Networking Unleashed: Building Profitable Connections. An Interview with Antoniette Roze and Michael A Forman
- mforman521
- 3 minutes ago
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Welcome to Networking Unleashed, building Profitable Connections, the show where relationships become revenue and connections, fuel results. I'm your host, Michael Forman, and today we're diving into the business side of speaking how experts can turn their voice into consistent income into a consistent income source.
My guest is the author of Booked, banked, and In Demand and Breaking and Break the Booking Ceiling, and she helps subject matter experts create their own stage revenue stream and speaking Empire. We'll explore how networking is the secret ingredient to booking more engagements. Building. I'm sorry.
Building more engagements, building visibility that converts and creating a sustainable business around your expertise. If you ever wanted to leverage your knowledge, expand your influence, and make speaking a real business, not just a side hustle, this episode is for you. I'd like to welcome today, and I'm sorry, and Tony.
And if I'm mispronouncing that first name I'm terribly sorry. But I'd like to bring you onto the podcast. Give us a little bit about your background and just welcome to the podcast. Thank you for having me Mi Michael, that was a beautiful introduction. It's Anton at Rose and it's a mouthful, so no worries on that at all.
I'm happy to be here. I love your podcast. And networking unleashed, building profitable connections. I think communication is key in business and in life in general. So I'm happy to dive right in. Perfect. Perfect. So I came up with 10 questions which we're gonna go back and forth with, but we'll see where it goes.
So first one, you say, speaking should be a business model, not just a side hustle. What's the single biggest mindset shift someone must make to treat it that way? Really excellent question, and this is key, right? Many, many of the clients that I work with are high achievers, high performers in some area.
Maybe they've devoted their careers to being A-C-E-O-A doctor. Even have an attorney, whatever it might be, and they come to a place where they they've spoken quite a bit in the line of their profession and now they wanna just pass the torch on the day to day and step more into the speaking side of their business model.
And their revenue model. I think the biggest misconception I know the biggest misconception is they can. Get an agent, get on a few bureaus, and they're fabulous. And they've got some really important content, so it's just gonna work for them. And it's not you it's parallel to really great college football player, wanting to make the NFL or somebody who has.
Was the star in their high school or community theater and they want, wanna make it big in Hollywood, right? There are, there's beautiful talent out there who may never actually make it to those higher echelons of those types of careers. And it's really similar with speakers. So when you come in, just thinking I'm gonna have somebody else throw me some opportunities and it's all gonna come together and snowball from there.
That is, you're in for disappointment. It if you go in seeing the long run, right? Because there's a ramp to any business that you build. Knowing that there's gonna be some groundwork that has to be laid, and there's gonna have to be some promotion that has to happen for you to catch on. And then you're off to the races, right?
So when you treat speaking and corporate training, something you and I were speaking about just before going on air as a business is gonna work for you. But you can't just, you can't just let's liken it to say. You want a corner street gas station, right? You can't just say, I want a gas station, but I want somebody else to build it for me and me reap all the benefits.
There's some work and some investment of your time, resources, and energy that needs to go in upfront. However, in the speaking and corporate training industry when a speaker makes it, it's a six, seven, sometimes eight figure. Career. So if they can see the bigger picture and be willing to put out that effort, then it's going to happen for them.
If they think that they're just gonna join some bureaus and grab an agent, that's all part of the ecosystem, but that's just a small part of that whole equation. So that's what I mean by that. That, that's perfect. That's a perfect analogy. I've only been speaking full time for about three years, and I work from eight in the morning till about five in the evening, and I prospect for a full hour and a half to two hours every day.
Yeah, and I've owned my own businesses, I've owned pizzerias, restaurants, the whole thing, and I'm not quite sure which one takes up more time. Okay. So I would sure love some of that pizza. Yeah. Listen, we had New York pizza. My, my brothers and I owned the pizzeria and there's, there was we pizza.
