Grow Your Business
00:46:30
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- [00:00]
A
Paid public speaking. Not only is it a great awareness driver if you have a business, but it's a way that people actually pay you to share what you know.
- [00:09]
B
I think our first instinct is to picture a huge room of tons of people, big stages, but there are so many other places that someone can be paid to share their message.
- [00:19]
A
The price is based on your experience and willingness to do it. Public speaking, it's about helping the audience get to where they want to go, being honest about the things you did wrong.
- [00:29]
B
32% of professional public speakers are women, and that number has gone down since 2017. Which I was like, what it is about?
- [00:39]
A
Just the gap in learning what we can ask for and where our value is. Once you build that signature talk, if you haven't spoken before, $3,500 is a really great foundational fee. My guest today is a dear friend of mine. One of them goes, that one over there, she's big money. And it was my guest today. Her name is Amy Porterfield.
- [00:57]
B
Amy Porterfield, the ever amazing best selling author, author of Two Weeks Notice, Ms. Amy Porterville. I've been speaking on stages for a very long time, and if you know me, if you're an OG to my podcast, then you know it's not my most favorite thing. And I just get really nervous before I go on stage. And I'm 16 years in and I still have those nerves and I still wonder why I said yes to the experience. And then almost every single time, I dread it. And then I get off stage, I'm so glad I did it. Like, almost every time I'm just like, why don't I say yes to these things more often? Especially when I'm getting paid a lot of money to do it. But I had an experience in 2023 that I wanted to share with you. I was speaking at Powerhouse Women. Lindsay Schwartz is a dear friend of mine and she asked me to speak. And I remember it so vividly for two reasons. One, I was wearing the best bright pink pantsuit. Like, it was so good. And I typically don't wear pink a lot. And it was like the Barbie pink. And it was right at the time when Barbie came out in 2023. So it was like just perfectly timed. And that suit was just so good. I don't wear it a lot because I've taken a lot of pictures in it. And so I'm like, now it's ruined. However, I just felt really good. But that's not why I really remember the talk. I remember the talk vividly because About a week before, maybe even like three days before. I remember it was right before I was told that there are no slides. Lindsay didn't have two screens on the side of her stage. In fact, she had the most beautiful stage. If you know powerhouse women, you know this. The most beautiful stage. Um, but there were no monitors. And so I have never, ever done a talk without slides. And because I'm not a professional speaker, I'm not really good at off the cuff like that. Like, I need a confidence monitor in front of me. I need to know what slide is behind me and what slide is coming next. If you've ever spoke on stage, you know, the confidence monitor can show you both. I need that. And so when she said no slides, she doesn't know this, but I was very mad at her for a minute. Like, what do you mean? I'm a slide girl, and I do webinars. And so webinars are always with slides. So I'm just used to that. But anyway, it was Lindsay's show, not mine. And of course I said, I'll figure it out. And so I had to kind of rework my talk, practice it extra, because I wouldn't have any notes. And we did it without slides. And I have to say, it was one of my most favorite talks. And Lindsay, who knows me well, she said, I've never seen a better talk from you. Meaning, like, your heart was in it. You were really present. Your storytelling was better than ever. And I think it's because I was more off the cuff. And you all know me, I like a good script. I like a fleshed out outline. But in this case, I didn't have that. It just proves that sometimes when you're encouraged to do something way outside of your comfort zone, you might actually find that you're better at it than you thought. So that encouragement helped me immensely. And I'm actually looking forward to doing another talk without slides. But I'm here to bring you someone today who can be that same voice of encouragement for you as well. Someone who will help you step forward with. With more clarity and confidence than you even thought possible. Which is exactly what happened to me. If Lindsay didn't encourage me to do it without slides, I would not have ever done that. So I'm bringing you someone today who can show you what you're capable of before you fully believe it yourself. So this is your moment to take a step forward and finally claim your place on stage. So getting paid to speak Speak can open doors in your business faster than anything else. And before you tell yourself that you need more experience or you need a bigger audience or a fancier website, I want you to take a breath because you do not need any of that to get started. And that's why I brought a very special guest on today. Her name is Jess Ekstrom. And I brought her on the show because she is one of the clearest, most generous voices in the speaking world. She's a best selling author, a top rated keynote speaker, she gets paid a lot of money to speak. And the founder of Mic Drop Workshop, where she helps women learn not only how to get on stages, but how to get paid to do so. And you know how I feel about money. I want all of us making more money and I want all of us talking about making money. Today we're going to talk about what you should charge to get paid to speak on stage. So we're talking about money for sure. So Jess has helped millions of women and she makes the path feel simple and doable when you're not sure where to start. And today it's going to feel simple and doable. In this episode, we're going to talk about how to start speaking when you have very little or no experience, how to pitch yourself, how to think about pricing and the mistakes new speakers tend to make when they're just getting on stages. And we'll also get into a few tips for showing up confidently when you're on stage. So if speaking has been on your heart or even on the back burner forever, today's episode will give you the clarity and the encouragement to finally explore it. I cannot wait for you to hear this one. Let's get into it. Hey there, Jess. Welcome to the show.
