Everything you need to know to become a paid public speaker | With VaynerSpeakers

Summary

Podcast Summary: Everything You Need to Know to Become a Paid Public Speaker | With VaynerSpeakers

Podcast Information:

• Title: The GaryVee Audio Experience
• Host: Gary Vaynerchuk
• Episode: Everything You Need to Know to Become a Paid Public Speaker | With VaynerSpeakers
• Release Date: January 24, 2025

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Introduction to VaynerSpeakers

Gary Vaynerchuk kicks off the episode by addressing the increasing demand for public speakers, highlighting the surge of inquiries he receives via direct messages (DMs) and emails. He introduces his brothers, Zach Nadler and Steven Weiner, who run VaynerSpeakers, a subsidiary of VaynerX. Gary emphasizes the value VaynerSpeakers provides to both speakers and event organizers, urging listeners to visit vaynerspeakers.com for top-tier speaking talent.

Notable Quote:

"We're not scummy about it, right? So, if you don't rep them, you're going to refer them and back to why we think we're the best." — Gary Vaynerchuk [00:00]

State of the Public Speaking Market

Gary poses a series of insightful questions to Zach and Steven about the current landscape of public speaking, focusing on fee structures, virtual versus physical events, and market saturation.

Key Discussion Points:

• Increase in Speakers and Events: Zach notes, "There's never been more speakers and more events than ever before" ([00:52]).
• Virtual Events Dominance: Approximately 10-15% of events remain virtual, with high-profile speakers commanding fees in the hundreds of thousands for virtual engagements.
• Physical Events Resurgence: Physical events are not only back but stronger than before, with an 80% preference for in-person gatherings ([04:30]).
• Speaker Fees: While high-end speakers are pushing their fees higher, the broader market sees a mix of fee adjustments, with some speakers charging between $10k to $150k ([04:42]).

Notable Quotes:

"We're fully back. We're more stronger." — Zach Nadler [04:30]
"Speakers are pushing their fees higher right now. I think they're the A list. It hasn't hit the tipping point." — Steven Weiner [04:43]

Strategies for Aspiring Public Speakers

Gary shares his philosophy on entering the public speaking arena, advocating for humility, authenticity, and providing value. He encourages listeners to speak for free initially to gain exposure and experience.

Key Points:

• Start Small and Build: Speak at local events, even unpaid, to establish a presence.
• Focus on Authentic Content: Avoid topics you’re not knowledgeable about to maintain credibility.
• Leverage Connections: Utilize platforms like VaynerSpeakers to find speaking opportunities and receive guidance.

Notable Quotes:

"Humility is a superpower. Without me saying I'm humble... it's easy for me to be like, hey, Tenacity's superpower." — Gary Vaynerchuk [10:27]
"Stay in your lane of what you know. Don't try to go out there and say, I can talk on these 15 topics." — Steven Weiner [11:34]

The Role of Agents and Representation

Zach emphasizes the importance of having representation for speakers, noting that while not everyone needs an agent, having one can significantly enhance a speaker’s strategy and market presence.

Key Insights:

• Value of Exclusive Representation: VaynerSpeakers exclusively represents prominent figures like Jesse Itzler, Ryan Holiday, and Tom Bilyeu, among others.
• Holistic Approach: Unlike transactional agencies, VaynerSpeakers adopts a comprehensive strategy, considering the speaker's entire brand and business.

Notable Quotes:

"We were just transactional. We were just focused on getting speaking engagements. Here we really look at the holistic view of what everything else people are doing." — Zach Nadler [06:06]
"We try to be transparent. There's a lot of phonies out there... educate yourself." — Zach Nadler [26:15]

Balancing Speaking Engagements and Event Organization

Gary discusses his experience balancing his role as a speaker with organizing events like VCon. He credits Zach and Steven for handling logistical aspects, allowing him to focus on delivering value to the audience.

Key Points:

• Audience-Centric Approach: Prioritizing the audience ensures the selection of relevant and impactful speakers.
• Logistical Expertise: Trusting VaynerSpeakers with event logistics provides peace of mind and ensures smooth operations.