I'm telling you, I'm down in Georgia now and they don't hold the candle. No. My mom's from Brooklyn and they knew pizza. Yep. Ab absolutely. Absolutely. Okay, so walk us through the first three revenue streams an expert should build when turning speaking into a business and which one should they prioritize and why?
Beautiful question. And a very relevant and important question. So yes, there's those fabulous keynote checks, right? And they're a little bit romanticized. Ooh, they got a $15,000 check for an hour talk. How? How incredible. That hour talk took many hours. Number one tip. To get the gig and then to work out all the negotiation details and then the po, the pre and post details, right?
So many hours right there, of course, many hours preparing for the talk itself and then travel and all the things. So there's a whole lot more to it then. You got $15,000 for an hour of your time. Side note, really quick before I go on from there. No one ever pays you for an hour of your time.
They're paying for the decades that brought you to those unique solutions and point of views that you can offer that might spark some. Strategies within those who are there, right? And troubleshoot some problems for an organization or a person sitting in the audience. One, one new idea can completely change the whole course, the trajectory of either their life or their career.
That's what these organizers and event planners, that's what they're looking for. That's what they're paying for. They're not paying for your hour. So that's another kind of misnomer. And speakers step into, wow, this is a really great career because I get paid $15,000 an hour. There's a whole lot more that goes into that ecosystem.
Speaking of that ecosystem, the most successful speakers and corporate trainers don't. Only go for that keynote check. And this actually answers your first question and your second question because if you're only after that keynote check, great, you'll get there. But you're putting a, you're leaving a whole lot of not only income, but also impact on the table.
So a couple of other things that I like to see. There's every different speaker creates their own ecosystem. It really needs to be in alignment with them. Their a, their archetype, who they are, what they bring to the table. Number two, who it is that they're gonna be creating these solutions for. Their avatar.
We all heard of that. But then also it needs to be in alignment with their non-negotiables the kind of lifestyle that they wanna build for themselves. All of these pieces need to go together, right? So that said, it's gonna be different for each speaker what those other revenue streams are, right?
Here are some examples, some very common and strong examples. Number one. Consulting packages. Obviously you go into an organization and you bring forth some ideas, some possibilities, some solutions to whatever problem that they're facing. Maybe it's retention maybe it's team communication, right?
Breakdowns in SOPs or flows, whatever it might be. You bring those solutions, but you in a talk, you can really only present possibilities. You really can't roll up your sleeves and get much done right in one sitting, so you can. I'm 15, do thousand dollars for a talk, or you can work with me in a set of three sessions with your leadership teams after the talk for, X many dollars.
That is super powerful because once they hear your solutions, see the possibilities, then yeah, they wanna sit down at the table with you and say, okay, now how do we put this into action? How do we implement this? So that is an obvious. Way to package your fee sheet. The other thing that let's say you do happen to be a speaker or a corporate trainer that cannot afford.
The on-ramp and the on-ramp for a prosperous speaking career is about a year to 18 months. Sometimes shorter, sometimes longer, depending on a lot of factors. But if you go into it seeing, there's gonna be an on-ramp, but then once you put that pedal to the metal, as long you never take your. Foot off the gas, then you'll never have to re-enter that on ramp again because you're reaping the fruits now of the labors that were happened six months ago or a year ago.
So it's always a kind of a forward, forward moving momentum. But let's say you don't have that six months, a year, or 18 months, you need to earn money right now. As you're on the on-ramp, some of the things that I love to see. Speakers and corporate trainers do is to create something that you've done very well.
Digital courses. You can author a book. I wouldn't think, I wouldn't, I would caution putting energy there until you are financially stable and you're not hurting for money. 'cause it's not going it's a definite door opener. It's an authority booster and you. It's not really a revenue maker direct revenue maker.
It can help you open doors to other revenue opportunities. Just caution. A lot of people think, oh, I'm gonna write a book and then I'll hire you to get me on the stages. It's backwards. One of the, there's two ways for immediate income for speakers. Number one is some sort of product or service that they can be offering.