- [06:38]
A
Oh, my gosh. Thanks for having me. Long time coming, right?
- [06:41]
B
We've been talking about having you on the show forever because I know that I have a huge audience of either speakers, they're already on stages, or women that really want to get on stages. And the fact that we are airing this episode at the beginning of the year is really cool because a lot of people have goals of getting paid to speak on stage. And so this is like the perfect time to do this. So to kick us off, I think it helps to get really clear on what getting paid to speak actually looks like. Because I think our first instinct is to picture a huge room of tons of people, big stages, but there are so many other places that someone can be paid to share their message. Right. So can you walk us through, like, the different forms like speaking can take Today?
- [07:29]
A
I thought I literally Got an email glitch. The first time someone asked what are my rates to come speak, I'm like, you mean people pay you for this? This is crazy. And I did. The number one thing that I tell my students not to do is I negotiated against myself, said, just take me to dinner and let's call it a day. I felt so weird about accepting money for like my knowledge.
- [07:53]
B
Right.
- [07:54]
A
Which I know we could have a whole episode about. Oh yeah. But I learned that paid public speaking, not only is it a great awareness driver if you have a business, whether you're a course creator, coaching, consulting, even, like there's a lot of realtors, financial planners that you speaking, but it's a way that people actually pay you to share what you know in a really fun way. But like you said, speaking is not just about a TED Talk that goes viral or speaking at some huge conference in a sold out arena. Some of my highest paid gigs have been to an audience of 12 and then I've gotten like $0 speaking to 10,000 people. So it's not necessarily about the size of the stage, it's about like the impact that you're having and the people in the room. So speaking. I think that everyone, especially if you're a founder, should start sharing your story on stages and getting paid to do it.
- [08:50]
B
Okay, well that leads me perfectly to the next question I wanted to ask you. Because for our listener who already has a product or a program in place, which is many people listening right now, digital courses, memberships, coaching programs, so they're making money and they're selling online, but they're, let's say they're not really taking advantage of speaking yet. How can she use speaking to grow her business in a really strategic way? Like what does it look like to turn a speaking opportunity into real momentum in your business, especially if you already have something in your business to sell.
- [09:24]
A
So here's a really important distinction that took me a couple of years to figure out. No one is going to pay you to give your elevator pitch. That's just not what's going to happen. What they will pay you for is by sharing the story of how you started or taking out the universal experience of, oh, I was so frustrated that my kid wasn't eating their vegetables. This is like one of the courses that you were telling me about that I've always thought about because my kid is not eating their vegetables. And so I started this and what I learned from this was like three things, or here's how I figured out how to get people to do what I want. And that's the keynote. So people will pay you to share the universal takeaway. They're not paying you to talk about your business, but your business and your product is a great foundational story to share what you've learned. And so I don't go up there like, let's talk about Mic Drop workshop. I talk about how people can use internal motivation to create the world that they want to live in. And I use my story of starting Headbands of Hope and Mic Drop in my companies, of how I learned that. And the other thing, Amy, that I think people also get wrong, that I got wrong in the beginning was I thought that I had to share my lessons from my highlights, but usually it's from my lessons learned that people really learn from. I was going up there and trying to just, like, be like, I'm successful, and everyone should listen to me, even though I wasn't. I was like, negative $10,000 in the hole. And what I learned was like, actually, people learn a lot from your mistakes. And so public speaking isn't necessarily about making yourself look good. It's about helping the audience get to where they want to go. And sometimes that means being honest about the things you did wrong.
- [11:12]
B
You know, you reminded me when we were launching Digital Course Academy, and you were a fantastic partner, we talked about how courses and speaking go together so well. And did you tell me a story of either you or one of your students? You use the course as a way to make more money speaking.
