How to Become A Motivational Speaker and Build a Bigger Life with Adam Carroll

Have you ever wanted to start public speaking? Well, Adam Carroll has made a big business out of being a motivational speaker and now is successfully unemployed. In this article, Adam Carroll teaches us to become public speakers and be successfully unemployed.

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How Adam Makes Money Without Having a Job

In 2004, Adam Carroll started a company called National Financial Educators. He developed a financial program that taught high school and college students how to manage their money while in school and how not to fall prey to student loan debt.

He started out by calling high schools, but they didn’t want to take the time to talk to him.

When Adam shifted his focus to colleges and universities, he found they had the money to pay him.

The first community college he called hired him for $1,500 for an hour class the following Thursday. It continued from there.

When Getting Started, it is Okay to Charge a Lower Rate

Over the years Adam’s fee has gone up, because of how many engagements he has done. There is a level of mastery that comes with time and you can increase your fees.

Some say the difference between a $5,000 speaker and $1,500 speaker is about $3,500 in marketing materials.

If you market yourself really well, with headshots and a nice website, you can charge a little more.

Adam believes the best speakers don’t need to sell themselves, because they are so good on stage and the referrals keep coming in.

Adam has done two TED talks, one about Monopoly and one about the changing economic realities of college. He was recently offered a third that he turned down.

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Professional Speakers are Not in the Business of Professional Speaking

If you want to get started in this business, know that you are not in the business of becoming a professional speaker, you are in the business of marketing your public speaking business.

The business is all about going out and promoting what you do and how you do it. Getting up on stage is the cherry on top.

Many rookies start out thinking they need a fully baked program from the get-go. Adam’s suggestion is to come up with three titles you would like to talk about and create three session descriptions.

The session description is about you and your background and is ultimately what the listeners are going to use to figure out what speaker to go to.

When you get started in speaking, choose five stories that resonate with other people in your life. Write those stories out in detail. Most great speakers are great storytellers.

Tell your story as humorously and succinctly as possible. Weave those five stories into whatever you talk about.

There are Hundreds, if Not Thousands, of Companies and Groups Looking for Speakers

You should go out and do some speaking for free, if nothing else to hone in the stories, to know where the jokes hit, to know where the pauses should be, and to take some video of yourself.

One of the greatest things Adam has done is buy an audio recorder.

He hits record when he starts speaking, because he wants to hear his delivery right after he is done speaking. Adam is his own worst critic and he wants to improve.

Rotary Clubs, Kiwanis Clubs, and Chambers of Commerce are always looking for speakers. Reach out to them, because they are all business owners and they appreciate that you come in for basically the cost of breakfast.

Tell them you are working on some new material and you would like to try it out on their audience.

This statement leads them to believe that you are a seasoned speaker.

The Society of Association Executives is like the Pot of Gold at the End of the Rainbow

There is an association for every group you can think of. The heads of these associations all get together within a group called the Society of Association Executives (SAE).

Every state has an SAE, and when you go to your state’s SAE website, it will show the dates of upcoming meetings and every member.

For about $25 or $50, you are able to buy a directory of every association that is part of the society.

When you figure out your pitch and speak to one association, you are speaking to a room full of leaders in other companies.

This opens you up to many more opportunities.

The Key Question to Ask, When You are Asked to Speak for an Organization

When someone asks you to speak for them, the key is to ask if they have a budget for speakers. A lot of beginning speakers offer a lower amount than what organizations have budgeted. Many places will tell you what the budget is.

Make sure to maintain some fee integrity.

If you are used to charging $1,500 and they are offering $5,000, make sure you don’t out punt your coverage, especially if they are used to bringing in a high-level speaker and you are in the beginning of your speaking career.

It is the surest way to limit your speaking business if you overcharge and fall flat.

Another strategy if you are well within their budget is to charge for speaking and have them pay a separate fee to give a book or course, or whatever you produce, to each person in the audience.

How to Scale Your Speaking Business

Once you speak to one group, if they are fans, they will bring you back to speak time and time again. Adam has a number of college clients who bring him in for their orientation program every year.

One pays him about $12,000 for two days of engagements with them. It is guaranteed revenue every year and he wants to make sure they are exceptionally happy with him.

Adam sends thank you notes, he reaches out to clients, and he makes resources available to them, because there is nothing like starting a year and knowing there is money on the books already.

Take good care of the people who take care of you and follow up with them. People won’t hire you if they don’t like working with you. Adam is overtly gracious with people at these events.

Adam networks with people in the audience before he speaks, so he can mention them while he is speaking. It makes the audience feel like they are connected to you.

When you are on stage, it is not to be seen it is to see and meet people where they are. Adam does direct eye contact with people in the audience, because they feel like he is talking directly to them.

The Secret to Getting Repeat Customers

When you start public speaking, it is a slog. Twenty percent of it is awful and eighty percent is amazing. There was a march to where Adam is today.

He now has dozens of clients who ask him to come in and deliver a message.

The power of this business is delivering content that is meaningful, that changes people’s lives if they apply it, and that he is living.

If you want to pursue speaking, do the thing you are speaking about and do it with such excellence that you now want to go out and train other people how to do it.

People will hire you again and again, because it is so evident in your message.

How Adam is Giving Back to Make the World a Better Place

Adam is a board member on the Iowa Credit Union Foundation.

The credit union movement is people helping people and they are helping members get out of poverty and the poverty mindset.

Adam does a lot of work around helping credit unions learn how to eradicate poverty of their members.

Adam has been doing some volunteer work in the school district where he lives. He is helping parents understand how to raise their kids intelligently around money and helping the kids find scholarships for college.

He wants to help the students understand how close they are to money and how easy it is to get college paid for if you are doing the right work in the right time.

He wants to help as many student as possible graduate with less debt.

The Advice Adam Would Give Someone Getting Started

Watch a lot of presenters, evaluate what they do, and get really intentional about how you deliver a message that is yours.

Appreciate how others deliver their messages.

Spend hours combing through TED talks, YouTube, etc.

The Advice Adam Would Give to His Younger Self

Adam wishes he had started investing in learning how to create passive streams of income at an early age.

The Tools Adam Uses in His Business

Adam uses Asana for time management. It is one of the best productivity tools out there. Adam also uses Calm, the meditation app. There is a setting where he can listen to rainfall.

Raindrops, when listened inner ear, can put you into an alpha state of mind, which is entry level hypnosis, where you are super focused.

Adam gets the most done when he is in alpha mode.