In the meanwhile, write a digital course, workshops, live workshops, create your own events, do those kinds of things, but also you can create, a proposal for sponsors to sponsor you to go and speak at unpaid events or unpaid opportunities. And you don't have to overtly promote a product or service, but you're basically representing another company that kind of aligns with your theme, who you are, what you're about.
Obviously a product or service that you. Believe has integrity and that you believe in. And I have seen quite a few speakers, even established speakers, but definitely emerging speakers utilize some sponsorships to get their. Get those opportunities that are otherwise unpaid, paid as they're building their career.
So there, there's all kinds of ways that you can go about it. Of course, that would be me rolling up my sleeves with you and figuring out what that perfect formula is for you. But there's certainly ways out there where there's a will, there's a way. Very good very good. That, that should give a lot of people, many speakers, different ways to think about their revenue stream while they're building their speaking business.
And then some, I've. Authored a book. I have eight digital courses. I have all that going. I created a networking group per se that meets every week. So all these little things, but I haven't even thought of. Thank you for that. And you did mention my book book Banked and in Demand, and I just wanted to give a little caveat there because it's.
Perfect to what we're talking about right now. It has been put on. Side. So I'm in the midst of writing it, and I've been writing it for about three years. I love it. It's actually so close to being done, but anytime bigger projects come along, it's the first thing to be put to the side because yes, it's a passion project.
I absolutely love it for the people who, for whatever reason, can't hire me. They're not a. Fit so they're not accepted into the agency or there is an upfront investment to work with me on an active level. So maybe they don't wanna make the investment. I still want them to have what they need to really get themselves on that on ramp, moving in the right direction so they don't circle the mountain and waste a lot of years n not really getting to the, those milestones that they wanna get to.
So it's in the works, but I just wanted to clarify. It's not published yet. Okay. Okay. I, that was my I read that wrong because I thought it was already published, but that's a book that I think we're all waiting for, so we'll see. All right. Okay. Break the booking ceiling. What are the top three mistakes experts make that keep them from getting paid stages, and how do they fix it?
There's two things that come to mind immediately. The first is obvious and you re you. Alluded to it earlier, I commend you. You are one of the very few speakers who are consistent in scheduling in that daily outreach, and that just has to happen. In our ecosystem we know the numbers, so it takes a lot more than you think, than I'm not talking about you, but then the average speaker out there.
Believes right. I'm gonna put out 10 pitches a month, maybe 50 pitches a month, and that's gonna generate me some paid speaking opportunities. No, it takes hundreds every single month. And on top of it, that mounts because you've got the hundreds that you reached out to, let's say in July. And then you need to follow up with them in August while you're reaching out to that whole new set of.
Opportunities in August. So it just mounts that way. They underestimate how much it really takes to get that engine fueled and running for them to get that. Income certainty as a speaker or corporate trainer, it's well worth it 'cause it, the rewards are very big. But if you want those consistent three to five engagements booked on your calendar that you can count on month after month, unless you're taking December off.
But you still don't let your foot off the gas in December because you're gonna feel it in the spring. If you do, you've got somebody working in the background for you. Still doing that outreach. Day after day. It is rote. And it's a lot of work as I know, it, the average speaker can't do it on their own.
That's where we step in. We make sure that gets done for them. We manage the whole. Process for them so that they can be a speaker, a corporate trainer, they can be an author, right? Be the thing that is more in their lane without compromising that level of constant, consistent outreach. That's what it takes.
It takes hundreds of touch points every single month to ensure that in time you're gonna have that income certainty and that booked out calendar on a regular basis. So that's number one. Oh my goodness. Repeat the last part of your question. Okay. The three mistakes experts make when what are the top three mistakes?
Okay. Sorry, go ahead. All right, thank you. The other mistake is they think that displaying their fabulousness. Is gonna get them a gig. Maybe they were a CEO or an executive. Let's not CEO, let's say they were an executive of a Fortune 50. Let's say it's an executive of Microsoft or Google and they have spent 30 years with the company.
