I hope you’ll tune in to my live interview on the professional speaking business this Tuesday, June 24. Jeff Herring will be interviewing me about what some people have called the world’s highest paid profession: Professional Public Speaking. I’m not sure if it’s the highest paid or not, but I can tell you President Bill Clinton has earned $109 million in speaking fees since he left office. Even non-celebrity business speakers like me can earn a a seven-figure income expressing your expertise on a subject that solves a problem for an organization. If you’re a speaker, you’ll want to tune in to find out how to make more money. If you’re not a speaker, tune in to see how you can get started. This interview will be broadcast live from the lovely shores of Lake Lanier, just north of Atlanta, via the Internet. This is the future, my friends! Forget NBC and CBS. Internet Television narrowcasts to niche markets on micro niche subjects like professional public speaking. I just wish the great Bill Gove (the father of professional speaking) was around to see this! You can email questions I’ll answer on the show by going to www.articleguyaudioguycafe.com  This is also where the show will be broadcast. See you Tuesday night!  Steve Siebold, CSP, CPCS

 

 Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Mike Stewart, the audio/video product creation advisor to some of the top professional speakers in the world, has signed on to speak at the Million Dollar Speaker Marketing Seminar in Atlanta, July 11-13, 2008. This is huge! Mike charges $10,000/day for consulting and is booked months in advance.  When it comes to teaching speakers how to profit from audio/video technology, he’s the best in the business. I’ve purchased every product he has and it’s been the best investment I’ve made since attending the Bill Gove Speech Workshop back in 96′. Mike will teach you how to set up your own audio/video studio in your home (He’s put them in both of our houses) and show how you can create speaker products and have them online for sale in a matter of hours! This is the future (and present) of the professional speaking business. This is another reason to join us in Atlanta for this one-time only seminar. If you’re serious about this business, don’t miss this one! You’ll learn the TRUTH about the professional speaking business, and exactly how you can beat the odds and make big money in this business—direct from speakers who have earned millions in this industry. No theories. No hype. Just practical strategies that get your message out to the world and pay you handsomely for doing it. We’re only taking a small group of people, so register today. www.milliondollarspeakermarketing.com

Steve Siebold, CSP, CPCS ( 3: 24 )

 

 Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Bob Proctor has done it again! He’s booked an entire major cruise ship for the October 18-25, 2008 voyage of the Bob Proctor Cruise. If you’re a fan of personal development, check it out at www.bobproctorcruise.com  If you’re a professional speaker earning less than 500k USD per year, you NEED to be there. 12 professional speakers will join Bob; including Mark Victor Hansen (Bill Gove Graduate 1970) Cynthia Kersey (BG Graduate 1999) Lisa Jimenez  (BG Graduate 2000) Steve Siebold (1996) Paul Martinelli (2006) to mention a few. This is an opportunity to immerse yourself into the professional speaking world for 7 days with 10 of the highest paid speakers in the business. It’s a very rare opportunity. Listen to this post for more information.

 

 Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Nothing gives me greater professional pleasure than witnessing the success of the next generation of Bill Gove Speech Workshop Graduates making their mark in the professional speaking industry. One of the brightest graduates we’ve had in the last 5 years is a man named David J. Pollay, from Ocean Ridge, Florida. When David came to the workshop his speaking career was only a dream, and in the years since he has turned his vision into reality. He wrote a vignette 17 years ago called The Law of the Garbage Truck, which has now been seen my millions of people across the world. As I gaze into my crystal ball and look into the future of professional speaking, I see David Pollay as a superstar and million dollar hall of fame member of the Bill Gove Speech Workshop. Listen to this post and check this guy out. His website is www.bewareofgarbagetrucks.com   Steve Siebold, CSP, CPCS  ( 4:37 )

 

 Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

One of the single best pieces of wisdom Bill Gove offered me in the early days of my speaking career was to select my speaking mentor on the basis of his/her track record, and then follow to that person and no one else. That was in 1996, when I had 6 professional speaking consultants on retainer and I was failing in the business. The day I returned from the Bill Gove Speech Workshop I fired all 6, none of which had ever earned a substantial income as a fee paid speaker. That day I made a decision that altered my destiny. I decided to follow Bill Gove and ignore everyone else. If I told you how many people gave me advice that contradicted what Bill told me over the 5 years he coached me, you would be shocked. Some of them laughed at me and said Bill was too old to coach because the business had changed since he was the king of the keynoters. Those same people were calling me for a job 5 years later. I was talking to professional speaking legend Jim Cathcart last week, who summed it up beautifully. Jim said, ” If you wanted to learn to be the best hockey player in the world, your coach would be Wayne Gretzy. If you wanted to be the best speaker, your coach would be Bill Gove.” All the major speakers encouraged me to folow Bill’s advice to the letter and block out everyone else, and I thank God I had the sense to listen. The point of this post is to suggest that you select your speaking coach very carefully, but once you choose, follow his/her advice and don’t look back. Randy Gage gave me the other piece of advice years ago I’ll pass on to you: Don’t listen to anyone in the speaking business who’s not earning at least a million dollars a year as a speaker. Randy said; ” If they’re not making at least a million, they don’t understand the business.” Thanks, Bill. Thanks, Randy. Those words of wisdom catapulted my career. And now in the spirit of gratitude, I pass them on to you. You can make it in this business if you’re smart enough to follow the right people and don’t buy into the B.S. and hype that surrounds our profession. It’s not an easy road, but it’s well worth it when you’re making an impact on other peoples lives. (8:59)  Steve Siebold, CSP, CPCS www.milliondollarspeakermarketing.com

