The organizers passed out a jar of these berries for everyone to take one.
Everyone in the room chewed a berry for 30 seconds.
They taste like a dried cranberry, freeze dried and slightly sweet.
We then all bit into a lemon slice. It tasted like sugar candy— not sour at all.
The room went wild.
So I had to order my own jar, using berries before having coffee and when friends come over.
And since then I’ve found pleasure in sharing this magical little secret– watching the surprise on my friends’ faces when they bite a lemon, sip vodka, or eat veggies.
It’s kind of cool knowing about this before it becomes mainstream.
Know how to instantly tell an expert from an amateur?
The expert spends 90% of their time practicing the fundamentals and only 10% of their time doing “pro” stuff.
The amateur spends 90% of their time trying to do the “pro” stuff, while ignoring the fundamentals.
The amateur marketer chases tricks and hacks.
The amateur golfer wants to hit from the black tees.
The amateur health nut focuses on fad diets and pills.
The amateur author/speaker/coach dreams of speaking on the big stage, instead of quietly honing their craft.
Their attention is seeking out celebrities to snap “validation” pictures with celebrities, instead of letting the experts testify to their competence.
A true expert has massive depth– like an iceberg with 90% below the water, unseen.
A true expert publishes because they are compelled to serve and share, with publicity as a necessary evil.
A true expert has a loyal following with demonstrated proof of their published how-to process.
Are you focusing on merely how you look or on truly improving who are you?
The fundamentals of digital marketing are getting your GCT (goals, content, targeting) right. That’s what we teach and what I spend most of my time working on.
It’s not flashy, but highly profitable.
I’ve taught over 500 workshops in the last 20 years.
And nearly every time, the ones we list as “expert” with the “latest” tricks and secret algorithmic updates are the ones that pack the room.
But when we actually deliver that material, we lose the audience and they are unhappy– especially the ones who represent themselves as pro (a clear sign that they are not).
Yet when we teach the fundamentals, people say their minds are blown, largely because these are pieces they’ve been missing all along. And then this drives results.
Drive for show, putt for dough, as the golfers like to say.
I am enamored with folks like Ryan Deiss, Michael Stelzner, and Shawn Collins who teach based on their own execution.
They focus on the step-by-step HOW TO, like expert chefs that have time-tested recipes for the most requested meals.
I was terrified the first time I spoke at a conference
It was in front of 2,000 people as a keynote address, representing American Airlines, discussing the future of CRM.
Standing backstage, my adrenaline was pumping. I couldn’t remember what I was going to say. You know the feeling when you’re in a panic and can’t be logical.
The more I tried to calm down– by taking deep breaths, pretending the audience was naked, and trying to force a confident smile– the more I realized and exacerbated my fear.
My hands were shaking, as the technician snaked the wireless mic down my shirt, placing the transmitter in my back pocket.
I knew I was a few minutes away. And I was hoping the previous speaker would take longer since I wanted more time.
Maybe I should run.
I had the clicker in my hand to advance the slides in front of a massive screen on stage that could I pace 20 steps, back and forth, in either direction.
When I was done, all I could remember was the applause from a standing ovation.
I don’t remember what I said, 20 years ago. But I did know I wanted to learn how to do it “right”, to overcome my fears, gain respect, and be “successful”- whatever that meant to a 22-year-old kid.
For those of you who are new to public speaking, this is what I wish someone had told me when I first got started:
Join ToastMasters. It’s a few dollars a month. There are dozens of clubs near you that meet weekly. They’re full of people just like you, facing the same professional challenges and fears. And you’ll find you like the hour-long meetings to practice your speaking in a friendly environment among peers. Mine was at American Airlines. ToastMasters is why you don’t hear me say “um” or “ah” when I speak.
Write bullet points for your talk. Do not have more than a few words on each slide, lest you are guilty of reading them to the audience and sounding mechanical.
Start with 12 bullet points, including the phrase you’ll use to transition to the next point. Do not write out your speech verbatim, but you can include key “trigger” phrases or punchlines.
Speak these in your head and verbally, if you have a place to speak at full volume- perhaps in your car to and from work, if you don’t mind looking like an idiot. As far as others know, you’re on your phone or singing along to the radio.
Practice until you can whittle these 12 points down to just 4 chunks of three. Then practice with your notecard of 4 these points until you can do it with no notes at all.
If you aren’t giving a solo presentation, perhaps you can practice on a panel or via a webinar. These are stepping stones to giving your own talk or even a keynote.
When you are early in your career, take whatever speaking gigs you can get, paid or not. Ideally, your company can pay for it. This is key to building your network and authority in whatever topics.
Spend as much time in the speaker room as you can. You will get quality one-on-one time with the other speakers and the conference organizers. Of course, do as much research as you can on the speakers you most want to meet. Study the agenda so that you can identify every speaker and when their session is. You don’t want to talk to them either right before or right after their talk. The former is their focus time and the latter is when they’re collecting leads.
Take pictures of yourself with the other speakers and attendees. Then tag them on Facebook and Twitter. Provide one sentence of specific praise for each, showing you care. You can use these pictures as flash cards to follow up later on LinkedIn.
