Julie Sloway was the owner of Prime Time Speakers Bureau and an absolutely wonderful person. She was in my professional sphere for over a decade and we connected live at a backyard party in Northern CA. I asked her if she’d like to speak with a group from ShowBiz Blueprint and she leaped at the chance.

I’m happy to share this recording with you. There is a lot in here that might not apply to you at this exact moment, but please store it in the accessible part of your brain. It will come in handy at some point in your career.

Here is a my conversation with Julie Sloway.

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PDF of the Interview with Julie Sloway

Julie has retired from her Speaker’s Bureaus and is now consulting in the Health Education field.

Here interview is loaded with gems and that’s why I’m keeping it here for you.

Transcript of Julie’s Interview

We connected in a back yard party in Northern California a few weeks ago and then during a long distance swim it dawned on me that I should ask if I could share her with my group and she agreed. Really excited to have her here Julie Sloway owner of prime time speakers in Northern California she is a speaker manager, broker and coach.
Boy does great services for speakers and her clients. Communications major at San Diego State University and her bureau prime time speakers are celebrating 20 years in business which is really a tough thing to do. Anyway her company is celebrating her 20 year anniversary, a certified woman owned enterprise which is awesome and her company is definitely rooted in passion not profits although hoping there is some profits along the way.

I just wanted to put this up; this is a partial client list of Julie’s clients of Prime Time which she has provided speakers for, for over 20 years which is a really good group of people.
So Julie Good morning.

Julie:
Good morning.

Barry:
Hey, here you are on a call with entertainers and speakers from all over the world so nice to have you.

Julie:
All the fun people of the world. Thank you for inviting me.

Barry:
Thank you so much, we talk a bit about speaking on this program and there is some of the folks on here who certainly have great messages to share and combining their skills as performers with a message is something of interest so I was really so excited that you agreed to join us here at the last minute thank you so much.

Julie:
It is my pleasure, great to be with you.

Barry:
Before print speakers did you work for another speaker’s bureau?

Julie:
I did actually, I actually majored in speech communication at San Diego State University I was originally going to go in to television but I was bumped from the program so I ended up in speech which was just the best thing that ever happened to me I just loved it.
I volunteered at the communication resource on campus and ended up booking speakers for San Diego State University on campus and that is how I fell in love with the business. Thinking how can I actually do this on the outside this is so much fun.
I graduated, moved back to the Bay Area where my family is from and I found a position in Palo Alto which was key note speakers which was my first speech job in Palo Alto and learned the business, worked with them for five years and gave birth to two wonderful sons and my husband and I moved up to Tahoma County and I started my own bureau and that’s where I am.

Barry:
Nice, and come on 20 years.

Julie:
Exactly and it doesn’t seem like it because I am having so much fun it really is a labour of love and I feel so lucky to be working in a business I love so much. All the fascinating people that I never know what the day is going to bring and that is, I just feel so fortunate.
I am wired well for what it is that I do so here I am.

Barry:
Not unlike a lot of people on this call who have found a passion and living more in that world than in the ‘I hate my job thank god it is Friday’.
So you have been around the business for a long time how would you characterize for folks on this call what some of the major differences between the speaker’s bureau place in the world and more traditional producers that we work with or meeting planners or corporate producers.

Julie:
Well a speaker’s bureau is just that I just put the puzzle together for the speaker portion of the program. Corporate event and meeting planners really are the big picture people they do everything. I work with many of them who call on me for recommendations for speakers which again is one tiny piece of their puzzle but it is my entire puzzle.

Barry:
What a great way to put it.

Julie:
Well it really is that and so often times they will like to book their own speakers and that fine I will cheer them on when they are happy to do that however there is a lot to the speech and they often times realize that they do need some direction and that is where I come in.

