Why You Should Hire Motivational Speakers (even when the economy isn’t doing so well)

Listen, the economy isn’t doing very well right now. I understand. I see the doom and gloom on the news every night, just like you do. You’re probably having a hard time rationalizing why you should spend the money on a top motivational speaker right now–fair enough. We’re all cutting back.

But here’s the thing–at times like these, when the economy isn’t doing well, when your employees are worried about hitting sales targets, these are the times you NEED a motivational speaker. You need someone who can fire up your team, who can inspire with tales of how they overcame adversity. This investment now will pay big dividends for your company’s financial well-being, as well as for your employee’s morale.

Plus, I’m running all sorts of specials right now to lure customers in…just send me an email (DanielleMarquis@marquisathletes.com) and mention that you heard about the specials on this blog, or sign up for our newsletter on the website.

Rulon Gardner and Larry the Cable Guy at the University of Nebraska

Rulon Gardner recently did a speaking event for the students, athletes and staff at the University of Nebraska. While in Lincoln, he attended the football game versus San Jose State, where he ran into Larry the Cable Guy.

Olympic Themed Corporate Events

You’re the meeting planner for your company–or someone who has never planned a meeting before, but suddenly this role was thrust upon you–and you have a corporate event planned…now all you need is a venue, a theme and a motivational speaker. Freaking out?! I can’t help you with the venue part, but I can help you with the theme and the motivational speaker part.

Since 2008 is an Olympic year, how about an Olympic theme? The Beijing Games recently ended and the Olympics are foremost in everyone’s mind–especially since it was some of the first new programming to hit the TV in months due to the writer’s strike. With all the themes of goal-setting and achievement the Olympics embody, this is a great theme for a corporate event. You could bring in an Olympic speaker (like Olympic Gold and Bronze Medalist Rulon Gardner), set up 5 breakout groups to work on specific skill sets (to coincide with the 5 Olympic rings, get it?!), even do a fun team building event (i.e., The Corporate Olympics). We’ve had past customers do team boat races (with one team–who had performed the best in the earlier breakout sessions–winning the right to have the Olympian speaker on their team!) and team bicycle assembly competitions (the bikes were then donated to a local charity). Since the Olympics were in Beijing this past summer, you could have your meeting catered with Chinese food.

Has your company done an Olympic Themed Corporate Event in the past? What did you do? What worked, what didn’t? I’d love to hear from you in the comments.

Rulon Gardner Blogs from Beijing

Olympic Gold and Bronze Medalist and Marquis Athletes, LLC client Rulon Gardner will be commentating for NBC Olympics during the Beijing Games. Please visit his blog www.rulongardnerinbeijing.wordpress.com for updates!

What Topics Would You Like To See Covered?

What topics would you like to see covered? What questions do you have about our clients? Our services? Feel free to leave comments whenever a question pops up and I will address it in a future post.

How Did You Become a Sports Agent?

When speaking with group organizers I often get asked, “How did you become a sports agent?” Some people are stunned that I’m young and female in a profession full of older men, others have never know an agent personally and are just curious and still others have watched “Jerry McGuire” one too many times!

My first answer is usually, “Well, I have a law degree.” That usually explains it for most people, since they then realize I didn’t just happen upon this dream job, I actually went to school for 7 years for it. I then explain that while in law school I focused on corporate law and sports law, and interned (for free!) for every sports agent who would hire me. I worked 2-3 internships at a time, while attending law school full-time and working with my own clients. Before I went to law school, I’d begun helping some friends with their endorsement deals and marketing who were professional kayakers. I didn’t grow up my whole life wanting to be a sports agent (I actually wanted to be a veterinarian!), but I’ve been an athlete my entire life, I love being able to exercise my creativity and I love business. Being a sports agent was a great way to combine all my passions into one “dream job.”

If you’re a student out there wondering how you too can someday become a sports agent, here is my best advice…

1. Study very hard in school! Lots of people want to be agents, if you want to be considered, you’ll need good grades in High School to get into a good College or University, and good College/University grades to get into a good Law School.

2. Explore internship opportunities and don’t expect to be paid! Any good internship opportunity will have many, many people vying for consideration. You’ll be lucky if you get an interview! If you need to get paid, get a part-time job and intern the rest of the time. It’s the best way to learn about the business and make the connections you’ll need to get a job someday.

3. Go to law school. A law degree won’t guarantee you a job as an agent, but you won’t have much luck getting a job as an agent if you don’t have a law degree. Agents need to be able to write and negotiate contracts for their clients.

If you have any additional questions about becoming an agent, leave me a comment and I’d be happy to answer either in the comments or in a separate post! For more information about my background, visit www.marquisathletes.com/aboutus

Do Your Clients Ever Do Free Events?

“Hi, my name is John Doe and I’m calling from XYZ. We’re a non-profit/small corporation/school group and we were wondering, do your clients ever do events for free?”

 I get some variation of this phone call several times per day, and the short answer is, “No.” All of our clients are professional motivational speakers, and they have retired from the professional sport they participated in. Speaking is their job, so they charge for it. We have speakers in a variety of fee ranges and certain speakers offer reduced-fee speeches for schools, community groups, etc. but we do not offer free events. Our speakers are excellent and you won’t be disappointed! They are worth every penny they charge.

