Stop Burying Your Credentials
I currently sit on a committee where I need to evaluate 90 speakers who are applying to speak for 25 minutes in front of a room full of speaker agents.
If they're selected - and only 12 will make it - they'll need to pay for their own travel, hotel, meals, and conference fee.
Is it worth it?
Do you know of another opportunity where, as a speaker, you get to speak in front of some of the best and busiest speaker agents in the world?
I don't.
But first, you have to make it through our selection process.
And the first thing I look for when ranking a speaker for this showcase?
Credentials.
Not whether I think they're good on stage.
Not whether I like their sizzle reel.
Not whether their website looks great.
Credentials.
Are you actually qualified to be paid to talk about what you're talking about?
And, honestly, it typically takes me a solid five minutes to find a speaker's experience and/or education on their website - if I can find it at all.
Instead, I see a lot of:
"I'm the #1 ranked life coach..."
"Clients say that I leave audiences with..."
I don't care about any of that. At least not yet.
What I care about is the relationship I have with my client - the event planner.
I care about my client being able to keep their job.
Because if I recommend a speaker, and my client pays $30,000 for that speaker, and that speaker is a complete flop, my client is going to have to explain to their team why they booked that person.
And:
"Well, it said in their bio that they were a globally recognized keynote speaker..."
isn't going to cut it.
Eventually, of course, I watch your sizzle reel. I review your website. I look at your topics, your testimonials, your past clients, your materials, and everything else you've sent me.
I need to make sure you're a 10/10 across the board before I put you into a proposal.
But you've already lost me if I can't quickly figure out why you're qualified to speak about your subject.
So be loud and proud about your credentials.
If you have a PhD, tell me.
If you spent 20 years doing the thing you're now speaking about, tell me.
If you held a senior leadership position, tell me.
If you're conducting research, tell me.
If you've lived through an experience that gives you a perspective almost nobody else has, tell me.
And please don't bury it at the bottom of your bio.
Don't make me hunt for it.
Your credentials aren't a footnote. They're your proof.
And if you expect someone to pay you $30,000 to stand on a stage and tell their audience what they need to know, you'd better make it very easy for them to understand why you're the person qualified to tell them.
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