Barry:
You I mean after 25 years of working with speakers I mean it is really a skill and like you said just a line item on their agenda, you know speaker. How great to have someone who expands out that line item in to that being your full agenda.
Julie:
Exactly, well of course I always remind them because this is all that I do and I am so passionate about it is that it really can ruin your whole program if you choose of course the wrong speaker, the wrong presenter, the wrong entertainer for the wrong time on the wrong day with the wrong audience.
We want to make sure that fits in all the right directions so that we all look good and I am very particular who I stick my neck out for of course and I want to make sure that out of respect for the presenter and the client that it is a perfect fit and so that is really the mark I am trying to hit each time I am on a call with a client.
Trying to figure out what/who is the perfect person or the perfect act based on what’s going on with our organization right now at this time.
Barry:
Unlike map in speaking and in convention world two negatives don’t make a positive usually.
Julie:
It is just very exciting, that is why there are thousands and thousands of presenters on the lecture circuit and it has to be good, it better be good otherwise meeting planners are going to skip over you very quickly and go on to the next candidate.
I know part of what we are talking about today is how do you stand out?
Barry:
So along those lines, what process do you have in your company for bringing in new blood, new speakers?
Julie:
I have been in the business so long that I am very well connected thankfully and I have colleagues that I work with in the business that when I am not able to go out and hear a live speaker which I obviously prefer to do that at every opportunity I have to do that I attend conferences on an ongoing basis to critique speakers and entertainers and such to determine where they best fit in.
Having said that I do rely on my colleagues that I trust that have been in the business a very long time also when I can’t attend I ask them to attend for me and we collaborate an awful lot. In terms of my process every speakers bureau is very different even though we are all in the same business we all do business very differently and so I can only really speak for the way I do things.
The way that I do things is that I am very particular about whom I work with and I want to make sure they are in the business for the right reasons for their heart initially because it is going to show on stage no matter what you are talking about and I actually do two things.
I require a full critique prior to any representation prior to my recommendations for them to anything because it is a great opportunity for us to get to know each other. I would say that for the most part speaker’s bureaus don’t even bother with such a thing. I find it to be extremely important and necessary for quality control purposes also.
Then it is just an ongoing communication, I am big on that as we go along. I require the full critique on the front end and then we talk about everything from biographical material and speech topics to what the markets doing, the lecture circuit I have a whole fee structures and expense requirements website how things need to look.
What clients are looking for when they click on your site what is it that they want to see right now. Most clients are very impatient so that is a really good thing to keep in mind when I am coaching speakers. Just remember that they are considering probably a half a dozen presenters or entertainers so think about that each time you are writing your copy for your site and deciding where to place whatever it is you’re going to place on your site.
Keep it simple and substantial and they want to be able to see who you are and what you are doing and why you are doing it very quickly. They are not going to read a lot and they want to see some great video tapes speech footage immediately along with some testimonials.
That is going to bring them in to your site and have them stay. I have found that to work for the speakers that I work with.
Barry:
I hope you guys are taking notes I don’t even know what question to ask next because I am writing so fast. That is great feedback. Have you sat with, you have probably sat with clients and actually seen the way they look at stuff, not even guessing anymore.
Julie:
I think that is of really huge value to in my working with speakers is that I do receive those panic calls from meeting planners who have all the plates spinning in the air and the speech is a very small portion of it and yet often times these are the people that are not meeting planners some of the clients that call me are the CEO’s of companies or marketing executives or it is Human Resources professionals, sales and marketing people who have maybe never booked a speaker before or an entertainer and it was just dropped on their lap this year.
That is really common, very common and so part of my job is I take it on and to educate them about what it is they should be looking for and why. Why that and so I speak on the ones of course to go very well.
Barry:
I have worked with these people who say, ‘hey Bob ran this meeting last year and it gets passed around’ and starting over like that it is invaluable to have someone with insight like that.
Julie:
The answer to your question is my long winded answer they are, most of the meeting planners that call me are of course doing many things at a very high level. I tend to work on the high end of the business so I am waiting for it because it is just more exciting for me to work on that side.