Notable Quotes:

"The event for me, on that part, it comes very natural because the only thing I've ever thought about is consumer." — Gary Vaynerchuk [20:38]
"We were just transactional... we really look at the holistic view." — Zach Nadler [09:26]

Evolution and Adaptation in Public Speaking

The conversation shifts to the necessity for speakers to evolve with changing times. Gary and his team stress the importance of relevance, content refinement, and adapting speaking styles to maintain engagement.

Key Insights:

• Content Relevance: Speakers must continuously update and refine their content to stay pertinent.
• Authenticity Over Memorization: Genuine delivery trumps memorized speeches, especially in an era of virtual and interactive events.
• Embracing Change: Adapting to technological advancements, such as AI and VR, while maintaining the human element in speaking engagements.

Notable Quotes:

"If you want to be a great speaker, don't fake it. People can feel it." — Gary Vaynerchuk [13:55]
"You gotta refine that content." — Zach Nadler [22:15]

Lessons Learned and Success Stories

Zach and Steven share anecdotes about initially underestimating certain speakers who later achieved significant success. These stories underscore the importance of recognizing potential beyond first impressions.

Key Stories:

• Diana Nyad: Initially seen as a nominal speaker, she proved her capabilities by accomplishing extraordinary feats like swimming from Cuba to Florida.
• Brian Solis and Chris Brogan: Demonstrated profound insights and adaptability, leading to their successful representation by VaynerSpeakers.

Notable Quotes:

"Someone who came around... social media world where that wasn't what he was." — Zach Nadler [25:35]
"We try to be transparent. If you're in a meeting planner, don't just take someone's word for it." — Zach Nadler [26:15]

Closing Remarks and Final Thoughts

In the concluding segment, Gary emphasizes the enduring value of live events and authentic human interaction, despite advancements in technology like AI and VR. He reiterates the mission of VaynerSpeakers to prioritize audience value and genuine speaker representation.

Final Takeaways:

• Live Events are Here to Stay: Networking and in-person interactions remain invaluable.
• Authenticity is Key: Maintaining genuine connections and delivering real value will sustain a speaker's relevance.
• VaynerSpeakers’ Commitment: The agency aims to revolutionize the speaking bureau industry by focusing on authenticity, strategy, and holistic support for speakers.

Notable Quote:

"If you want the greatest keynote ever given by a human being, go to vaynerspeakers.com and request Gary Vaynerchuk." — Gary Vaynerchuk [27:03]

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This episode provides a comprehensive overview of the public speaking landscape, offering valuable insights for aspiring speakers and event organizers alike. Gary Vaynerchuk, alongside his brothers Zach Nadler and Steven Weiner, delves into strategies for success, the importance of authenticity, and the evolving dynamics of the speaking market.

Transcript

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

This is the GaryVee Audio Experience VaynerNation, a very exciting brotherly family vibes family table vibes episode today. Look, between the DMs I get the amount of information that gets thrown to me on email DM. My text message hit me up 212-931-5731 about speaking. I want to be a speaker. I want to book you as a speaker. Gary. What is speaking? How do I get into speaking? I was like, fuck it. Let me just do a podcast on this so I can send it. So I get this over with. And so who better than my two brothers who run Vayner speakers, which is a Vayner X company, by the way, if you're a CMO CEO corporation event and you have not touched base with vayners speakers, a shame on you. B, I'm very expensive so you're probably not gonna be able to book me. But we do rep some of the best speakers in the world. But here's the reason I'm saying this and go to vaynerspeakers.com these guys are Menches and my brothers and we do it our way here, which is provide value. So whether it's them or somebody on their team, you could probably extract some insights or not get ripped off on a speaker or make a much better choice on the speaker, even if it doesn't go directly through us. So, Zach, Steve, why don't you introduce yourselves?

[Zach Nadler]

How's it going? I'm Zach, CEO of vaynerspeakers.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Zach who? When you like Madonna already now?

[Zach Nadler]

Zach Nadler, sir. And we've now worked together for 15 and a half years.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah, we got to get into it. We're going to get into two or three best stories. When you were repping me at CAA when I was a raw, raw character. I can't wait. I. Please tell me something maybe I haven't heard. So go into your head. Okay, wonderful. And the better looking guy.

