Transcript:
Dave Bricker (00:07)
Want to expand your speaking and storytelling skills and grow your influence business? This is Speakipedia Media brought to you by speakepedia .com. I’m your host, Dave Bricker, bringing you straight talk and smart strategies from visionary speakers and thought leaders. Today’s guest is the president of Gold Star’s Speaker Bureau. She’s the co -author of The Business of Successful Speaking, Proven Secrets to Becoming a Million Dollar Speaker, and
authors who speak sell more books. Her agency has been booking business experts, motivational speakers, celebrities, and presenters for over 30 years at events all over the world. Please welcome Andrea Gold.
Andrea Gold (00:52)
thank you for that lovely welcome.
Dave Bricker (00:56)
So for our listeners who may not know, what exactly is a speaker’s bureau?
Andrea Gold (01:04)
We are a third -party organization that books speakers, trainers, sports figures, just about anybody that somebody needs to represent their group, to address their group, either nationally, regionally, or even internationally. We usually work on a commission basis, but anything goes. It’s a business, and our whole object is to fulfill…
a client’s needs for their meeting.
Dave Bricker (01:38)
Wonderful. That’s an amazing business. How did you get into that business? I know there’s a story there.
Andrea Gold (01:43)
Oh my God, there’s a story and you don’t know it. Do you know the name Dottie Walters? Does that ring a bell? Okay, Dottie Walters was one of the original bureaus and I didn’t know what the word bureau meant. But anyway, long ago I had a reporter friend who I was booking along with my husband locally. I didn’t know anything really about the meetings business.
Dave Bricker (01:51)
I do not.
Andrea Gold (02:11)
And the reporter friend had a guest coming. She was promoting her book, Speak and Grow Rich. And he asked if I could help her book other media. I wasn’t connected to the media, but I called him. I booked all kinds of stuff. And I took her around that day. Her name was Dottie Walters. And at the end of the day, she said, you should start a bureau. And I went, really, what is a bureau? And then I started one.
but the rest of the story goes, I didn’t know what I was doing. So it was, you know, kind of like winging it and learning as I went along. And I was kind of scared, you know, I’d kind of cry a little bit, you know, getting on the phone and trying to talk to these high level people. It was very scary, I was young. And then we were down to our last month of money.
My husband and I, you know know, we hadn’t been married that long and we’re trying to make a living. So I had a little talk with God. So there’s a spiritual element here. Dear God, please help us to make the speaker’s bureau work or I’m gonna have to go work for somebody else. And we really, what happened was at the end of the day, a few weeks later, we started getting.
business out of nowhere. We had consulted with somebody, we spent our last dime. It was like a $6 ,000 consulting fee at that time. And after that, we did a mailing and the next day, it was like the day after New Year’s, people started to call. So it was like a prayer answered, like a miracle really. We were down to our last $3 ,000. And then from there, it took off. Lots of work.
Dave Bricker (04:04)
Well.
And 30 years late, 30 plus years later, you’re still at it. Amazing. So, so many of our listeners right now are thinking, this is great. I don’t have to do any more marketing. I can just call Gold Stars Speaker Bureau and you’ll set me up with all the five -figure keynote gigs I can wedge into my calendar. Where do I sign? So.
Andrea Gold (04:11)
35 plus years. Mm -hmm. Yeah, we’re still going. Yep.
No!
Oh my God. How many times have I…
Dave Bricker (04:37)
So discuss, yeah, and we hear it all the time and I talk with people who are planning to enter, I’m not gonna do any marketing. I’ll just give a bureau a commission. So talk a little bit about this common misconception that new speakers have about bureaus.
Andrea Gold (04:42)
See yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah, very misconception. Very, very wrong thinking. So the main thing is something I like to tell people is you could be the best person, you could be the best speaker in the universe, but if you don’t know how to reach people to let them know you exist, that’s marketing, then you might as well not even get into the field.
So marketing is the key, but bureaus, the biggest misconception is that people think I’m listed with a bureau, they’re gonna market me. Well, you need to pay somebody if you want dedicated marketing. I hate to tell you that, but that’s how it is. I am not beholden to anybody. Now, if you were my exclusive speaker, that’s a different story, but you’re not. So I’m going to give the client.
who I think is really answering their needs as best as possible. That’s ethical business. So the misconception is you’re not gonna get listed and all of a sudden get bookings. my goodness. I know I see that from so many people. And the people who think that aren’t ready to work with the Bureau.