More challenging so they are running to a committee meeting this is typical running to a committee meeting with six others who are going to be making decisions about speakers, they need information within about 20 minutes from me and I send it off and once they sit in on that meeting they are rifling through six or seven or eight speakers or entertainers, presenters or who it is that they are going to be choosing.
Again it better be good, it has to be excellent and that is really the nut is how am I going to stand out from everybody else? One way to do that is to place everything strategically so our eyeballs are going to go right to it. I look at thousands of dollars and if it is difficult for me to find you know information about their testimonials or their videotaped speech or it is buried between three clicks, if it takes me three clicks to get to it you are going to lose them.
It is best to put it out right front and centre and that is a huge component of success I think.
Barry:
What great feedback from someone who has sat there in stress situations and watched people actually look at materials. In the testing world of marketing that is invaluable just to hear what their process looks like.
Julie:
In the crazy world we are living in the fast paced world and it is so scary and I think about this and twenty years later I am always thinking about the client how scary it must feel for them to be having to book a presenter for a gigantic users conference or a customer event, sales meeting or annual convention for thousands of health care providers whatever it may be, whatever the venue is.
I can feel it every time I receive the call even if it is a meeting planner that has been in the business a long time it is still a really scary proposition to bring somebody in that you really don’t know; you really don’t even actually know them.
That is the value, that is what is so important about that website is that it has to be inviting.
Barry:
Tell me about that I mean the fear of bringing somebody in and I mean sometimes I mean I am booked quite often of a seven minute video tape to do an hour long show.
Julie:
Right, well you are inviting. That is why it is so crucial that your video tape, speech footage preach that and most meeting planners I would say for the most part again because they are so impatient in general they want to see something very quickly. Seven minutes is just about right. I have found that seven minutes is all the time that anyone is really going to sit for something before they start moving on to something else.
It doesn’t have to be the whole presentation if they want that they will ask for it but the demo so to speak, seven minutes sounds just about right.
Barry:
How often do will someone come back to you and say I want to see the whole hour or even though I love these seven minutes. Is that normal?
Julie:
Rarely. What they do instead is they will then ask for some time with the presenter. We set up conference calls at that point, that is the other thing that I do that is fairly not normally done is I do a critique on the front end and then prior to the booking process I require a conference call between the presenter and the client to make sure that everything is going really well.
It is just that comfort zone and I feel their blood pressure dropping as the call is taking place as often time they can’t meet the speaker or presenter prior to the meeting. I do require that and that has, I think that is one of the reasons why I am still here after 20 years.
Barry:
I push for that quite regularly but I don’t believe that I have ever been asked by the producer to meet the client; well yeah a couple of times but it’s very rare as your saying.
Julie:
It is equally important for the presenter because you may get on the phone with the client and say gosh this is not my thing I actually don’t feel that I am a good fit for this so that’s what we want to determine.
Barry:
Yeah, that is what a wonderful time to determine that before.
Julie:
Exactly.
Barry:
I just picked up off my desk exactly what you just talked about there I just picked up a letter of recommendation that came in to us last week and in the third paragraph he says, ‘ that being a bit concerned about how you would appeal to an audience. Used to some pretty good musical acts I must confess your performance was perceived well.’
So here is a guy saying yeah he hired us and he still had some concerns about what was going to play out. That is a worry.
Julie:
That is human nature of course.
Barry:
You don’t want to be that person.
Julie:
So the packaging process is very important for presenters and how many clicks does it take to get to where you’re located and who you are and what you’re doing it should be very quick.
Barry:
What speaker do you think has an exceptional website?
Julie:
Well Tom Flick who I work with often. Tomflick.com tom is a former NFL quarter back and leadership expert and an author and just an amazing presenter and just some of the things that turn my head about him and any speaker that I really find to stand out is that he has a lot of depth as a person and as a presenter.
Which is very important for any presenter to have that depth of experience and be able to take his, he has this quality about him where he is able to which is huge for any presenter to be able to take what he has known on the football field as an NFL quarterback and to be able to actually be able to plug that in to whatever audience group that he is presenting to.
That is very difficult to do and so the best presenters, those that I look for and actually want to represent are those that really have that quality and obviously you either have it or you don’t and I really do believe that also.
Barry:
Really, yes.
Julie:
It is also as you look at his site he is super engaging. He has got that style that you have just, captivating style and very inviting and he customizes his work better than almost anyone I have seen on stage.
