Speaking on stages big or small is a great way to grow your business and position your authority. If you have a message or just a desire to share your core belief, you can get some great tips inside this episode. Today’s guest is Jane Atkinson, author of “The Wealthy Speaker 2.0,” helps speakers catapult their business to the next level. Jane is best known for helping people take big stages and get big money too. She shares how you can position yourself from commodity to authority.
Target Audience: Jane specifically serves those who already speak professionally or those who would like to speak more and fit under the umbrella of being an expert.
This is a very specific niche which Jane consciously chose although she has entertained the idea of stepping out of her niche in the past. Time and time again she was advised not to and she’s really grateful that she always stuck with her narrowed niche: working with professional speakers only. Jane adds that it is so much easier when you have that clarity of your niche. It’s also helpful for her own clients when they know who their audience is going to be. As Joe Callaway says, “pick a lane.” This is about choosing the topic area that you want to be known for. In her book, Epic Keynote (LINK) Jane shares how the most impactful speakers have a high level of relevance for their audience and know how to customize it to make it meaningful in ways that resonate with them.
Well, how come more experienced speakers have more lanes to choose from? According to Jane, when you already have a big following, maybe a published book to go with it and your people, you have the liberty to speak to broader audiences because your followers will be there.
Another major topic spoken about on the podcast was FEAR. Jane says that most decisions based on fear are usually wrong. Why? Because it comes from doing things in ways people expect of you and thus you do it from a place of trying to please everyone. People are afraid that if they pick a lane and let some other things go , they won’t have what the customer wants. Operating from this place is exhausting. The fact is however, that when you pick a lane, you will have richer conversations.
Jane advises to have a strong and clear promise statement. From there make sure you have a professional looking website (not a homemade one) because you’ve got as little as 10 seconds to make an impression on your audience. Then, make sure you clear and strong message is in an apparent space on your website homepage.
Being a speaker can be quite a challenge because there’s so much free information everywhere. That’s why it is imperative to be an authority. This might mean writing a book. As a speaker, you really want to go from being unconsciously competent to being consciously competent
In this episode we’ll cover:
- Why Jane stuck to her narrowed niche
- Why you need to stay true to your message
- How to stop trying to please everyone
- How to make your message crystal clear
- Why you need to make yourself an Authority
Practical and Actionable:
If you are serious about speaking, Jane recommends getting your hands on the Wealthy Speaker 2.0 workbook and take yourself through the chart process (see example of the chart here):
- The “ready” stage= clarity in your message
- The “aim” stage= look at your website look at what needs to be on there
- The “fire”= action part