Dave Bricker (06:02)
Right.
Andrea Gold (06:11)
because they don’t understand how a bureau operates.
Dave Bricker (06:14)
Exactly. And I imagine you get contacted on a daily basis by speakers wanting representation, and it sounds to me a lot like authors who say, I’m going to try to get a big publishing contract. Because it’s wonderful that you wrote a good book, just like what you’re saying, but that doesn’t mean that a publisher is going to find you marketable. That doesn’t mean you created a good book product.
Andrea Gold (06:16)
Yeah.
Right. That’s right. So what’s?
Dave Bricker (06:42)
So what’s the similarity there?
Andrea Gold (06:47)
Well, I think people have great expectation and they really need to have, before they approach a bureau, they really need to have a business that’s working already, that they’re proven. They need to do this on their own. And I mean, there’s suggestions I could give, but they need to hone their skills, get lots of experience under their belt. And then…
then maybe approach a bureau and consider bureaus icing on the cake. They really, they shouldn’t be your main source of income possibility because you may never be proposed. I have a database of over 10 ,000 speakers. So am I really interested in bringing on a whole bunch of new people?
I’m gonna bring on the people that are relevant, that meet my clients’ needs, that have a lot of experience. And there’s a whole checklist there, but yeah.
Dave Bricker (07:53)
Sure, and I think people have this big expectation about bureaus. Look, I’ve spoken with you many times, and I mean, I’ve never even asked you to represent me. I know you’ve got a stable of great offerings. Well, look, I know, look, if someone says, Andrea, I need a storytelling speaker who’s got the sailing theme, you know who to call. But I also, right.
Andrea Gold (07:56)
Right. I so appreciate that.
my goodness, yes.
Dave Bricker (08:20)
But I also understand that so many speakers, even experienced speakers, they’re just hoping to get the bureaus to represent them. And, and, you know, I, the way I think about it is like, you’ve got a business to run, not a charity. And I don’t expect bureaus to be all over me just because I have X, Y, Z experience with speaking and so many programs and so on and so forth. It’s.
Andrea Gold (08:29)
Yes. Right.
Dave Bricker (08:47)
I mean, there are a lot of people who got in line ahead of me who have already proven themselves, and I think if I was running a bureau, that’s who I would work with. But…
Andrea Gold (08:59)
That’s right. Well, one thing I want to say to anybody listening is if you want a fighting chance, think about your positioning and what’s your unique selling proposition — your USP? Why should somebody book you over that other incredible leadership speaker? So ask the hard questions.
Dave Bricker (09:22)
Absolutely. And as you said before, it’s whether you’re selling yourself to a bureau or to a meeting professional, it’s the same questions.
Andrea Gold (09:28)
Yeah. I’ve booked him. Yes. They are good.
Dave Bricker (09:36)
Somebody’s going to hire you directly. Somebody’s going to hire you as an intermediary. But you have to understand the value you bring to the audience, why you are unique. I mean, look, I speak about storytelling. Doug Stevenson speaks about storytelling. Kindra Hall speaks about… Kelly Swanson. And they’re all real… They’re all really good at what they do. And it’s not a question of you have to say how you’re better, but how are you better for a certain audience? How are you?
Andrea Gold (10:00)
Unknown factor. Yes, they’re proven. I know they’re reliable. So something to keep in mind when I look at working with speakers is I don’t only look at their ability to speak.
Dave Bricker (10:06)
different because otherwise the bureaus are they’re going to call Kelly or someone who’s a proven quantity exactly exactly
Andrea Gold (10:29)
but how are they to work with off the platform? You know, are they ethical? Do they understand bureau protocols? Do they understand what a spin -off is? That’s a whole discussion in itself. There’s a lot to the business. Yeah, okay.
Dave Bricker (10:44)
And we’ll have that discussion. Yeah, well, so before we get into that, one more question, because I do want to talk about, because dealing with bureaus, there are a lot of rules, some of them written, some of them not written, but there are ways you do it and you can really destroy your career by doing it wrong. Let’s put, let’s table that for just a moment, because I think one thing,
Andrea Gold (10:50)
Yeah. That’s right. Yes.
Dave Bricker (11:11)
Look, so many speakers struggle to find engagements to put on their own calendars, and you keep multiple speakers working. What’s involved in doing that? That’s got to be difficult and challenging. And of course, I’m hoping that some of our listeners will have an opportunity to maybe borrow some techniques that you’re using because they want to book themselves. So how can our listeners compete with you?