Again he has been able to take his life, his very full life and plug that and customize that for the audience. That is what audiences are looking for they really are. The customization process is really what they are paying for.
That is what they pay the big bucks for.
Barry:
I completely agree with that we have done a lot of work in the last eight weeks in this program on ways to really get in to their world and not have them try to fit in to our world and that sounds like what he is doing right here.
I have his page up on our webinar screen and right here is a great picture of him some huge endorsement’s, Pepsi other big companies satisfied clients with being, Starbucks everything about it smells of exactly what the people who are hiring him want to see.
Julie:
He has always been about quality. Even when he first started in the business and was charging far less than he is now because he was far less successful he has always been about quality over quantity and I always say four a month for speaking engagements.
Four a month is really full time for speaking, full time presenting. Yeah, in my world everybody has a different answer for that, that is my answer because we are human beings and because it is a very difficult business to be in it, everyone of course on the outside thinks it is glamorous but it is a lot of hard work to.
So I think four is the comfort zone there and he has always been able to understand that and has built his business and have his family which is the most important thing in his life and go from there. He really has that balance and everyone can see it to when they met him and see him on stage he is just a wonderful presenter.
Barry:
Someone just sent a question and this might be really helpful to members of this group that have something in their life that maybe can turn in to story but this man is wondering what made him turn his sport story in to a speaking career?
Julie:
Well he just has always, I mean if you watch his video clip those answers will, you will be getting to the answers there.
Because he is, team building of course is one of his because he is a quarter back and obviously a leader he was the point person and so he learnt so much in those huddles that once he retired he just felt a calling.
He told me I had lunch with him one day and he said I just have this calling to share this message. I have been in this huddle for this many years and I was on the bench a lot of that time but when I did go in I was in charge I was the leader and all of what went on there and all of what he learned from it.
He is just a fascinating guy.
Barry:
Great model to look at.
Julie:
He has the gift you can’t buy on Amazon.com he has a speaking gift. Again I believe you either really have it or you don’t I really do.
Barry:
Yeah, and that makes me think of have you seen many entertainers who have transitioned in to speaking well I know there is a handful of people who are doing speaker like stuff. Have you seen some who have taken over and hit the level? I call what we do very much speaking light I mean it is infotainment in a way.
Julie:
Because we are talking with a group of entertainers some of whom I assume are doing some corporate entertainment or want to at some point. Again we are just going back to the same principles, it doesn’t really matter what you are doing on stage.
What today’s audiences want is they want that customization so if you are a magician, a juggler, a hypnotist and you want to break in to the lecture circuit and be presenting to non-profit organizations and trade associations and corporations they are still going to be looking for the same thing and that, they are going to be looking for fun of course.
The calls that I receive about to bring in the presenters such as this group today they are looking for diversion for sure and they need it today and there is a great opportunity because the world has changed in the last few years and we have more stress than ever and organizations really feel it and so yes we do need to book our economists and our leadership experts and our team building strategists however what else do we need?
Well we need some fun too and there is a big gap there and I think there is a big opportunity so there is a place, there has been and there will continue to be a place for the market that you are all in.
Barry:
From the front lines I agree with that.
Julie:
They want it to be clean and you need to be able to understand again the audience group that you are presenting to whether it be Google or Kaizer Permanente or a big consumer foods organization understanding your audience is important no matter where you go, no matter who you are and what your presenting.
The fun factor is in, putting humour back in to the work place and diverting these executives who have a very stressful life they need you, all of you.
Barry:
For you guys those last two paragraphs that Julie said are worth transcribing and printing in your brain. That is out there that is the market I have been working in forever and mixing those things customization, cleanliness, content, fun, creativity all those pieces that we have within us the power to create.
You had mentioned testimonials earlier Julie how important are those either video or written testimonials?
Julie:
Very important because they don’t know you and they want to know you and you need to tell your story on your website. Part of your story is going to be testimonials. People don’t have to say anything nice about you but wish to and that is so powerful.
In addition to your copy and your video tape and speech footage and your testimonials, those three components are huge. Those are the three big ones. In answering that why question when you are writing your copy who ever id going to be writing your copy answer the why question first.
Why are you? Because a lot of clients are going to say so what he is a magician, he is a juggler, he is a hypnotist so what there are millions of those why? Why you? Tell your story.