- [11:32]
A
Oh, my gosh. It's literally one of the best negotiation tactics for speaking. Okay, talk about that. And that's. Yeah, that's why we love being a partner of yours, is because if you already have decided something that you know you're good at, we Love using your 10% head rule at Mic Drop. And you've already done a lot of the heavy, heavy lifting, you know, your duh zone. So using your course to either negotiate in your deal or in your speaking deal, which could look like, hey, my speaking fee is $15,000, which I know sounds like a lot of money, or maybe not. We can talk about how to price yourself, but for, you know, 17 5, we can get everyone in the room access to my digital course to keep them on track for six months after the program. Because what is becoming increasingly important to event planners is how do you not let the message fizzle out off the stage? Cause it's like this one hour, we've all been to a talk that's like, oh, my gosh, Amy changed my life. And then a month later, you're like, what did she say? Yeah, I know. That happens to me all the time. And so courses are a great negotiation tactic to either increase your fee or if they're kind of on the fence, like, oh, I'm not sure if 15,000 is in our budget. Well, what if we also provided 200 seats to my course? Would that help, you know, get to where you want to go? Would that help be a win win? So it's. If you already have a course created, it is such a great negotiation tactic, and it also proves your thought leadership. If you created a course off of something, then of course you can come speak on it.
- [13:05]
B
Yep.
- [13:06]
A
Okay.
- [13:07]
B
We're. I do want to ask you about pricing, and when I get to that point, don't let me forget to ask you about selling on stage. Okay?
- [13:14]
A
Oh, yeah, yeah, for sure. I'll write that down.
- [13:16]
B
But before we get there, I wanted to talk about a statistic that I saw on your website, and it said only 32% of professional public speakers are women. And that number has gone down since 2017. Which I was like, what?
- [13:35]
A
Yeah.
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B
So why do you think this is happening? And what does it mean for women considering speaking opportunities?
- [13:41]
A
Think about the last time that maybe you walked into a Barnes and Noble and you went into the business or personal development section. And I remember walking in and all of the forward facing books were pictures of men on them. And I'm like, what is going on here? And I remember the first time I was at an event and I was speaking there, and the event planner called me after, you know, two weeks after the event, and they said, and this was for, like, a really big company, and it was a really big deal for me. She was kind of somber. So I was like, did I, like, mess up? What did I. I thought I did a really good job. And she goes, I just want to tell you some information off the record. I said, of course. She goes, you ranked the highest amongst our keynotes for that weekend. We did audience reviews. And I was like, whoa, amazing. Yeah. What's. What's the issue?
- [14:31]
B
Yeah.
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A
She said, I just wanted to let you know, woman to woman, we paid you $8,500 to come speak. And we paid our morning mail keynote $50,000 to come speak.
- [14:42]
B
My gosh. First of all, love this woman for telling you that.
- [14:46]
A
Right?
- [14:47]
B
Yes.
- [14:47]
A
Love the woman. What? Yeah. Also, it took me a while to realize, like, I. This is not. This is nothing against men. It is about just the gap in learning what we can ask for and where our value is.
- [15:00]
B
Yes.
- [15:01]
A
And I think one of the reasons why I love your platform so much is because we have to be able to talk about money to know how much we can make. I had no idea it was even in the realm of possibility to charge that much for a keynote. And now I'm not far off from that price point. I'm not there yet, but I'm not far off.
- [15:17]
B
How do you even know what to charge? What if someone's starting out from scratch or someone that's been around for a while? Like, how do you even figure that out?
- [15:26]
A
Yeah. So once you have a signature talk, which, you know, this is another thing that I think that a lot of speakers might get wrong is the misconception of every single time you talk, you correct create a talk, which I don't want you to do. Good. You're not going to recreate a course for every customer that wants to. To learn from you. It's like, no, this is what I know well. This is what I do really well. This is like, I call it being a Cheesecake Factory speaker. No one wants to go to a restaurant that serves, like, Sushi Alfredo's and burritos. It's like, what do you do really well. So once you build that signature talk, then I think that you have the opportunity. If you haven't spoken before, $3,500 is a really great foundational fee. Okay. And you can even be transparent around. I'm just getting my feet wet. I want to get the experience. But when you charge below $3,500, there's actually a chance that you might not get the gig because you might seem too inexperienced. Oh. And it's almost like counteracting. We've seen that, like, people charging 500 or $700 and they're not going to get the gig. But if they charge $3,500, they do. But then once you have a few gigs under your belt, like that first year, 5,000 is a really great price point. But I'll tell you, when you start to get into some of these companies and corporations, like people sweat over, should I charge 12 or 15? It's a rounding error. It is not this huge existential crisis to try to determine where your price point is. But. But I would say in those early first few times, 3,500. 5,000. After you have a couple testimonials and footage under your belt, that's important, too. And then work your way up from there.
- [17:13]
B
Does the price depend on how many people are in the audience. Or does that not play a factor?
- [17:20]
A
Doesn't play a factor.
- [17:21]
B
Okay.
- [17:22]
A
The price is influenced based on your experience and willingness to do it.
- [17:28]
B
Okay.
- [17:29]
A
And that. It could mean I'm speaking to 12 people in the room. It could mean I'm speaking to 12,000 people in the room. It also isn't influenced by time that I'm speaking. I'll charge the same amount if I'm speaking. For example, I have a gig on Thursday and Friday this week. Thursday I speak for an hour. Friday, I speak for 35 minutes, but I'm charging the same rate for both.