 

 Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

If you’re interested in promoting yourself as a fee-paid professional speaker visit www.publicspeakingshowcase.com  This free resource is You Tube for Professional Public Speakers.

 

 Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

One of the questions that’s been coming up for the last 61 years of the Bill Gove Speech Workshop is; Does this speaker look Presidential? In other words, does this speaker look and sound like a speaker a Fortune 500 company would pay $10,000 for a speech? Is someone who carries him or herself like a presidential candidate? This is a broad question that covers everything including dress, makeup, hair, gestures, movement on stage, etc. Sometimes people get upset about this during the workshop because they don’t want to change, and we always tell them the same thing: If all you want to do is speak in the public market, you might be ok. BUT…if you want to speak in the big leagues (Fortune 500) they expect the best. Wearing Hawaiian shirts and tennis shoes might work when you’re speaking at a public seminar, but big corporate won’t tolerate it. (The truth is most public seminar promoters don’t pay speakers. Their money is made from BOR sales. )But when a senior executive in a multi-national corporation is entrusting you with the keynote speech at their national convention, you’d better look like a million bucks…and have the stage presence of a presidential candidate. The good news is that with a little planning and a lot of practice, all of us have a legitimate shot at speaking in the most prestigious market in the professional speaking business. And as they say about New York: if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere! We’ll discuss ‘Presidential Packaging July 11-13, 2008 at the Million Dollar Speaker Marketing Seminar in Atlanta. For more information visit www.milliondollarspeakermarketing.com 

 

 Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

What is it that professional public speakers really do? Besides delivering content that solves problems, many speakers believe there’s a higher purpose. This post is about two speakers who believe speaking is more than just content and entertainment. Two of my mentors and friends; Keith Harrell and Bob Proctor, shared their views about this in private conversations with me that I think you might enjoy. Keith Harrell, known to his fans as Dr. Attitude, is one of the most popular motivational speakers in corporate America. You can see him in action at www.keithharrell.com  Bob Proctor is a professional speaking legend, and most recently starred in the hit movie, The Secret. Check him out at www.bobproctor.com  Both of these gentleman are world class performers and world class human beings. They are a credit to our profession. Listen to this post and take note of their wisdom.  Steve Siebold, CSP, CPCS  ( 5:54 )

 

 Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

After being on the road for 5 years with the great Bill Gove, the father of professional speaking, I can tell you so many stories and all the great lessons he taught me. One of them comes from the old school, and as critical as it is, it’s not the most popular. One of the reason’s Bill Gove was so successful was his incredible dedication to the art of professional speaking. As my friend Bob Proctor say’s, ” Bill Gove was the Frank Sinatra of professional speakers”. This bit of Bill Gove wisdom is one of the reasons why.

Steve Siebold ( 3:45 )

 

 Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This is the taboo topic in the speaking business no one likes to talk about. But the fact is, the overwhelming majority of people trying to break into the speaking business will fail in the first 12-24 months. I know dozens of speakers who have been trying to break into this business for 25 years without success. There’s a little known reason all the top speakers know but are reluctant to talk about. After all, we’re supposed to be positive thinkers! Try paying your phone bill with positive thinking. You need know the speaking business inside out, as well as how the system works. You need to know the good, bad and ugly of this business so you can seperate the hype from the truth. Most of this information is only discussed among top speakers in backroom, closed-door sessions. The only reason I had access to these insider secrets was because my partnership with Bill Gove gave me a backstage pass to the big time. Some of the most important things I learned were the negative aspects of the business I never heard at NSA meetings. This information catapulted my career to million dollar status in less than 5 years. And YOU can do it, too! Listen to this post and then join us in Atlanta July 11-13, 2008 for the Million Dollar Speaker Marketing Seminar.  Visit  www.milliondollarspeakermarketing.com  Steve Siebold, CSP, CPCS

 

 Standard Podcast: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download