Answer that one first and then follow the how’s and the what’s after and that is how you are going to grab them. That way. You will invite them in.
Barry:
I love that and as I do that I am clicking on Tom’s website again and Tom’s tailored messages aim at the head and the heart, inspiring individuals and organizations worldwide to move, make things happen, and win.
There is the why wow that is what we sell in to your template there.
Julie:
Tom is awesome and he really does get it. He gets it in that he hasn’t burned out it is very easy to do that in this business as you know very easy to burn out. You have to pace yourself, balance your life make sure you have this happy things in your life at all times while your performing and travelling to the performance and it has got to be fun because it is very taxing business.
It is not going away, business is not going away things are really coming back very much so, over these last few years it has been somewhat difficult presenters have been dropping fees and trying to give a discount to get in and such but again I am seeing that meetings because a lot of organizations have put meetings off and have used their own internal executives to present and how much fun can that be?
It is not a lot of fun, so they are really missing that which is good it is great for our industry.
Barry:
I love noticing that. What can a speaker or an actor, someone who is new to you do to help you take notice of them?
Julie:
What do they need to do?
Barry:
Yah, what could a speaker do to have you kind of go that is interesting or they seem like a good candidate.
Julie:
I personally because I have been in the business a very long time, I don’t, I am very impatient and I like to see speakers who have a big story to tell of course and a story that is unique and a story that will resonate with the kinds of audiences that I work with are in general very sophisticated audience groups who will pick a presenter apart within a couple of minutes.
Again I am always thinking in their zone it better be good, why? Why would I want to work with you? I call it the so what factor when I coach speakers to what clients are really going to say that they are going to be thinking that about you.
How are you going to, what are you going to say when they ask you those questions. What turns my head really are speakers that do have that amazing personal story to tell which coupled with their expertise as a juggler, a magician, a hypnotist, entertainer, singer and they have a personal story to tell also.
Those, not a lot of presenters have those two qualities.
Barry:
I agree with that. I have seen a lot of that. You are working a lot in the Health Care world right now?
Julie:
I am, it has been a safe zone for me the last few years especially with the corporate world doing what it is doing and hoarding their profit. Did I just say that hoarding their profits and just cutting back on the speakers that the big guns that they are bringing in?
Health Care of course has been a good mode and so that selfishly for survival purposes I have also dropped myself in to the health care field and I have always worked in the health care field it is a love of mine. I am passionate personally about health and wellness and so it is just a good fit for me.
Barry:
You guys should see how healthy Julie is. I have no idea of your age and I won’t ask but you look extremely healthy though.
Julie:
Well thank you.
Barry:
You definitely exercise; I think we talked about long distance swimming when I was heading in to a big race right when we met.
Julie:
Well yeah, you survived and then you told me you just swam two miles the other day.
Barry:
I do that all the time that is my thing.
Julie:
Walk in the park right?
Barry:
Yeah, happens quickly, so in the health care field what topics are popular right now and do our people booking in the health care world, could you imagine somebody booking something in the health care world that is fun and also has a message?
Julie:
Honestly it was interesting. This is what has been interesting is I actually worked in the corporate world for a long time when I first started in the business and of course it was just a very busy spot to be in it was very interesting health care as we all know is just a unique entity in and of itself.
It is just if I call it the bubble because I worked in hospitals all through college and I work with lots of health organizations now and I help with their conferences and such and they are a unique group of people doing a unique job in the bubble so to speak very stressful.
Life and death situations on a daily basis and what has been interesting, and it is a business that is the other thing it is also a business and they know that and just in the example of kaizer Permanente the really encouraging note I want to make is that they have discovered ‘hey honestly we want to use business speakers and anyone who has been successful in the business world’.
They are also people we want to look at because obviously we are a business to and a lot of those speakers do cross over well in to health care and so that’s really encouraging because they of course they are way behind the eight ball in so many respects.
In terms of customer service and leadership and management and team building and fun and strut management and putting humour back in the workplace and life balance and numerous issues that I am just off the top of my head, they have not addressed at all shockingly so throughout the years and now they are realizing actually we are in the hot seat we are growing tremendously, the world has changed and we need to move the train.
Group that we are talking with here today huge opportunity again for what it is that you do plugged in to health care because these are people who work in, I just have the utmost respect for what they do because it is just, they are in the pressure cooker all day long and then they go home and they go to bed and then they get up and do it all over again.
