Growing Lean
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Growing Lean
Revolutionizing Your Public Speaking Game with Carla Howard
Carla's shift in mindset, from underpricing to charging what her extraordinary experience is worth, is a thought-provoking part of our conversation. The value she brings to the table is worth your undivided attention. She delves into how she educates her clients on the worth of her expertise and why paying a higher fee is a wise investment. Listen to us dissect the metrics and KPIs that Carla uses to measure success and her insightful predictions about the evolution of the industry.
Prepare to be enlightened about the future of in-person events and fees as Carla shares her vision of the ever-changing landscape of the speaking industry. She gives invaluable advice on how speakers can prepare for entering the market and ensuring that they deliver value to their audiences. Moreover, she lays out how a talk can be converted into a workshop, how to create a second product, and how to build a brand through speaking engagements. Plus, find out how leveraging videos and pictures from your speaking engagements can multiply your brand reach. This is an episode you won't want to miss if you wish to take your speaking career to the next level.
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Welcome back to the growing Lean podcast sponsored by Lean Discovery Group. This is your host, dylan Burke, also known as Deej. I'm happy to be here with Carla Howard, founder of the Speakers Connection, change Strategist, tedxer, professional Speaker and Dream Enabler. Welcome, carla.
Speaker 2:Hey, so nice to be here. Thank you so much, dylan.
Speaker 1:Thanks for being here. I really appreciate it. So can you get us started and tell us a little bit about the history of you and how you ended up where you are today?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I'd love to Thank you so much. So I built my career in corporate and I about probably started in the change management, change strategy realm about 15 years ago and in that capacity I would go to conferences and events and I would speak on behalf of the company. And about five years into that I started noticing that the speakers that were doing the keynotes and breakouts that I was every bit as qualified and good at delivering content as they were, and you know they're up there earning thousands and thousands of dollars for speaking engagement and I thought what is wrong with me? Like I could go do that. And that really began my journey into professional speaking. I did continue in corporate for a while while I built that business. I got permission from ethics and all of that to run the side business, but that was really my I'll say my first step into the world of entrepreneurship.
Speaker 1:Okay, amazing. And can you? What exactly does your business do? Can you run us through your overall business strategy?
Speaker 2:Sure. So at the speaker's connection we do a couple of different things. So I'm a keynote speaker and I know the struggle of trying to connect with event organizers and then getting paid for the value that you deliver from the stage as a keynote or in workshops. And I was away at a woman's retreat and one of the women there is an event organizer. So we were just talking about gosh. You know this is so frustrating on both sides. There's got to be a better way to do it, and so that's when, a couple of years later we kept talking about it, we founded the speakers connection.
Speaker 2:So under that umbrella we do a couple of things. First, we connect speakers with the event organizers who are looking to pay them, and the event organizers do not pay anything for this service. So we cultivate speakers that we know like and trust, who we have seen deliver and are great on the stage, and we help event organizers get the perfect fit for their speaking for their event. So that's one side of it. The other part is the get paid from the stage program. So I actually run a six week program where I teach speakers who are honestly. In the beginning you're always asked to speak for free or for exposure, which is a trick word, for we're not going to pay you anything, and so this is a six week program to build their package. What should they be charging? How can they get in contact with these event organizers who are looking to hire them? So that's the two pillars that we have in the speakers connection, and that conversation during that women's retreat is what really sparked the idea for the speakers connection.
Speaker 1:Okay, amazing. And when did you, when did you start the business formally?
Speaker 2:Well, the speakers connection, we formally started in June or July of this year. We actually launched the website, the program I have been running for about two years now and I've been speaking on stages as a professional speaker for over five years I think closer to eight years at this point. So it kind of started in bits and pieces. You know, I first started being a professional speaker. Then I had so many speakers say, oh my gosh, can you show me how to do that? If you would put a program together I would buy it. Would you please do that? So I put the program together. And that was kind of the second piece. And now we've got it all under that same umbrella of the speakers connection.
Speaker 1:Okay, amazing. And have you, have you had any specific tactics or tools that have helped you personally launch your business and help continue it run?