You or your assistant should fastidious track the contacts and presentations in your Content Library. Even if you are a one-person shop, you can still hire a VA (virtual assistant) part-time for only $5 an hour.
Have one slide at the end for your lead magnet. In other words, offer something of value in exchange for their email address. Perhaps you have a 10-page guide on something or series of short videos. Generally better to not sell directly. But if you’re a consultant, you could mention the package you sell or a “power hour” consultation you discount for show attendees.
If you can afford it, have one person travel with you to handle travel logistics, printing materials, fielding leads, and other assistance you may need. Some speakers bring along their significant others for companionship, adding a couple extra days to the trip to go on vacation.
The 30 minutes after you’re done speaking is the most powerful time for you. Don’t blow it by running away, not having a stack of business cards, or not having an assistant help field leads. One solid contact will more than pay for your trip. And the best leads are usually the quiet ones. While the loudest ones are usually folks who want to suck all your time and never pay for it.
Keep all your badges in a shoebox (or in my case, a large moving box), and record these in your Content Library. You’ll need to be on top of this so your assistant can update your bio on your site, LinkedIn, and other places.
The more you speak, the more you get invited to speak. You’re likely to get 3-4 invites for other conferences in the following 24 hours if you do a decent job. So get your Personal Brand in gear so you can handle these.
When you have a couple dozen of these under your belt, you can start to charge for speaking. Folks like Brendon Burchard say you can charge hefty fees even if you’ve never spoken before. But this is the path only for folks who want to speak for a living, especially as motivational speakers like him.
To negotiate the right fee, say “My customary speaking honorarium is $5,000 plus travel. But let me know what we need to do to make it work, since I like you guys.” That way you don’t make the mistake of accidentally undercharging or of missing out on an event you could have spoken at. This technique will pull out the conference organizer’s budget. Folks like Bryan Eisenberg can demand $17,000 plus first class travel. I’m happy to speak at big venues like Social Media Marketing World for free because it is a key industry event.
When you know the topic well, you can do it with no notes and no slides- TED Talk style! If you’re speaking on digital marketing, like me, then actually open a browser to demonstrate the topic, like how to tune FB ads, analyzing Google Analytics data, tweaking WordPress, or whatever. Way more powerful than PowerPoint. And you have flexibility to go wherever you want.
My favorite technique in getting the audience going is doing live audits. Have the audience volunteer websites to analyze, whether their own or a competitor. Don’t do this in Asia or South America, where crowds are more likely to be silent.
If you are speaking as part of one track among many, here’s what to do to get more people to attend your session. Tell other speakers that you’ve networked with that you’ll mention their session in yours, and they’ll happily do the same. You’re generally better served by speaking midway through the conference. Too early and you can’t get momentum from others. Too late and people don’t have enough notice to spend time with you. Have your assistant stand at the door, welcoming people who are peering in, wondering if they should attend this one. You can make a one-minute video about your talk 2 weeks in advance and promote to fans of the conference for $1 a day for 14 days.
Personalize a gift for the conference speaker and other key people you’re meeting. I like to give out dollar bills with their faces on them. When you deliver these items, they will know you took the time to care and had the foresight to plan in advance.
Arrive the day before the conference and leave the day afterwards. Especially if you’re international, you’ll want time to adjust to jet lag and not have to worry about a flight delay causing you to miss. Rand Fishkin of Moz had a 30-minute flight delay to the Growth Marketing Conference last year, so I spoke in his slot to give him time to get to the venue. That’s cutting things too close.
What have you learned from public speaking? Do you have any tips to help others?
Putting on conferences is increasingly harder, so organizers are resorting to trading speaking slots for sponsorship dollars.
The result is that most conferences devolve into pitchfests, where vendors shamelessly sell, like above.
Here is one example of where they reached out and I replied asking for more information:
So my assistants reached out 7 times over the course of 3 months and never got a response:
In fact, each time I’ve replied to WBR folks, they have trouble responding, even though they initiated conversation or called me first.
Here is one of many:
In fact, over the last couple years, they’ve sent me 110 emails and phone calls:
Attendees smell the foul odor and don’t come back the next year, creating increasing pressure to rely on sponsors to make ends meet.
Do you see this happening at the conferences you attend?
“I agree that many are becoming a pitchfest. I think those conferences who limit the numbers of exhibitors do better from an attendee’s point of view. If I wanted to see what people have to sell, I’d go to an exhibition. I go to conferences to learn, network and share what valuable insights that I have myself”
says Facebook Marketing Professional, Jenny Brennan. She continues,
“On the other hand, I think most organizers would argue that they need the revenue – I don’t know what it’s like to be on that side of things so I am unqualified to give an opinion – I just know that for me, it feels sort of slimy to be sold to at events and I avoid the booths as much as I can.”
This problem is only getting worse, since the big networks like Google and Facebook actually have the upper in producing content on how to use their platforms.
Same is true for Adobe Analytics, Marketo, Infusionsoft, and other vendors that are now putting on their own shows.
HootSuite has their HootSuite University and Facebook has Facebook Blueprint– plus Google has their certifications.
There is only going to be more technology, not less of it.