Andrea Gold (11:41)
Yeah, sometimes that is the case, you know, where a speaker is working with a client and I want to propose that speaker, but they’re already working with the client directly. So there’s all kinds of protocols that come up and weird situations and speakers have to understand that and work. Sometimes they have to make a decision which way to go. And yeah, so how do I keep so many speakers booked? It’s a lot of work.
For a lot of years, I worked 24 -7 and into the late hours of the night. I worked really hard. So people think bureaus are a piece of cake to work with and that we’re just mopping up all kinds of business, but we work hard for it. So there’s a marketing element. There’s also a longevity element. So the longer that you’re a bureau, the more you’re recognized.
and the more that people will value and they’ll recognize you and they’ll value your input. I have clients that come back to me because I’m very ethical. We have a saying, our motto is, “Our word is Gold,” which is my last name, but it’s a play on that and on our bureau. And the whole point is that we’re really looking out for the client. And I know every bureau will say that.
Dave Bricker (12:56)
Mm -hmm.
Andrea Gold (13:03)
yeah, we’re all about the client, but I can tell you they’re about making money and there’s nothing wrong with making a good money. However, first things first, what does the client need? What do they want? And maybe it’s a $5 ,000 speaker who hardly exists anymore, but it’s what the client needs. It’s not who you want to push because you make a bigger commission. It’s a, yeah. So, so getting back to the original question.
So there’s a marketing element. There’s also when you have multiple salespeople, but the more salespeople you have, the more overhead you have too. So that’s a catch -22. But again, the longer you’re in the business, the more that you get repeat business. And I have loyal clients that book wonderful speakers, they have a great budget, they book multiple speakers, and I’ve narrowed down my focus to work with those special people and I could give them my all.
So that’s part of it.
Dave Bricker (14:03)
And there, I think, is the answer. Just as so many speakers are one and done, right? But how can you turn those clients into repeat clients? They may not hire you to keynote at the conference next year, but they might hire you to do a workshop. They might hire someone you recommend. There are all sorts of ways. And of course, they might hire you as a consultant.
Andrea Gold (14:06)
Yes. Mm -hmm. I was just going to say there could be non-
speaking like product reminders, daily training on recordings. There’s so much creativity. In the book that I wrote that I co -authored, I have a list on a few pages of how you can, create other products out of your original book or out of your presentation.
And this is how you get to a million dollar speaker, is by repurposing, the word repurposing, repurposing into all kinds of products, services, and sales. And you can even have associates. So this is a business that has so much creativity in it. There’s so many ways you can go, it’s fascinating. And I’ve done a little of that. I’ve even booked myself as a consultant.
Dave Bricker (15:25)
It is, it’s per –
Andrea Gold (15:30)
at a John Deere meeting, I actually was paid to go to Kansas City in the middle of winter. That part wasn’t good, but it was freezing. And I live in Arizona, but I actually interviewed the dealers. So I mean, there’s so many things that you can do. Yeah.
Dave Bricker (15:48)
Yeah, and on top of that, we have this phrase, the million dollar speaker that we throw around all the time. But someone who’s making a million dollars off of keynoting is doing 50, $20 ,000 gigs a year. Who does that?
Andrea Gold (15:54)
Quite….
Okay, I want to talk about that. I’ve had some speakers where I guess I was like a mama. You know, I was like, you’re gonna burn out. You’re doing too many. They weren’t making 20 ,000 each, or maybe they were, but they were doing so many that they didn’t have a life. And I’m like, how long can you do this? And how about your family? If you have family, a lot of them were single.
you know, or they became single because of this lifestyle. So the other thing I want to say is back, just to back up a second, talking about the volume that we do. Another way that we get the volume is the people in the audience. This again goes back to spin -off, but other people in the audience that hear the speaker, especially at association meetings, who want to bring in that speaker.
or expert to their meeting or for a consultation or whatever. That’s another way that you stay in business, whether you’re doing it on your own or through your bureau.
Dave Bricker (17:10)
Sure.
Andrea Gold (17:12)
So.
Dave Bricker (17:13)
So you’re tuned in to Speakipedia Media for aspiring and professional speakers and thought leaders who want to make more money by changing hearts, minds, and fortunes. My guest today is Gold Stars Speaker Bureau President, Andrea Gold.
Andrea Gold (17:15)
Yes!
