Ep. 42 How To Be Unforgettable To Meeting Planners, Clients & Speaker Bureaus

Hey there, Mark Brown. I am pumped for today's guest because we have talked about how to be unforgettable, interviewing some of the best presenters in the world. But today is different. Today we're going about how to get yourself in front of clients, event planners and bureaus. Mark.

Well, I tell you what, I am flat excited also because I believe today the content everyone is going to get, you'll be taking notes forever and ever. It'll change the way they look at preparing themselves to meet the meeting planners, the clients. And tell you what, I can't wait. Let's do this, man.

We're going to have the triple threat, Jennifer Joseph Lear in our studio. How lucky are we?

Anyone can give a presentation. Few deliver unforgettable presentations. What's the difference? You're about to find out. Welcome to the unforgettable presentation presentations podcasts with your hosts, world champion speakers and coaches, Mark Brown.

Mark Brown, your life tells a story, and there's someone out there who needs to hear it.

And Darren Lacroix. And Darren Lacroix.

Stage time. Stage time. Stage time.

Ready for some powerful presentation. Ahas. Let's dive right in.

All right. Mark Brown, Jennifer Lear, thanks for being here.

This is my pleasure.

It's a rhyme. I love that. That's awesome.

Yes.

He started off with a rhyme. Jennifer, it is so great to see you. It's been a while and I really can't wait to have this conversation because I believe the value you're gonna bring today is gonna blow people away. Would you agree, Darren?

Amen, brother. And, Jennifer, you have this incredible background. You were a singer for years on the strip, headliner on the Vegas strip. We've had you at our events.

We've had.

We've seen you kill it as a presenter, as a singer. Oh, my gosh. It's like when you take the stage, the room energy changes. Not to mention you're stunning. You book speakers like the list. Go. Your husband's a keynote speaker. You owned a speaker's bureau. You're an executive now on a speaker's bureau. Man. What? Like, I think our time's up. Thank you for joining us.

The question becomes no question is what have you not done in the industry? And I'm sure everyone listening wants to know what's the backstory behind Jennifer Joseph Lear and the industry of entertainment and speaking?

You know, it's funny. Is that the one thing that I have not done in the industry? Probably. I think the only thing left is that I have not actually been on Broadway in a Broadway show. And you know, there's still time. So that's the great thing. There's no age limit on Broadway. So I figured, okay, if that's the one thing I haven't done, I still have plenty of time to do that. I can, I can do that until I'm 95, you know, or as long as I can still walk or roll myself in, you know, a wheelchair onto stage, I can still act more, perform and sing on Broadway. So I've had a blessed career. I really have. I mean, I started. I grew up in Las Vegas and I fell into the entertainment industry. I was auditioning, I was actually singing. I was trying to make some extra money singing karaoke in Las Vegas. At the time, I was just trying to earn some extra bucks because back that time the karaoke bars were so super popular and they were giving like $100 to win a contest and that was a lot of money for an 18 year old. So, yeah, sneaking into bars and, you know, singing and just doing my thing, cutting my teeth on how to perform and how to handle a microphone, handle the crowd, handle adversity. And somebody said, hey, there's this band, the show band in Las Vegas from the Strip that needs a singer. You might want to go on audition. And I was like, what? Like me, here's an 18 year old, 19 year old girl. And sure enough, I went and auditioned and the guy lied about my age. I said I was 24 because you had to be 20. And I said I was 24 and I was as green as can be. And he gave me a shot. Like he knew I was hungry, he knew I was motivated and part of it. So he gave me a shot. He gave me a shot to be in this band. And sure enough, I was 19 years old, youngest performer on the Strip at that time. And I performed for many years with him and then graduated on to going and performing in shows and traveling the world and opening for Don Rickles Newton, being on TV shows, being having bit parts in movies, being a spokesperson for companies, having all of these wonderful, wonderful experiences and journeys through the world and the life of entertainment and whatever I could get my hands on, I wanted to do and learn and experience and that's what I did.

Yeah, Mark, a lot of bureau executives have never been on the stage. So to understand it. No, I'm saying, which is awesome for Jennifer, that she brings a unique perspective. She gets it, knows the life of a speaker from her background. And Mark, I have to just like brag on her. For one time she sang at my church. And she killed it. And we're standing in the lobby talking and like fans, like, this is. I've never seen this with a worship leader. Fans come up and start talking to her and asking her questions because she just, she operates at the world class level. She's amazing.

But didn't they know that Darren Lacroix, the world champion, was there ever. Well, Jennifer was there. You got upstage, dude. What can I do?

I'm happy to be upstaged, but boy.

Am I able to say my number one fan. Though there's no question, because Darren is 100% my number one fan and President of my fan club. I'll tell you, it's interesting that you said that, Darren, because I married a keynote speaker. I had sat next to this guy on Southwest Airlines that was really cool, really interesting. We were both flying back from Phoenix into Las Vegas and I find out that he's this keynote speaker. I thought, well, I have been performing in corporate events and so my home base is always Las Vegas. And yes, I go off and do contracts and perform around the country and internationally, but I always come back home and I understood that I could, you know, I put stuff together for the corporate event industry. So performing for banquets, for cocktail receptions, emceeing for conferences, things of that nature. So I understood the world of that really well. And I would see speakers and of course at that time I knew Tony Robbins and Ognandino, Dennis Waitley and Zig Ziglar, all of the great. But I didn't know that there was actually a business for that or an industry for that. And so when I met my husband, he and I had a lot to talk about because we saw a lot of parallels within how to be successful in the industry. So the same things that he had to do to be a successful speaker, I had to do to be a successful performer and entertainer. Right? We both had to have the same tools, the same marketing materials, the same connections, the same relationships with people to book us the same things. I had to understand that the moment I walked into a building, I was on stage. The moment a speaker walked into a building, they're on stage. You're talking to the crew, you're talking to the client, you're talking to the people. You are on stage. The moment you arrive and get out of your car and get into that place that they know who you are. We have the same thing as entertainment, as a spokesperson, Anything that we're doing with the client in service, we are creating that brand and creating that association to who we are, because we want to give our best, deliver what we're delivering, and then also want to be asked back. So just like speakers, we could be asked back time after time, event after event, year after year. And so, I mean, even just down to that nuance, we had almost identical businesses, just in different formats and at different times of the day. So it was really interesting after, I wanted to get out of the entertainment industry per se, because it was always still keeping me out at night. And I wanted to be home with our kids and have that family environment and be able to go to football games and volleyball games and practices and things of that nature. And so I knew I had to get out of that nighttime experience. And so when I was ready to make that transition, I had already been understanding Dan's business to a great level, because we had been married for several years already, and I had understanding exactly what he did. And so it was at that time he said, you need to consider coming into this business in this industry. This is what's interesting is that I was a performer, I was a singer, and I could learn any content, and I could. I could learn a company's information in a morning and deliver that in the afternoon. Like, I could talk and be. They would think that I was one of their company, one of their salespeople, one of the representatives. They would never know that I was a hired hand because I was so good at getting the information, assimilating it, relating to it, and then being able to give it back out. And so that's something that came easily to me. But the sales aspect was different. That was something that was new. I didn't understand. Dan wanted me to work with him. Ironically, during that time, getting out of the industry, I had needed somebody to run their event business. And so I was consulting with that, and that was here in Las Vegas. Beautiful Polaroid museum. And I was able to leverage all of my contacts, all of my event planners, hotel salespeople, destination management companies, and sell this great events. And so I knew I could learn anything. So I had to learn catering, event management, things of that nature, and did it, loved it. But they went under at a corporate level. And so here I was, two years into it, loving what I was doing, had no job and no space. And that's when my husband said, you need to open a speaker's bureau. There's not one dedicated to Las Vegas. You'd make a killing here. You know the industry, you know the local speakers. You can start with my events. They've used me Multiple times. They need a different speaker. We can help siphon that out to other people. And that's how it started, how I got into the bureau world. And I had to start cutting my teeth and learn how to be in sales, which was scary to me, but I just did it one step at a time.