Speaker 2:You know, that's probably the place where I'm not as strong, so I've really relied on personal relationships and word of mouth for having the speakers connection kind of get out there. We do have a website and really proud of the website that we just launched here. Just in the last couple of months I've tried some things like Facebook ads and LinkedIn ads, and I will tell you, I did them myself and I don't know what I'm doing right, and so I did my best to do it and do it right. I don't say that they don't work, but they didn't work for me and I know a lot of that is in the targeting your audience and using the technology correctly. So at some point I'm going to need to revisit that and probably get some help from someone that actually knows what they're doing.
Speaker 1:Okay, amazing. And what is your? What are you trying to achieve with your brand?
Speaker 2:I want to help speakers go from where they are today to where they want to be tomorrow, whatever that looks like. You know and it's different for everybody Some speakers really want to be that road warrior. Where they're out there, they're delivering key notes and they're, you know, they're on those big stages. Some people want to do virtual workshops or virtual engagements, and some of our featured speakers who we're working with, that is their primary job is speaking from the stage, and others use it as a vehicle to promote their brand, to get out there as a thought leader and really pull people in. They're still delivering value and it's really a secondary source of income or it leads to the income that they they want to have in their business. So we really work with the speakers on more of a one on one basis to really understand what is it that they really want to achieve in their speaking career and then help them fulfill that dream.
Speaker 1:Okay, amazing. And how have have you faced any challenges or obstacles? Firstly, in launching the business? And yeah, how have you? How did you overcome them?
Speaker 2:Well, I'll tell you, the six week program is full of all of the mistakes that I made over my speaking career. That's why I tell everybody I actually sat down when I built the program and wrote a list of all of the things that I just felt like beating my head against the wall. You know, when I was first starting out as a paid speaker and then I developed everything inside based off of all of those mistakes and all of those challenges. I think the one of my biggest challenges was understanding what to charge and how to ask for that kind of money, and it was a mindset thing right. So right now, my speaking engagements run $9,000 for a keynote delivery and if I'm traveling to the location, then the additional travel, hotel, etc. On top of the nine grand.
Speaker 2:And in my own mind, the biggest block was really oh my gosh, how can I charge $9,000 for an hour? Like that's just crazy. I mean, I know other people do it, but it just doesn't feel right. And I, the thing that helped me get over it was really understanding and internalizing. I'm not charging $9,000 for an hour, I'm charging $9,000 for 30 years of experience. I'm charging $9,000 because when I leave that stage, I'm offering the audience something transformational with real concrete steps and tips and things that they can do different, whether that's in their change leadership journey or supporting kind and ambitious women as they rise in their careers. I'm leaving them with something that's going to change the trajectory of their career, and that is what makes it worth $9,000. So it was more of a mindset and a confidence that yeah, it is worth that, and here's why.
Speaker 1:I'm 100%. I used to be in real estate and oftentimes we'd get an offer within two days of listing the property and the client was like why am I paying you 6% of my property value? You didn't know work and I was like it's not the two days of work, it's the experience that led me to be able to solve it in two days. I'm 100% agree with you and it's about educating people and also understanding it yourself, because I also felt like I don't deserve 6% of this. But then you do have to understand. It's the experience that got you there and I totally agree with that.
Speaker 2:It's the value delivery. I mean, it's like anything else, it's the value delivery that you offer that makes you worth that high ticket price. Whether you're a consultant, whether you are a coach, whether you're selling real estate, whatever it is that you're doing, it's that experience and that value and that is what makes it worth paying you those those high fees in order for them to get that transformation that they want.
Speaker 1:Exactly, exactly so in terms of your business. I know you've only been around for four months or so, but what metrics or KPIs do you use to to measure the success of your business?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I, that's something that we're still looking at. I mean, one of the things is the number of people that go through the program. So I only offer it three times a year and I lock it down to know more than 10 people because I'm very hands on with feedback and coaching and things like that. So how many people are we getting through the program? The other thing is the, the engagements that they're booking after the program. So, like one of my students just booked a $7000 speaking engagement and I need to capture those metrics to say, okay, the students who have left the program, here's what their success is, because their success is really our success. You know, when they get out there and they start booking those engagements and they're having the success of being a professional speaker and not just speaking for exposure, that's what makes our program valuable on the speaker connection side. So we're going to send a survey to the event organizer after the event to say tell us how our speaker did Right, and so we're capturing data that way, also sending an event survey to the speaker to say what was your experience working with this organization, this event organizer and the audience, so that we can really understand.