[Steven Weiner]

Steven Weiner. I run sales of Vaynerchu speakers, worked with Zach when he was at CA for 16 years and then booked you through Zach for about eight years. And that's kind of how this all came together.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah, I'm trying to think where I may want to go up front because I know people are like, everything's. The world's fast and people are busy. So before I go into like how we came together and then some fun stories, why don't we go right into the meat of value men? Let's. I'm going to go with a Series of questions. What's the state of the union on speakers for the people that are speakers right now getting paid 10k, 15k, 25k, 40k, 50k, 75k, 100k, 150k, that range as speakers, what should they know? Is the market back? What's going on with virtual physical, global, US industries give us a state of the union of the speaking demand or even supply is like now with social media and what I did, well, now everyone does. Are there too many speakers? So the price is going down. Are the best of the best, like all that good shit. Fire away.

[Zach Nadler]

Yeah. I would say first off, there's never been more speakers and more events than ever before.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Okay.

[Zach Nadler]

We're still doing virtual events. I would say maybe 10 to 15% of our year is virtual.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

And talk to me about the broader market. Cause I don't. You know, obviously we'll get into the Vayner speaker stuff, but like general market, what is a. A lister getting to do a virtual and what is like a C list? Like, what's the rate like from free to like. Like what?

[Zach Nadler]

Yeah, well, I mean the marketplace has grown when I started in this industry. Like.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Oh, I apologize on virtual. Cause I think you're virtual.

[Zach Nadler]

Yeah, got it. Yeah. Well, I think with virtual it is usually like the big name celebrities can be getting a couple hundred thousand dollars for a virtual to try and draw in traffic.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Amazing. Right? Everybody at home, can you imagine a couple hundred thousand to do a zoom for an hour. Amazing.

[Zach Nadler]

And the low end. You mean people are doing it for free?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Course.

[Zach Nadler]

Good. It's an opportunity to get in front of an audience.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yep. I spoke for free in my career.

[Zach Nadler]

Absolutely.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I'll still do it if there's a drillion people and I think it's smart.

[Zach Nadler]

No, really.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I know you're laughing. You're laughing because I say no to like hefty six figures. But if there's. If, if, if you're listening right now and you're like, let me just make this up. If you're an event in South Korea, if you're. If the biggest event in south Korea draws 200,000 business people. And they emailed me and they said, you will stand and there will be 200,000 people in this mega arena that we created in South Korea, I would go, I know that's not real, but I would go, all right, so you know, 5, 5k, 10k, those are real.

[Zach Nadler]

You know, that's kind of the market over Covid especially the virtual market changed because now we need one in Drawn traffic and everyone else can fill. They don't have to be the big names. So there's kind of been a gap that was created.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

And what about physical, are we fully back? Physical, 80% preco.

[Zach Nadler]

Yeah, we're fully back. We're more stronger.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

And what about fees for speakers? Down, up, left, right up across the.

[Zach Nadler]

Well the high end speakers.

[Steven Weiner]

Speakers are pushing their fees higher right now. I think they're the A list. It hasn't hit the tipping point. I not even the A list. I think, I think BC B list also.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

So the 15k guy or gal 12, 25k that kind of move.

[Steven Weiner]

Everyone's moving a little one's going for the money grab right now and I think we will start seeing it to peter off soon. But right now there's a lot of money that's flowing and so what about.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

The people that are booking speakers on their side? They're hearing this. So like a lot of people just got excited and a small group, you know, Fortune 500 executives that are booking speakers, events that are, you know, thinking about starting and need a big name. What is a good strategy for. How should they be thinking about not getting too, too caught on fees going up if they have the same budget as last year and they're hearing they're like shit, what do I do? Like how should they attack? Just find new names. Like what should they be thinking about?

[Zach Nadler]

Start by going to vaynerspeakers.com smart obviously the smartest move you could make.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Nice right hook.

[Zach Nadler]

But the reality is it's all about.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

And that is true by the way, right? Because going to if we don't represent them, you're going to refer them and back to why we think we're the best and how we've built so fast is we're not scummy about it, right?