She wants to help you to do the same. No! No, no, no. We’re about collaboration. Yeah. But I’m all about everybody’s success.
Dave Bricker (17:30)
She’s gonna help you compete with her today. What a…
Absolutely, absolutely. So… Or, and you wouldn’t have written that book otherwise, and we’ll get to that shortly.
Andrea Gold (17:46)
No, no, no, but I will tell you, I wrote the book and co -authored it with my husband who is a speaker or was a speaker. He’s getting up there now, doesn’t like to travel. But anyway, people were peeking my brains every day and I could only give them so much or I could do a consultation and charge them. But if they get the book, they get so much treasured information. I mean, there’s so much in there and for a minimal price.
It’s on Amazon, so it’s been around a while, but it’s still very relevant. So much, you can get out of it.
Dave Bricker (18:24)
Yeah, it’s a good book and back in the beginning, our mutual friend Neal Petersen turned me onto that book many, many years ago. So Andrea, it used to be that speakers had separate one sheets and even separate websites for bureau and non -bureau business. And of course, with the Internet, it’s really easy for meeting professionals and speakers to sidestep the bureau who connected them.
Andrea Gold (18:33)
neat.
Dave Bricker (18:52)
Let’s talk for a moment about the importance of this honor system and the important commitments professional speakers make to the bureaus who represent them.
Andrea Gold (19:03)
Ethics and protocols, yeah. When a speaker works with the Bureau, there’s a lot of extra work they need to do and they don’t always realize that. I’ve been burned, believe me, I’ve been burned. I want to make sure the speaker understands the relationship between a Bureau, the speaker and the client. That there’s a trust that goes on. And I’m proposing that speaker and…
I’m not inviting the speaker to work directly with the client. Actually, I’m very good about, once they’re booked, I do put people together, which a lot of bureaus don’t. And even when I propose, I have no problem, I let the speaker know that I’m giving their website to the client, and if they want to talk to the client, I’m fully transparent. So I have to work with clients and speakers.
who both are trustworthy. Otherwise, I mean, I work on commission only, so I’ve got to protect my business, but I have to work with people I trust, yeah. Yes.
Dave Bricker (20:12)
Right.
And that trust involves, this is a great time to introduce, you were talking about spin -off because spin -off, if you have your own speaker business, speaking business, then obviously you want to try to turn each engagement into multiple engagements. When you work for bureaus, that works the same way, but the business goes to the bureau and there’s a lot of misunderstand… Yeah. And…
Andrea Gold (20:32)
Great.
It’s once removed. Yeah.
Dave Bricker (20:44)
How does that work?
Andrea Gold (20:45)
Well, sometimes it doesn’t work. First of all, the speaker needs to know that they’re obligated when they work with the bureau, and they should do this anyway, to try to get spin -off business. But one of the beefs between speakers and bureaus is that the speaker either doesn’t try or they don’t share the information. They’re really obligated by contract to share a spin -off business with the bureau. And the bureau will…
pursue it. But I do have a suggestion on that because something that you and I had alluded to earlier in our personal conversations is that speakers sometimes don’t share that information and they go direct and it or the bureau doesn’t follow through. So what I suggest, this is a big tip for you speakers, when you work with the bureau,
give them the lead, you know, the spin -off. That’s what it is. You know, this is somebody in the audience that wants you and blah, blah, blah, or somebody in the audience told somebody else. And then work with the bureau and say, I’m gonna follow up on this directly and include you in the communication. That’s my tip. So that because some bureaus don’t follow through with leads or a spin -off.
And that’s actually a shame because that’s a hot lead. It’s like half booked already. So I recommend that you do it that way. But some bureaus are very controlling and they want to be in charge. But there has to be a trust.
Dave Bricker (22:28)
And I like the way you do it because ultimately that speaker needs to connect with that client and say, what problems are you trying to solve? What can I help you with today? Instead of I’m going to show up, do you want the A or the B or the C speech? That’s a different level of engagement. And so again, this business, like so many businesses, runs successfully on trust.
Andrea Gold (22:31)
Exactly. Yeah. Yes. Yeah, I will tell you before we move on that, you know, as I said, there’s been some…
bad blood in the past, you know, where people, bureaus and speakers intentionally went around. And I found out, of course, I never ever worked with them again and the word got out. But I’ve lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in situations like that. I know that. And it’s hard, it’s business. I mean, there’s no, people think there’s some kind of law. There’s no law that, it’s really,
protocols and understanding and trust. You know what I’m saying? There’s no real defined boundaries here. Yeah.