Speaker 2:You know, how is each side feeling, and so we're both. We're really focused on both groups so we want both groups to get high value and to feel really good about that speaking engagement when we make that connection. So gathering those metrics from our, our partners is really important to us. One thing that we aren't so worried about is how many speaking engagements we book a year, which is kind of interesting because most, I'll say speaker bureau type groups. That's a huge metric for them and for us. We are way more focused on making the right connection, getting the right speaker there for your event and both the speaker, the event organizer and the audience having a great experience. So it's their feeling of man this was great. That's our measure of success.
Speaker 1:Amazing. I love that. And where do you see your industry heading in the next couple of years? And where do you see your business going in the next couple of years?
Speaker 2:Yeah. So we were all virtual for a while, right, I mean, that's just the way it was. And then, when we kind of slowly started going back to in-person, I started noticing a lot of hybrid events. I see less of that and I think where you're going to see the speaking industry go is back to in-person and very few hybrid events, because, if any, because typically I mean somebody's losing out and so it's not a fantastic experience for the in-person people and it's not a fantastic experience for the virtual audience.
Speaker 2:So I believe that we're going to see more and more in-person events and I think we're going to see speaker fees climb, because during the lockdown, speaker fees dropped significantly because organizations weren't able to hold these in-person events. Where they got these associations where people were paying $1,500 to come to the event. They were lucky if they got $500 for them to come to a virtual event. So what happened is the speaker fees went down quite a bit because everything was virtual, which, as a speaker, can be frustrating because you're still delivering the same value to the same audience, right, but they just didn't have the deep pocket. So I see speaker fees going up. I see more in-person events and I also see that for the speaker. They're going to have to be super focused on value delivery and always leaving the stage, leaving their audience, with something transformational. And that doesn't mean it has to be life changing, but it's going to transform something in their personal or professional life and that's going to be number one in order for them to be able to book those higher speaking engagements.
Speaker 1:Okay, amazing, and I'm curious. So you, you can you run us through what you teach in your courses? Obviously not in too much detail, but if you were to tell us, like one of the most important aspects of speaking, what would that be?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so I do a lot. I'll tell you what I don't do first, because I think that's almost sometimes more surprising than what I do deliver. So I don't listen to people's talks, I don't give them advice on their talks. I people that come to my program should already have some miles under their sneakers getting on stages and delivering a talk. So what I'm there to do is help them move into that higher, higher paid speaking arena. So what I do is we work together to create their package. We use Canva and you only need the basics of the free version in order to take the program, and so they're going to build their speaker package. So they're one sheet, their proposal, their key takeaway guides or additional resources, and the reason I only take 10 people in the program is I give them very, very detailed feedback on every bit of that. So when they get done with the program, they've got a really strong, attractive package that event organizers are going to pay attention to.
Speaker 2:The other thing that I do is I comb the web and I give them a spreadsheet with over 100 calls for speakers. So these are actual events that are open calls for speakers that they can go out and apply for, and then we talk through what their pricing sweet spot should be, how they can convert a talk into a workshop and create a second product that they can now go out and market. And I bring in an event organizer who shares with them from her experience what makes her take notice of speakers, what causes her, even if they're a great speaker, to never refer them in their network, which is, you know, always an interesting conversation. And then participants have the opportunity to ask the event organizer directly questions that they have about breaking into the industry. That's, that's super helpful. So lots of guides, lots of templates. It's an hour and a half on a Saturday for six consecutive weeks. We cover so much ground and they can ask me anything about being a professional speaker and how to really break into that industry and earn significant income.
Speaker 1:Okay, amazing. So so you help more on the marketing side than than actual coaching.
Speaker 2:It's. You know that's an interesting way to put it. I would say it's a mix. I do a lot of coaching, but not on their talk. So my coaching is more when I read your bio, right, like okay, let let here's how I would change it. When I read your proposal. One bit of coaching that I will do is when I read the proposal. This happens a lot.
