Maria's Bathtime Musings

Is your diary full of gaps?  Would you like to have more bookings but you’re not quite sure where to start? If you do this every single day you’ll have more than enough business in a few months’ time.  Explained in the video.  If you need a bit of help getting started, join us on our next Practical Prospecting Day on the 9th March.  Full details here. If you've found this useful you might find this week’s podcast interview, From Working the Room to Working the Zoom with Will Kintish, very helpful too - https://speakingbusiness.libsyn.com/. Will Kintish was a Chartered Accountant for over 30 years.  For the last 20 years, he has been showing us how to be more effective and confident networkers when attending physical events. Since Covid he has been teaching us how to do the same online. He is the author of the best-selling book “Business Networking -The Survival Guide”. Will shares how networking has changed since the Pandemic, but how it is still possible to successfu

I might have mentioned in the past that I spent over 23 years working in Speaker Bureaus including running my own bureau for 14 of those years, so when it comes to the benefits of working with them I can definitely shed some light and share my experience. For most speakers a Speaker Bureau really can enhance and grow your speaking business.  Here's why: If you've found this useful you might find this week’s podcast interview, How to work with Speaker Bureaus with me, Maria Franzoni, very helpful too - https://speakingbusiness.libsyn.com/. As a speaker, at some point you will consider working with Speaker Bureaus to help you grow your fees and your business. Speaker Bureaus can not only get you higher fees, but they can also get you booked by the right clients and take the admin off your shoulders. When the relationship works your business will really fly. Maria Franzoni shares her top tips and tools for working effectively with Speaker Bureaus. If you are looking to join a Speaker Bureau and be listed w

One of the biggest challenges you face as a speaker is to stand out and be remembered.  There are a lot of speakers out there who may well be talking about the same topics you talk about. So how do you stand out?   What is unique about you?  If you've found this podcast useful you might find this week’s podcast interview, Stand out as a Speaker and Be More Giraffe with Elliot Kay useful - https://speakingbusiness.libsyn.com/. For the last decade, Elliot Kay has worked with Business Owners, Entrepreneurs, MD’s & Investors in order to help them stand out when they are delivering talks and speeches, pitching or looking to win business through delivering speaking. His unique and effective structures, impactful delivery training, and teaching “language that lands” has helped to hone their messaging, perfect their stories, and thus enable them to win more business. He has spoken globally at conferences, events, in front of teams, leaders, and managers on how to pitch and win new business. As

Let's talk visibility.  Being visible and seen by potential bookers is vital to get you the speaking gigs you really want to be getting in 2022.  For many speakers it's their biggest challenge.  If it's something that you are struggling with today's video might help. If you've found this podcast useful you might find this week’s podcast interview, What Speakers can learn from Influencers with Gordon Glenister, very helpful too - https://speakingbusiness.libsyn.com/. Gordon Glenister is a membership and influencer marketing expert. Having led an industry body for 11 years in the promotional product sector, he launched his own consultancy to help trade associations and professional bodies with their strategy. Little did he know he would stumble on the influencer marketing sector. Since the launch of the Branded Content Marketing Association Influence division, Gordon has written a 300-page book on influencer marketing strategy, started his global influence podcast, interviewed some amazing b

Do you make your audience think differently?   The speeches that tend to be paid the most and make you immensely bookable are those that make the audience think differently and offer relatable takeaways.   Turn yourself from a speaking expert into a visionary. How do you do that? I share my thoughts below on how you can achieve this. If you've found this podcast useful you might find this week’s podcast interview, Build better business relationships with video messaging with Ethan Beute, very helpful too - https://speakingbusiness.libsyn.com/. Ethan is Chief Evangelist at BombBomb, a platform to build better business relationships with video messaging. He is also host of The Customer Experience Podcast, and co-author of Rehumanize Your Business and of Human-Centered Communication. Ethan shares the role of video in today’s day-to-day, how digital pollution is affecting speakers and why we need to be human-centered in our digital communication.

When was the last time you re-evaluated your speaking topic?  Have you ever changed it or do you find the thought of it just too daunting? Listening to what is going on in the market, what your clients and target audience need and then tweaking or changing your speaking topic could set you up for a successful speaking business. If you've found this podcast useful you might find this week’s podcast interview, Transforming our Speaking with Philipp Kristian, very helpful too - https://speakingbusiness.libsyn.com/. Philipp Kristian is pioneering human transformation for good. He’s a global TEDx speaker, voice of Gens Y to Z and author of RESET and The Trust Economy. He has been driving innovation and digital transformation for Fortune 500s in APAC and working with CEOs of Singapore’s most successful start-ups on reimagining entire industries. He was a founding member of MetLife’s first global R&D hub, naming it lumenlab and setting a precedent for the industry. He is deeply passionate about p

