CONTACT MARY McKAY PRODUCTIONS, INC.
Mary McKay Productions, Inc.
P.O. Box 196
Dana Point, CA 92629
mary@turnkeyspeaker.com
949-429-6646
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 and booking speakers 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 I want to work with you but you haven’t worked with speakers in my field?
Your particular expertise does not matter, except in rare circumstances- too rare 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.
Specifically, we go through these progressive steps to position your expertise and establish your marketing activities. Here’s what I cover depending on the results you’re currently getting:
Making paid speaking engagements a priority
Your expertise and relevance in the marketplace
Identifying your target market
Formatting your relevant marketing message
Composing and formatting your signature speech
Establishing and formatting your speaking fee
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
Automating your marketing outreach
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.
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 personality do you work best with and what is expected of me?
The Turnkey Speaker Booking System bootcamps and one-on-one coaching and products were created for individuals who are excited, serious and genuine about learning what it takes to secure paid speaking engagements. They are looking for a collaborative partner, someone to help them on their way to positioning their expertise and identifying the most productive marketing activities so that they will have a system at the end of the day to attract bookings.
They are open to learning from someone who has experience in booking speakers. They have a desire to provide a solution for a type of client or a type of problem. They want a good tagline, a good elevator speech, a concise and clear marketing message and are committed to identifying and providing solutions to common challenges and problems in your market. They’re the ones that are committed to finding a way to devote the time and money to learning how to marketing their expertise. My systems were created to systematize the booking process and automate the marketing practices so my ideal clients are those that want to know what it takes to begin to put “holds” and confirmed events on their calendar.
I work best with clients who are open to learning, willing to take a no excuses approach and who implement quickly. They take the assignments seriously and they take consistent action. This kind of commitment means more paid speaking engagements in record time.
There is absolutely no requirement to have ever had a paid speaking engagement before we work together. I provide a questionnaire for you to complete prior to our Get Acquainted session and it asks questions about your past experience. It is designed purely to inform me about your recent past and current experience in positioning your expertise and securing engagements. It’s not meant to intimidate you. I fully appreciate those who are honest and forthcoming in their responses.
What is expected of you in the one-on-one coaching is that you show up, do the assignments, keep your word and implement.
What type of prospective or active speaker is your program not going to work for?
Those individuals fall into three categories.
The Turnkey Speaker Booking System is not designed for 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 a profitable speaking businesses. Those individuals would not benefit from my system.
Secondly, the Turnkey Speaker Booking System is not for those who have little to no money coming in or who are financially and emotionally desperate in finding income sources.
Individuals in this kind of crisis are generally not receptive to solving other people’s problems, which is what the best speakers are – problem solvers. Securing engagements is not an overnight process and speaking and teaching requires focus on your part. Your success 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 or show up late, harried and frustrated, become defensive when encouraged and rarely do the assignments.
I do have recommendations if you would like to have one-on-one coaching but are unable to afford it at this time. Sign up immediately for my free tips, the free articles and the teleclasses that I offer at www.TurnkeySpeaker.com. The website is chocked full of free helpful advice and strategies about positioning your expertise as well as the protocol in the speaking industry that will help familiarize you with what meeting professionals expect of someone they hire.
Once you have some money coming in with a full-time or part-time job, circle back and contact me. You’ll have the focus and the time to concentrate on the assignments and descriptions of your expertise. If you take advantage of these tips, articles and strategies consistently, it will help you get ready for our work together. When you're ready, call me and we'll get you started.
The third type of personality that is not suited for the Turnkey Speaker Booking System is the individual that is unpredictable, unwilling to implement, challenges the recommendations that I make and is prone to blaming others for their circumstances. It’s the individual who, most of the time, has all the answers and “knows” whatever I’m suggesting – but isn’t getting the bookings.
Is there a way I can learn the system, work at my own pace and not be held accountable unless I choose to be?
Yes! There are two ways that we can do that: in my bootcamps and in my home study system.
In my bootcamps, my clients may choose to remain silent throughout the entire training. We have Q&A sessions where there is an opportunity to interact one-on-one with me, but there is no requirement to do so and some choose to remain anonymous to others in the bootcamp and not ask questions.
My home study system will be available in June 2010. The audios, the transcripts, the worksheets, the resources and the appearance documents are all included. Once ordered, it will be shipped to you and you can move at your own pace.
So, the one-on-one sessions are best suited for those who have a more immediate intention for speaking?
Yes. The one-on-one sessions have accountability built in. It may be something you can implement fully at a later date, but the ground work is designed for those who are prepared to do the assignments and work with me to complete your positioning, format necessary documents and be fully ready to implement marketing activities at the end of the coaching.
I have learned to be selective about those with whom I work. That was difficult at first, but it’s increasingly important that I work with those who are serious about making progress because there are only so many hours in the day and I’d rather work with those who most want my assistance. All in all, I would rather work with those who implement and create the success they desire.
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?
I offer the Fast Track One-on-One Coaching, the Basic One-on-One and the group coaching, which I call the Turnkey Speaker Booking Bootcamp.
If you click on the coaching button on the landing page of my 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 2 bonus Q&A sessions. Clients are given worksheets, audios and transcripts, resources and appearance document samples. Once registered, you receive information about your password protected member center which gives you access to course materials.
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.
©2009 Mary McKay Productions, Inc.
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