- [17:52]
B
Got it.
- [17:53]
A
Because it's not an hourly fee. They're paying for the time that it took you to get up on that stage for that value, which might seem ridiculous, charging 15, $20,000 for 30 minutes of your time, but it's. It's the price of your knowledge, not the price of the time on stage.
- [18:10]
B
Ooh, that's such a great takeaway right there. Price of your knowledge. Not. Say it again.
- [18:17]
A
It's the price of your knowledge, not the price of your time on stage.
- [18:21]
B
Got it. Okay, great. And also, when you charge 3,500 or 5,000 and you have to travel somewhere, do you also ask for travel fees?
- [18:31]
A
Mm. So there's a couple different ways that you can do that, but travel should always be a part of the equation. You can say my rate is $5,000 all inclusive. And what that means is it's giving them a simple yes or no answer because they know that that $5,000 is it. They're not going to pay more. They're not going to pay less. It is $5,000, and you book your travel. Okay. I prefer to do my rate plus a travel stipend. So I say my rate, you know, is, let's say 5,000 plus $2,500 travel stipend. What that really means is it's. I don't do math in public, but $7,500. And then I just will book my travel within that. And then some places like to do an itemized one, but travel's always a part of that equation.
- [19:22]
B
We do the same thing. We'll have my speaker fee and then also travel. And, you know, I had an interesting situation a couple weeks ago where I was asked to speak. It was a virtual event, and which. Oh, we. Okay, I'm going to tell you a story in a second, but before I do, would you charge less for a virtual event versus on stage?
- [19:47]
A
Yeah, I usually go in 30% less than my stage fee.
- [19:53]
B
That's great.
- [19:54]
A
But it's important not to be go 80% less. That's what a lot of people are doing. Because again, it's not necessarily for the time. It's for the experience and the knowledge which you're still delivering. Okay. So think of your talk like a product. Yeah. Okay.
- [20:10]
B
I love, I love that advice not to deeply discount it. So I didn't deeply discount, but I didn't come in really high either for this guy who asked me to speak at a virtual event. There are going to be a lot of people there. And I saw the other men on the list and it was Gary Vee and Seth Godin. And I just knew there's no way these guys are doing it for free and there's no way they're doing it for super cheap. And so I'm going to put my regular fee out there. And he came back and said he's a really nice guy, but he said, this is out of our budget, we can't afford it. But I'm thinking, I know you paid those other two. Not that I'm saying I'm as popular as them, but I have been around for a long time and yeah. So I can stand my ground and. Or, you know, do my thing. And so I did pass on it and it was. Would have been super simple for me to do it, but I kind of add a principle. I just felt like I'm gonna, I'm not gonna say yes to this.
- [21:11]
A
I just had that happen.
- [21:13]
B
Yeah.
- [21:13]
A
Two days ago. Where I knew what, who they had brought in the past. I knew they wouldn't do it for free. Yeah. And I will tell you, Amy, part of their sales pitch to me you're gonna like in your grave was that I would be the first woman to speak at their conference.
- [21:29]
B
Oh. And that should be really exciting to you.
- [21:31]
A
Should be very exciting. And that I should do it for a discount. I was like, don't you understand this is literally the opposite of feminism. Yes.
- [21:40]
B
Yes. It's so true. You not only have they never had a woman there, they don't even want to pay you to be there.
- [21:46]
A
Like women's empowerment. Okay. Empower me with a paycheck. I will say there are, there are. Sometimes when a gig comes through, you're like, my fee is this. They can't do it. There are some non monetary value ads that you can ask for.
- [22:02]
B
Talk about that.
- [22:04]
A
So if an event can't meet my fee here, some of the things that I like to think about, is it a reputable company that will look good on my website. You know, is it like Coca Cola or is it, you know, the chamber of commerce? Like those things matter. Can you ask for a testimonial? What people say about you is more impactful than what you say about yourself. So asking for a testimonial. The other high currency for speakers are footage and photos. The more you can show yourself speaking on your platform, the more you're kind of putting it out there that you're a speaker. So if they have photography and videography there, that's a huge win. But some other things that are kind of fun that you can ask for is, is it in a cool location? Like, I got asked to speak in the Keys and I'm like, could you extend it to four nights? And I bring my family? Sure. Can you get. I ask for extra tickets to the event so I can invite meeting planners or people in the area to come watch me speak. I just did that when I spoke in Orlando last week. I invited other companies there to come watch me as kind of an audition. But the kicker that I think that I don't see anyone else doing that. If you're listening to this, definitely do this. Put in your negotiation that if they are pleased with your talk, that they introduce you to four other events that you would be a good fit for. Oh, within like two to three weeks post event.