Something you said just now, Jennifer, I want to give it back to you. It went in my brain, rolled around, and came out with this level of simplicity. You immersed yourself in every aspect of the industry to be better at running a bureau. Now, I want to sit here just for a second, because what it says to me is, many of us as speakers, we want to be good speakers, but we don't immerse ourselves in the business of speaking. And the NSA National Speakers association generally helps us, but we're told to work on our craft. Work on our craft, Work on it, get some stage time. Stage time. Stage time. But it really made me realize if we want to excel in the industry, when you do what Jennifer did and basically immerse yourself, leverage your contacts and lean on people, learn from them, and become better at what you do. And I'll be honest with you, I know I am a speaker. And even the person who was my mentee, Darren Lacroix, has mentored me in various areas of the business. And once in a while, I'll send an email blast and he'll send me back a crying face, oh, you're a content marketer now. And he will cheer. But the point is, you immersed yourself in the industry to understand what industry was about, and you saw similarities early between what you were doing and what Dan was doing. So what would you say then, in your words, Jennifer, is the lesson for everyone who's listening to us today about that immersion in the industry?

Oh, my gosh. First of all, great distinction, like, great understanding of what I did, I think it's so powerful. So many speakers want to speak. And I see that with entertainers, too. You have a musician, they want to play music, but unfortunately, you have to do the business side of the industry as well. So there are so many great speakers with wonderful messages, but you have to attack that business side. And so if you don't have the business coming in to where you can hire people to do that for you, which we'd all love. We would all love that every artist wants, that every speaker wants, that we all want to not have to do things that we're not good at.

We.

But I am here to tell you is I was afraid. Look at me now. I was Afraid to talk to people. I was afraid to come across with my thoughts, my understandings, my learning, and be able to talk to clients about this industry. And I can do it in multiples without even thinking. And it just flows out of me now because I've been doing it. So every single speaker needs to understand to be successful in this industry, you have to have a conversation about yourself. You are your best promoter, you are your best marketer. So learn how to have a voice for yourself. And even though it's uncomfortable when you first start, it gets easier as you move forward. You know, the best thing that I've learned from my husband and also from Darren is that just start. You will get better and people will forget. If you make mistakes or you think something wasn't as good, it's okay, because you're going to come up with something different tomorrow and next week and next month, and people will forget anything that you might have done in the past because things are so disposable right now. You know, social media, marketing, all those things are so disposable at the moment. So. Because things are coming at them constantly. So just start getting better at that, because nobody's going to know you're out there unless you tell them that you're out there, number one. Number two, you know, right now it's about contacting people, letting them know that you're speaking. So for the people who are just starting out, call everyone that you know, make sure that you are posting about that on social media, because it's not about getting jobs. I learned this a while ago from. And this is what's so great, because I have so many speakers in different topics or in different industries that I learned a little bit from everyone. And there's this one guy in digital marketing that said, jennifer. And I was not posting anything on social media, Nothing. And then he said, you know, he said, I need you to start posting stuff on social media about your business, because not that you're going to get hired next week or next month, but when somebody comes across a need for a speaker, they're going to go, wait, I saw. So, oh, yeah, Jennifer Lear posted about that. She owns a speaker's bureau and is hiring speakers. And so he said this about coming being your brand, you know, what you're doing. And so there's all these little nuance ways where by talking about it, whether it's in person, in conversation, talk to your friends about that. I've been speaking, I've been doing this, I've been talking to this company. Everybody always wants to help, you know, especially people in your circle. So people that you're talking to and communicating with and working with, colleagues, friends, things that nature are always going to keep that in mind when something comes up because those are your low hanging fruit. Especially if you're just starting out businesses that you know people that are in your area, join your chamber of commerce, join your local associations and start to get your brand out there. And number one, it's great for your ability to communicate what you do, your marketing, your branding and you'll get people wanting to hire you for events. And so yeah, it's about being able to talk about what you do communicate and know that especially in this industry, you're helping someone always. And so it's easy to talk about how I can help you and it's easy to talk about what I can provide for you and your company to move forward. So I know we're probably not structured here, but I'm glad that you brought that up and that's something that's so important. Immerse yourself in the things that you know you need to do to work, to get hired to build your business.

So Jennifer, obviously on the top of everyone's mind when we're recording this, this is June 2020. Let's just touch in on the climate. What do you see happening now? For we help people who are corporate presenters and pastors. We know your expertise in your area is professional meeting planners and event planners to get people hired. What's the state or the climate of today right now? What's your insight on that? Because I know that's one of the reasons people are listening to this for sure. And again, things will change after this. So depending on when you're listening to this, it may be different. But right now, Jennifer, because this will come out in a week. So Jennifer, when what's your take on the climate?

