Most Frequently Asked Questions of
Mary McKay, Speaker Marketing Specialist

Please take a moment to read this before hiring Mary.

How long have you been working with speakers?

I’ve been representing speakers for 28 years now, since 1982. 

 How did you get to be a speaker marketing specialist? 

I began booking speaker and author Mark Victor Hansen, co-creator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul® series back in 1982.  Having just left Hawaii where I was director of public relations at a luxury hotel in Waikiki, I interviewed with the Hansens and began working for them as director of sales and marketing.  My specific job was to book Mark.

My new line of work opened up many new possibilities.  Mark and his wife Patty taught me about the world of motivational speaking, encouraged me and invested in me so that I could represent Mark in the most professional light. 

I was able to set and achieve goals I had never previously imagined.  We later became partners in a speakers’ bureau representing roughly 100 medium to high profile speakers.  With my first job combining a salary plus a commission, I was able to achieve the financial goals I had set and purchase a home within three years. 

After five years, I was hired as president of a different speaker’s company focusing in the real estate market.  I then opened my own company maintaining real estate as a target market for booking speakers.  I represented 1-3 speakers for a 10 year period.  Branching out to represent speakers with various types of expertise, I have experienced all of the various ways in running a speakers business from being an employee to an independent contractor, with experience as a representative for one, an agency for selected speakers and a speakers’ bureau. 

I created my first audio product for speakers in 1985 called No Frills Booking: Exactly What to Do to Get Paid Speaking Engagements.  My second product in 1987 was a book entitled, How to Make $100,000 a Year Speaking in the Real Estate Industry:  The 57 Things You Need to Know.  Those first two and all products since then have been produced while representing speakers. 

After booking more than 2,200 paid speaking engagements, in March of 2008 when my exclusive speaker became too ill to continue speaking, I transitioned from booking speakers to full time coaching emerging and under-booked professional speakers.  

Who are your clients exactly?

My clients come in two categories: They are emerging speakers who are beginning to get organized around their topic and perhaps have even done some speaking but nothing on the scale that they’d like to do. 

The other category is under-booked professional speakers.  They are discouraged by the lack of invitations to speak, disappointed in being asked to reduce their fees constantly; they are sometimes feeling invisible and certainly under-valued in the marketplace.  
Those two categories of speakers have one thing in common with each other.  They both want more paid speaking engagements and are willing to find out what they need to do to begin to fill their calendars with invitations to speak.   

What happens if you haven’t worked with speakers in my field? 

Your particular expertise does not matter, except in rare circumstances- too rate to mention.  Once we have a get acquainted session, I determine if I would be able to assist you in achieving the kind of positioning that will secure paid speaking engagements. 

With my Fast Track One-on-One clients and with the Basic One-on-One package, I begin wherever you are in your positioning and we end up with a marketing plan including daily activities for you to follow to attract the kinds of audiences that benefit from your expertise. 

In my group coaching packages, I have a comprehensive start to finish course.  I go step-by-step through ten modules so that you can position your expertise. 

So, my coaching processes will work for any niche as long as you apply what you’ve learned and implement the strategies. 

How can you help me?

If you’re an emerging or under-booked professional speaker, I teach you how to position your expertise.  As a booking strategist for leaders, authors, top producers, experts, cultural heroes, business and industry experts who want to secure paid speaking engagements, I teach them five things:  how to position their expertise, systematize the booking process, optimize the appearance, generate referrals and enable more revenue potential through product sales. 

Those five areas of focus cover everything from writing benefit driven copy, creating professional documents that meeting professionals expect from those they hire, how to generate referrals and repeat business, SEO strategies, publicity tips, create the marketing tools necessary and the systems they can put a speaking business on auto-pilot. 
The whole point is for experts who speak to attract clients rather than have to pursue clients and position their expertise rather than cold call. 

What kind of results can I expect? 

The first result most speakers see is why what they’ve been doing has not worked in their favor or is at this point in time not working for them.  Speakers will begin to see immediately how their expertise is perceived (or not) by the buying public. 

Once you begin to determine exactly how you want your expertise to be positioned, you’re instructed on how to write your copy, clearly define your niche, your primary and secondary target markets, how to differentiate your expertise from the competitors and how to generate more revenue potential through extended learning materials. 

Best of all, you’re create the systems that automate the booking process.  You’ll also have access to legal documents, appearance documents and daily checklists.   

You can expect to learn exactly what you should do to properly position your expertise and how to organize your marketing activities to attract paid speaking engagements.