They are in the war zone that is how I see them. So again a great opportunity for all of you in health care because they are struggling with how is it that we are going to survive and manage our stress so that we can care for the people we need to care for and how are we going to do that in our meetings?
I am just seeing this gigantic it is very exciting, growth opportunity for people like yourselves and that is what they need.
Barry:
I agree and in my experience of working with health care is that they are attentive and willing audiences to come along on the journey of a story and like you said any type of business it is not like we have to be talking about the health care business. We can talk about how we have done what we do and there is lessons to learn from that to bring in to their business.
Can you share some numbers, just your business and industry, where were the percentages that people were booked in different price ranges in under 10k and over 10k just to keep it simple, is there an equal amount of work?
Julie:
Percentages for the commissions or in terms of a speaker’s bureau without commissions?
Barry:
No a speakers fee are more booked in the under 10k range or more over 10k?
Julie:
I typically do no book speakers under 10 just for me because I tend to work on the high end of the market. That is not to say that other speakers bureaus wouldn’t but that is just my niche there.
In the speech world I am going to say that just to touch on that very quickly because I think it is very humorous it makes laugh is that because we, human beings in general will think this I present three speakers, one presenter charges five thousand a second charges seventy five hundred and then the third ten thousand and of course you know what happens.
Audience groups will say ‘actually we want the ten thousand dollar speaker because aren’t they actually the best of the three?’
So it is really fun, fees have nothing what so ever to do really with how wonderful you are as the presenter often times it has to do with how unavailable you are as a speaker or presenter. So having said that this is a little side not it makes me laugh but in general what I see the medium market is polled somewhere between, most organizations when they call they are willing to spend somewhere between seventy five hundred and twenty.
Barry;
That does help a lot.
Julie:
That is the medium kind of roll that I see. It is not that they don’t spend the thirty and the forty’s but it is pretty rare, it is still pretty rare it has to be a really special venue. I am kind of anti that I kind of think you can really bring in great people in the 20k range there are so many great presenters.
Barry:
Right and it gets in to the celebrity speaking category after that and that gets out of control I mean that gets in to the,
Julie:
That is a whole other business I mean that is ridiculous.
Barry:
Did you work in that business at all at either Key Note or through Prime Time?
Julie:
It is not even a celebrity it really isn’t that because I don’t even know, I know what that word means but it doesn’t faze me one way or the other because I often times think that is the danger zone. A lot of times the bigger name speakers are a lot of trouble, I hate to say that but meaning they are demanding and they are risky on many levels.
I am very careful about who I work with in that world. Many of whom really aren’t terribly talented as speakers and I hate to say that but it is true it is about who this person is and who you have seen on television and that just doesn’t turn my head it may turn some other so I am very selective there also.
That is what I mean when I say that is a different world because it really is.
Barry:
I am not talking celebrities as in television or media as in celebrity speakers who are just huge; I mean there are speakers making a hundred thousand who no one on this call has never heard of.
Julie:
Who are amazing.
Barry:
Yeah, amazing speakers.
Julie:
Yeah, those are the speakers I get really excited about that bracket.
Barry:
Who is this guy I worked with Tom Peters, he is huge money I am sure no one here has ever heard of him and there is another guy young dark hair great looking guy.
Julie:
Marcus Buckingham.
Barry:
Yeah, exactly huge money.
Julie:
Huge money and Katherine Klenchiomy I mean there is, we could go on and on but it is about being an expert in your field of knowledge whatever that is. You don’t have to be on television that is not necessary at all in order to be very successful in this business.
Barry:
I loved Marcus Buckingham I am glad you have that name but I worked with him once and I was just spell bound I didn’t even know what was going on he mesmerized the audience. He has got to be a six figure guy.
Julie:
He is, he is now with the private jet.
Barry:
Yeah right, always got to have the jet it is part of the kit they say.
Julie:
Which is another thing that we haven’t touched on is fees. Expenses you know clients are of course kind of we want to make sure we are nice about that. I am very particular about that we don’t gouge clients in the expense department.
Which again the bigger the name the more likely that is going to be happening but in the speech world what I am trying to promote to clients and it has been very well received is to quote a let’s just say you are a ten thousand dollar speaker / presenter and you need to fly to let’s say continental US I am recommending and the same for a speaker and a presenter also a flat fee.
So your ten thousand dollar honorary, so we would charge a fifteen hundred dollar flat fee plus hotel and on site meals, done. It is done and there is no waiting on the backend 60 days for your expenses to come your way which is a nightmare for everyone including the client.