They've obviously got a lot of leadership. Material to share and impart with other corporations. That's highly valuable, right? But when you lead with I'm fabulous, you are not speaking to what the organizer needs to decide to book you. So you speak to the problem in the solution, the outcome, the ultimate outcome you lead with outcome.
Then you back it up with credential. Many speakers go out there and they basically are giving their resumes, like applying for a job, right? They're giving their resume everywhere. That's not it. You do your research on the company. And the opportunity, let's say it's a company that has an annual, c-suite retreat, that they take their lead, their top leaders to. You do a little as much research as you're able to on that particular retreat, who spoke at it the, in the previous years, who was hired to speak. And tho there's easy ways to figure that out. A little bit of a insider insights there.
But there are ways to figure that out and it really gives you an idea of. What they like to accomplish during those retreats. And then when you create that program proposal or just that introduction to begin with, it's all about meeting the need and then backing it up. Of course with credential and clout and social proof and testimonials and all of those things.
But those come after, once they real, once they realize you can come and be an answer to. A problem that they have then you're worth it because one shift that you make for an organization or an event planner can save them. Untold millions. I'm speaking specifically to organizations. You bring in a fresh idea or a fresh solution to this ongoing problem that they've been facing.
It can save them untold millions and headaches even when it comes to retention. There's studies out there that say how much just replacing one key employee can cost an organization in terms not only in terms of money, but in, interruption in the flow of the whole process. So they know that.
They just need to know you are a sure bet for an answer to a problem that they're facing. And then that $15,000 is peanuts to them. If you go in, I'm fabulous, then yeah, prove to me why I wanna give you $15,000, $20,000, 25,000, whatever it might be, because then you're. You're proving your worth in a whole different way versus showing them that there are other ways to approach this problem of absenteeism of, I've been using the example of retention or of lack of internal communication streams, those kinds of things.
Those are big problems within major organizations, so as long as they can see, you are a sure bet to. An answer to something that they are struggling with, the problem that they're facing then you are, do you throw yourself away on top of that big stack of other people vying for that particular opportunity?
That that's great. That's great advice. You're saying that really when you're a speaker or doing a workshop or anything else like that, it's not just answering an email. You have to do research. You do research into the company, you do research into the retreat, if that's what the workshop.
Is, and you have to work. So it may take you a little bit before you answer that email, but there's a whole lot more work that goes into it, and that's what I have found. But it's it's much more enjoyable for the speaker to go in there and knowing that they have an answer to their problem. Because if they really like you that much and you brought an answer to their problem, you know what, we'll invite you back.
I have one more if you'd like one more. Sure. Absolutely. First I'd like to speak to what you said you're spot on Michael for sure. I also have a podcast that's in it's ranked in the top 10% and what there's 5.5 million podcasts worldwide, so I'm super proud of that, but not necessarily because I'm so fabulous.
It's more because it's only about an a year and eight months old and. We didn't try to grow to those ranks. We were just speaking to the problems within the speaking industry, and that's what attracted the people. So it, that's what excites me the most, right? It just proves my, my, mode of operation.
So that's been a lot of fun. It's speak packed, speak packed.com later. I'm sure we'll talk about it. But it's specifically for speakers and corporate trainers and for me to have that kind of show, I have to understand my audience my speakers and corporate trainers in order to track them at all and be before coming on your podcast.
I made sure to listen to some of your episodes. By the way. I really like the AI one. We can talk about that later. That was the recent AI one was very good. But networking unleashed, building profitable connections. If I were to just show up and just then it would be all about me. I'd never looked at your podcast.
I'd never listened to it. I never did any homework on you or the show prior to even accepting this opportunity. Thank you for the invitation. Number one, it's highly rude, but also it's highly unprofessional. How many more speakers show up to an actual. Speaking opportunity paid or, and every speaking opportunity is paid.