Who are your clients exactly?

Speakers that I have worked with over the years and now come from every industry – to mention a few… financial services, business leaders, management specialists, top producers in real estate and commission sales positioned, multi-level marketing, government organizations including the military, motivational and inspirational speakers, school administrators, self-help leaders, authors, community activists, spiritual teachers, best- selling authors, healthcare specialists, chiropractors, and even a chess instructor.

Experts who speak that I have represented or coached are from various fields such as real estate, financial services, healthcare, business, multi-level marketing, consumer goods, social services, sales in general, commissioned sales, legal, manufacturing, transportation, self-help, etc.   Many of them have been high profile motivational speakers who serve all segments of business, industry and the private sector. 

How are you different from other coaches?

My Turnkey Speaker Booking System is purely organic.  Sometimes, it’s the cooperative form of coaching and other times, it’s strictly lecture format where I’m “tell-assertive.”  I always provide for some form of forum or designated Q&A sessions that allow for a more interactive style of coaching.  Many times it depends on the personality or level of development of the individual. 

I guide speakers from my own experiences not only in interfacing with hundreds of thousands of meeting professionals when making speaker suggestions but  in learning from industry giants, Internet marketing experts, medium to high profile speakers and the most profitable seminar promoters in North America. 

Twenty eight years is a long time!  Having spent thousands of hours analyzing the reasons that some speakers are easily booked and others are under-booked, I’ve dissected the reasons and am constantly coming up with ways that I can add insight to the positioning and booking process for my clients.   And although I’ve lost more gigs than I’ve booked, the ones I’ve lost were learning curve for me and now for those I coach. 

What’s expected of me in working with you?

I’d prefer to respond to that by saying that I appreciate most working with clients who are unpretentious, are coachable, are open to learning new insights about their expertise, clients who keep their word and clients who show up and participate in a big way to solve their challenges in securing gigs and implement new suggestions and strategies.  

What type of professional is your program not going to work for?

Those individuals fall in two categories.

The system that I teach works, but there are individuals who are already satisfied with the number of bookings that they have.  They are already positioned, they generate lots of media interest, get paid the big fees every time, are published (some best-selling authors) and are running profitable speaking businesses.  Those individuals would not benefit from my systems. 

Secondly, the Turnkey Speaker Booking System is not for those who have no money and are absolutely, financially and/or emotionally desperate.  My personal experience is that people in any kind of crisis are generally not receptive to solving other people’s problems, which is what the best speakers are – problem solvers. 

It’s difficult if one is financially strapped or emotionally unstable to focus on speaking because securing engagements is not an overnight process and speaking and teaching requires focus.  It is based on consistent marketing strategies.  If I work with someone having a personal or financial crisis, they generally don’t trust the recommendations I give them, don’t show up for sessions, become defensive when encouraged and rarely do the assignments.

The meetings industry responds favorably to individuals who are consistently dependable, reliable and who deliver benefit driven presentations. So, on the get acquainted call, I may be able to make alternative suggestions that someone not suited to my coaching will find helpful.

What exactly is the Turnkey Speaker Booking System and what does it include?

I structure programs with various time frames and rates.  Depending on where the speaker wants to begin the process, the subjects we cover are:  making paid speaking engagements a priority, your expertise and relevant marketing message, identifying your target market(s), formulating and formatting your marketing message, composing and formatting your signature speech, establishing and formatting your speaking fee schedule, creating a website that attracts and converts buyers, making contact with your ideal clients, packaging and pricing what you know into products, systematizing the booking process and automating your marketing outreach.  

What are the different types of coaching programs that you offer? 

If you click on the coaching navigation bar on the landing page of the website, the various offerings are listed there.  If you would like to discuss which one might be appropriate for you, click on the “Get Acquainted” bar after each description and I or my assistant will set up a date and time to learn more about what you’d like to accomplish and how fast you’d like to get there.

I see that you offer teleseminars throughout the year and I can sign up for those as I go along.  There are also bootcamps for group coaching as well as one-on-one coaching.  Do you have set dates for the bootcamps? 

Yes, there are four bootcamps scheduled for 2010.  The dates are:

• January 26 – March 30, 2010        
• April 6 – June 8, 2010                        
• June 29 – August 31                            
• September 14 – November 9       

How long are the bootcamps and what do I get with those?

Bootcamps consist of one hour a week for 10 weeks, plus 5 bonus Q&A sessions.  Clients are given worksheets, audios and transcripts on a password protected member center.  