[Zach Nadler]

We also were bespoke. So that's been the whole thing is that over the last 10, 15 years market's changed. Not everyone does the same event. It's not just get up on stage at this event, do something. It's we want a longer form interview, right? We want to do a workshop afterwards. We want to make something special. So that's what we try to do is listen and try and figure that out.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

And on the exclusive side, who does Vayner speakers rep exclusively these days in case somebody's trying to book one of.

[Zach Nadler]

These people in addition to you, Jesse Itzler, Will Guidera, Kerry Walsh Jennings, Dominique Dawes, Christina Tosi, Ryan Holiday, Tom Bilyeu, Laura Gassner, Otting we have about 23 exclusive clients right now. We just signed Don Miller from storybrand down in Nashville. So we were with a lot of different people in a lot of different industries.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

For somebody who's listening, who wants to be. Cause we're at like, we're one of the kind of leaders and there's others, they want to be an exclusive speaker. How big do they need to get and or how hot do they need to get? Like what do they need to do? Either be. What do they need to do?

[Zach Nadler]

Well, I always remind people, and this sounds counterintuitive, you don't necessarily need an agent.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah, fair.

[Zach Nadler]

Some great clients, great speakers do not have agents. They have great businesses. An agent helps you harness what you're doing and help you figure out a strategy behind your speaking.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

It's been really interesting. Some of the names you named have thought about being internal have been, you know, have been free agents and we've crushed for them. It's been eye opening for me, by the way, meaning as you know, in a lot of ways as one of the only humans that has ever kind of repped me in a commission based environment. I mean, hence how it being our speakers even happened. You know, I myself am an agent and have always kind of sold myself. But lately I've been like, man, I really need to think about like if I like I want to be in commercials. I decided because I think it's funny. Like genuinely I think I think I'd crush and my cameos and those would be good and like it would work for the brand and I just want it from like when I'm 90, I wanna be like, remember when I did this commercial or that commercial? But I realized in that environment I'm like, no, I need to really think about. There's a lot of people who grow by having a great manager or agent, even if they themselves are great at it. And I've seen that up close and personal with two or three of the names that you just rattled off. They're doing way better by coming with us. Even though in their gut they were like, no, I wanna do it myself or I wanna be. I want everyone to rep. You know, it's funny I said something to one person once that wasn't about Vayner speakers. They were gonna go to a different speaking bureau. I was, you know, friendly again, back to not being transactional karma. And he was struggling with going exclusive to this one firm versus staying free agent. Like, meaning like everybody can rep me and like whatever. And I said, look for Some people, they can do it. But for most people, if everyone's repping you, no one's repping you.

[Steven Weiner]

Mm.

[Zach Nadler]

100%.

[Steven Weiner]

And I think where we've created success with some of the clients that you're talking about is they trust us to look at their entire business and what they do the same way we do with you.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Right.

[Steven Weiner]

It's not a yes and no. It's not a transaction. It's not just a deal. It's. Does this make sense? How can we re wrap?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

We were literally.

[Steven Weiner]

What are we doing?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah. Before we were recording here, I was telling you, hey, I need to get into to LA and London and Singapore more. So, you know, if there's speeches there, let's strategize. Yes. It's more omni.

[Zach Nadler]

Strategy is the key. That was something I don't think we realized when we started. The company is going to be such a game changer for us and our clients. You know, when I spent a decade at caa, we were just transactional. We were just focused on getting speaking engagements. Here we really look at the holistic view of what everything else people are doing and we're not touching it. We don't do book deals. Right. We don't do commercial deals. Right, Right. That's not the stuff we're doing, but we still care about it because the rising tide lifts all boats.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Smart. Let me go with a different series of questions. I've always recommended this. Curious if you guys agree with me. A lot of people ask me, like, I want to get into speaking. I always yell at them. I'm like, speak for free at scale. Reach out to places. Don't have an ego. If nobody's calling you, that means you're not as good as you think. And so, like, start Googling and chatgpt. Like. Like, if you live in Nashville, like, and you want to be in business, like, literally Google and ChatGPT like, what are the upcoming Nashville business conferences? Go to the website, email, have humility and be like, hey, I think I'm a good speaker. Here's my social.

[Zach Nadler]

You tell the story about when you used to pour wine at the. That first event to get on stage.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah, I mean, like, my fur. Like, I would do anything. Like when I was building wine, library, tv even more even. Forget about pour wine is like, this is an added value. My first, first event that I think you're referring to in DC, Nick O'Neill's, like, DC meetup. I was the help. There was no stage.

