Secrets to Selling Yourself As A Speaker with Brandon Edmonson

The Speaker Lab Podcast

The Speaker Lab

Authors, Public Speakers, Public Speaking, How To, Marketing, Smallbusiness, Coaching, Education, Entrepreneurship, Speaking, Business, Side Gig

4.8 • 575 Ratings

🗓️ 4 February 2025

⏱️ 46 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

“Speed in this game is so important. It is typically the first speaker to reach back out…you have a really good chance of winning that business if you are the first.”

Navigating the intricate world of professional speaking requires not just talent but also a keen understanding of the business side of things. In this insightful episode, Grant Baldwin welcomes back his good friend Brandon Edmonson, Sales Director for Premier Speakers Bureau, for his fourth appearance on the podcast. Whether you're a seasoned speaker or just starting out, Brandon's expertise in the industry offers invaluable tips and strategies that can elevate your speaking career.

Brandon dives deep into the nitty-gritty of booking speaking gigs, sharing why it's critical to ask, "Who did you have last year?" This key question can unlock a wealth of information, from budget constraints to event expectations. Brandon emphasizes the importance of speed in the speaking business, urging speakers to respond quickly to inquiries to set a positive tone for future interactions.

Grant and Brandon also explore the art of balancing sales and relationships. Building rapport with event planners, understanding their needs, and positioning yourself as a solution to their problems are crucial steps in securing bookings. Brandon encourages speakers to add value in every interaction, whether it’s through well-timed follow-ups or personalized video messages.

Additionally, Brandon discusses how consistency in your rates fosters trust with clients, touching on the delicate balance of negotiation.

This episode offers a treasure trove of practical advice, from how to handle incoming leads to navigating the complexities of travel costs and geographical pricing variations. Don't miss out on this episode if you're looking to take your speaking business to the next level. Brandon’s wisdom could be the key to your next big speaking gig!

You’ll learn:

The importance of understanding event history
About the sales process for speakers
The role of speed in booking
Strategies for relationship building & outreach
Balancing sales & serving event planners
Handling inquiries & initial conversations
Key questions for gauging event seriousness
Negotiation tactics
And much, much more!

“Be honest, be genuine, be human in that process. Just how you would want to be.”

Episode Resources

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, Fran, Graham Baldwin here.
0:01.4	Hey, what if I told you that there was a single marketing asset that you could use to book tens of thousands of dollars in paid speaking gigs before you even have a website?
0:10.2	Well, that tool exists.
0:11.4	And Dan Irvin, one of the speakers on our team, used it to book over $36,000 in speaking gigs without a fancy website or any social media presence.
0:19.6	Even better, we're going to teach you exactly how
0:22.1	to create that tool for your speaking business in under an hour. For a limited time, we're going to
0:26.9	be offering a free live training on how to build and use this marketing asset to start booking
0:31.9	paid gigs in just a few weeks. If you want to hear more, go to thespeakalab.com slash marketing.
0:38.5	That's what you got to do is go to the speakelab.com slash marketing and we'll see you there. The most important question for speakers is who did you have last year?
1:00.4	That facilitates a lot of things.
1:02.4	Budget, like, you know, you can kind of figure it out.
1:05.9	They've had, if they've had, you know, I've paid Manning or a former president, they've got a budget, right? And even within your network, oh, I know that speaker. I don't know his fee. You could ask, you can, you know, so we have the database. So that's vitally important. Who have you had in the past? How many, you know, how many speakers are you trying to book? Are you trying to book one? What other speakers are you looking at to kind of determine
1:28.4	what lane you're going to go in? And I think that's really important.
1:42.5	Hey, I was our friends. Grant Baldwin here.
1:45.4	Welcome back to the Speak of Lab podcast.
1:48.8	Hey, excited for today's conversation with my good buddy, Brandon Edmondson.
1:55.0	We've actually had Brandon on the podcast multiple times, episode 163, 242, 324.
1:57.0	This is the fourth appearance.
1:57.6	Yes.
2:00.0	And somehow, it's been a couple of years.
2:02.0	We don't know if that's right or not.
2:07.2	That doesn't feel right. Maybe just we talk enough regularly. Like, surely some of these in between have been recorded and placed into the public archives. But nonetheless, you are here now.
	...

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