Dave Bricker (23:40)
Yeah, and for the speaker, there’s that opportunity for short -term gain. I’m not gonna tell the bureau about my spinoff business. I’m just gonna go get full fee for that. But look, I’m curious. Yeah, you find out because you find out and then of course you don’t… Yep, you call them up and whatever. But do bureau owners talk to each other too? Do unethical speakers and clients get blacklisted?
Andrea Gold (23:52)
And we find out. We find out. I’ve called about it.
Unofficially, yes, it gets around. I mean, they’re cautious about that, but you know, when you’re, we’re a very tight industry and we share. I will tell you a happy side of that story. So, in a few occasions, and I still remember the speakers and you probably know who they are, the speaker got a spinoff and they later realized it was the Bureau’s spinoff. It was related to a booking from Gold Stars.
Dave Bricker (24:10)
Ahem.
Go.
Andrea Gold (24:40)
and they sent me a check for the commission, sometimes a year later. Now that is going to make a big impression on a bureau. Talk about trust and follow through and valuing the relationship. That was amazing to me. You don’t see that much in today’s world.
Dave Bricker (24:57)
Mm -hmm.
No, it’s so important, just keep all that stuff straight. And if you’re gonna work with bureaus, but of course, if you’re gonna work with anybody, keep things absolutely straight. As a speaker, you’re a leader, and it’s very important to make sure that everybody knows that you stay on the right side of that line.
Andrea Gold (25:09)
Yeah.
That’s it.
You know, I want to add something to that. If you’re working with bureaus, you have an obligation to keep really good records. And the other thing, and this is kind of a beef in the past, I’m pretty mellow now, but in the past, there were a lot of people that worked for a speaker and they didn’t go out of their way. I don’t think they were trained to vet.
where the client heard about them or where it came from. And they missed a lot of spin -off business that really belonged to the Bureau and they booked it directly. Again, sometimes we find out a year or so later and it’s like, okay, we’re going to make this right. So just a…
Dave Bricker (26:05)
So let’s flip this around because there’s a speaker we both know who was booked by a bureau and from that, not yours, just to clarify, and from that engagement he got a referral and he passed that on to the bureau, which is what he was supposed to do. And then the bureau booked a speaker other than him. So how should the speaker handle that situation?
Andrea Gold (26:10)
Yeah. Yes.
Dave Bricker (26:33)
because he did the ethical thing and then lost the engagement because of it.
Andrea Gold (26:39)
Right, and I’ve been in the middle of that situation a number of times. So I will always do my best to book the speaker who gave me the spinoff lead or the referral, whatever it is. That’s my obligation. However, there’s a third party here and that’s the client. And I cannot control them. I can only do my best to influence their decision.
based on fact, based on helpful information, not anything unethical. But sometimes the client decides they want something totally different. This has happened to me and I feel awful for the original speaker, but I can’t control what the client does or they may have a committee. That’s the shadow of death, you know, the committee, because they go in about 500 different directions. So,
Even though I got a bona fide hot lead from the speaker, I may end up booking somebody else because the client doesn’t want them. They may not like them. They may not, so what am I supposed to do? Walk away? I don’t know, it’s kind of… I do, yes.
Dave Bricker (27:51)
But it sounds like the solution is good old fashioned communication where you call that speaker and say, I’ve got, yeah, because he, in this case, the speaker found out it wasn’t communicated to him. So he felt ripped off. And I think with a little communication as in so many situations.
Andrea Gold (28:08)
Yeah. And I would go out of my way to include that speaker in other proposals that he fit in so that maybe it can make it right. But again, the final decision is always the client’s, not mine. They’re the ones paying the bill. In the bureau and speaking business, there’s a lot of delicate moments.
Dave Bricker (28:26)
Mm -hmm.
Absolutely.
Andrea Gold (28:36)
and gray areas. So a person really needs to communicate well and be trustworthy. That’s the bottom line. I know in this business, I’ve had a lot of speakers come to me when they have confusion with other bureaus. So I know that I’ve developed a trust with speakers out there. Because they know, I’m married to a speaker no less, but I’ve got their best interests at heart. I’m not trying to.
Dave Bricker (28:44)
Mm -hmm.
Andrea Gold (29:04)
mess with anybody. I want everybody. To me, the best situation is the client gets who they want, the speaker gets his fee, and I get my commission. Everybody wins.