Speaker 2:My speakers will submit their proposal. So I'm reading and I'm like, oh, I see two or three talks in here like it feels like a content overload. And so I'll have the conversation with the speaker to say I get it because I again, it's all the mistakes I've made. So I've done this too. You know they're paying me $910,000. I got to deliver a lot, I know, because then it becomes they can't consume it, right, so niche it down. What are your key takeaways for this talk? What can you deliver here that's going to be meaningful and transformational? And then let's take this other group of tips and talking points and create a second talk. Move that over to the side, because you know, when you think about an avalanche of information coming at you, that's not helpful. So I will give them coaching in that way about their talk. I just don't listen to the talk and then critique their delivery.
Speaker 1:Okay, so you don't do coaching on body language or anything like that? No, okay.
Speaker 2:I do have someone who does do that, who I introduced to the participants in the six-week program. So I'm like, if that's what you're looking for in addition to what I deliver, beatrice can help you, and I love sharing other resources so that people know, oh okay, I can go to this person and yeah. So it's just a little bit of a different twist than what you might think the speaking coaching is about.
Speaker 1:Okay, amazing, I love that, and so can you tell me about what's your favorite book that you've given, and can you tell me a little bit about that?
Speaker 2:I can. So my favorite. So I talk on two topics. I speak on the topic of change leadership and I speak towards women, you know, women rising in their careers. So my favorite talk is speaking with confidence, tips for ambitious women and their allies, and it is.
Speaker 2:It can be an hour to an hour and a half long and I break down in the talk the different things that women often do that devalues them at work the way that we ask questions, the way that we enter a room, the way that we enter a debate.
Speaker 2:That ultimately puts us way behind the men in the room. And I provide some tips on some different ways to interact and some things that they can do just a little bit different, just little tweaks. And then also in that talk, I ask for the allies in the room, when they see one of their professional women in their environment doing any of these things, some ways to have that conversation so that she feels encouraged and, you know, can really listen and take that feedback and move forward in her career. And the reason why that is my favorite talk is because, after spending so many years in corporate, I have just seen this over and over again and the light bulbs going off in the room. I can just see the women going, oh my God, like I do that. And they'll actually raise their hand afterwards and be like, oh my gosh, I do that and I'm like stop that, Don't do that anymore. So that is by far my favorite talk.
Speaker 1:Okay, amazing. I love that. That's awesome, and I think it's important today because it's necessary, because we're becoming more and more equal and that's what we want in society, right, right, exactly. Sorry, I didn't know how to articulate what I was trying to say there.
Speaker 2:Yeah you did, that was perfect.
Speaker 1:Okay, amazing. So we are running out of time, but I just wanted to ask also, before we go, what advice would you give to other business owners looking to succeed in your industry?
Speaker 2:You know, the speaking industry is tough. I mean, I would just say that you know, in the very beginning. I think it depends on how they want to enter the industry. So if you are a corporate professional and you would like to step into the professional speaking realm, a great way to start is by applying for conferences and events and speaking on behalf of your company. It hones your speaking chops, it allows you to start to build a brand around speaking and then, when you go to transition, you've not got a portfolio of talks that you've given and it's a great opportunity as well, and I highly recommend everybody do this.
Speaker 2:Every time you step on a stage. If there's anybody in the room taking pictures or videotaping the talk, ask them for a copy of the pictures and the video. That is gold because you can take that. You can turn it into a speaking reel, you can turn it into sound bites, you can turn it into promotional reels, and that is one of the big mistakes. Like I said, my whole program is full of all the mistakes I made, but I was on like probably a hundred stages before I ever went. Oh hey, maybe I should ask for that video reel, right? It just never occurred to me to ask. So make sure that you ask for any collateral around your talk so that you can begin to build your brand.
Speaker 1:A hundred percent. I appreciate that. Thank you so much, and also thank you for being on the show. It's been great. I've loved learning about what you do. So what is the best way for people to reach out to Carla Howard If you have any offers for them or if they just want to follow your story?
Speaker 2:Yeah, a couple of ways. You can find me on LinkedIn. So I'm just Carla Howard on LinkedIn. You can also reach me at Carla at thespeakersconnectioncom, and I do have an Instagram account. We've got the speakers connection Instagram account that I'm just spinning up, and then I also have a rice sisters Instagram for kind and ambitious women.
Speaker 1:Okay, amazing. So thank you for being on the show. It's been an awesome 20 minutes.
Speaker 2:I look forward to seeing what the future holds. Thank you so much.