[Zach Nadler]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I stood at a table and poured Wine. I just wanted to be at a tech conference.

[Zach Nadler]

Like, I don't think people realize that. And I think we say the same thing.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Look, you guys know this. Cause you know, like, I've been saying this a lot more. Cause I think I'm trying to find a way of how to communicate that humility is a superpower. Without me saying I'm humble. It's easy for me to be like, hey, Tenacity's superpower. I'm tenacious. I think when you say you're humble by nature, are you? But I'm trying to find a new way in 2025 to tell people. I'm watching a lot of people right now that are on the same path that I was on or wanna be on and just. I can see that humility is their vulnerability. But I think this is interesting because you have real. Look at this. You guys rep a lot and have repped and have been in the game for collective fucking 40 years or 50 years, whatever the fuck you guys numbers at right now. I also think humility not only comes in working for free, it's also being a pleasure to work with. As you guys know, I assume all these people that are on their first, it's their second ever booked speech, nobody really even knows who they are. And they're like, I need two plus twos. I need a private jet. I need fucking green M&MS. In my room. Don't. Don't look at me in the face. Like, as you guys know, mine's just.

[Steven Weiner]

Like, whatever, be human, be human. But I think on the humility part, where I almost. Where I think where you're going and what I would say to other people is, stay in your lane of what you know. Don't try to go out there and say, I can talk on these 15 topics. That's not humility. Humility is recognizing what you are really good at and pitching yourself in that area and being really good in that area instead of agreeing to a deal just because there's money. And now it's a conversation on AI and you really don't have the insight.

[Zach Nadler]

It's self awareness, right? It's not saying I can speak on marketing, management, leadership, teamwork. It's like, pick a lane and then figure out how that could be helpful for any organization, any audience.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah, it's funny, I know that because we've been through this, us three, for so long. I know that in 2026, a lot of my speaking is going to be about live social shopping because we've seen this rodeo with me. But, you know, again, one of the things that's fun is I'm putting up all these videos of me in 2009, 11, 13, talking about live shopping. This has been 15 years for me. Not because. And by the way, I'm not gonna be talking about AI agents, even though I know it's one of the biggest things going on. My meeting prior to this, probably why I'm bringing it up, was two hours of really getting into the understanding of AI agents. And in two years, I might talk about it, but I think I've always been petrified. One of the reason I'm an improv speaker is. Is cause I only talk about what I know. I don't need the slides.

[Steven Weiner]

We were in Australia, and it must have been 2019. You were talking heavily on TikTok, and the conversation was, it's not just for the little kids and the girls that want to dance. And that's all you were talking about. And you're leaning into it.

[Zach Nadler]

And one of the last talks you gave before, like, the pandemic started, this was January 2020. Somebody asked a question about blockchain, and you were like, I don't know enough about it. But what I do know scares me about the opportunity that it's going to present.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah, I think. I'm glad you guys are saying this. Steve. I'm glad you picked up on it. I think it's a great, great call out, everybody. If you want to be a great speaker, don't fake it. I'm telling you, you will get caught. People can feel it. You're not good on stage when you're talking about shit you don't know. You can memorize a deck. And those are literally the public speakers who've done fairly well. Some of them have done well, but Zach will tell you for sure. And Steve as well. But, Zach, I know I've talked a lot about this. That's who the A players make fun of. It's like, what, are you gonna give the same speech over and over that's memorized. You're a robot. That's getting less interesting with a virtual reality.

[Zach Nadler]

Like, and it can't just be about yourself. Right. I think people are kind of. They think, like, I've got this amazing story. I overcame these great odds, and oftentimes they did. But that's not interesting to other people. It's like talking about your fantasy football team. No one else cares.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah, I mean, I think, correct me if I'm wrong, guys, the people that, like, shot Osama bin Laden or like had their leg eaten off by a bear and like made it. Like, those individuals do get a nice two, three year run. But. But they have to be that extreme that everybody knows about it. It's, it's not like you, you can't be al. Bu. Be like, I was good at high school football. Four touchdowns. Like, it needs to be so big and so extreme. And even those people struggle to have a 10 year run because, like, okay, it's been heard.