Right. It could change tomorrow as things are changing daily in our world. Right. So of course everything's virtual. When everything happened and the moment went down when our lives changed forever and they put on the stay at home order, you know, all of our events in March, April, May, June, actually March, April, May, canceled June, people were waiting because everybody thought maybe we'd go back to work the end of April, that didn't happen. And so as the next months would roll in, everything was canceling or rescheduling, not canceling, but rescheduling events for later on either the year or in 2021 for then June and July. And so everybody was almost in this holding pattern. But what I did see, this is what's really cool. I think this is a wonderful opportunity for people even who are just starting out in the industry because they can get their feet wet into virtual events. They can start speaking more because there's more advantages here. People want content, people want speakers now and education to be delivered to their either association members or their company teams. And so there's a lot of availability. People want such, you know, they want information and education. But what I'm seeing now is, of course, everybody went virtual for the April, May, June events, the ones that went off in April and May, super successful. So where companies were afraid of virtual, they now see if it's done right. And well, oh my gosh, it can even be better than an in person event. So we are missing. Right, so we are missing that in person touch, communication thing, connectivity. But it's almost more intimate because when somebody's speaking, you're looking right into their eyes. You're really seeing their face up close. They're seeing it depending on the format, they're seeing a sea of eyes as well. And so they're connecting with everybody. And I hear speakers are really enjoying it. Companies are loving it. Teams are loving it. They're having great feedback, great success. Because also there's that chat availability too, so people can ask questions real time and. Or at the end of their presentation, so they can get their burning questions answered where maybe before they wouldn't have that availability. People are embracing this thing called virtual presentations. And that's not going away.

So, and question on that piggyback question, so since this is happening now, in your opinion, from your experience, what is it to be unforgettable as a presenter right now in this virtually, you know, what do you see? You know, I know a lot of people saw Jason Hewlett. Everyone saw his video, or many people did, if you didn't go check it out. But showing how he could deliver, I was blown away. That changed the industry right there. But what is your interpretation of how can we stand out virtually right now and still deliver for the client?

Absolutely. So, great question. And in fact, I just did another podcast about this today with some industry professional, speakers bureau industry professionals, and they talked about the fact that you can't just come on and rely on your personalities and stories anymore. That's not it. You have to be well versed in virtual. You have to understand what's the nature of it. You can only talk for, I think it was about five or six minutes before you did something, maybe Took a poll, showed a video or gave some examples. You have to be well versed in what this virtual is. There's a lot of education. I know, Darren, that you have a workshop on how to give great virtual presentations. Be interactive because people need to stay engaged. And if you go too long without any type of engagement, people will veer off, they'll start checking their emails, their phone, they'll see what's up with their kids, whatever, and they won't stay present. And you want to keep them as engaged as possible. So it's not just learn how to have a great background with your, you must have a great background. There's a speaker. We did a summit, executive speakers bureau did a speaker summit. And somebody had a fan in the background. And so all people could really focus on was the fan going around the ceiling fan going around on the ceiling rather than, I mean that's just kind of like virtual one on one. So do your homework, go and find out what you need to do as a virtual for a virtual presentation. Be well versed in the, in the technology. Because I see virtual presenters where they have, you know, their PowerPoint flying in or as to the side and they're asking questions and like I said, they're doing it's so cool. They're doing real time polls, they're doing breakout rooms. So they're getting people involved in discussing things. It is stepping up as a speaker, I have to say, no longer just standing on a stage, being engaging, telling stories. It just won't fly as much today as it did before. So you just have to, you have to. Again, here it's being immersed in what's different in entertainment. When I was in it, there were times where, you know, things changed in entertainment all the time, especially in Las Vegas. You know, there would be a time where all of a sudden there were no lounges and it went to all ultra lounges. And so if you didn't diversify, if you didn't learn something different or learn how to adapt and, or go a whole different direction, you weren't going to be working. And so you needed to look at things and go, okay, I can adapt to this and maybe it'll go back, maybe it won't. But now you have this whole other set of skills. And so as a speaker it's important to adopt that for yourself and just be engaging. Make sure that you're practicing, practice doing some kind of virtual. If you haven't done it before, make sure you're going on there and working. Whether it's by yourself or you have a few friends on there and ask questions. How was that? Is this keeping you interested in am I staying engaged? So that would be my suggestions.

Well, thanks, Darren. That sounds a lot like using pace elements to keep the audience engaged. And we talked about that in one of our earlier podcast episodes. And I appreciate what you said about not just bringing your content, but you have to really be able to switch it up and keep people engaged. And I know some people get kind of scared about virtual. And I also know in a very honest way that many of us as pro speakers felt the financial not pinch. We felt the financial punch when the meetings industry said, okay, we can't go to hotels and convenience centers anymore. And we have people who are. That's where we live. We are on the platform. We are great. We've got our PowerPoint, we've got our props, we've got everything we need. And now we're being told if you can, you want to be in a little box, you know, 12 inch or 13 inch box on a screen, maybe you can stand in front of a white wall or a virtual background, or maybe you're going to sit for an hour and conduct this workshop. What are you hearing from presenters who have had to make this drastic change to try to stay afloat during these difficult times? How do you advise them to change or adjust or adapt specifically to keep getting their fees in a virtual world?