- [23:34]
B
Okay.
- [23:35]
A
Meeting planners, talk to other meeting planners. And so it is. So much of my business now is not outbound. It's inbound because I've set up these referrals, referral systems where once I'm done, I know that they're going to refer me to other events because I ask them to. And sometimes it's just as simple as that. But include that in your contract because that is a non monetary value of exchange.
- [23:58]
B
Ooh, that's good.
- [23:59]
A
It could just be even posing the question of like, hey, I know that we're off on budget, but how do we make this a win win? Sometimes they have a podcast that you can guest on. Sometimes they have an email list that they can do an E blast of your book or your podcast. So sometimes you can find ways to meet in the middle even if they can't meet your rate.
- [24:16]
B
Gotcha. Okay. That's really great advice. And that one other question I had mentioned, what if you have an opportunity to sell on stage? How do you feel about that? How do you structure that in terms of payment or affiliate deals or what does that look like?
- [24:31]
A
Yeah. So there are two ways that you can sell to an audience that first way is that you're speaking for free and your payment is selling from stage. So in that case, if you're not getting paid to speak, it should again be a part of your agreement that you are able to use that time to push your product. You can have a QR code that they purchase from. You can have a table in the back of the room that they line up and sign up for your course. But that is the exchange is that you're speaking as a lead gen for free. So you can be pretty shameless about it. The way that I do it, because speaking is the way that I make money. I don't want to speak for free because I know I've worked really hard on this product is instead of selling from the stage, I sell in their inbox after I'm off stage. And the way that I do that is right before I conclude my talk, I put up a QR code and I say, I want to send you the slides from my talk so that way you guys can remember it. That's. I've tested every single lead gen that you could here. Okay. They want the slides. They want the PDF of the slides. Scan this QR code and it'll give you. It'll send you the slides in a couple hours. So in that email that I send them the slides, I also include. By the way, I have a public speaking course, Mic Drop Workshop. Would love to you for you to have, you know, your first month free. Free or something. Because that's going to be the highest opened email that they get.
- [26:03]
B
Yes.
- [26:03]
A
And so I've found that selling in their inbox a couple hours after you speak allows you to get paid to speak and also tell them about your offer. So that's the way I would do it.
- [26:15]
B
That's great. I was going to ask you about lead gen. So you're all about the QR code. I love that you've tested it for us. So we don't.
- [26:20]
A
Oh, I've tested it and I get a, on average, an 80% room conversion, which I'm pretty pumped about.
- [26:26]
B
That is so good.
- [26:28]
A
Yes.
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B
Okay, that's. That's great to know. You know, let me back us up a little bit because my audience is full of female founders who are experts at what they do, but they might not have ever spoke on stage before. Maybe, maybe she's done a panel or two or maybe she's done nothing like this before. So what are the very first steps that she can take to get started? Even if she feels unsure or inexperienced or like you Know you know this more than anyone. One of the biggest fears that people have in life is speaking in front of people. Right?
- [27:01]
A
Yeah.
- [27:02]
B
So where does she start?
- [27:05]
A
So I'm going to give a really simple mindset shift. Okay. And it's actually one I just gave in my TED Talk, which just hit a million views today, so. Oh, my God. Yeah, yeah. So I'm super excited. Thank you.
- [27:18]
B
We tell everyone just real fast, where do they sit? See this TED Talk that just hit a million views.
- [27:22]
A
It's on YouTube and you can just search like Jesse, TED Talk or something like that.
- [27:29]
B
Your last name, real fast.
- [27:30]
A
Oh, E K S T R O.
- [27:32]
B
M. We'll put it in the show notes, too.
- [27:34]
A
Thank you. I appreciate it. But in this TED Talk, I talk about this really simple shift that you can make if you decide that you want to speak. And this doesn't have to mean speaking in a paid fashion. This can mean speaking at your job, seeing, speaking at your kids, PTA meeting. Anytime that you feel nervous about getting up in front of people. There are two different types of mindsets we can have before we speak. There's a spotlight speaker and a lighthouse speaker. A spotlight speaker is what we've been conditioned to believe, that I'm going to go up there and everyone's going to be looking at me. The light is on me. I have to be perfect. I can't stumble. I can't use a filler word. A spotlight speaker asks, what does everyone think of me? But a lighthouse speaker shifts the light from themselves to their listener or their audience. So if a spotlight speaker asks, what does everyone think of me? Then a lighthouse speaker asks, what does everyone need of me? And so all of a sudden, you go from trying to please others to trying to serve others. And that doesn't mean having to be perfect. I have tripped on stage for everyone to see my Spanx. I have used filler words. I have like, you know, my clicker stopped working. But I know that the speaking is not about putting me in the best light. It's about helping get the audience to where they want to go. And so I think if you can make that simple shift of, like, being relatable doesn't make you unreliable. You know, it makes you a great public speaker. Then it takes off all of this unnecessary pressure of perfection that we put on ourselves to speak. Yeah, we don't want AI up there. We want a human who has flaws, who maybe forgets their train of thought or even admits to the audience that they're feeling a little bit nervous today. So I would say the number one thing you can do if you're getting started is just that simple. Shift before you speak. Okay. Where am I shining my light? Am I a spotlight or am I a lighthouse? And yeah, I'll stop there for a second because I think it's important in course creation too.