Dave Bricker (29:15)
That’s always the best way. Win, win, win. In the old days before the Internet, I imagine it was a lot more difficult to find speakers for an event. Now, every speaker has a website and a demo reel.
Andrea Gold (29:16)
Yeah. Yeah.
Dave Bricker (29:29)
And the problem is that there are so many speakers out there looking for business, event producers can’t tell the good ones from the bad ones. And of course, that’s a good reason for a client to go to a bureau instead of poking around on the Internet trying to figure that out. But talk about how you qualify speakers and stay relevant, because you have your stable of talent you’ve been using for decades, but you…
Andrea Gold (29:31)
Right.
Dave Bricker (29:57)
don’t have any AI speakers who you’ve been using for decades because that’s new. There’s always something coming around the corner. So how do you find the good ones? What makes a good speaker?
Andrea Gold (30:00)
That’s new. Ooh, that’s a loaded question. There’s a lot of answers to that. Okay, I’ll give you some. First of all, when you hear buzz about a speaker, that’s the most powerful way. You lost business to this other speaker. So that’s one way you know that they’re pretty darn good.
because they’re getting booked out there and probably at a pretty good fee too. So not all speakers work with bureaus either. Most do, but not all. So that’s one way. Let’s see. I look at their video. That’s important. And after looking at so many videos, I have a pretty good sense on how good they are, but that could be misleading too. It can’t be your only way.
I look at how long have they been working, how long have they been speaking, who are their audiences, what are their topics, how relevant are they, how do they approach me, because there’s a lot of ignorance out there with bureaus, and if they do a stupid approach, and that’s a whole other discussion, then I’m gonna think twice about it, and they’re probably not as experienced as they’re.
letting on to be. On the other hand, there’s some really cool newer speakers that deserve attention. But they need to somehow, if they’re in your city, invite you to see them. I don’t have the time to do that anymore. I used to charge to see speakers after a while because there were so many out there. But anyway, I look at the whole picture.
You know, they’re one sheet if they have one. These days, it’s usually a PDF if they have one. Their testimonials are very important. And are they local? Is this all a small local group or are they doing mainstream companies and organizations? That makes a difference too. And I’ll even call a client if I’m not sure and ask how did they like, you know, what was their real impression?
because what they write in a testimonial might be different than what they really feel. So there’s a lot, but also hearing from other bureaus, the buzz that way. You know, some bureaus will share with us, so -and -so, Roger was so good. that Dave Bricker guy, he’s incredible. So those are just some of the ways that you measure a speaker.
Dave Bricker (32:48)
and you just talked about quote unquote stupid approaches. But I know that, look, I mean, on a basic level, you don’t want to come into a relationship of any kind, lonely or hungry. I think anybody can smell that on you. But what are the things that you see speakers do that just make you cringe and say, no way, what are some of the big mistakes, the instant disqualifiers? Because
Andrea Gold (33:17)
Oh my God.
Dave Bricker (33:18)
I see stuff like that all the time and I know you do too.
Andrea Gold (33:20)
I do, and I actually wrote a list. Let me see if I can find it, because I was thinking about this, the cringe -worthy. Okay, I’m going to just read you a few, because I was thinking about it and I wrote it down. Poor quality videos, websites with errors, I mean, you know, sloppy. Resentment, this is a good one, resentment about paying bureaus a commission.
They don’t understand that that’s part of the business. I mean, we can’t make a living otherwise. And they shouldn’t go near a bureau if they feel that way. A focus on themselves instead of what they can do for the group, for the client. Sometimes, you know, you read… Yes, that’s a good way to put it. Let’s see.
Dave Bricker (34:09)
I call that the I infection.
Andrea Gold (34:18)
Of course, the experience speaking, you know, a lot of these people, they just start speaking and it’s like, oh, time to approach a bureau. By the way, I have a whole section in my book on that about when to approach a bureau. Lots of local bookings, as I said, poor presentation skills, obviously, or one thing that a lot of speakers do, and sometimes the experienced ones too, is that they speak AT the audience instead of engaging the audience, which is really boring.
and actually arrogant. So you may be an expert, but you’re talking to people, you wanna connect with them. There’s a few more, let’s see. Topics, cringe -worthy might include topics that aren’t relevant. For example, I have a speaker that a few people have approached me and I speak on how to deliver babies better, pregnancy issues.
or divorce issues. That might be once in a great while, but in 35 years, I’ve never been asked for that, never. So they’re not doing their homework about what that bureau works with. How relevant am I to that bureau as a product? The speakers, you’re like a product. So you want to represent yourself well and be useful. So that’s simple.