Absolutely. Great question. First of all, you brought up something really important too. Now, I know me and I can have a lot of energy face to face sitting down, but I know that I'm better when I'm standing at moving around. So if you are that, make sure that you have your set up that way. Go ahead and do that. There are no rules right now. Do what's good for you, that's going to be good for the audience. And so it can experiment, investigate, create, be creative, do something different out of the box. This is going to stretch you this time 100% and it's going to be good. It's going to be good for you and good for everybody. As far as being able to command fees close to where you were before, or even at 50% as much. It's important to know that when you are now, if you're working with a bureau, we're doing that on your behalf. We're committing to the client, why the fee is what it is and what's behind that. And as I've been advising some speakers that I've been working with on, when they asked me like, how do I do? I'm starting at 50%. Do I stay there? Do I'm like, well, no. You know, one thing I want you to make sure that you tell people is what is your fee when you're showing up in person? If your fee, 10,000, 20,000. You want you to talk about that. And then yes, I want you to be sensitive to the current climate with everything. And maybe start 5,000 last or maybe if you're 10,000, start 2,500, all of us, so start at that 7,500. So normally on 10,000, I'm offering my virtual events for 7,500 and this is what I give. This is my content, this is my value. Because I want you to remember that this is just because you're not traveling anywhere, that's not what you were paying for before. You are paying for that person's intellectual property, their information, what they put together and how they could change both your company or your team members real time or the revenue or anything that's going to bring you this enormous roi. And now more than ever, people need disinformation. So you're paying for what that is. And then also speakers are now becoming their light people, their AV tech person. They're doing everything. So they have to have that remember you. So I want you as a speaker to remember this, that when you're talking to your clients and they're going to say, well, you're just only doing the virtually, you're just going on a computer. I want you to remember that. Yes, you know what, we also have to do a pre check the day before and a rehearsal and a run through. I'm also customizing a little bit more because of the current situation and what you do. Also I have to, you know, it takes me about an hour or so to set up because I have to make sure the lighting's right. I have to go through a run through that day because technology is what it is and it can be different from the day before. So I'm having to make sure all of this is prepared and ready for you. Plus, I will tell you, it's more difficult to speak to a computer than it is to a live audience. You're not getting that energy, the reciprocity that give and take with helping you to understand where people are. Because sometimes a lot of speakers are giving presentations to a blank screen. They don't have the people, the feedback. I'm just talking to Connie Podesta who's highly interactive with her audience, high level speaker, highly interactive and she and this is important to know, too. She said, I won't do a presentation unless I know I can have a zoom format where I can see faces on the screen, end of story. Because I have to make sure that there are people who also agree to be engaged and interact with me. Because I know when I'm successful, I know what I do really well. That's what I do really well. And that's how they're going to convey. I'm going to convey my message and have people learn real time and walk away with sell the tools is by doing this. And so know what you do, know what you do well and practice and rehearse that. But knowing your value, knowing the value of your content, really feeling that speakers, I know it's hard to sell yourself, but I want you to be firm in what you do. Remember how much time it takes to prepare for a keynote, to now have to set up everything for yourself and really hold that value. And then it's up to you. If the client says, you know, if you're a $10,000 speaker and you say your fe you 7,500, and the client says, okay, all I have is 5,000, is this possible? And then you have, then you can look at that and say yes or no, you know, you can look at that and say, okay, is there any way that you can find another 2,500? Or if they're really stuck there, then it's your job to say, to accept or not, you know, or to say, yes, I'd love to help you, and maybe you can also tag something else onto that. So, hey, if you only have 5,000 for this, maybe we can add another second in a few months or follow up and can we add another 2,500 on for that? So you're actually going to get two for the price of that 7,500. So you're getting more money in your pocket at that time. Or if you have online content you can deliver. So there's ways to package certain things to make sure that there's that value or perceived value from the client that you can add in there.

And I know, Jennifer, it's our job as speakers to supply you as an executive with the right marketing tools to help you sell us. And I know a lot of people, I know that sometimes there's emerging presenters who are listening to this. If you're listening to this, you got to get your materials up to a certain level before you even reach out. And that's like number one. Let's just start with Demo videos. Let's focus on demo videos now because that was one of the critical tools to being hired. How do you have a good demo video? So first, what are some of the mistakes that you see in a demo video? And then we'll talk about what are some attributes to be unforgettable. So first, mistakes, I think mistakes right.

Now are, at least in, even in the recent past is demo videos that are too short. When they go, oh, well, I thought it's only supposed to be a minute and a half to two minutes. And then they only have these little sound bites. Challenge is that anybody can put that together and look like an expert or look like an extraordinary speaker. But then, and you need to know that the client needs to know that you can fill that hour with really good, solid content. And so people do need a little bit more, they need a little bit more sustenance there to be able to go, okay, I'm going to spend this money on that person. So make sure that your video has some really good chunks of that. I mean, a good video should be three to five minutes so that people can see exactly who you are. I like a video so because I come from the entertainment side, I like a nice sizzle reel at the beginning of a video for a minute. So it's that fast moving. If you have any video from you being on news programs or any type of interview or things that you've done in your past, and it can be like the short 60 second snippet of the best of who you are and then it goes into the content and also being very targeted on your content. So what are you talking about? What is your speaking topic being very direct and very concise about that in your videos. So it leaves no question to the person who's viewing the video what you talk about, because right now a lot of people get very vague and they'll work on their demo video without other people seeing it. And then we watch it, we go, okay, what? You know, so give me some solid good stuff. And, you know, really find those places. If you don't have any on stage, put yourself in front of a camera doing a documentary interview. Because those I've always found will supplement things that maybe you didn't capture on camera when you were on stage. You could talk about the challenges people have and then you talk about how you fix or how your content fixes those challenges. And so find out what the pain points are and then go right into what you deliver to fix that. So typically the videos are showing a few different Things they're showing who you are, your past, maybe your credibility, things of that nature. It's showing your availability or your ability to present. And it's also showing your content. So people are looking for those three things as far as wanting to invest in you and then having you in, or either going to the next step and having that phone call of, yeah, we want to hire you, or, you know, we want to. We're looking at two or three people. This is going to be the determining factor. But you want to get to that level so that you can get on the phone with them if they don't just go right into hiring you. But those three things, who you are, how you present and the content that you have and make sure it's really good. Valuable chunks of information, you know, that's in there. It doesn't have to be the slickest video because I've seen videos, speakers who still get by with something that's not highly produced, but have something that's respectable, have something that you're proud of and invest in that. So speaking industries of business, and I say this all the time, so if you were to go start a business down the street selling a cog of whatever it is you're going to invest in to a building, you're going to make everything look nice, it's going to be nice packaging, it's going to have all that thing. That's what you are. You have to invest that money, even if it seems like a lot, you know, invest a few thousand into your speaking video. It's going to have a high return. Remember, this industry has. It commands that type of money. So you're able to invest in this. And it's not going to be the only time you're going to have to invest in it in the next couple years. You have to have a new video every couple years. Yeah, your content better be changing.

That was a big aha. When we talked to Mike Rayburn, it's like as soon as he finishes one demo video, he invests thousands upon thousands in it. As soon as he's done, he starts working on the next one, which is like a big aha.