[Zach Nadler]

I'd be curious.

[Steven Weiner]

Unless they reinvent themselves yet and then become good at something else.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Give me, give me. You got an example or no?

[Steven Weiner]

I, you know, I think where I was going to go with it was it was more about the AI conversation in our space. Like, live events are not going away. People want to be networking in front of people forever. Speakers on stage. The AI actually should scare people that are not experts that think they can learn from AI or aren't great on stage.

[Zach Nadler]

Right, right.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Like, like, like, look, I don't think, I mean, I don't care how advanced VR gets. Like, like we can go to an AI. We can go 30 years out. Even if I'm living in a fucking pod in the middle of nowhere, which by the way, I can get. I'll be honest with you, I can get sold on it. Like, you still don't want your. And we may go robotic. I don't know. But I'm gonna tell you this. As long as like the soul of a human's a part of it, you're gonna want to come out of it at times. Like there is no full. There is no 100%. And I actually think it's going to make things like speaking events. You can see it with stand up comedy. Between the political nature where comedy really does well when we're all hurting, and the nature of coming post Covid, you've got like. And with what Netflix has done for standup comedy, just general awareness. You've got comics that on where their Brand sits today, 10 years ago couldn't sell out small venues, selling out humongous venues. And I think the same. You know how much I believe that the keynote format is the other one. And I think it's gonna keep going. I agree. What else should we talk about from a Vayner speakers or a general speaker? How do we bring as much value for everyone who's listening? What else is. What haven't we touched on just yet? That is like something you knew. You want to talk about when we did this?

[Zach Nadler]

Well, I'm curious for you.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Okay.

[Zach Nadler]

Right. You've been a speaker. One of the foremost speakers in the world. Like you've done 100 speeches in a year. Multiple times. Right. But then you ran an event.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yes, speaker.

[Zach Nadler]

And you had to bring speakers.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yes.

[Zach Nadler]

How did you balance all of that? How did you balance your vision?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

By leaning on you. Zach Nadler so heavily that I barely even think I thought about it at all other than it was, you know. Listen, you really. First of all, it's the truth. By the way, Zach Nadler is like for anyone doesn't know not only Vayner speakers, but moonlighted out of the goodness of his heart helping us at Vcon in a humongous way. And it wouldn't have been anywhere close to what it was without you. And I'm excited for the next VCon, whenever that is. I'm staying on my stage at closing keynote thing.

[Zach Nadler]

I appreciate that. But I'm gonna say like, really, like really. You had to balance, you know, business relationships, personal relationships and an audience.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah. You know this. Yeah. So I'll answer. Thank you. One audience over everything. So I didn't care if like, you know, how did we get such great speakers? I am such a menchi, karma driven human that I have so much equity in the universe that we're able to get people in a manner that most people can't.

[Zach Nadler]

Right.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

And this is, by the way, let me go on a side tangent. This is why nice guys finish first when you actually have equity in the world. Like, I know and we work together and I know my relationships with you guys. I know I could ask you for an actual favor. That's hard because I'm a good dude. I just don't understand how people don't know it. So back so a. That was a huge part. I think a lot of people don't have that leverage.

[Zach Nadler]

Right.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

It's trans back to Vayner. Why Vayner speakers is gonna be the biggest speaking bureau in the world. We're not transactional. Even people we don't work with, you know, we're just gonna help. Like even this whole audience, it's gonna hear this for years to come. So first it was audience. Like, is this good? Like, I have tons of friends. Like, I wanna speak. I'm like, fuck, I'm sick. I'll get back to you right now. Like, you know, Cause it's got audience over everything. That's my life, let alone Vicon. Then it was do right by those speakers. But what was great about it was that I had already done right by all of Them. So the last part was logistical, and that's where you came in. Like, the fact that I had peace of mind that they weren't going to, like, not have, like, be taken care of properly when. Especially when someone's doing you a favor, which is what the speakers did for me. Like, you know, so many of them did bent backwards. Like, you know, you want to make sure, like, the hotel room's ready. And like. And if they did, you know, some of these people were quite famous. If they did have a weird request, like, were there, like, those things accomplished? And like, and. And like always what was on my mind was when the flight's delayed, when the room is this, when. Wait a minute, I'm on the same panel. Because they don't pay attention. I don't like that. Like, all the shit that you personally had to deal with, you know, had you not been in that role, I would have been way more anxious because all of those things I would have cared overly about.