Dave Bricker (35:45)
I remember being at a National Speakers Association chapter event and the guest speaker came and said, you’re not a speaker, you’re a subject matter expert. And I just, no, no, no, no, no, a subject matter expert is a lecturer, which is a very different thing than a speaker. Yes, we all have to be experts in something, but to be a subject matter expert, God, those are the people who bored us in college, right? People…
Andrea Gold (35:57)
Hmm.
Great.
I’m sorry.
Dave Bricker (36:14)
who were so passionate about a topic enough to get a degree in it, but had no presentation skills, no storytelling skills, and spent the next decades convincing thousands of students not to pursue that discipline because they took all of the joy out of it. So yeah, there are a lot of… Yeah, there are…
Andrea Gold (36:21)
All right.
That’s great. That’s really funny. That reminds me of my science teachers. That’s a hard class, you know, chemistry and all that. But the science teachers I had in public school were some of the best, most brilliant people and they had great presentation skills. So they probably influenced a lot of people, not me, but they probably influenced a lot of other people.
pursue biology or chemistry or whatever it was because they were fascinating presenters. It’s a gift. It’s something you could develop, but there’s an energy and a passion that you have to have. You either… Yeah, actually I’ve promoted him. He’s been in my proposals. He’s fun. Yeah, he was a fun…
Dave Bricker (37:12)
Well, take a look at Bill Nye, the science guy, right?
Yeah.
Yeah, he makes, so you have to combine your expertise with your presentation skills. That’s critical stuff.
Andrea Gold (37:30)
You know, I want to just share a tip, another tip. So there’s three elements that a speaker could provide. It could be one, two, three, or parts of these. So when somebody asks me for a motivational speaker, I’ll say, do you want some educational element in there? Do you want entertainment as part of it? So it’s motivation, entertainment, and education.
And I got that from Charles Petty, who is a wonderful, funny speaker, just to give him credit. And that has been very helpful when you’re trying to find out what a client really needs, because they don’t always verbalize.
Dave Bricker (38:07)
And I…
And it’s interesting because I just had a conversation about this where you tell people, say, what do you do, Dave? And say, well, I’m a speaker. Oh, you’re a “motivational” speaker. And of course we all go, oh, I don’t know. I mean, am I gonna, we have this bias, right? Motivational speakers teach us that we have to learn to love ourselves. They teach us about thinking positive and they’re like this very tiny bucket of.
Andrea Gold (38:22)
Mmm.
Yeah.
Dave Bricker (38:44)
of motivational topics and at the same time, if we’re not motivational and we’re just educational and we’re not entertaining, then we’re nothing. So the motivating is really a part of it, but that adjective motivational seems to be stuck to the word speaker. So what kind of inquiries do you get along the motivational lines versus
the people who tend to say, no, I’m a business speaker.
how many of the calls that you get, what percentage roughly are people asking for motivational, I need a motivational speaker for my conference, or I’m looking for a business speaker for my event, or just a speaker. What are the requests for?
Andrea Gold (39:20)
ask for motivational?
Yeah, they’re often very general, but I would say one of the most important elements of being a bureau is being a consultant in a way is asking the right questions. So going back to what I said before, I’ll start with that motivational educational entertainment, what percentage of each, if any, and then I’ll ask further, I’ll dig further. You know, what are you trying to accomplish here? What do you want them to walk away with? These are.
questions that speakers normally will ask if they’re working directly with the client too. So it’s really the same, but it’s more important that we ask the questions because we’re once removed from the speaker. We don’t know exactly, you know, what the speaker, every detail of their presentation in order to fine tune it. But we have to find out what the client doesn’t know how to verbalize very often. They don’t, I’ve had clients approach me and say, I want a motivational speaker.
and they end up with a futurist. So it’s like the real key question, okay, I got it. The real key question is what is the purpose of the speaker? What is the real purpose of the speaker? And if they can’t answer that question, they’re not ready to book a speaker.
Dave Bricker (40:49)
Love that.
Andrea Gold (40:51)
That’s really, really important. That’s the key question. And if you’re the speaker, you can ask that too, because you don’t want to put yourself in where you don’t belong either, because you’ll be setting yourself up for failure.