We'll talk about that here in a moment. It's just, what's it paid? WWW, what is the payment? We can talk about that, but I, just show up because I'm fabulous and I give my talk, but with no interaction with the audience before. Maybe even during or after I just give my spiel and I get off.
That is not very effective. It's not very memorable, and organizers don't really appreciate it. So do your homework. It, whether it's on a podcast, do your homework right. When somebody shows up to my show and they've never even listened to a podcast, sometimes I just shut down the whole thing because it just isn't.
If they don't understand me and my show and my audience, then to me that's the, that just shows a real lack of professionalism. So that's really your job. As a speaker to know your business, to know your audiences, and every audience is different. The third mistake that I'll share and then oh, we can move on, is those speakers who quote unquote won't speak for free they're looking at it wrong.
And I get it. We've all done those free talks and they can get really tiring. But if you are strategic and you see the bigger picture and you're looking at it there are no free engagements. You may not get that keynote check. But there are so many. There's so much other value in a given speaking opportunity.
If it is, you do your homework and it's filled with right fit people, decision makers or people who you, you can shake hands with open doors to other opportunities for both sides, for them and for you, right? That is invaluable. Generally, your next best engagement comes from your last best engagement.
So you're really hurting yourself if you say, I'm not gonna speak to, for, to associations, or, I'm not gonna speak to local business groups because they're not paying me. That's very shortsighted. If you go number one, there are ways to monetize it. Then, that's a whole talk in itself.
But the keynote check is one portion of. A payment that you get for any engagement paid by host or not. So really rethink what are those key relationships within the industry that I need. To build, how do I keep myself top of mind? So I'm the obvious choice when the opportunity arises. 'cause timing is everything.
Positioning is everything. So positioning, visibility, timing, that can only happen when you're getting yourself out there virtually or in person. Staying top of mind. So that's really another big mistake that I'm just gonna hold out for that 15, 20, 20 $5,000 keynote and nothing less will do.
Kind of missing. You're miss you're missing the bigger picture. Yep. You're missing a whole lot because as you're talking, I'm thinking about what I've gone through and all of my free speaking engagements. I'm this month, October. It's almost October. I have a speaking engagement with a local business association that obviously it's free, but I don't think about that.
I think about a, who I'm talking to, but their network of people. Of the people that are there. So I'm not just talking to them, I'm talking to their networks. And the last keynote it was a workshop, last workshop that I did. I got there ear. Listen, I'm a firm believer in getting there early. If you're earlier on time, if you're on time, you're late.
Amen. That's the way that, that's the way that I grew up the military in me, right? But before my sessions began, I went to the back of the room. And I was talking with everybody, speaking with people. So when I got up on stage, I went, oh he's the speaker, and I made something to say that Jack in the back of the room, he had this problem and let me tell you, everybody has that problem.
And I went on further. And so that brought the back of the room upfront and it just. Yeah. The way they look at it. Yeah. And I find that more enjoyable. Listen, I've, I love speaking. I have a passion for speaking, and when I get out in front of everybody, I open. That's my playtime because it's, I love so much. Yeah. Okay. So how do you decide whether to chase visibility, more eyes versus viability, actual income? Give me a real metric or rule that you use. So I see it a little bit differently. I don't see it as chasing visibility or viability. I see it as being visible and viable, right?
So as long as you're visible, you're viable, you can be the best thing, the best absolute speaker, train, or trainer for an opportunity. But if you're not findable you're not positioned right then. You're not viable, right? So they go hand in hand and it's part of the job, but there's always gonna be part of every career.
That may not be the, IM immediate income earner but it is what makes you viable. Visibility makes you viable. So get yourself out there in all the right places, not indiscriminately. Really hone in on who you can help most, who you love. Helping. And that's the fir, that's the first order of business.
When we get a new client, it's three intensive sessions of hammering all of that out. 'cause we don't wanna build an empire for you that you're going to resent once you actually achieve that success. We wanna build the empire you actually wanna live in long term. So you can only know that by s.
