Setting up your virtual speaking studio is an important part of building your speaking business.

And the man to guide you through the nuts and bolts is Craigery Dennis: a video production wizard. Today on The Speaker Lab, Craigery and I are talking about the fundamentals of setting up your virtual speaking studio.

Join us to hear it all on this edition of The Speaker Lab.

THE FINER DETAILS OF THIS SHOW:

• How can videos help you find your people?
• What is the #1 thing to know before setting up your virtual studio at home?
• Why the primary use of your equipment matters.
• What are some options for dynamic Zoom presentations?
• Why getting a high quality microphone is the best investment to start with.
• Is there an inexpensive option for a great backdrop?
• What is the most flattering light to work with?
• Is there a way to soundproof your studio?
• And so much more!

Do you track any of your speaking metrics? Our guest today, Erick Rheam, says there are 5 key metrics to growing your speaking business.

Erick has been on the show before so you can revisit his story on episode 126 and episode 150. I brought him on to today's episode of The Speaker Lab to talk about the exponential growth he has had using certain key metrics. Specifically there are 5 key metrics he focuses on, and those metrics have taken his business from $15,000  to nearly $200k in under 4 years.

Even if you're already successful in your speaking career you'll learn plenty from hearing about Erick's metrics and how he uses them to gauge the health of his business. Tune in for those insights and more with Erick Rheam on episode 225 of The Speaker Lab!

THE FINER DETAILS OF THIS SHOW:   

• What are lagging indicators versus leading indicators?
• How has he determined his $5,000 speaking fee and when does he raise it?
• What are the 5 steps in his prospective gig pipeline?
• How soon should you contact a prospect who shows interest in hiring you?
• When does he stop everything and focus on generating leads?
• What does it mean to him if no one books him from an event where he's speaking?
• How many gigs does he aim to book from each of his speaking events?
• Why you've got to be serious about the numbers if you want to be serious about speaking
• And so much more!

Networking to build your speaking business doesn't have to be complicated or take a lot of time.

Here to tell us why and how to do it is Jordan Harbinger, the host of The Jordan Harbinger Show and a masterful networker. On today's show, he explains how you can get started building your network and the major benefits of networking that money cannot buy.

We'll be diving deep into those topics and more on episode 356 of The Speaker Lab!

THE FINER DETAILS OF THIS SHOW:

• Are some people naturally better at networking and relationships?
• Why being of value to people is often the reward itself.
• How much time should you spend every day building relationships?
• How does he get speaking gigs and deals without marketing?
• What does it mean to ABG (instead of ABC)?
• Does networking mean doing things for free for others?
• What is Connect Four and how do you use it?
• How often should you network in person versus online/virtually?
• And so much more!

Does the idea of cold calling strike fear into your heart? It won't after today's edition of The Speaker Lab!

Joe is an up and coming speaker who has quickly added a lot of gigs to his calendar by using the four rules of cold calling for speakers. On this episode, Joe tells us what those four rules are as well as how to remove the fear of cold calling and how to make it easy for your prospects to say yes to you.

This is another terrific guest you won't want to miss so be sure to join us on episode 223 of The Speaker Lab.

THE FINER DETAILS OF THIS SHOW:   

• How did he first uncover the power of cold calling?
• How can you get your foot in the door of an industry in which you are not known?
• Do you have to go in hot to a cold call?
• How do you know if you are a good fit for a potential opportunity?
• Why uncommon commonalities are important in your cold calling process.
• What's the best way to reach out: phone, email, or social media?
• How expecting nothing and appreciating everything will explode your business.
• The type of follow up you can do to show your gratitude for the people who help you.
• And so much more!

Joining us to explain the process of becoming a referable speaker is the dynamite duo of Michael Port and Andrew Davis.

On today's The Speaker Lab,  we talk about their latest book, The Referable Speaker. We also discuss what a referable speaker is and how to become one before diving into how they test out new speech material and the biggest mistake speakers make when starting out.