And right now I want to hold your thought right there, Darren, because I want to talk about today's climate too. So that's the basis of a video for people that don't know in today's world. It needs to be not just if you're sales, leadership, culture, whatever your topic is, connect it to what's happening right now. Connect it to. Because people don't have good imaginations. And so from the entertainment side, when we were presenting a show, how this is gonna look, we had to literally draw everything so we can get visuals and illustrations on how this custom would look, how the staging would look. And because people didn't have that imagination, we were dealing with executives that were running companies. They weren't creatives. And so we had to literally put things in front of them to say, this is how it's going to look. So think about that. When you're creating any of your marketing materials, your video, your website, your speaking topics, make sure that it's so literal. Make sure that it paints this great picture so that people know exactly what you can provide, or else they won't be able to picture that. So because of that and because of what is happening today, how does your topic relate to today?

You got a bridge. Got to make the bridge.

Find that bridge. And so are you helping leaders lead in a crisis? Are you helping? So if you're in leadership, how are you teaching them how to lead in a crisis? Lead when your teams are somewhere along the five stages of grief, working with the psychology or the mentality of today. If you're working with salespeople, how can you talk about working in sales in this time when nobody should be really selling or sell? How do we do that? If. If you're working with culture, how can you connect with your teens at this time? Find that bridge, like you said, Darren, into today's world and make it specific and literal so that we don't have to guess because we don't know, because I don't know if you can actually provide that unless you tell me you do. So make sure that your topic descriptions and you have some part of a video, even if it's just you, a camera facing you, and you're talking about what you can do and how you can help and provide. I just had my husband Dan, do a video for people and talk about how his content is specific for what's happening today. And I said, I just want you to talk to the camera and say, look, people are experiencing this. I am human behavior expert. My name is Dan Lehr, and this is what I can help you do, and this is what I can help your teams do. So not only does he have his normal demo video, but now he has this interview just sending that out there so people have it. So making sure you're creating that bridge with your contact content, your video, your.

Website, your topic description, the bridge is important. Obviously, it's critical and it's A way for you to kind of stand out in, especially maybe for emerging speakers who haven't established themselves yet. But if you can. If you can pivot now, as our buddy Ed Tate says, pivot, no panic. They can pivot now. They could actually jump into a place where they might not have a lot of street cred. And so for whether it's virtual, you know, demos for virtualing yourself or demo for live, what do you think makes it unforgettable? Like what? Like, you see so many of these fees at all different fee levels. What do you think is critical to standing out for that event planner?

Right now? It's content driven, right? It's not the flash, it's not how great you are on stage. So it's not before, I would say, you know, show yourself on a big stage if you can. If you can't get on whatever you can, you know, and show yourself so that you're high quality and you. That shows you can deliver and handle a stage of any size. Right now, it's about the solid content. Right now, it's about what Jason Hewlett did. If nobody knows, if nobody saw his video, go on and check out his demo video. It's on his website, it's on YouTube. And he talks about, okay, this is what I've done to create this value and this presentation for you. So he literally showed behind the scenes, he showed his setup, he showed everything. And you can show that. So people go, oh, he's serious. He's not just a computer and a microphone and a PowerPoint. He's really got his stuff together and he's delivering, and he's worth the value of whatever he's charging for his keynote. And so that's how you stand out. I mean, I looked at the effort that he put into his video, and I was like, holy moly. If we can't sell him, what can we sell? And so, I mean, that. That's the truth with everything. But even still, I mean, there are a lot of speakers who are high level that their content speaks volumes right now. So whether they're marketing social media, anything else, they're already so established in the industry, they didn't have to change anything. But if you're new or if your current video maybe doesn't have a relation to what's happening right now, you need to be inventive and make sure that it's a good production value and make sure that it's interesting. Make sure that it's something that if you were to go and look at you would want to buy. And so I don't have specifics for you, Darren, on that one. It's just really about making sure that it's high level. If you're going to charge $10,000, make sure it looks like a $10,000 video that you paid for. You know, that's always been the rule of thumb. If you're a $25,000 speaker, you better make sure that that video looks like a $25,000 speaker.

So research other people who are at that level, see what they're doing. And you've got to at least have that production quality. And I know last week Mark. We talked to Mark Scherembrock, and I was just checking out his demo video as research to prepare for the podcast. And on it he had this great story, it was 90 seconds long, where he talked about his dad and going to the Vietnam Memorial. And I got choked up and it was 90 seconds. I was like, ooh, that's good. Because it creates that connection with me, the viewer. So finding those right pieces of content or those right chunks. I know you said you like 60 seconds of sizzle. And then we got to get to the substance. And that's what I see as a good substance Chunk.

That's your keeper, Darren. That's your keeper. So clearly the demo video was helpful. So let's just say I'm an emerging speaker and I'm told, okay, I've got to get a good demo video. I'll invest time to put a video together. I'll get my friends to make an audience and I'll get it filmed. And that's fine. But is there. Darren, you're going to go through a couple of things that are do's and don'ts, kind of. But is there something else that is an absolute must have if I'm going to engage a bureau? Because there are people who are very skeptical about bureaus, you know. Well, you know, they don't need me. I don't know will I even need them. I see my name on 85 different bureaus where they even find me from. And they may have an idea or an attitude that need to be adjusted based upon the information you can give to us and the experience you have gained. So what are some key things for us to look for if we want to engage with the bureau question.