Content creation can feel overwhelming but if you are looking to grow your speaking business, content is essential. Before planning your content for 2022, I'd like to share some thoughts to help you make content creation easier. If you've found this podcast useful you might find this week’s podcast interview Get out of the Content Creation Hell with Jen Liddy very helpful too - https://speakingbusiness.libsyn.com/. Jen Liddy left her teaching career to avoid a life doomed by grading 9th grade essays. In 2013, she made a terrifying leap into entrepreneurship & learned everything the hard way! Now, as a Content Creation Specialist, she helps people create realistic, sustainable systems to get their content out there - helping them know exactly what to say, how to say it - in a way that’s personalised in their voice!  She helps personal brands get out of content marketing hell by teaching strategies that ease-ify, simplify, and actually make content FUN! As one client said, “she takes th

I recently had a conversation with Roger Fisk, the communications expert accredited with the success of the two Obama Presidential campaigns. I asked him what was the secret behind the Obama success then and the continuing success and popularity 15 years later.  He shared three things that not only work in a Presidential campaign but as a speaker can be applied to your business too to be successful. If you've found this podcast useful you might find this week’s podcast interview Social Media Engagement Advice from President Obama’s Lead Advance Associate, Roger Fisk very helpful too - https://speakingbusiness.libsyn.com/. Roger Fisk is a global communications expert widely credited with key behind the scenes roles in Barack Obama's two presidential campaigns. He served in both Administrations leading trade and diplomatic missions all over the world, and more recently has been putting those experiences to work for Fortune 100 companies, causes, brands and NGOs through his firm New Day Strategy.

Do you struggle to quote or say your fee without hesitating?  Are you comfortable enough to state your fee as a fact? I recently had David Newman as a guest on my podcast and he gave me inspiration for this podcast.  One of the exercises, taken from David's book, 'Do It! Speaking', is called Salt and Pepper your Fee which allows you to get comfortable with quoting your fee.  Have a listen as see if it helps you. If you've found this video useful you might find this week’s podcast interview Do It! Speaking with David Newman very helpful too - https://speakingbusiness.libsyn.com/sb-david-newman. David Newman is a Certified Speaking Professional and serves as Chair of the NSA Million Dollar Speakers Group. He is the author of the business bestsellers Do It! Marketing and Do It! Speaking: 77 Instant-action Ideas to Market, Monetize and Maximize Your Expertise. He is also the creator of the Do It! MBA mentoring program where he helps solo consultants market their smarts and make a bigger dent

Questions are a great way to get to know people better.  They are also a great way to persuade and influence people to work with you. I want to share with you three 'KILLER' questions that I think are really excellent for getting business, all of which I have personally used many times. If you've found this useful you might find this week’s podcast interview What chocolate can teach you about sales with Alison Edgar MBE very helpful too - https://mfl.global/2021/11/23/alison-edgar/ Alison Edgar is known as ‘The Entrepreneur’s Godmother’ to Dragon’s Den and Apprentice Winners.  She’s written two best-selling books Secrets of Successful Sales and SMASH IT! The Art of Getting What YOU Want, which discuss why everything we do is a sale. She’s worked with some of the biggest names in business such as SkyBet, Discovery Channel and EasyJet teaching them her intrapreneurship methodology, helping them to encourage entrepreneurial thinking within their organisations and now she’s here to discuss the imp

Do you know what the top 3 mistakes speakers make when approaching and working with Speaker Bureaus? After nearly 25 years working with and running international Speaker Bureaus, I have witnessed these mistakes time and time again.  Today, I'm going to share these 3 mistakes with you so you can avoid making them. If you've found this useful you might find this week’s podcast interview Prospecting without cold calling with Art Sobczak very helpful too - https://mfl.global/2021/11/16/art-sobczak/ Over the past 30+ years, Art Sobczak has helped salespeople and speakers say the right things to get through, get in, and sell, primarily using the phone. He’s a speaker, trainer, author, podcaster and lifelong salesperson.  He received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Association of Inside Sales Professionals. He has written five books, and his flagship, “Smart Calling- How to Eliminate the Fear, Failure, and Rejection from Cold Calling” is now in its new Third Edition and is the s

I am frequently asked when and how a speaker should increase their speaking fees.   It is so important to review your fees on a regular basis but many speakers fear a drop in bookings if they increase their fee.  Does your fee reflect the value that you bring to clients? Here I share my thoughts on when and how you should increase your fees. If you've found this useful, you might find this week's podcast interview How to become a Referable Speaker with Andrew Davis very helpful too - https://mfl.global/2021/11/09/andrew-davis/ Andrew Davis is a bestselling author and keynote speaker. Before building and selling a thriving digital marketing agency, he produced for NBC and worked for The Muppets. He's appeared in the New York Times and on the Today Show. He's crafted documentary films and award-winning content for tiny start-ups and Fortune 500 brands. Today, he teaches business leaders how to grow their businesses, transform their cities, and leave their legacy. In his podcast he shares s