Can I contact some of your former clients to see what it's like to work with you?

Yes, I encourage you to. On the left hand side of each page on my website, I have client testimonials.  I think that the longest page is my “coaching” page,  so that’s where you can find most of them.  Then feel free to email or call them and ask what they got from working with me and my programs.

How can I guarantee myself that I will get more speaking engagements?        

Show up for each session.  Do all of your worksheets.  Study the sample documents I’ve provided.  Attend and participate in the Q&A sessions if you’re in group coaching.  Implement the suggestions.  Be totally focused on YOU. If you do not want to represent yourself, hire someone to do it for you.  I coach representatives as well and you can have your own fully trained booking agent.  Never stop evolving and improving your delivery or your marketing outreach.  Those are the things that will guarantee your success.  It’s not about you being an orator.  It’s about you providing presentations that serve your client base.  The speaking field is full of speakers who aren’t great at telling stories, who don’t know how to make people laugh and who don’t dress fashionably – but they deliver high content programs.  That’s what will drive your business. 

What is the coaching investment?

As you read through the various coaching programs under the “coaching” nav bar, call me to set up the Get Acquainted” session.  We’ll discuss the investment for each of the offerings and see which best suits your needs.    

Do you offer any discounts and accept credit cards?

I have offered discounts, but I do not always offer discounts.  Yes, I accept credit cards. 

OK, I know which program I want.  How do we get started?

You can either respond by registering at the end of an email I may send and pay at that time, or you can call me to proceed with registering for one-on-one coaching. 

If I’m not sure I’m ready to get started, how can I sample your work at low cost to see if it’s the right solution for me?

Opt-in for my free weekly tips.  I also have free articles on my website under “articles.”  Those tips and articles will give you a good idea of the value of the information I have to share with you. 

I have a family and a busy life.  Although I want more speaking engagements badly, I don’t have much time to spare.  How much time do I need?

I move at my client’s desired rate when working one-on-one.  I work with some clients four times a week and others over a 90 day period.  The group coaching classes take 10 weeks.  So, each program has its own time requirements.

As long as you know what to do and why you’re doing it (which I cover in coaching you), you can always implement in different stages given your time restrictions.  What’s important is that you know how to do it so that when you’re ready, it’s there for you. 

OK.  I’m ready to do this for myself but I have a couple of additional questions.  May I call you? 

Of course.  I usually return phone calls within 24 hours, often the same day.  My office number is 949/429-6646. 

ABOUT TURNKEY SPEAKER

TurnkeySpeaker.com is the official website of Mary McKay Productions, Inc. Mary McKay is a speaker marketing specialist.  Her varied experience in representing moderate to high profile public speakers, both industry specific speakers and generalists, provided the foundation for TurnkeySpeaker.com. 

The focus of TurnkeySpeaker.com is to provide a turnkey system to individuals who are ready to begin public speaking or have begun the process and do not yet have a daily system for securing speaking engagements or getting paid to speak about their expertise.

Within this site you’ll discover free articles, free weekly insider tips,  insider reports and various levels of products and coaching that will give you the resources to:

Uniquely Position Yourself or Your Speaker

• Establish your expertise in a way that differentiates you from your competitors
• Know what to say and do when you make contact with prospective buyers
• Know what a day is like in the life of a meeting planner
• Know what to do before you make contact
• Learn now to never have to make a cold call again
• Learn how to attract buyers rather than pursue them
• Define your target and secondary markets
• Know the various ways to generate an income from your knowledge base
• Determine the right time for product based speaking vs. fee based speaking

Optimize the Appearance

• The standard protocol before you speak, during your presentation and after you speak
• Maximize your time while at the event
• The appropriate use of media
• Ensure that you have permission to sell your products
• Ask the questions that demonstrate your credibility in the organization’s future
• Increase your product sales
• Have your product sales handled professionally for higher sales
• Know what to do before you leave home

General Referrals

• Marketing strategies
• Third party endorsements
• Printed newsletters
• Online newsletters
• Ezines
• Teleclasses
• Special reports
• Articles in periodicals and industry publications
• Corporate consulting

Enable More Revenue Potential through Product Sales

• Print/audio product development (books, workbooks, ebooks, manuals, CDs or DVDs for training and inspiration)
• Online sales
• Event sales
• Product splits
• Joint ventures
• Affiliate relationships   
• Hosting your own events
• Bundling products

All TurnkeySpeaker products and consultations are designed to streamline your outreach utilizing personal contact with prospective buyers as well as electronic marketing. 