Seeing all of those pieces of the puzzle. And then once you do, then you are willing to do that outer bank, I guess we can call it. Part of what gets you the core of what you're actually after and positioning and visibility are. They go along with the job. There's no way to be a sought after speaker or corporate trainer without it.
You need to be putting out content, free content on a regular basis, whether it's through. Getting on other people's podcasts, showing up at your local business your regional, business meetings creating social posts in, in, in the right settings, the right groups. LinkedIn. If you're not on LinkedIn and you're a speaker or corporate trainer, what, why aren't you on LinkedIn?
There's just it's one and the same. Visibility positioning equals viability. That's so true. I write articles for an online magazine. It's called Speaker edge.io. And on there I write about three articles a week, and I do that just for name recognition. Just and it was true because last month a person from Las Vegas was talking to this person in California and he asked me, who is Michael Foreman?
Because his name is all over the place. And so it, it was really, so that's, so it's working. So I'm writing those articles for name recognition. You bring up a really good, really, very vital point. And that is Michael, that somebody's job is actually on the line to choose you over the next guy. Their job is at jeopardy.
So the more Googleable you are the more the. Featured you are by other people. Other people took a risk on you, then that puts that organizer at ease and it will bump you in positioning for that particular speaking opportunity. So you're doing it right Michael. You should fill up at least three pages If somebody Googles your name, 'cause they're gonna take your.
Your speaker assets, write your press kit, all the beautiful things, great. They have those. You're gonna set it aside and what are they gonna do? They're gonna Google your name and if you're out there face after face, you've been on podcasts, you have magazine articles out there, all the things that it, that really puts 'em at ease.
You've got some maybe media spots, A-B-C-N-B-C, whatever Fox News had you on and featured you. Then they took a risk on you. You must, nobody likes to be the first. So if they Google your name and you might have two popups and it's your own website, right then, that's gonna be a little bit more unsettling for that organizer.
It, it's just the, it's just the way of human nature, by the way. Yes, have a LinkedIn profile, but going back to what you said about that newsletter, there's all also ways to create your own. LinkedIn has an incredible free feature for anybody. You don't even have to have the paid version of LinkedIn.
To do this, and that is to create a LinkedIn newsletter and every single new connection that you get they send out an invitation to your newsletter. We have, as a matter of fact, Michael, I might like for you to be a guest author for a article, but we have Keynoters High Impact Edge. I can't tell you how much feedback.
I get from that and when we're late, which isn't very often, we hear it, so you know that there are people really waiting for that content. That is one more layer of keeping you searchable, findable, and top of mind, and also really showcasing your point of view and the solutions that you bring and the way that you bring it, your delivery style, all of those things.
So it okay if you go to speaker edge.io and read some of my articles, I'd love to know what you think. Okay. And you go to Keynoter High Impact Edge in LinkedIn and I'm definitely gonna go to speaker oops. Speaker edge.io. edge.io. Yeah. Yep. Go. Good. We'll do that and we'll report back. Okay.
Sounds good. Sounds good. Okay tell us about a time you turned a single speaking gig into multiple consistent income streams, and what was your exact playbook? Okay. Say that, say the question one more time. Tell us about a time you turned a single speaking gig into multiple consistent income streams.
Okay. This is a really, tell us what your playbook was. I have an example. Yeah. Of, not this summer, but last summer. Was it last summer or the summer before? Time blends together so fast. Anyhow, I was a speaker at an engagement. Now my home base is in Texas, so I flew to Florida at a very, to a very extremely expensive hotel.
And it was like $45 a day just to park there. Got a room at the hotel and. I spo, so I only did was a, it was a unpaid by host talk, but the only reason, there were two reasons why I accept it. Number one, I never book my speakers for events that I'm not familiar with. So I wasn't familiar with this one.
