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Our training clients include:
Unaffiliated Organizations
What is the opportunity? Unaffiliated organizations are local clubs and organizations. They are any local group that is not a part of a larger national organization (the Rotary, JCs, etc. are Affiliated Organizations, see below). They can be the local pet club, charity groups, local PTAs, cancer support groups, bicycle club, garden club, historical society, tax payers league, and a host of informal groups, such as “support” groups of local business people that meet regularly to brainstorm with one another. In larger cities, some of these groups are very large, well-established, and prestigious, going back decades, but most are small and very local. Every city and town has a variety of clubs that meet on various topics for a variety of reasons. Fortunately, the topic of strategy is generally interesting to virtually any audience and can be tailored to the specific interests of many of them.
Why are unaffiliated organizations important? You start here because it is the best training ground. It is the best training ground for a number of reasons:
- These speaking engagements are easy to get.
- You do not have to invest a lot of time and effort in them.
- If you do poorly, the result doesn’t hurt your career.
- If you do well, you can make money and it can lead to other things.
In other words, speaking at this level has no risk and it can potentially be very rewarding.
Where do you find these groups? Go to your local library (or different local libraries), and the chamber of commerce. They will usually have lists of these local organizations. You can also contact local restaurants and hotels that offer meeting space to see if they can put you in touch with the meeting coordinator.
How to you get invited to speak? Call the meeting coordinator, chairman and contact person. These people are desperate for speakers. All they usually get are the local real estate people, tax planners, and insurance salespeople.
How do you make money? To answer directly: through fund raisers. You usually don’t make money on the first contact, but by developing a relationship that allows you to propose a fundraised. While only the largest and well-established of these groups may pay speakers’ fees, most do not (though it never hurts to ask what they can pay to establish your value. ), virtually all of them need to raise money at various times for various uses. You can raise money for them and make money yourself in one of two ways:
A Paid Talk: The organization sells tickets for $25 (for example) each to its members and their families and $50 each to non-members. The organization arranges the meeting space. You give the talk. You then split talking proceeds with them.
The Sales Talk: You propose a fund-raising event where you give presentation for larger group or the general public. They publicized and organized by the even. You use the even to sell books, tapes, memberships, and you then DONATE 20-25% of proceeds to the organization.