Your next assignment is to write a book on the subject – and get it published by a ‘real’ publisher, not self-published. The people who hire professional speakers – meeting planners, speaker’s bureaus, and so on – are all about risk reduction. A speaker that says something offensive, or fails to show up, or delivers a lousy performance wreaks havoc on the conference that the planner has been working on for 6 months or a year. I shared a ‘Core Conversation’ yesterday afternoon at SXSW with the consummate professional speaker Tim Sanders , author of Love is the Killer App , The Likeability Factor , and Saving the World at Work .

I’m going to start a series of blogs on writing, selling, and marketing a business book.  0160; The next thing he did was write a book, in order to sustain that career.  0160; Brad Pitt could get all the speaking gigs he wants, without ever writing a book, but he’s presumably having more fun and making more money doing his movie thing.  0160; A book is still the ticket to a successful public speaking career – and a bestseller the ticket to a very successful public speaking career – so those serious about public speaking need to embrace the magic, mystery, and heartbreak of the book world. 

Can you imagine the response of a meeting planner if the author of the best-selling “how to” book actually picked up the phone and called the CEO of an organization to suggest a way in which she/he can solve at least three of the organization’s five challenges? No matter how many different formats I use to communicate this information, these 12 Positioning Steps are critical to meeting planners taking you seriously. 12 essential Steps to Attract Your Ideal Customers With all due respect, love and admiration, why do you, some of our planet’s best teachers