[Steven Weiner]

I found it interesting watching that role with the dynamic of you being a speaker and then being now an event organizer.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yes.

[Steven Weiner]

And leaning on Zach as a bureau and also as your bureau for you to say this, this is a person that would make sense on stage. And Zach's saying, but what content are we driving? Right. And. And having that dialogue of we'll always book a speaker if you want a speaker. Doesn't matter. You want that name. But then also bringing up the conversation of what is the content? How do we build the content?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

And it was less. And it was less, you know, over three years, it was less like, oh, this person stinks, Gary, what are you talking about? It was more about. To your point, Zach and I was in the same place. Like, what was cool about VCon is it's so broad. Right. It was mindset, entrepreneurship, strategy, technology. Like most people at this point can play in some place. But to your point, I'm like, oh, they can play in one of these things with Zach. Others did was, let's refine that to something of value. And then really at the size and scale, we were playing at getting the panels right. What's the right mix? Having different flavors or going all in on a flavor on a panel. Yeah. It's an amazing strategy to put. But to be frank, man, and I think this will make sense to you. The event for me, on that part, it comes very natural because the only thing I've ever thought about is consumer.

[Zach Nadler]

Right.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

The way I sold baseball cards and wine and myself and vee con and what I'm doing with beef red, it's always like, how is this good for them in the short medium and. Or long term? Which one is it? Am I communicating well? Blah, blah.

[Zach Nadler]

Well, and you've always. I should say, you've kind of given me the gift of context over the last 15 years, like understanding the context of things. I think with Vcon, you would come in and say, like, hey, are we thinking about doing something like this? Or this guy be really fun to tell this this side of his world.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah.

[Zach Nadler]

And that was something that I think we didn't look at and I think was the most fun for me compared to all the other events I've worked on. Because you kind of. You took the leash off a little bit and you let us do things that no other event was touching.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

100%.

[Zach Nadler]

Letting people talk about what they want to talk about, which is fun for the audience. They get excited about that.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I got a good one. Because we have this kind of audience. This might be a good clip in itself. What if you're a speaker that's fallen off? There's a lot of them. You know, I've been in the game for a long time and I've been very fortunate. I do think context and evolution. I got fortunate that my skill was of the moment, which has allowed me to, like, really. And I'm early too. I understand. Why am I speaking in hindsight, look, reflecting. And I'm like, oh, right. My core skill of, like, not seeing around corners, but fuck, fast mover on it and write about it has really paid dividends. Not everybody got the luck of the DNA draw that that's their skill set. Nor able to communicate. Like, what about speakers? Cause I feel like there's probably a thousand of them and that's the number I'm gonna use that are either gonna hear this podcast or see the clip if we decide to use it. That were like making 50k four years ago and now nobody wants them for zero. Like, what do they think about their style?

[Zach Nadler]

And there's content.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Okay.

[Zach Nadler]

Right. You are lucky to have both. Right. You can get on stage and deliver a talk on cookies if you wanted to. Right. Some people don't have that skill, but they got to lean on content. And if that's what they do, they got to refine their content, make it more modern, make it more relevant. And. Or if their style's suffering, get a coach, have someone help you figure out how do you get better, Collect the audience and get them back to you. I think a lot of people just go to, like, Let me write another book. But that rarely works because it's like, if you don't have the next thing, it doesn't matter that you're writing another book. To make yourself relevant, you gotta refine that content.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I'm gonna put you guys in a corner, but it's a fun corner. But it's gonna require some humility. But it's awesome. So here it is. Let's give some flowers in your career. Steve, which person did you see come across the game and you're like, I don't see it. This person's not gonna be much. And you passed on or didn't like and. And you have a good one.

[Steven Weiner]

You have a good one.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Okay, so which person came across and you were like, I don't know, like, this is complete waste of time. They won't be around in six months. And then went on to have a good career.