I love gadgets, tools and software, don't you? I drive my team nuts constantly trying them out and switching our processes!   I'm going to share with you some of my favourites as well as giving you a full list of all the tools we use in our business. If you've found this useful, you might find this week's podcast interview with Taylorr Payne of interest - CRM's - Worth it or a waste of time and money? - https://mfl.global/2021/11/02/taylorr-payne/ Taylorr Payne is the CEO and Co-Founder of SpeakerFlow, a software and coaching company that helps experts master the business aspects of thought leadership. An award-winning marketer and sales professional, his goal is to share how business owners can use data to streamline their revenue channels and, in doing so, sell more, serve better, and save time. Taylorr shares the function of a CRM in a speaker’s business, why we are underutilising our CRM’s, how speakers can get their biggest ROI from using a CRM and the 3 step process for scaling your speaking

Is it possible to have a seven figure speaking business without automation, without paid ads, without spending a fortune on SEO or pay per click or whatever you want to call it, any of that?  Basically, can you build a seven figure speaking business without the bells and whistles?  Just through building strong relationships.   Find out how Jamil Qureshi did just that and if you are intrigued, listen to his podcast: https://mfl.global/2021/10/26/jamil-qureshi/ Jamil Qureshi is a practitioner of performance psychology, an expert in high performing teams and cultural change and has a seven-figure speaking business. He shares how he got started as a speaker, where his bookings come from and how he has continued to grow his speaking business even in a pandemic.

Are you a speaker who creates a customised presentation for every client or do you have a signature talk, a speech that you can recite from memory, that's perfected? There is no right or wrong answer.  Here are my thoughts: If you've found this useful you might find this week’s podcast interview Improv your Speaking Business with Neil Mullarkey, very helpful too - https://mfl.global/2021/10/19/neil-mullarkey/. Neil is a unique communication expert. With Mike Myers he co-founded the Comedy Store Players, and still performs every Sunday with them in London. Neil was in a couple of Austin Powers movies. Nowadays he travels the world teaching improv and more to leaders and groups, as well as presentation skills.  His book, 'Seven Steps to Improve your People Skills' was published in 2017. And, yes, Mullarkey is his real name. Neil shares with us what improv is, how improv it can help us in life and business, why some people are scared of it and there's even some on air improv!

This week I bring amazing news for the Speaking Industry. The market is hot, it's picked up, in fact so much so that many of my Speaker Bureau colleagues are recording booking figures higher than in 2019. WOW!  After a very tough 18 months, this is just the news we have all been waiting for.  The even better news is that 2022 is looking very positive too.  So are you making the most of this fabulous news?  Are you out there prospecting, talking to clients, talking to prospects and saying, do you need my help? Do you need my services? Because if you aren't, you're going to miss out. If you've found this video useful you might find this week’s podcast interview How to market yourself as an international speaker with Frank Furness, very helpful too - https://mfl.global/2021/10/05/frank-furness/ Frank Furness is an international specialist in sales, technology, social media and goal setting and how they work in tandem to produce great results for organisations. He is Past President of the Pro

Do you begin with the end in mind when it comes to your speaking business? Are you clear on where you want to be in your speaking business?  It’s vital that you have a clear sense of direction and that all the pieces of your speaking business fit together to take you there. I'm talking about the strategy of your speaking. What is your thinking? What direction are you going in? What do you want your speaking business to look like, say in a year, three years, five years? And are you going in that direction so that you are totally clear? Or does your business look more like Monty Python's race for people with no sense of direction. If you would like to learn about a successful speaker's speaking business strategy do listen into James Taylor's recent recording with me- https://mfl.global/2021/09/28/james-taylor-podcast/ ‎ James Taylor has grown his speaking business from zero to high six figures in a mere three years and through a pandemic.  It’s not often that a successful speaker commanding big

This is number five of a series of five podcasts. We've been looking at five different ways that you can get more business from every client and the various stages. So let me recap on one to four, before we talk about number five. Number one is at the enquiry stage. Number two is at time of proposal. Number three is at the stage of briefing, once you've been booked. Number four is when you're actually delivering your content, delivering your masterclass, keynote, whatever it happens to be. And number five obviously is going to be after you've done a great job.  And of course you'll have done a great job, you've delivered on the objective, you've got a happy client. Lots of things you can do, so many actions you can take to get more work. Let me give you a couple.

I love to look at ways to get more business from each client because by doing so, I know that I can make a bigger impact, I can make a bigger change. It's very hard to take a client from A to B with just a speech or just a workshop. But if you can work longer with them, you can do so much more. And part of that is really understanding what that client needs, what else you can do for them. In the session, you can actually find out so much more about your clients and find opportunities to work with them more. Now, this isn't something you can do in the keynote, but this is something that you can do in a less formal session, in a workshop or a masterclass, an internal session, even a lunch and learn. Have a listen to learn just how to create opportunities from you are still presenting.

You've been booked, you're ready to go, and now the client wants to have a briefing call.  The briefing call will give you so much more information about where the client is, what's going on for them in the industry, in their company and maybe give you some insights to more potential opportunities.  Not only can you use the briefing to absolutely nail your content, customise it, make it the best it possibly can and answer what the client wants, you can definitely find more opportunities. Let's look at this briefing and how you can find opportunities within it.