We're almost at 2,500. So excited to be on this journey with you. Thank you for tuning in today. My name is Chris Kellabao. Welcome as well to Throwback Thursday. This is a weekly segment conveniently happening every Thursday after Wednesday before Friday.

Where we take an in-depth look at someone whose story has evolved since we first featured them. Now last week we heard from a ghost writer who once specialized in romance novels she has since broken into the true crime genre.

She shared how some market saturation in the romance genre led her to diversify, find some new success in that new genre.

Today in our latest feature we'll hear from a longtime event planner who transitions to the world of helping authors and experts get paid speaking kicks.

A little bit about the world of speaking. It's a whole interesting world. We should do a detailed case study on that at some point. The whole art of being an author and expert and getting speaking gigs.

But that is what this person helps authors and experts transition to. So I should get out of the way here and let's hear from the Throwback Thursday feature.

I'll come back to the end with a quick wrap up but let's hear from someone who helps authors get paid speaking gigs and navigate that process.

And what is happening in the second chapter of this person's life or at least second chapter of this update. All right speaking agent for authors builds out roster. Let's hand over the mic.

Hey again. You might remember me from three years ago when I started helping authors and subject matter experts tap into their lucrative paid speaking market.

Since then a lot has changed. When I last shared my journey my client list was small mostly comprised of people in my network.

Now let's dig into the second chapter of this exciting venture. Initially I was handling everything manually contracts scheduling and voices. It was becoming unsustainable.

So I decided to implement a customer relationship management or CRM system. The software automated most of these processes and freed up a lot of my time.

I went with Salesforce because it allowed me to tailor my pipeline to the unique needs of this business. If you're entering the space don't underestimate the power of automating administrative tasks. It can definitely be a game changer.

On the client acquisition side I also made some strategic changes. I had been relying on one-to-one consolations to bring in clients. However I switched to hosting monthly webinars which also allowed me to reach a larger audience at once.

The webinar served as a preview of my consulting services and funded more qualified leads my way. It took me three tries to nail the right webinar format but it's been consistent revenue since then.

I usually charge $99 for the sessions but real value comes from upselling attendees to my more in-depth services later on.

One critical aspect I've refined is my pricing model. I initially offered flat rates which seemed simple but weren't maximizing my revenue potential.

I now employ a value-based pricing model that takes into account the individual needs and budgets of each client. This approach lets me offer more customized solutions and has significantly increased my average deal size.

The industry itself has evolved too with virtual speaking engagements becoming more accessible. These developments expanded my client pool as many experts who were hesitant about in-person gigs found this a comfortable first step.

However this also meant helping clients adapt their presentation skills to a digital format which became an additional service I offered.

Networking is the lifeblood of this business. Conferences and trade shows are where I find most of my high-value clients.

I mean over the past year I've managed to foster a relationship with events coordinators who offer me first speakers to me for coaching.

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