- [29:37]
B
Yeah, absolutely. But when I was getting ready for this interview, I literally thought of my very first speaking gig. And I remember what I was wearing. I remember where I was. And the guy who asked me to speak, I spoke for free. And the guy who asked me to speak was standing along the side of the stage before I went on. And I looked at him and I. And he knew it was my first time. And I said, I am so nervous. Nervous. I am freaked out. And he said, the reason why you're nervous and freaked out is you're making it all about you. Everyone's going to be looking at you and what are they going to think of you? He said, you have to make it about them. Start thinking about what they need, how you're going to add value to them. Essentially exactly what you said. So every time I go on stage, I remember that. Will you repeat one more time? The lighthouse speaker one? What do they ask?
- [30:31]
A
Yeah. So a spotlight asks, what does everyone think of me? Yes, that's what I was asking. Yeah. And a lighthouse asks, what does everyone need from me?
- [30:39]
B
Need from me. That's such a great question. What does everyone need from me? And you're right. Creating a course is. That's the beautiful question you should be asking as well. What does everyone need from me?
- [30:50]
A
And that's why before I speak at an event, I don't customize my talk. And that's an important thing, is that I'm not starting from scratch every time. I'll customize small parts of my talk to meet that audience, but I'm not starting from scratch. But the one thing that I do ask the event planner as I'm gathering information is, can you tell me right now what keeps your people up at night?
- [31:10]
B
Ooh, that's a good.
- [31:11]
A
Because even if I'm not going to go there and solve employee turnover or that they have a new CEO, I at least go in the room knowing the context and knowing that people are feeling a little uneasy or that there's been a lot of layoffs, and so I go in knowing what people need from me.
- [31:29]
B
Okay, that is actually really good knowing from the get go. And I like that you don't tailor all of your talks. I think that's pretty Incredible as well. But let's go back real fast to that woman who's never done this before. So we. We've got the. The concept of what do they need from me, but what is one of the first steps she needs to take.
- [31:49]
A
To start speaking so we can do it? Actually, right now, as you're listening to this podcast, so it's a start. I like to start with a visualization. And you are on stage. You just spoke. Don't even think about what you said. Just imagine that the curtains close, you've got a standing ovation. People are laughing, crying. Best speaker I ever heard. What do you want them thinking, feeling, and doing as they're walking to their car, as they're calling their spouse, as they're talking to their colleague? Because speaking is about less about information and more about transformation. It's like you want your talk to be before and after moment for someone. So what do you want the after to be? So you can do this? Fill in the blank right now. After people hear me speak, they will blank because my talk will blank. So after people hear me speak, they'll feel like they can accomplish anything because my talk is going to show them how I resiliently started my business. And so thinking about not what I'm going to say, but the aftermath of the people helps you work backwards. Okay. Now I can figure out my marketing. Now I can plan my talk, because now I have my North Star. So coming up with that transformation promise is just like foundational step one, so you know where you're going and what you want everything to build towards. Okay.
- [33:09]
B
Okay. I. That's incredibly helpful because I think a lot of women listening right now, I think they do have big goals for 2026 to get paid to speak on stage, but some of them are starting from scratch. And so let's talk about pitching yourself. A lot of my students will ask, should I pitch myself for speaking opportunities? And I would love for you to walk us through that. Like, I'm assuming you do think people should pitch themselves, but maybe not. Tell me what you think about that. And if you do, then what does it look like? What would need to go in a pitch?
- [33:42]
A
So the first thing that you can do even before you start pitching yourself.
- [33:47]
B
Yeah.