You'll hear those topics and more when you tune in for the 355th edition of The Speaker Lab.

THE FINER DETAILS OF THIS SHOW:

• What are stage-side leads and how do you get them?
• Why you need to work on your speech first.
• What are the two things you need to get stage-side leads?
• Is there a time frame for building momentum?
• What are the three main factors that generate referrals?
• This is one of the biggest myths in the industry: what is it?
• What are the top three ways meeting planners find speakers to book?
• Which category of speakers do meeting planners love to book?
• And so much more!

Hugh is one of our rare 3-peat guests and he's back to tell us how to use blogging to book speaking gigs.

On today's edition of The Speaker Lab, Hugh specifically explains why you should blog to grow your speaking business including how often you should blog, what you should blog about, how long your blog posts should be, and where you should promote your blog.

In addition to being a keynote speaker and best-selling author, Hugh runs a business called BlogWorks. BlogWorks is a company devoted to helping speakers book more speaking gigs through the art of blogging.

Hugh shares his wealth of knowledge and more so join us to hear it all on episode 229 of The Speaker Lab!

THE FINER DETAILS OF THIS SHOW:   

• How often should you post to ensure you're relevant?
• Why more is not necessarily better.
• The three steps to take after you write every blog post.
• Should you write your blog for your audience or people who hire speakers?
• What are the two ways to know if your blog post resonates with your audience?
• What should you do if you have run out of topic ideas?
• Is there a standard format you can use for your blog posts?
• What four statistics should you focus on?
• And so much more!

Lois Creamer is a legend in the industry and she's here to give you practical advice for succeeding in speaking.

On this edition of The Speaker Lab, she tells us how she got involved in the National Speakers Association, what relational selling is and why you should use it, and the role virtual speaking will play in the future of the speaking industry.

You'll hear her insights on those topics and much more on this practical and applicable episode of The Speaker Lab!

THE FINER DETAILS OF THIS SHOW:

• When you're starting out, how much time will you spend selling?
• What three pieces of advice does she have for speakers?
• What is relational selling and why is it so effective in the speaking business?
• How to get paid more through refining your target audience.
• When should you wave your speaking fee and when should you raise it?
• How can you find out if your expertise is marketable?
• Why you must be willing to pick up the phone to qualify a lead.
• What questions should you ask about speaking virtually?
• And so much more!

Wondering how to transition into speaking full-time? The Speaker Lab guest today, Erick Rheam, has made the leap, and he'll talk about what it's like to turn pro and make your speaking career a reality.

Erick is one of our original Booked and Paid to Speak students, and today he's a highly successful speaker. But he only recently left his corporate job to pursue his speaking career on a full-time basis.

You'll hear what gave him the confidence to finally leave and so much more on episode 239 of The Speaker Lab.

THE FINER DETAILS OF THIS SHOW:   

• When did he know he had to choose between speaking and his job?
• What were the two reasons speaking was a good fit for him?
• What you should do if your boss isn't supportive of your speaking side hustle.
• What are the two keys to being successful at something?
• Should your target market and topic evolve throughout your speaking career?
• What was the tipping point that showed him it was time to leave his job?
• Why you need mentors in your life.
• What are the biggest regrets most people have in their lives?
• And so much more!

If a six-figure speaking business is one of your goals then you're going to love today's episode!

Lisa Perez is one of our super successful students at The Speaker Lab. Today she's here to share with us her HR background and how she went from speaking for free to building a six-figure speaking business of her own.

Listen in and hear how you can follow in her footsteps on episode 353 of The Speaker Lab.

THE FINER DETAILS OF THIS SHOW:

• Are business plans necessary?
• Would she recommend doing free gigs?
• How do you leverage past engagements into future ones?
• Why she recommends contacting associations for speaking opportunities.
• How did she narrow her focus to find her audience?
• What is needed to shift from free gigs to paying ones?
• Why systems and structures are necessary to financial success as a speaker.
• What advice does she have for new speakers?
• And so much more!