And the inevitable result is that you’ll see increasingly more tool-focused presentations, but less independent speakers.
Back to the original issue, if you’re good (I mean really good) at what you do, you’ll not need to pay to speak at a conference.
They’ll pay your travel expenses and give you a modest speaker’s fee.
I hear Guy Kawasaki gets $50k to speak and Seth Godin is over $100k.
You don’t see these guys or even the smaller guys ever paying– we certainly don’t.
Paying for content is like paying for sex— it’s dishonest on multiple levels.
You can see this sales guy’s message offering up the audience like raw meat– encouraging pitching.
In the last year, I’ve been hit up every week for paid speaking gigs– I turn them all down.
Some conferences have aggressive sales guys that offer “free” passes if you buy a discounted booth.
The booth is supposedly $10,000, but if you get selected (everyone gets selected), then it’s only $2,000.
We have to be picky about what conferences have alignment with our mission so we create joint value– helping young adults get jobs.
Consider your opportunity cost in addition to any hard costs.
Pay to attend a conference to learn, but never pay to speak.
We recently spoke at the SongRise Music Conference in Peace River, Alberta. It’s an annual conference / workshop for people in the music industry.
I invited attendees to share the following: “What is the one tip you want to share with other artists that you learned at the SongRise Conference this weekend?”
The responses were amazing:
Karen Seaton
“This conference has taught me that no matter where you think you might be as a songwriter or musician, your talent is endless, as are the possibilities! My word of advise to all current or future delegates is to leave your fears behind in that crazy place we call the comfort zone. Take the leap and do what you love!!! 😉 Music is love! …and hugs, can’t be without hugs!”
Michael Cassidy Jr.
“The Songrise conference was amazing and all the info provided by BlitzMetrics was very beneficial. If there’s one tip I could offer another artist about the conference it would be this:
Learn a butt-load of valuable information while having some of the most fun you’ll have all year.”
Sarah Richards
“The one tip that I would give to other artists about songrise is that I thought it was going to be hard to write with a couple strangers, but you never know who you’ll meet so give it a try and you’ll make lifelong friends and connections! So amazing!”
Richard Woodman
“I learned the importance of branding and letting that be a reflection of who you are”
Luke Lounsbury
“This year at Songrise, I was exposed to the business side of the music industry. I also gained knowledge pertaining to grants and other opportunities you wouldn’t find anywhere else. A big thanks to everyone involved!”
Amy Metcalfe
“My tip to future songrise attendees would be to expect the unexpected. This conference has the perfect blend of encouraged creativity and practical tools necessary for today’s musicians. Top notch panel and sessions with small town warmth and personal connections.”
Vernon John Ledger
“One thing I learned from songrise is the importance of knowing who you are and what you have to offer, because when you know that, you know who your playing to”
Shae Long
“The one thing I learned this weekend that I would like to share with other artists is that it doesn’t matter how old you are, what your talent is or how big your fan page is. If you have something to offer, that is something special and shouldn’t be taken for granted. Don’t underestimate what you can achieve when paired up with other great artists.
Lorissa Scriven
“Hey Alex big thanks to you a
nd Dennis for coming up to Peace River to share your knowledge with us. You are very inspiring people, who empower with knowledge! I love that! So… the homework. I would say going to #Songrise brings a sense of belonging unlike anything I have ever experienced.
It really taught me the importance of networking. Investing energy in relationships with people is honestly the best thing you can do in life and in the business of music.
The unity that comes from supporting one another is truly magical. A few things I would tell anyone who goes to the conference would be to make sure you leave your ego and inhibitions at home, let yourself be open, free yourself from fear, then.. see how you shine from within and outward like a giant light bulb!
Recognize and support all your fellow light bulbs! Everyone is so unique and radiant. Be inspired, write things down and maybe prepare yourself for the lack of sleep you will endure and don’t forget the “Experience hangover” that will happen for the weeks to follow.
Dana Blayone
“Being one of the organizer’s of Songrise Music Conference & Showcase my mind was blown with all the amazing artists and mentors that surround me during those two days. The business sessions grounded everyone to start looking at their music as a business, and the co-writing sessions made everyone glow with creativity and connectivity with those around them.
The one tip I want to share which I feel is the most important outcome from #songrise is the networking and relationships that happens organically. If you rise together as a musical family supporting and promoting one another while on your own journey, then you will discover success that lasts longer and is more sustainable. With a musical family you then will truly have No Limitz!.”
Music is all about expressing yourself, and the responses we received center around the idea of what makes you special. Share your passions, then reach out and network with others- remembering to always have fun.
It was almost a year ago when Clate Mask shared this stat.
3 years ago, they sent only 80 million emails, you do the math.
Last year, Infusionsoft had 13,543 customers and 48,365 users.
The company captured 40 million leads and processed $1.5 billion in revenue in e-commerce.
I’m excited to attend #ICON14 this spring to share our Facebook growth tips with the 5,000 attendees at the Phoenix Convention Center. Our friends Mari Smith, Heather Dopson, Michael Hunter, Preston Smith, and many others will be there. Can’t wait!
What numbers do you think Infusionsoft has in store for 2013 and 2014?