So one really great way to if bureaus don't know who you are. Because there is that old adage, right? You don't need a bureau until a bureau needs you, right? Until I find you like I'm looking for a certain topic or a certain presentation style and I happen upon your website or I'm looking to find somebody with your specialty information that I find you and go, hey, I'm interested. I'm going to submit you for this client, send me all your stuff. I'm going to put you onto the website. That's one way that it happens. So make sure that your SEO and your website is killer. So make sure that your marketing materials so that if we happen upon you, we want you to part of us right away. That's number one. Number two, if you have an event, you know, call a bureau and say, hey, I am a speaker. This is my topic. I have this client and I'm doing this event, I want to give this to you. And so at the onset you're thinking, oh my God, wait, I'm going to give up part of my money that I'm going to make for this commission, for this bureau, for them to handle it. But what happens is then we know who you are, we know that you're serious and we know how. Then we'll find out what the client thinks of you and the feedback and, and if they come back raving, they're like, oh my gosh, we love John Smith, he was tremendous. We're like, okay, we're going to keep John Smith top of mind. You know, we're dealing with thousands of speakers and so when we have the speakers that are constantly a great partner for us and that they get us whatever we need, they have fast response times, they have great promo materials. That's why the website, it is a simple thing and it doesn't have to be over the top extraordinary. But it be has to to be really, really good for what it is. And you know, look at some other high level speakers. And we were talking about that, Darren, when you were mentioning that go into bureau sites, they're public, so find who has a higher fee and look at their marketing materials. Look at what they have. Their marketing materials aren't spectacular. Look at who they are. Because if they're a CEO, then they don't care if they're like, you know, somebody in Google, they don't care about all that stuff. They're going, they're flying on their, who they are. So they're not flying on their marketing materials. But if nobody knows you, you don't have a best selling book and you're not ahead of a high level tech company. You need to make sure that your marketing materials are spot on. And so that's A great way because a lot of bureaus are really great with inquiries on, hey, I'd like to be a part of your bureau. So typically you'll go, especially the big bureaus. U.S. executive Speakers Bureau, Speak Inc. Premier Speakers, Washington Speakers Bureau, Kepler speakers. All those big bureaus are. We have somebody dedicated. So you call, you're interested in being on the site and then you get uploaded. That's great. But how do you get the attention of the salespeople? Because we don't have time oftentimes to listen to a new speaker. But sometimes. Right. So we're just too busy selling. Sometimes those speakers can get attention for the bureau and say when we're able to go back in person, go visit the bureau. Most bureaucracy, brick and mortar buildings and they have a lunch and learn. So go and you buy the bureau lunch, you give a 15, 20 minute presentation, you meet everybody and make sure you're spot on with everything. And then they get to know you. You know, that's really awesome for us because we can see exactly how you interact. We can see your content and we go forward from there.

Yeah. And that kind of touching upon. I remember when I started working with you, I said, okay, Jennifer, how can I be your favorite? Like what are those, you know, what are those critical things that I need to do? Because you deal with a lot of speakers, a lot of different levels. What annoys you so I can avoid it and what brings you to the top of the list. And I'm sure every person, every executive is a little bit different, but I'm sure there's a lot of commonalities. So I know you're just touching upon it, but if I could directly ask you, what does it take to be Jennifer Lear's favorite? Now I know I am, but I'm just saying for the other people.

Yeah, other people. Other people. Yeah. And by the way, Jennifer, I'm looking down, I'm not, you know, nodding off on you. I'm actually making copious notes on your comments. So we're going to give our keepers at the end of our broadcast. So you're aware of that. Yeah, please. Darren's question, how can I be your favorite? Is the question, how can you be.

A favorite like Darren McCrory? So what it is, which was really fun. First of all, it's really fun being asked that question because it's like, hey, how can I help you? How can I help you? And I say that to now, who are my bosses? Angela and Richard Shelf. I mean they own executive Speakers Bureau and I Constantly say, how can I help you do what you do? What can I do for you? How can I serve? To have that aspect of things is important. First of all, asking the question is a huge win. And secondly, a few things have great response time. So if you don't do it yourself, have an assistant that makes sure that you respond to that person. On my iPhone, there's a favorites list so that it shows up ahead of any other email or text message that has a star on it. So I know I need to respond to that right away. So fast response times is helpful. Are you available this day? Can you provide this type of content? Can you send me this? If it's relevant and I need to it, you know, when can you get it to me? So at least with the response, hey, I'm traveling right now, but I can get this to you first thing in the morning while that work, just to be able to answer that, even if it's not a right away, you can get it to me where you can just let me know when that is so that I can tell the client. That's one thing. Have great promotional materials. That's what I love about Darren. He's always changing his website, he's always changing his headshots, he's always changing his adjusting and improving his demo videos. So he's always working on his business at the same time. And I know it's not the fun stuff, it's the tedious stuff. Truly it is. And he can talk more about how he fits that into his day because he's so busy. You guys are all, you amaze me. When you run workshops and consulting and everything else and you have to find time to work on everything else, make sure that those things are up to speed because those are your tools, those are your promotional tools. Have a great website, a great video, a great headshot, and make sure you update your. Your speaking topics. And so you know, when I'm talking to speakers right now, make sure that your speaking topics are relevant. So have your typical topics and then have your current climate topics, you know as well. And what you can do for virtual, make sure that that's on your website, that you can do virtual programs. And this is what you do. Start working on a video right now where you're showing what's possible, you know, but really you're. You're being great at your response time, having great promo materials and then delivering, you know, once we book you for something, deliver dudes, you know, speak on exactly what the client was wanting you to speak on. Make sure you have a great attitude. Make sure that you're always available. Make sure that you make us look good.

Yeah, because it's your reputations on the line even more than ours.

Yep, yep, pretty much. So, I mean, those are the ways that you can help out because it helps you, and you're helping us help you really, ultimately.

Well, you know, really quickly, I have to go back to the beginning of your response, because I want everyone to catch this. When I first began speaking back in the late 1990s, you know, this is 25 years ago, the idea of a bureau was, what can the bureau do for me? How can the bureau book me? How can. When do I send them this? And it was a folder back then in an envelope with literal printouts about 25 years ago. And the mindset was, how can they book me? How can they put me on a stage? And I found my face on several bureau websites. I don't know how they got there, but the point was, the mindset was, what can you do for me? You just said, ask, how can you help me? You, the speaker, help me, the bureau exec. If I help you to make me your favorite, chances are you don't get me booked over and over again. So the key is, don't just ask, what can the bureau do for me? But how can I be so good with the bureau that they can't help but market me? And I think that's the key to your response, Darren.

Yeah, I know one of the ways when I connected with you here in Venture, I was like, okay, how can I be your favorite? And I thought, well, when we got leads, because my main business is training other presenters as opposed to keynote speaking. But I wanted to start working on that. I said, okay, any leads that come in, I wanted to hand the leads to you. Now, technically, I'm giving up 20% or whatever it is for that specific gig. I'm giving that up. I don't care. I don't want to train my team to have to learn this whole business that you do every day. How could I possibly get them up to speed? So I'm looking at it like one of the great ways in for you is to literally hand you business. Hand you business. You start handing someone who's an executive for a speaker bureau, handing them gigs or hot leads at least, like you're gonna be at the top of the list, you know? But we've got to come with that intention. It can't be like trying to manipulate or look like. Look, they've seen it All I'm going to say this for you, Jennifer. Jennifer and every other executive has seen it all and heard it all before. They can tell your intention. So. Well, you know, like we can sense it. You can sense it. So I'll say you can't. But I know people think it that you have all these emerging presenters coming to you and it's like, book me, book me, book me. That's not how it works. And that ain't going to get you in. But literally, legitimately bringing business that you pretty much have in the bag that they want you. And I say, hey, Jennifer, would you handle that contract? Is that a good strategy?