Offering marketing guidelines, sales strategies, daily activities and checklists for public speakers and/or their representatives, TurnkeySpeaker is a resource for experts, educators and cultural heroes who wish to impart knowledge or expertise from which others can benefit.

If your past experience with public speaking is from a corporate structure in a training division, spokesperson capacity, network marketing recruitment or specific training at an industry convention/trade show, Mary has both a system for those who wish to represent themselves (as most beginning speakers do) or for those who wish to hire someone to represent them.

TurnkeySpeaker’s products and consulting can be either customized or in a general format for prospective and active public speakers.

Small to large meetings, events, conferences and conventions all hire public speakers.  Well known journalists, sports motivators, athletes, American and world leaders, champions of business, authors, inspirational speakers, economists, medical professionals, politicians, media moguls and humorists are selected in part not only for their intended impact on influencing the lives of attendees but they are selected to increase attendance at events.   

The more visible an expert is, such as Tom Peters, Christiane Amanpour and George Stephanopoulos, the more likely that they will be invited to address a major conference or event.  However, even those high profile personalities have to be positioned, marketed and managed to be selected for speaking engagements. 

To build your speaking empire from the ground up, save yourself time and money by implementing the systems available from TurnkeySpeaker.com.  There is much hidden revenue in your expertise and speaking can be your biggest asset. 

Within this site are the tools you’ll need to earn more money from your customers and dig deeper into your creative side through products that serve others. 

ABOUT MARY MCKAY

Public speaker consultant and booking strategist Mary McKay has booked over 2,500 speaking engagements for top producers, cultural heroes, experts and leaders since 1982.  She systematizes the booking process to uniquely position the speaker, optimize the appearance, generate referrals and enable more revenue potential through product sales.

Well-suited to respond to the booking dilemmas of speakers and their representatives, Mary’s first job as a speaker’s representative was in 1982 as director of marketing for Mark Victor Hansen and president of their speakers’ bureau, Look Who’s Talking. 

Mary represented an impressive group of authors, journalists, celebrities, sales and management trainers, humorists, psychologists and more.  Clients included such internationally recognized figures as Wayne Dyer, Norman Vincent Peale, Norman Cousins, Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, Capt. Gerald Coffee, Art Linkletter, Paul Harvey, Robert Schuller, Charles Kuralt, Les Brown, Tom Sullivan, Jack Canfield and Tommy Lasorda.

After one year as president of Mike Ferry Productions, Inc., Mary opened her own independent agency in 1987 and developed specialized representation for selected speakers who addressed issues of primary interest to the real estate industry. 

Among the speakers Mary has placed over the years are Bob Arnot, Robert Kriegel, Chip Bell, Mary LoVerde, John Tuccillo, Bob Frare, Terri Sjodin, Roxanne Emmerich, Dave Beson, David Knox, Monica Reynolds, Oliver Frascona, Clifford Baird, Bill Barrett, Bobbie Gee, Pat Burns, Roger Reitzel, Danny Cox, Steve Stewart, Jerry Hanson, Sheida Hodge, Bill Hart, Terri Murphy, Guy Owen, Dave Jenx, Bob Murphy, Connie Merritt and Jim Droz, Les Brown, Ed Robinson and John Alston. 

In February 2002, Mary returned to the office of Mark Victor Hansen as vice president of sales for corporate and association speaking engagements.  She resigned in 2005 to pursue her own consulting firm offering products and coaching for prospective and active speakers.     

Mary produced her first instructional audio album in 1993 called, No Frills Booking:  Exactly What to Do to Get Paid Speaking Engagements.  She published her first book in 1997 entitled, How to Make $100,000 the First Year Speaking in the Real Estate Industry- the 57 Things You Need to Know.

Mary’s current products include:

• 2009 Edition of Your Booking Agent: How to Hire, Interview, Pay, Train and Keep Your Booking Agent.  (manual and 16 CD set)

• 2009 Edition of How to Position, Prospect and Profit from Teaching Others What You Know:  The 60 Things You Need to Know Featuring 12 Sample Documents. 

• Let Me Introduce Myself: What to Say and Do on the First Call When You Want an Organization to Hire You for a Paid Speaking Engagement.  

CONTACT MARY McKAY PRODUCTIONS, INC.

Mary McKay Productions, Inc.
P.O. Box 196
Dana Point, CA 92629

Mary McKay

mary@turnkeyspeaker.com
949-429-6646

©2009 Mary McKay Productions, Inc.
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