I just received my Regents of Bachelor Arts degree from Concord University in December 2014.
I was honorably discharged from The U.S. Army in July 2007. I did one tour of Iraq during the initial ground invasion in March of 2003. I was a full-time recruiter for the U.S. Army Reserve from December 2005 to my ETS date. I left the Army as a Sergeant E-5 rank. I also have an Associate of Applied Science in Automotive Technology from West Virginia University Institute of Technology.
Thank You,
David Sharpe
Answers
David,
Thank you for your service. I don't want to dampen your ambitions, but I will ell you I have a friend that has been doing "Life Skills" public speaking for about 25 years. She has a solid background in this subject as a retired investigator . Her father is a former Chief of Police in the St. Louis Police Department. She has an extensive network of contacts. She has been invited to speak at many large corporations across America. Even with all of this going for her, she struggles in this present economy to find customers interested in bringing in a speaker. I saw her have to sell her personal guns to pay rent when the market got dry. It simply isn't in the budget. And if a company or agency is willing to bring you in, it will not usually cover the travel and accommodations you will need. Can you provide more information on your "background" in public speaking and Social Science? You will have to research the interests out there and find that niche that only you can fill. I wish you the best.
Become a "thought leader" by posting pithy comments on blogs & e-discussion groups in your field. Attend meet-ups & network with your potential audience. Good luck!
Spencer knows his stuff. Great advice!
You have chosen a challenging field. Most motivational speakers have an established, interesting and compelling background that is attractive to those organizations which select them to be a speaker for their events. Significant sport figures, former politicians, or those who have had big challenges and conquered them, are the most attractive. If you have an interesting story to tell, then you are likely to be successful. I recommend that you start small with speeches to local Rotary or Kiwanis clubs, and work up from there, not only builing a reputation, but also refining your presentation and style. Building a website presence to attract attention and cite your past audiences will help. Good luck!
Hi David -
As a fellow speaker that spends zero on advertising, here's what I did (a lesson learned from our rock band) -
Gather email addresses at your next speaking engagement. Present wherever you can for free (Chambers of Commerce, networking groups, service groups) and actually distribute hard-copy sign-up sheets for your email list during the presentation.
Offer some incentive like a free yet-to-be-written eBook, report, etc. That's what I did before my book was done. Many speakers just ask those in the crowd to "Like Me on Facebook," or "Follow Me on Twitter," and people in the crowd sometimes do and sometimes don't. The handwritten sheets really did wonders for me.
Handwritten sign-ups during an in-person presentation yields almost 100% of the audience, in my experience.
Then they’re part of your mailing list! That email list will be an asset that only gets more valuable over time. Try MailChimp. It's free and super easy.
We used this same idea with our rock band. The absolute best time to sell merchandise is directly after you're done performing. Your presentation "performance" helps capture that same enthusiasm via an in-person hard-copy sign-up sheet. My mailing list growth, as a result of this idea, has been 270% in the past three months.
Good luck!
Spencer X Smith
http://www.spencerXsmith.com
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