It was fairly new, however it looked like. All the pieces were there. So I was interested enough to go and I thought, if I'm gonna be there, why not speak as well? So that was one reason. And. The other reason was the organizer said that they had expected 8,500 people to be in the audience. When I spoke to the organizer a month out, they were, she told me that they had sold 6,500 tickets.
So I'm like, great. I knew there was gonna be multiple stages at all times, but I expected about, maybe a thousand, maybe 12, 1200 people in my audience, which that's that to me. That's a six, that's a six figure event for me. Even not getting paycheck from the. Host in the way that I do it.
So I accepted, I went there. They gave me a certain number of tickets to give away. So of course I gave them away to my speakers. Three of my speakers took me up on it. They also went to the very expensive hotel, right? To enjoy this opportunity, see me speak all the things. We get there and it's just so beautifully done.
They've got the archways, all the banners. They've taken up a good portion of this. Pretty big. The whole like two or three floors of this big hotel and there's breakout rooms. Everything is done imp impeccably and I come from the producer space. I used to produce large scale events. There was a whole vendor hall with tons of vendors.
The problem was I was, all of us were just seeing. Speaker, vendor sponsor lanyards. We weren't seeing any attend attendee lanyards, and it was pretty thin. Like where's the people? We were here. Where are those 6,500? 8,500 people. Pretty quickly in, we realized that we were duped, and I don't think that the organizers meant to dupe us.
They just made a critical mistake, which. A seasoned producer like me would know but they didn't, for whatever reason, what they had done is yes, they sold the $6,500 tickets. 6,500 tickets, but they sold them to in groupings to corporations and organizations who then handed out the tickets to their employees who never even asked to go to this event.
They weren't gonna lose work and get on an airplane and fly to this very expensive hotel to go to an event they never even asked to go to. So it was a little bit deceptive there. I have never, Michael, ever, in my 30 years in the industry, seen. A vendor floor, an exhibit floor revolt. There was screaming, there was throwing of things these people flew from in, from all over the world with, boxes and boxes of their wares, believing that it was gonna be a pretty substantial event.
And. Anyway, there was a lawsuit after all the things, but I decided instead of going down that route, I was just gonna make the best of it. There were some really fabulous speakers, of course, I wanted to shake hands with. Really long story short when I got up on my stage, which I expected to have hundreds, if not, 1200 people in my audience, I had 10.
Three of which were my own speakers. So I really only had seven. But because of the way that I do things, it was a $33,000 event for me. It was still a disappointment because I expected a lot more than that. But not only that, the relationships I made, I still have, and the networking that I was able to do during that time has paid off in, in some significant other ways.
So it's all about attitude. It's all about that whole ecosystem, that diversity that we talked about coming into this interview, in contrast, there was a, there were other speakers who were just so upset. They just wanted to get through their talk and leave. And one good example of that was this brilliant doctor who gave this brilliant talk.
All of my speakers actually went to this talk. I wanted to be there, but they had me MCing as well. So I, I didn't get to go to this particular one, but something they shared with me at the end of it was this woman was so visibly upset that she had four people in her audience, three people of which were my speakers that she just wanted to get through it and get out of there.
She was really good. And the other person who was in the room is how do we get ahold of you? How can we, how can we go next step with you? And she's there's my Instagram. Or whatever it was. That could have been a client, one new client from an opportunity. The lifetime value of that one client who they refer to you what they.
The next levels they may go with you can really equate to a hundred thousand dollars, just depending on who you are and what you offer. So to, to me, she she spied herself because the event wasn't exactly as she had hoped. And most events won't be. They're gonna be, there's gonna be some things, you're not gonna have the microphone you thought you're gonna have.
There's gonna be some things. I think that flexibility and making lemon outta lemonade or what? Lemonade outta lemons, making lemonade out of lemons is an art and a gift if you are a speaker with that kind of attitude. Absolutely. I, so many things came through my mind as you're telling me that story.