Absolutely. I mean that takes. Because I want to. I need to make money too, right? So I want to work on something. Not, hey, I have this long shot if you want to call them and see if you can book me. You know, I'm trying to take my time and do that. But I will work on something that's a strong potential. I can make us all money. And, and what works and what's helpful is that, you know, it's easier for somebody else to talk for you because many a few times Darren's like, oh, wow, I wouldn't have quoted that much on that, on that event. But I will. It's easy for me to quote higher because it's easier for me to understand the value of Darren. And I can do it without being emotionally tied to that. Where somebody, a speaker might go, oh, well, you know, I can do it for, you know, whatever throughout a number and where they could have gotten a lot more where with the client. And because that's my job as representation. And so that's helpful. And overall, remember that a bureau, there's only a few speakers out there that do their majority of bureau events. Like they'll do 75, 80% bureau events. That's not really the case anymore. A bureau of business is usually a supplementation. Maybe it's a quarter to a third of somebody's business, our bureau events. Because remember, we have clients from all over every industry looking for every different topic. So we aren't just doing sales or leadership or what have you. Because every industry needs multiple different things too. So we are. Our job is to service the client first. Now because I have an agreement with Darren, he will send me somebody and I'm going to focus on that. I've created this relationship with him where I'm going to focus on exactly what he needs, exactly what this client's looking for for him and do my best to close that for him. As far as everyone else and everything else, I'm client centric. So, you know, I've had speakers that don't understand the industry, and I'm shocked. Sometimes I get surprised when they don't understand the bureau world where they'll do three or four gigs for me, and all of a sudden I don't call them for a year and they're like, what did I do? What happened? What? You know, and it's just like in the entertainment industry, well, they were looking for a Maryland, but nobody's looking for a Maryland now they're looking for an Elvis. And you can't provide. You're not at Elvis. And so. Right. So it truly goes in waves. I mean, there was. There have been times where I wanted to book. I wanted to book Rudy Rudiger so bad. Oh, yeah, right. I watched his movie when I was a kid. I was a young adult, and I was. So when I knew that he lived in the city, like, I was so starstruck. I wanted to book Rudy when I got into this industry, and it took me three years to create, and then I booked him like four or five times in this one year. It was just so random. Right? It was great. But then also, that's how the industry works. It truly goes in ways. It goes in trends for us anyway. You know, not for you. Not for you as a speaker. I mean, stay true to your content, stay true to what you do. But even in that same thing, if you. I'm gonna. I'm gonna tap on this too, because I don't want to lose this. This, this nugget is that if you're not getting spin off business, meaning that they don't book you again, or. Or somebody in that audience wants to book you, then you need to fix one of two things. Your presentation style or your content, because it's you that's not getting hired again. So there's something in there, because if you have strong, incredible content, they're gonna want you again. Or somebody in that audience will want you for their company. Or maybe it's your content's great, but your presentation isn't compelling or your presentation abilities. And so work on those things. Make sure you're really, really looking closely at, okay, what am I doing, what am I not doing? I mean, as entertainers, I had to look at that. I had to look at music. Do I need to adjust, whatever, Because I had to really be able to speak or sing to perform to my audience, and making sure that that's always connecting and relevant. And so back on the video, part two, I meant to get in there. Whenever you're producing a demo video, making sure that you're connecting with the person that's working, watching. We talk about connecting on stage, but making sure that your video connects. There's a speaker that came out with this high level new video for the current situations that was very relevant for today. And I didn't feel connected. It looked like a TV commercial. And I was like, I wouldn't send that out to a client for nothing. He gave me no value. It was highly produced, it looked great, but there was no connection. And so really making sure that when you have that video, you have that. So everything that you're doing, making sure that you connect, that you're relevant, that you're working on all aspects of your presentation, your content, your presentation style, your image, how you look now that it's virtual, you're working on what's on your background. Are you doing virtual background? Are you doing a real background with nice lights and either green screen or backdrop or whatever? Am I better sitting? Am I better standing? That's what we do. You're on stage. You're that entertainment element as well. So you need to work with that. And the people who do that and pay attention to all those little elements, they will rise, they will get booked, they will be able to maintain a level of fee that they're commanding. Just bring yourself to that level. Have high expectations for yourself. Don't just show up. Showing up is 95%, but you need to do that extra 5% that weighs so much.

Yeah. And I have one more question and then, Mark, if you have anything else. What is the chatter with clients going back to what's the climate today? What are you hearing for conversations for your potential clients? Like, what are they talking about? What are they concerned about? What is important to them as far.

As what's relevant today?

Yeah, as far as, like the current climate in terms of, you know, we touched on it earlier, but I'm just wondering what are some of the things you're hearing by clients, their concerns. Concerns, how they're looking. I know, like one of the things you told me was all the contracts that you're writing now, there's a virtual clause that if they choose to, or want to move it over to virtual, they can do that. That's part of the contract now. Anything else that is going on?

Yeah, and that's a good thing to bring up too. So just know that whatever contract you write, the cancellation clauses are going to have to Be a little softer now because people are skittish, people are concerned. So make sure that, you know, easy out if anything happens, pandemic, health concerns, you know. Yep. No, no problem, no foul, no restrictions. And you can postpone and move an event to whatever or bring it into virtual. But make sure you're protecting yourself at the same time, making sure that you're keeping your deposit. So it's not a full, it's not a refund, it's a continuation or a postponement because this is important to you and your, you thriving and you're having that. Your vitality, you know, is there. So. But definitely making sure that your contracts are fluid to what is working for the client, making sure that works for both of you. But also what I'm seeing as far as topics that people want are overcoming adversity, how to connect, how to lead in a time of crisis, how to lead your teams through this grief time, how to sell and connect with your customers, how to market in today's world, what's too much, what's enough, what won't offend anybody, what makes sense? I mean, really everything is still relevant. So culture, leadership, sales, marketing, mindset, ecology, it's all still so relevant. It's just all with a different twist, you know, on how to do that today. What are the topics that I'm not thinking of that are might be out there? You know, even like with Darren. So with storytelling, right. So when I'm booking Darren with storytelling, that's probably more necessary now than ever before because people need to be able to talk about stories. Maybe even in my industry, I have to talk about the fact that, hey, you know, other clients were afraid of virtual. They didn't know what to do, but they took that risk and they moved forward and they were super successful. And I can make that a 10, 15 minute story to get that buy in so that the client goes, I'm gonna do it. You're right. You know, so that's why storytelling is important for all levels, maybe even for leaders. So they're talking to their teams on that as well.