- [33:47]
A
Is just putting the word speaker in your bio. Okay. Especially on LinkedIn. LinkedIn is now becoming a search engine for events to find speakers. So in order to come up in that search, put the word speaker in your bio. I always say, like, people aren't waking up wondering how they can give me Money. I have to tell them how they can give me money. So you have to do the same thing. Put the word speaker in your bio. And then the next thing that I would do is we call it closest to Cash. Like who are the people that are maybe already in your network or local to you that could utilize a speaker that you can start to get those first reps in chamber of commerce, your kids, school. If you're close to your alma mater, they love bringing back alumni to speak to students. Do you have employee resource groups, also known as ERGs at companies are always looking for speakers, especially women. With March coming up, Women's History Month, every company out there is probably looking for a speaker to come in and speak. It doesn't even mean that you have to speak about women. They just want women because there's not a lot of us out there that are doing this. And so adding the word speaker to your bio and looking who are my closest to cash. And I would just be honest with them. I would say, hey, I'm starting this new venture. I am speaking. And you know, you can have what we call a speaker statement. I help audiences blank. What's that? Desired outcome. And I would love to give this a shot at X, Y, Z and see who comes back to you. You have no idea sometimes who's already in your network that is looking for speakers. I work out at the YMCA because they have childcare.
- [35:25]
B
Yeah.
- [35:25]
A
And also for other reasons. But I just the other day was like, I wonder if they ever need speakers. Like, because I have a book coming out in May and so I'm trying to figure out like some local partnerships and they just booked me for their staff wide meeting just by thinking about my gym. And so sometimes you just have no idea who's looking for speakers. Associations are also a big one too. If you're involved in any associations.
- [35:49]
B
Okay. That's really good to hear. And it feels doable. Like you could actually get started with that. For sure.
- [35:56]
A
Yeah.
- [35:57]
B
Were you going to say something?
- [35:58]
A
Well, I was just going to say sometimes people feel really daunted by outbound sales. I don't know if you feel that.
- [36:07]
B
It'S not my most favorite.
- [36:09]
A
Yeah. And so if that feels daunting to you, the thing that I would focus on instead is platform building around your speaking topic. So if you're like, I really don't want to spend a lot of time pitching myself, then spend a lot of time marketing yourself as a speaker through your channels, doing videos, posting, you know, here. When I speak to audiences, this is What I do. And so it's kind of just like there's two ways you can get gigs, outbound and inbound. If outbound doesn't feel good to you, then put that energy into inbound, which is platform building. Okay.
- [36:44]
B
Again, very doable. So I love that advice. Now, speaking of things that women should do in order to get on stage, let's talk about some of the common mistakes that you've seen women make when they're trying to land a speaking gig or when once they've landed it, maybe the follow up or where some mistakes that hopefully my audience can avoid.
- [37:06]
A
Number one mistake, they pitch their story, not their takeaway.
- [37:09]
B
Okay, so that was. That was interesting. Talk about that one more time, because I know you mentioned it. They talk about their. Say it again.
- [37:17]
A
They. The mistake that I see people make is they pitch their story, not their takeaway. Audience, a meeting planner, just like any other consumer that's going to make a decision is focused on how will this help me? And so a cool story is great, but they're more concerned with how is this going to help my people? Or how is this going to impact my bottom line? And so a kind of a question that you can ask yourself. Let's say you speak about, you want to speak about confidence, or you want to speak about vulnerability, or you want to speak about teamwork. Ask yourself, what is the ROI of confidence for this person I'm about to pitch to? Like, what does that actually look like in a return on their investment? And then save your story for either the end of the pitch or the call. Because then it's like, well, what makes me able to speak on this? It's because I've lived it. But they don't really care about that in the beginning. They want to know how you help them. So pitch the takeaway first instead of just leaning on your story. Got it?
- [38:20]
B
Yeah, That's a good one.
- [38:22]
A
Another mistake that I see speakers make is that they think everything because they're speaking to a professional audience, that everything has to be very corporate, very like in a box. And what I learned from this was, and which can be true if that's your style. But I think that, again, people are looking for authenticity. People are looking for real humans. So my rule of thumb is that the story can be personal as long as the takeaway is professional. So you can talk about your divorce, talk about the time that you rescued your dog, talk about, you know, whatever it is. But the takeaway that the audience is learning from is professional. So maybe if you're talking about your divorce, then it is. The takeaway for the audience is about, like, navigating change, advocating for yourself, pivoting when necessary. And so the story can be personal as long as the takeaway is professional. But sometimes I see women try to, like, hide or shrink themselves because they think they have to step into this professional facade. And people are hiring you.
- [39:28]
B
Yes.
- [39:29]
A
And sometimes people think, well, I can't speak on vulnerability because Brene Brown is already speaking on it. Or I can't speak on whatever because Mel Robbins is already speaking on it. I will be honest with you that not everyone can afford Brene Brown or Mel Robbins. And so just because someone is already out there speaking on it, they're not using your story or your, like, fingerprints around it to get there. I like to joke that I'm, like, the Kirkland brand Sarah Blakely. Like, they can't always afford Sarah Blakely, but they can maybe afford me.