And one to mind was when I got there early and half the staff didn't show up and I was there helping them clean up, set the tables, set the chairs, you don't have to do this. You're a speaker. I said, yep, I'm doing whatever I can to make it easier on you. And they were so thankful.
So thankful. Yes. Love it. Love it. I I think I miscalculated my time today. Michael, I do have a hard stop in about three minutes. Okay. So lemme just ask you the last question. We're gonna bring this full circle for experts who are stretched thin. What's the one automation or outsource you'd implement?
Implement first to free up time, and grow revenue. Okay, that's it, right? That's the foundation of everything. That grind, that daily grind. Make sure you've got all your business systems in place. That means you have to have a real CRM. You have to have automations in place. Not that I encourage you, automate outreach.
You can never, Audi automate, never effectively automate unless you happen to be a celebrity and just throwing your name out there. But the. Most of us, right? Cannot automate re relationships effectively. So that needs to be hand touched, but you can automate the nurture sequences, the follow ups later, right?
To stay top of mind, you need to have your pipelines and just all of those business systems. Make sure you have those in place. You should have an assistant if you're serious, you have a, you have an assistant, right? If you don't wanna deal with any of that, contact me. And that's what we do, and we will do that with and for you, you need to be freed up to be that.
Influencer that thought leader. If you're down here in the mire of the grind and it, and that's what it takes running that machine. You wanna be driving the machine. You don't want to be the machine. And number one, that's a big mistake that holds a lot of speakers back is to either underestimate the importance of the machine.
Or trying to run it themselves because it's just not sustainable long term. Sometimes we've gotta do that when we're first starting out. Burn the candle at both ends, but do it in a way that you're working yourself out of that job so that you can bring on a team like me like my organization, WPC Speakers global to be able to link arms with you and do that right alongside with you.
Antonio, I want to tell you, this was fantastic. I could talk to you for another two hours about follow up, about networking, about everything else. What is the best way for somebody to get hold of you if they want to be coached, they want your services, whatever they want, how, what's the best way they get a hold of you?
Thank you for that, Michael. So if you'd like to be interviewed by me to see if you're a good fit for my roster, there's no cost. Michael, I got to interview you, which I loved. I loved learning more about you. That you can just go to speaker booker.com and make an appointment.
You, you do have to apply for an appointment. But if it seems like you're. You're a good fit for our agency. I will certainly meet with you and we can talk further. Other than that, be sure to find me on LinkedIn, look up Keynoters High Impact Edge and read my newsletter and go to speak, packed Speak, and then packed as if as in we're all on this journey to impact with the power of our voice.
Speak pact.com or just look us up on any major. Podcast platform and follow us. I think I really appreciate that you follow our podcast, Michael, and you shared with me that you have really gleaned some insights that are just those deep kind of insider insights that you only get from those who have already gone before you and have done the journey ahead of you.
I love your podcast. I just, I listen to them very carefully and I get so much information from it. You have no idea. But anyway, thank you very much for coming on the podcast, and I hope to speak with you soon. Thank you, Michael. It was a pleasure. Lots of fun.
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Folks. A huge thank you to our guests for sharing such incredible insights today, and of course, a big shout out to you, our amazing listeners, for tuning in and spending your time with us. If you're interested in my digital courses being coached or having me come and talk to your company, just go to MichaelAForman.com and fill out the request form.
Remember, networking isn't about being perfect. It's about being present. So take what you've learned today, get out there and make some meaningful connections. If you've enjoyed this episode, please don't forget to subscribe. Leave us a review. Share it with someone who could use a little networking inspiration.
Let's keep the conversation going. You can find me on Apple, Spotify, Pandora, YouTube, or my website michaelaforman.com/podcast.
Michael is a business networking expert specializing in enhancing professionals' networking and communication skills to drive profitability. As a leading authority in this field, he is highly sought after for his dynamic presentations and workshops. His extensive experience has consistently led to significant improvements in corporate profitability by empowering individuals and organizations to connect more effectively and efficiently.
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