I'm just drinking all this in. There's so many.

I know that you also, you speak. So remind, remind me. I'm blanking right now. Remind me your content when you.

I talk about performance excellence, how would make your best even better?

Yes. Okay. So right now, so it's really about taking that performance excellence and applying it to right now. It's understanding that people are not only clients, not only teams, but clients are in a moment of grief. And so how to gently walk through that performance excellence, what you can put together for today's world. And so everybody has a content, everybody has a topic that's relevant for today's world. You just have to find what are the difficulties that people are having right now and then mold your topic into that place. Does that make sense?

That's like finding the newfound pain. Darren.

Mark Sandborg Sanborn said, respond to the newfound pain.

Exactly right. And there's something in every single aspect of a business that people would need to have you speak on right now. Every single aspect has that pain in some way, shape or form. I just booked a speaker for a company that sent everybody home. They're working from home now and they were a very people centered company. They were very close, very all about as a large company and it was all about the people first in their teams. And now they're having a hard time connecting and people feel separated and alone and so they're having a hard time being productive and moving forward. So now they have a speaker talking about resilience and he's an adventurer actually. So talking about the uneven expected and how to overcome and how to have a mindset, understanding that you can still move forward with that. It's kind of like performance excellence, knowing that these boulders are going to fly through and how do I avoid those things and still keep moving forward. Everybody wants everything right now. There's a lot of pain, there's a lot of challenge, there's a lot of adversity that people need to know how to overcome. Like you said, find the pain and speak to that. Show how you can help them overcome it.

So, Mark, any other burning questions or are we ready to. We gotta honor Jennifer's time and yeah.

I know this has been. I mean she was rapid fire. I got a couple of keepers here. The moment you arrive on location, you are on stage. I love that one. Learn how to have a voice for yourself. Be assertive and speak up. Immerse yourself in the industry, not just in your skill set. Talk about what you do to help others, to market yourself and join a local chamber and local organizations to put yourself out there. Don't depend on the bureau to do everything for you. Remember, virtual is here to stay. So be well versed in virtual. I love that one. You must experiment, investigate and create. Don't just stay where you are, particularly with a demo video. Always be changing it every two years. Should be only three or five minutes long. And have a nice sizzle reel there as well. Okay. Have strong Search engine optimization on your site. Strong SEO. And never discount the value of your content. No, the value of your content. Don't expect bureaus to do for you, but ask, how can I help you? And as Darren would say, how can I be your favorite? Once you with the bureau, one of the key elements is a rapid response time. And also ask, how can I make the bureau good?

All right, Mark, I got a few more here. I was taking some too. Jennifer, it was awesome. I love that. You've got to connect your topic to the current climate. Connect your topic to the current climate. I love this. I never thought of it. Social media is disposable. It's gone a few seconds later. So, like, just have that as a frame of reference when you think about your social media. I love the. You have to have the opportunity. New emerging presentation presenters now have the opportunity to stand out if they can adapt and pivot more quickly than those established speakers. So it's a huge opportunity. Do what's good for you. If you're better standing up, stand up. If you're better sitting down or having that conversation. That's why when we do the podcast, I like just sitting down. It's like, you know, like Fireside Chat. I enjoy sitting down, but sometimes I like standing up. But do what's better for you for the demo. Demo clarity. For your website, clarity. And then I like what she said. 60 seconds of sizzle and then give us some substance. Now, I don't know if you use those words, but that's what I heard. And then in your demo video, who are you? Show us your ability and give us some content, man. Jennifer. Joseph Lear. Thank you. And final question. What would you say to a presenter if you were having coffee, you and them one on one over coffee. And they said, jennifer, I really love what I do. I really want to be unforgettable. What would you recommend?

Look up stagetime University and go to their workshop and sign up for their monthly. Their monthly membership because you'll get all the information you could possibly ever want.

And Jennifer, somebody did want to connect with. With you or executive speakers bureau if there's an event planner listening to this and they're looking for somebody because they don't want to do the work of sifting through all of a thousand presenters who could maybe do a good job because they want you to do it, because this is what you do. You know all the presenters, you know what they're good at, you know who delivers because honestly, they want that relationship. They're taking a huge risk with their budget. So you help them with that. And it's the same price whether they go directly, directly to that big superstar celebrity or they go through you. It's the same price. Which I think is awesome. And another reason to go with a speaker's bureau. So Jennifer, where would they go to connect more that way?

Absolutely. We give confidence in knowing that you're making the right choice and we take care of the events or the speaker and the client relationship from booking to walking on stage and walking off stage. And. And so yes, my email is jenniferlearxecutivespeakersbureau executivespeakers.com Excuse me. So it's Jennifer J E N N I F E R L I e r@experutivespeakers.com and you can find me on all social media. So go ahead and you can find me Jennifer Lear on LinkedIn, JenniferLeer on Instagram and Jennifer Joseph Leir on Facebook.

Yeah, just type in awesome. She'll come up.

Jennifer, you guys are amazing. I love what I, I love this industry. I love working with such extraordinary people who give and help people all over the world be better and do better. And I just, it's an honor to be here with both of you. Thank you for doing this podcast and I know it's been a great value for all your listeners. I know you guys give such, you bring on incredible guests and you give such great content. So thank you for serving your community this way.

Well, Jennifer, thank you you so much for giving us time today. You've been running around crazy all day, almost like an octopus hands in so many different places, but you gave us time. You brought your expertise, your experience to the world. And I just want to say thank you, thank you, thank you so much. And I can't wait to look at some of these nuggets again and look in the mirror and say, mark, are you really doing that? If not, I know you'll hold me accountable. Jennifer, thank you so much. Darren, you can take it home.

Oh Mark, we have some work to do. Oh yes. If you ever get a chance to hear Jennifer sing, she is unbelievable, unforgettable and thanks for being a true friend and for giving us your time. Jennifer. Joseph Lear, you rock.

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