- [39:59]
B
Yeah. That's fantastic. So good. Um, you know, it's so funny. This proves that you are such an incredible speaker, because I have found myself saying. Can you repeat that? Say that again. Because your sound bites are so freaking good, and that's something I'd really like to get better at. Just really good sound bites because they're such great takeaways. So I see what you're doing, Jess. I see you weaving those in, and I love them.
- [40:25]
A
Yeah.
- [40:26]
B
Okay, so tell me this. You know that I love a bootcamp. I mean, love a bootcamp. And I know that you have a bootcamp coming up. So talk about the bootcamp. Who is it for? And what information do they need to know if they're thinking they want to start speaking.
- [40:42]
A
Yes. Well, first I have to say, you created the playbook, so we are happy to be in your orbit in this. And because it's really fun to let people dip their toes in to figure out if this is for them before they dive all the way in. Yeah. So we have a boot camp coming up in January, if you're hearing this later. We also have free trainings and stuff that you can watch, but this is for women who are slightly curious about speaking. And so it could be. I have the topic. I just don't know how to monetize it. Or it can be, I have the story, but I don't know how to translate it into a topic. So it's five days where we walk through what you want to speak on, who you want to speak to, what you should charge, all the small changes you can start making today, whether that's with your LinkedIn or just your online presence to start attracting speaking gigs. So that way you have fresh footing for 2026 to hit the ground running. I will also add that I think this is going to be an especially important boot camp because the numbers and I should have them in front of me. I don't. But the numbers show events for 2026 are healthier than ever. I think a few reasons for this we finally like the money that wasn't spent during the pandemic on events is kind of compiled into more investment in events. People are more IRL hungry than they ever have been for I'm sure you've seen that in your business too. And so events are either staying the doing what they did last year or increasing next year. And then especially they're looking for women speakers. It is no longer acceptable to have all male lineups, so they are actively looking for women speakers.
- [42:25]
B
I love that, you know, Kit, one of my most favorite tools for email marketing has a rule and that I don't know the exact rule, but there's always a certain amount of women on the stage and it might actually be more women than men. I think the rule is that good. So, you know, there it's. I love that paying attention. I know. I do too. Nathan Barry is just a great leader in that. Okay, so where do they go to learn about the boot camp?
- [42:48]
A
You can go to mic dropworkshop.com stage so mikedropworkshop.com stage you can also find us on socials. We're not hard to find. You can find me as well. Send me a dm. I'd love to hear what you thought about this, but we, yeah, we would love to have you in the bootcamp. And again, even if you're just a little bit curious, if this is for me, it's $38. It's a great way for you. Even if you decide that speaking isn't what you want to do. Talking about like speaking in sound bites, being on podcasts, speaking is such a transferable skill, even if you decide not to monetize it, it just helps you show up in a way that you want to and be able to deliver the thing that you're selling or the impact that you want to have.
- [43:29]
B
Speaking of impact, you have impacted so many women's lives and encouraged them to get on stage. So what's one thing that you wish every new speaker understood about claiming the space and using her voice with confidence?
- [43:45]
A
I would say that sometimes in a digital world like this, it's really Easy to compare. You know, my story is not as big as hers, or she has more followers than me, or she's had more business success than me. But if all of us were the same, like, there wouldn't be speaking spots. There wouldn't be courses. So there's someone out there that is looking for specifically what you have to say. I'm not a good fit for every event. You're not a good fit for every event. But if we stay true to our transformation promise and who we are, then the good events will find us. But if we try to be like every other speaker. I tried to do this in the beginning where I was like, today I'm going to try to be Mel Robbins, or today I'm going to try to be Amy Porterfield or whoever it might be. And I'm like, well, then people can't find me.
- [44:34]
B
Yeah.
- [44:34]
A
And so I would say don't compare and take it an even step further where speaking can be such a collaborative industry if you let it. I'm speaking at an event on Friday. They're not going to book me again in 2026. They're looking for someone else. And so why don't I, after I speak on Friday, say, hey, let me know when you're looking for speakers. I have some great women I want to introduce you to. And that's really, like, the essence of Mic Drop workshop is not just teaching you to speak, but creating a sisterhood of referrals that keep women on stages because it's no skin off your back, because they're not going to book you again that next year. And so I would say don't compete, collaborate in speaking.
- [45:14]
B
Absolutely. Don't compete, collaborate. Yet another great sound bite. Yes. Thank you so much for coming on the show. Like we mentioned in the beginning, we've been talking about this forever. I love where it landed. The beginning of the year for, you know, all the goals that my listeners have set for themselves. And this is going to just land perfectly. But one more time, micdropworkshop.com stage, I highly recommend you get into this bootcamp. Jess, thanks again for being here.
- [45:44]
A
Thanks, Amy.