Speaker Agent & Coach
Speaker’s Agent, Communications Liaison, Marketing Coach and Founder of Pro Speakers Bureau, LLC.
I represent a select number of professional speakers who are seeking to make their profession the most respected and enjoyable profession in the world. By “thinking outside the box” I am determined to represent a select group of speakers that is like none other.
Pro Speakers Bureau is an intimate community of speakers, trainers and coaches and we use just about every medium to “inform, educate, enlighten, inspire, entertain and empower” people in any way we can.
WHAT IF you could have your own personal speaker coach working with you on a SIMPLE PLAN for marketing yourself and landing the speaking gigs that are right for you? Imagine becoming clearer on your brand, your message, who you are as a speaker and exactly who your target audience REALLY is. Just think of that coach then working with you to LAND THE SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS that are right for you.
Professional Speaking Strategies
Because I’ve been a speaker and trainer myself and have a unique and special skill set, I work with other speakers and trainers and with other coaches and consultants who want to expand their business to include speaking and training. I focus on speakers who teach, help and solve problems for their audiences. Not a bunch of rah-rah and hoopla, but real information, for real situations that produces real results.
If that’s you, I’ll coach you in developing, formatting and delivering workshops, seminars, teleclasses, keynotes, panels and forums based on your expertise. I’ll work with you to produce and sell speaker products such as self-published books, workbooks, educational materials, videos, CDs, audio tapes, software and more. You’ll learn to package your expertise in a way that sells and creates lasting brand recognition for you as a subject matter expert. Your audience will keep your professionally published, informative product and refer to it over and over.
Having knowledge, experience or expertise to share is the first step. Knowing how to package and deliver it is the second step. But making people recognize you and come to you for that information is the most critical step. You can build it, but if you don’t publicize it, they won’t come. That’s where marketing yourself and your professional speaking products and services come in. As your coach/consultant I’ll share techniques for publicity, writing articles and press releases and making sure your target audience recognizes you. Once they do, you’ll be able to deliver the expertise you’ve worked so hard to develop to an eager audience.
My Story
I started my professional career in Information Technology and became an entrepreneur in the late 1980s. I have since gained entrepreneurial experience in speaking, training, publishing, writing, editorial management, workshop development, business consulting, marketing, advertising, website development, leading teleclasses, promotions, public relations, radio, television, special events, graphic design, fundraising and volunteer leadership. I now use my accumulated knowledge, experience and network of resources to coach, train, mentor and represent a select number of successful professional speakers.
Over recent years, through my work with Pro Speakers Bureau, Teleclass University and Great Speakers Club, I have delivered training for professional speakers as well as executives, trainers and entrepreneurs who use speaking skills to grow their businesses and careers. My strengths are my research skills (honed during years as a journalist) and my ability to give practical application to the information my research uncovers.
Because my vision is a world where professional speaking is the most highly respected and enjoyable profession one can undertake, I’ll warn you that my workshops, teleclasses and coaching sessions are not for wimps.
My style is intense and highly interactive, but fun. You’ll get your questions answered, your issues addressed, your challenges met and your goals achieved. To do that you have to be fully present, fully engaged, fully prepared and ready to do the work that success requires. The key to making it fun is having a true passion for what you do – and a healthy sense of humor and creativity.
I bring some of the speaking industry’s best resources together to support my speakers in ways that will allow them to bring the best to their customers and clients.
My Core Service
To act as an agent on your behalf and secure you more, higher paying speaking engagements.
How I do This
1. I study and get know you as a speaker, your product offerings and your goals and objectives for your speaking business (my product)
2. I offer advice, counsel and coaching as appropriate based on my marketing and speaking industry knowledge and experience.
3. We formulate a joint marketing strategy to increase your bookings. (includes discussions of target audiences, product offerings, marketing tools, etc.)
4. Together you and I will execute the strategy and get more bookings.
The Speakers I Work With
I work with a limited number of professional speakers that are a good match for my services. If that is you, you will be inviting me to become a key player on your marketing team and together we will grow your speaking business through strategic marketing, creative product development and speaking excellence.
Ideal speakers for me to work with meet the following criteria. Before entering into a relationship, we should discuss each of these items in detail and make sure we are on the same page. The success of both of our businesses depends on clear communication from the start.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERTISE: You should have 5+ years experience in your profession, area of expertise or in the speaking and training industry. You should already have speaking topics, workshops or seminars developed and ready to execute. I can help you fine-tune them, strengthen your content or make them more marketable if you’d like.
EMPLOYMENT STATUS: I prefer to work with speakers who are dedicated full time to their own speaking, training or coaching business – and to our relationship. I do not work with speakers who are employed full time or working in a field that differs from their area of speaking expertise.
SPEAKING EXPERIENCE: You should have experience giving 25+ paid and/or no-fee speaking and/or training engagements. You should be experienced and comfortable speaking in front of groups and have the basic ability to captivate an audience. I do not teach speaking skills. My job is to market and sell an experienced, professional speaker. Your job is to be one.
BUDGET: You should commit to an investment in your speaking business of $10,000+ over the next 6 months for strategic development, coaching, training, marketing, materials development, product development, etc. Our strategic focus is on increasing your speaking income. We’ll be investing in the preparation, marketing tools and speaker products that are necessary to achieve this goal.
During our coaching and representation relationship all of the business decisions you make will be yours. You never lose control of your business or move in directions that are against your wishes or better judgment. My job as your SPEAKER COACH is to:
- Help with STRATEGIES for achieving your goals.
- Provide STRUCTURE that holds you accountable.
- Offer FEEDBACK to keep you on course.
- Suggest SOLUTIONS to challenges that arise along the way.
- Present OPTIONS so you can select the best choice for you.
- Share INFORMATION so you can make informed choices.
- Offer ADVICE when you’re faced with tough decisions.
- Provide VALIDATION that you’re making the right moves.
- Offer PERSPECTIVE for a fresh point of view.
- CHALLENGE you to achieve more.
My job in the end is to get you more speaking engagements. That begins once you complete your strategy and marketing tools and execute our Professional Speaker Representation Agreement (see separate document). I represent YOU, the speaker in negotiations for speaking engagements. Bureaus represent the buyer. My job is to book you as a professional speaker who’s an expert in your subject-matter. I take that very seriously.
My compensation is a 30% commission on all speaking fees for engagements I secure as your agent/representative.
Fees for engaging my services as an agent and/or coach start at $5,000. We participate in a minimum of 12 one-on-one, telephone coaching sessions depending on our needs for strategic success. Our objective is to form a long-term, open-ended relationship that creates substantial revenues for both of us.
Want to know more? Email me at Rick@RickSherrell.com or leave me a message at 404-393-9792 and we’ll discuss how we might be able to work together to move your speaking business forward.
If you’re a Professional Speaker courious about working with me…
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My Speaker Coaching Guidelines (pdf)