Dave Bricker (41:06)
So Andrea Gold, you have written this book, co -written the book, The Business of Successful Speaking. Tell us a little bit more about that book and how the speakers in our audience can get their hands on it.
Andrea Gold (41:21)
Okay, this book was written, as I said, because every day I was getting people asking me about their fees and their positioning and how to market. And I felt so bad because I really wanted to help everybody. And I had some good answers, but I just, how much time is there in a day? If I answer everybody’s question, how much time does it leave me to market and pursue my own business? So.
my husband and I wrote this book together in order to serve the speaker, really. There are certain questions that we answer in that book that alone are worth thousands of dollars. I have a great story that I want to tell you. So one of the things I said was repurposing your book, your presentation into a book and other products and services was part of just a few pages of this pretty good size book. And…
One of the speakers shared this with me later who had bought the book. She said, I brought this to my accountant and I said, is it really true that the book, you can make a million dollars by doing the things in the book? And she said the accountant looked through the book, this is a CPA, and she said, not only can you make a million dollars,
one way you could make a million dollars in more than one way by doing the things she suggests in the book. So I was like, my gosh, that’s so perfect. So that made me feel really good. Because we weren’t lying when we said you could make a billion dollars because we calculated it out. We made sure it really did work. The book has tips galore. It also has a whole section just for speaker from speakers, experienced speakers.
best practices. That alone is worth the fortune. You don’t have to read the book. You could just go to the section that interests you. Your positioning is really important. We talk about that. Marketing, we talk, it’s not a quote marketing book. This is a book to set up your business foundation as a speaker. Or if you’re thinking of being a speaker, this is a great book for you too because there’s a lot more to this business than you think.
Then you probably realize so the book is comprehensive to a point You will get a lot of specifics and you will get a lot of concepts also so when there’s even like sample contracts in the back— checklists. There’s just a lot of good stuff in there perennial stuff Yeah, it’s full of Yes, your word is Gold
Dave Bricker (44:07)
It’s full of Gold.
Right. Wonderful. So Andrea, you’ve got this great insider’s view on the speaking business. Any closing suggestions for the speakers in our audience?
Andrea Gold (44:16)
Yes.
Yes, I thought about this because, you know, every interview has an end. So forgive me for referring to my notes. One thing I’m going to say, be concise with any communication that you have with the Bureau. And we’ve talked about that. Time is short. So when you’re approaching a Bureau, you better keep that in mind. First and foremost, do your homework before you approach them and don’t approach too soon.
The book talks about that. There’s a saying out there, and I might not have exactly right, but there’s a saying that the bureau approaches you when the speaker no longer needs a bureau. In other words, you’re already established in your business. You should be already established in your business before you approach a bureau. Well established. Because we’re working with cream of the crop. We’re not working with beginners usually.
Some bureaus will take somebody under their wing, I’ve done that, but that’s not the best situation. Consider speaking a real business. This is not a hobby. This is a professional speaking business and there’s a lot of protocols, business management, money management.
customization, also as you get bigger, how are you going to manage your time? How are you going to manage your marketing? There’s a lot to think about. It just doesn’t happen. You have to create systems. Don’t minimize this business. Don’t underestimate this business.
I’m gonna read you something. The most important thing is to get a clear sense of your life purpose. That’s the most important before even, you know, speaking on futuristic stuff or whatever your topic is, leadership, motivation, whatever. Consider your expertise and strengths, blend it with what will help you and your target markets. Make sure your chosen markets are a large enough universe.
and focus on what gives you joy and passion. Because if you don’t love what you do, you’re not going to last in it. And it will show in every presentation. That said, know that whatever you do,
is not cemented in stone for your lifetime. So if you need to make adjustments along the way, make them. But don’t do it just because, you know, the topic of the day will make you a little more money. You gotta stick to, you know, what’s your purpose? What’s your focus? So change as the world changes and grow with it and enjoy it and do it with values and honesty and joy.
Just love it.
Dave Bricker (47:31)
Andrea, thank you so much for being my guest today.
Andrea Gold (47:35)
Hi, it’s my absolute pleasure and I hope that this helps some people.
Dave Bricker (47:41)
Thank you. I’m Dave Bricker, inviting you to explore the world’s most comprehensive resource for speakers and storytellers at www .speakipedia .com. If you’re watching this on social media video, please love, subscribe, and share your comments. If you’re listening to the podcast, keep your hands on the wheel, stay safe, and I’ll see you on the next episode of Speakipedia Media.