That has been very well received and I do recommend that for any presenter to charge that way and you could even go again expenses it is the presenters call how they want to do that but flat fees in general run somewhere between a thousand and two thousand dollars.
I would recommend the thousand just because if they don’t even fly their own executives first class they certainly wouldn’t appreciate you mentioning this as something you have to have when you come to present. It is just one of those things we just need to be really sensitive about that component.
Barry:
Yeah, offering a flat fee buy out is hugely important I assure you.
Julie:
Flat fee is simple and easy and it benefits everyone.
Barry:
I know as a speaker’s bureau owner and with your clients around the world, interaction with your clients and staying in touch is important and part of the game and I have definitely talked in this program about how relationship building really can take place between three and seven contacts.
Do you have speakers that stay in touch with you or a quarterly newsletter or anything like that what is your take on hat?
Julie:
Yes, and I really appreciate that because we work in a business where again the plates are spinning everyday and there is just you know the business that we are in is very much run like a news organization. A speakers bureau because everyday something is happening a book is being written, something new is coming out and it could be anything. News presentation is being informed and I like to be kept abreast of any new and exciting developments in the speaker in the careers of the speakers that I work with of course I need to know all of those things so I encourage that.
Quarterly newsletters are fantastic. That works well, send me an e0mail or even a call this is a very personal business for them a very personal business and even though some of the things we are doing via website for example are important and necessary now it is still a personal business that always will be. Keeping in contact is important.
Barry:
That is interesting just listening to you say that and you know what it means to you I really get a sense of the difference between speakers bureaus and meeting planners, corporate event producers you are much more almost boutique hands on business as opposed to those guys.
Julie:
Because I value that I am choosing that and I think that we are still people at the end of the day and we still need to make sure that everything fits well and that requires communication between human beings. That is how I see it.
Barry:
You had talked about recommendations from your colleagues and things like that how do you feel about recommendations about a speaker or an act from somebody you already know and trust do you look at that similarly?
Julie:
It is wonderful sure I actually receive calls daily from new speakers that are seeking an evaluation and want to learn more about the lecture circuit and how it is that they might be able to enter, get on to the train so to speak and how we do all of that and I welcome that again I am in the business that I am in there are thousands and thousands or presenters that are trying to determine where they best fit in and I help them navigate that exactly.
Barry:
Do you have any resources on your website or any that you would recommend that people can read who want to learn more about what it takes on the inside of that?
Julie:
Honestly that is where my coaching comes in my coaching expertise I do a lot of that and again it is a one on one type of interaction because it is very personal to me and when clients call in I really need to know who it is I am talking about of course I do.
Barry:
You mentioned on this call you are going to get some people knocking ion that door I am sure and yeah, that is good and you can check in and evaluate and find out where some people are at thanks for mentioning that.
I know I have already milked you fifteen more minutes and I have a couple of more things.
Julie:
That is fine sure.
Barry:
If you are on our webinar you can see these comments that people are writing in that they love this lady and thank you so much.
Julie:
Thank you for inviting me this is fun.
Barry:
The other side of the coin we have looked at is this something that just kind of turn off to you as a speakers bureau owner when meeting a new speaker what is the oh my god I have to end this call?
Julie:
Well yes there is. You know when I ask that why question a lot which is what we touched on a little bit about earlier that is other first question I ask any presenter why are you doing this? Based on that answer that I receive tells me my next step is going to be.
Whether I am going to be interested in moving further with the conversation and so the biggest turn off for me is when a presenter replies to that question you know the money is really good.
Barry:
That is not a great answer.
Julie:
That is not the answer I really want to hear of course it isn’t it is the opposite of the answer I want to hear. I want to hear of course because I am passionate about what I do what my skill level is, what my expertise is and I want to share that with audience groups and I have a lot to share and I think that it is going to benefit audience groups that are in need of my message and again selling that story.
Money has nothing to do with the story to me and so if that is going to be the first answer that you provide for me it is a turn off immediate no thank you.
Barry:
I am sure that is not only personal you have seen that I mean I can tell from listening to you that you love speakers that speak from the heart and really deliver something that is important. Not only to their life but have found a way to make it important to the entire audiences life.
Julie:
It is one of the major components of a presentation of course and Barry you know that you are doing what you love and it shows so big time on stage or not.
Barry:
It does show either way.
Julie:
That why, answering your own why first is a really important component of success. Answering the why in the way that is true to you not the money, don’t ever say that. Of course it is of course somebody is good if you are good. Being good in my world again requires you to love what you do.
Barry:
That is the silent message that happens underneath everything else.
Julie:
It is just not a good enough reason and again and people do hear that and I am not knocking it I am not it is a given but oh the money is good if your good yes it is your right it can be a very lucrative place to be but it is not the reason.
Barry:
Wow, Julie you have just kicked butt on this call I just love it. My sheet is filled with notes and it never is thank you. Let me ask you one other thing, are you involved in the world of hard materials printed materials, DVD’s is that all over with your bureau?
Julie:
It is still over I mean we went through VHS to, I am just thinking back and this is hilarious we do DVD’s yes of course I love my hard copy books that come in to me I am always reading something interesting but yes in general the website is.
That is where we are it is actually made my life as a bureau owner so much easier because I can just send clients very quickly to great sites.
Barry:
I want to open the floor up if you have another minute just to bring any questions live in real time for Julie. We have covered so much and people have shot through questions on the chat box that I have read to you.
Charles:
Thanks for coming on the call the producer calls are always so enlightening and so thanks so much for coming and sharing. I jumped in probably about ten minutes late so I don’t know if it was covered or not but what is the best way to – do you have a gate keeper, do you like to talk to a new potential act what is your favourite way?
Julie:
You know I heard about half of what your question was.
Charles:
Your favourite way to be approached is it via e-mail via phone call?
Julie:
I am easy going that way I honestly would rather have a phone call because then I can hear your voice in the speech business so email is kind of the necessary evil and kind of in all of our lives but I would prefer to have a phone call.
Charles:
It seemed like it was a widely varying from producer to producer some have a gate keeper that they don’t want to talk to an act directly and initially and some people want to be on the phone first.
I mean it is good to get your insight on that one so phone is your preferred thing you just want to touch base and hear the actual genuine and make a connection right away with an act.
Julie:
Yes I do that’s how I do it, it is important for me.
Ray:
Hi everybody and I want to echo that, thank you it has been absolutely wonderful hearing your insights. You mentioned you coach people and the question I have do you mean coaching your clients to help them pick a good speaker or do you actually hand out a separate coaching business if you will for aspiring speakers?
Julie:
Both of those things so I am truly the middle person the conduit so to speak between the speaker and the client. Again as I mentioned earlier a lot of clients that do call in they have never booked a speaker ever before so it is kind of a scary proposition for them so I do a lot of coaching for them in terms of how it is you put the puzzle together for the speakers that you need to select for this particular conference you may be working on and where everything needs to go and why is that.
Then on the flip side of that so I make recommendations for speakers. They need my recommendations and that’s part of what I do and then the coaching component yes I also coach speakers themselves in terms of what it is they are trying to do as a presenter and how it is that they can package themselves and bring themselves so they can be presentable to the clients that are considering presenters for their conferences and that is the connection that I make.
Ray:
How do you charge for that do you have a set fee? Is it by the session? You have to give us some ball park?
Barry:
Can I just jump in for a second to follow up with Julie? I didn’t even know that you offered that Julie and that is partly my fault but I would love to just do a quick follow up with you and I will post all that to the members if that is alright with you?
Julie:
Absolutely and we can talk further about that too down the track I am happy to participate in another call with you. Yes to answer your question there.
Barry:
I will get that all in one place for you guys in the resources page about how you can do that. I mean that is awesome I didn’t even know that I think I would of jumped on that ten years ago but I didn’t.
Julie gave us an extra 22 minutes and I want to thank her. Julie talked earlier on the call about when I asked her to be on this she said I would love to but I can’t I am going up to spend a couple of days in the mountains with my family starting Wednesday and I was like that’s ok our call is Monday so.
Julie:
That is ok really it is tomorrow. I am obviously on vacation I think I am on vacation part of me anyway.
Barry:
I just love that. Julie I can’t thank you enough on behalf of all the members of this program who are in Europe, USA, Canada and just everyone it is incredible a gifts to hear the story from your side of the, from the business we don’t get to do that and I think most of us as I did just guessed what would work and I can’t thank you enough for your insight in to what it is like on your side.
Julie:
My pleasure to speak with you all today and really appreciate it thank you so much.
Barry:
Thank you so much and I will follow up with you on the coaching service that sounds great and have a great day.