[Steven Weiner]

I watch one video on him and his name was Will Godara. And amazing. I saw. And I said to Zach, and we were talking about. And I said, good content. The video that I saw, I didn't feel the energy was there on stage.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

And.

[Steven Weiner]

And it's actually a great lesson of when people are evaluating speakers to go see, only look at a video or look at a video that you don't even know who they're actually talking to. So you don't know the context of the audience that may not be your audience. And the first time I said it to Zach, I said, I'm not sure. I don't see it yet.

[Zach Nadler]

How many events did he do last year?

[Steven Weiner]

122.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

You know what's funny about that? Lately, because I've not been speaking as much because I'm focused on the companies. I'm doing it less, though. I'm starting to Jones, as you guys can tell. I really love the stage. But it's funny, last year was the first time because I. I guess I maybe been between Covid and out of rotation a little bit or much more limited than the hundred plus like I was doing for years. I've had so many people recently say, I cannot. I've seen 39 of your keynotes on YouTube. I cannot believe how different this was being here live.

[Zach Nadler]

Yeah.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah. Pretty cool. It's kind of like music, right? Makes sense, right? You see like bands or whatever, like, and then you see like. That's cool. Yeah, that makes sense.

[Steven Weiner]

Which is also why when live events came back virtual drop.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

So, yeah, makes sense. Zach, how about for you, in your.

[Zach Nadler]

Career, there are multiple people, right?

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Sure.

[Zach Nadler]

I'M sure I get it wrong all the time.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Of course. That's the game.

[Zach Nadler]

There are some of the. The clients I work with the most at CIA were clients that I originally was like, I don't see it.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah.

[Zach Nadler]

And I think.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

But let's.

[Zach Nadler]

Zach, I'll give you a good one. Diana Nyad.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Okay.

[Zach Nadler]

She swam from Cuba to Florida.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yes. I remember I watched a movie.

[Zach Nadler]

Nominal speaker.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yes.

[Zach Nadler]

But I actually made that decision without even seeing her speak. I just knew the story as soon as I saw her speak. I was like, oh, like, yeah, of course. She's a one woman show.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

What about, what about seeing them speak? Because you're, you're, you're. I'm not, I'm not letting you. I'm not letting you.

[Zach Nadler]

I'll give you another one. Another client, actually. Brian Solis.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Oh, nice.

[Zach Nadler]

Someone who came around.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I remember when I. Yeah.

[Zach Nadler]

When I was around and I didn't me, Chris Brogan.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Him. You know that era.

[Zach Nadler]

And I think I like a lot of others kind of pigeonholed into a social media world where that wasn't what he was.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

No.

[Zach Nadler]

And he is just someone who also sees around corners but adapts the. The idea of innovation for like for companies to understand how to. How technology is changing the way they're actually going to see things.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Nice.

[Zach Nadler]

And we now represent him.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yep.

[Zach Nadler]

But 15 years ago I was like, I don't see it.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

That's fun. Anything else? We didn't touch on that. You kind of hope to get off here?

[Zach Nadler]

No, I think it's, it's.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

I got to what I wanted. I wanted someone who's stale, someone who wants to get into the game. Somebody who's on the corporate side of like how to think about hacking it.

[Zach Nadler]

Well, I think ultimately what we see right now is like, it comes back to authenticity. We try to be transparent. There's a lot of phonies out there. I think it's harder than ever to see them and especially for inexperienced meeting planners. So I feel like I always just said like, educate yourself. If you're a speaker, educate yourself on the marketplace. Know the players, be in front of everyone. If you're in a meeting planner, don't just take someone's word for it. Watch a video, read up on them and I think ask questions. Not if people do that.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Yeah. Steve, anything for you.

[Steven Weiner]

In closing, I would say I would just piggyback on. On that is. Is work with someone and talk to someone that has some insight that's different than what you're just seeing with your own eyes, right Is is you can see certain things just like on that Will situation. But the more I talked to people and read into it and dive deeper, it just allowed me to see from a different perspective.

[Gary Vaynerchuk]

Makes sense. You know, I would close with if you want the greatest keynote ever given by a human being, go to vaynerspeakers.com and request Gary Vaynerchuk. Have a good day. See ya.