Would Your High School Athletes Like To “Train With Shane”?

Imagine bringing in an Olympian to train the high school athletes at your school? Olympic weightlifter and Pan Am Games Gold Medalist, Shane Hamman is considered the “Strongest Man in
America” and he is available for weightlifting training sessions with high school athletes in conjunction with his school speeches. Let Shane show your athletes how to make the most out of gym time, increasing speed and power in between sports seasons, or just before practice. This upgrade is available for $500 when a school books a standard school speech for $2,000 plus travel expenses.

How To Hire The Right Corporate Speaker

Hiring corporate speakers can be a gamble—it’s expensive, and you don’t always know whether it will work. But, the right speaker combined with the right corporate program is a powerful combination. Choose wisely and your employees will leave the speech inspired, not scratching their heads, wondering what you were thinking wasting their valuable time. Here are some tips to make sure you choose the right corporate speaker:

 

1.      Open the lines of communication between your audience (i.e., staff, management, consumers, etc.) and your event planner, as well as between your event planner and your corporate speaker. Often an audience will feel a speaker missed the mark when the speaker was simply a poor fit for the audience. This is an internal branding issue that can be avoided by listening to what your audience wants and what your speaker delivers.

a.       Does your audience need a motivational speaker to give a pep talk or a technical speaker to explain your latest product’s niche in the marketplace?

2.      Don’t work backwards from the date of the company’s annual meeting to find the first speaker within your budget who is available. Instead, plan ahead. Figure out what your company is doing right, what it’s doing wrong and what you want to improve on going into your function. Then, find an expert on your topic that meets those goals.

3.      Once you’ve identified your goals and found a speaker who can work within them, do your due diligence. Talk with the speaker (or their representative), ask whatever questions you have, request marketing materials and a sample speech DVD, ask for references and talk with them. Ask the speaker what their strong point is (they will know and they will tell you! If you look at any past customer testimonials, they will probably repeat the same things over and over as well.) As with any major purchase, this due diligence should separate the true professionals from the folks you will waste money on.

4.      Don’t dismiss a speaker simply because they don’t have a ton of experience! Everyone has to start somewhere, and speakers who are relatively new to the circuit often have discounted prices. As long as the speaker checks out when you do your due diligence, you should have nothing to worry about.

5.      Once you’ve selected a speaker, figure out approximately what their total cost will be. This may not be possible with all speakers, especially if your event is far in advance, but most should be able to give you a rough estimate. Do they require first class travel or coach? For one person or two? Where do they live? What happens if they’re going from your event to another? Do you split travel expenses with the other group?

6.      During your event, carefully monitor the reactions and impressions of the audience. Is the speaker engaging and including the audience? How is the audience reacting to the speaker? Are members of the audience nodding, giving responses to questions, laughing? Does the speaker span the audience and make eye contact with the group? Is the audience fully alert and attentive to the speaker? What do you personally think of the speaker? Is the speaker meeting the criteria you established? Is the discussion easy to follow and effective?

Environment Themed Assembly Tie-Ins (Lesson Plan Suggestions)

1. English: Read the speaker’s book on the subject about his adventures in various places around the world; Assign essay for students where they write about their own adventures (urban or in the wilderness) as a creative piece and also assign process type essay where students must write about HOW to do part of their adventure (i.e., how to rock climb) and a technical essay about an environmental concern discussed in science class, etc. Lead group discussion about how these three writing styles are different, who prefers and excels at which ones, why that is, etc.
2. Science: Watch “An Inconvenient Truth” with students and discuss the science discussed in the movie, how that relates to what has been learned thus far in class, etc. Have students research your town’s specific environmental issues, break into groups assigned to each issue, then have each group tackle explaining the “science” behind each issue to the average person as a means of persuasion, video each segment.
3. Math: Calculate the distance, wind speeds, etc. encountered while speaker was on various expeditions (i.e., sea kayaking, dog sledding, etc.)
4. Health: Discuss diets of top level athletes living in extreme environments while on expedition (how is this different from elite athletes under normal conditions? What role does it play to know you have to carry that food with you or obtain it en route)
5. History: Read speaker’s book about Kennewick Man and his beliefs on the theory surrounding wanderlust v. survival
6. Art: Work on technical drawings to illustrate local environmental problems studied in Science class, to illustrate own adventures worked on in English class.
7. Music: Listen to different music favored by athletes in athletic pursuits. Discuss why would choose some for more intense activities, others for more mentally challenging sports. What is it about each song that helps one way or the other? Why don’t some songs work? What would be your Ipod Playlist for your adventure written about in English class?
8. Physical Education: Put together supplies for own expedition and complete in class over the course of a month (include planning time, training time, packing time, expedition time)

 

Marquis Athletes client Jon Turk is a Ph.D in Chemistry who writes Earth Science and Environmental textbooks, adventure travel books and has also completed expeditions such as sea kayaking around Cape Horn, sea kayaking from Japan to Alaska, mountain biking across the Mongolian Gobi and Dog Sledding along Baffin Island, among others. Jon is available for school speeches about Fear Management and the fee is $2,000 plus travel. Jon also offers “add-ons” which include guest lectures in science and English classes (creative and technical writing), as well as retreats for students which include the fusion of Fear Management lectures, educational lectures and/or guided expeditions of varying skill levels.