Free to Fee Fast Track to Success Session List

 These sessions currently comprise the Free to Fee program^*:

Week 1:

Getting Started Right

1. Why should you never regard yourself as a "pro speaker"? (Week 1)
   
2. The dangers hidden within the five phases of a pro speaker's career — and what you can do to protect yourself! (Week 1)
3. Why is a career as a pro speaker 3 times harder than most "ordinary" jobs? (And what can you do about it?) (Week 1)
   
   

   ---

   Week 2:
   
   
4. What’s your vision for your business? (And why is your vision SO important?) (Week 2)
   
5. What are your mission statements? (Plural -- Successful pro speakers need two mission statements!) (Week 2)
   
   

   ---

   Week 3:
   
   

Plan Your Business

6. What’s your business model now, and what business model do you want to ultimately achieve? (Week 3)
   
7. How to set up a business and company structure that's right for you. (Week 3)
   
8. How to set up an effective business environment (Week 3)
   
   

   ---

   Week 4:
   
   
9. What’s a working business plan — and why is it more important than traditional business plans? (Week 4)
10. Business Plan – Writing the most important plan of all: your Business Summary (Week 4)
    
    

    ---

    Week 5:
    
    
11. Business Plan – Writing your Company History (even if you think your company doesn't have a "history"!) (Week 5)
    
12. Business Plan – Why even one-person businesses need Policies and Procedures (Week 5)
    
    

    ---

    Week 6:
    
    
13. Business Plan – Expecting the Unexpected (Contingency Plans) (Week 6)
14. Business Plan – What's your Success (Growth) Plan? (Week 6)
    
    

    ---

    Week 7:
    
    

Topic Selection and Development

15. How to discover all your assets, strengths, and uniquenesses
16. Foundation for success: determine your differentiating factors
    
    

    ---

    Week 8:
    
    
17. Define your topic (What will people pay to hear you say?)
    
18. Define your target market (Who needs to hear your message?)
    
19. Smaller is BIGGER -- The awesome power of niching
    
    

    ---

    Week 9:
    
    
20. Determine your market’s answerable needs
21. Who will pay you?
22. What's your USP (Unique Speaker's Perspective)?
    
    

    ---

    Week 10:
    
    
    

The Dreaded Financial Plans

23. Business Plan – Writing your Financial Plans
24. “Running the numbers” — Why the "obvious" answer is often dead wrong!
    
    

    ---

    Week 11:
    
    
25. Business Plan – Developing your Annual Budget (Yecchhh!)
    
26. Business Plan – Writing your Cash-flow Plan (A budget is important, but the "Flow of the Mo(ney)" is essential!)
    
    

    ---

    Week 12:
    
    
27. Business Plan – Writing your Project Financial Plans (Treat every project like a mini-business)
    
28. Business Plan – Budgeting your time: Writing your Action Plans
    
    

    ---

    Week 13:
    
    

"It's All Marketing!"

29. Introduction to marketing
30. What marketing collateral do you need?
    
    

    ---

    Week 14:
    
    
31. Creating your business card
32. Creating your brochure or media kit
33. Creating your one-sheet
    
    

    ---

    Week 15:
    
    
34. Positioning yourself
    
35. Developing your brand
36. The power (and perils) of self-promotion
    
    

    ---

    Week 16:
    
    
37. Creating an effective “elevator speech”
38. Writing a bio that sells you
    
    

    ---

    Week 17:
    
    
39. Getting and using testimonials
40. Business Plan – Writing your Marketing Plan
    
    

    ---

    Week 18:
    
    

Developing Your Speaking Products

41. Exploring keynotes
    
42. Exploring training programs
43. Exploring other ways of speaking professionally
    
    

    ---

    Week 19:
    
    
44. Speaking to corporations
45. Speaking to associations
46. Conducting public seminars
47. Conducting "virtual" seminars
48. Alternative speaking venues
    
    

    ---

    Week 20:
    
    
49. Developing your speaking product(s)
50. Writing a killer keynote
    
    

    ---

    Week 21:
    
    
51. Developing a training program
52. Workbooks and handouts
    
    

    ---

    Week 22:
    
    
    

Name Your Price

53. What should you charge for your programs and products?
    
54. Want vs. need
55. Never compete on price!
    
    

    ---

    Week 23:
    
    
56. Pitfalls of the “obvious” answer
    
57. Discounts and packages
58. The perils of inventory
59. Calculating project costs
    
    

    ---

    Week 24:
    
    
60. Price derived from preconceived value
61. Price derived from perceived value
62. Price derived from cost of production
    
    

    ---

    Week 25:
    
    
63. Price derived from competition
64. Price derived from your market's ability to pay
65. Are you doing it backwards? The “Price first” process
    
    

    ---

    Week 26:
    
    
66. The psychology of price breakpoints
67. Creating a Fee Schedule that maximizes your income
    
68. Negotiating your fee (Should you? If so, how to?)
    
69. Changing your prices and fees
    
    

    ---

    Week 27:
    
    

Contracts and Other Paperwork

70. Your basic speaking contract
71. More detailed speaking contracts
    
    

    ---

    Week 28:
    
    
72. A contract for services rendered
73. Consulting Agreement
    
    

    ---

    Week 29:
    
    
74. Issuing Invoices
75. Using Packing Slips
76. Filing Expense Reports
    
    

    ---

    Week 30:
    
    
77. Protecting your intellectual property
78. Protecting your copyrights
    
    

    ---

    Week 31:
    
    
79. Respecting their copyrights
80. How to protect your speech and book titles
    
    

    ---

    Week 32:
    
    
81. All about Talent Releases
82. Specialty contracts
    
    

    ---

    Week 33:
    
    
    

Your First Presentation

83. The great debate: Customized vs. Canned
84. Another great debate: Fluff vs. Stuff
    
    

    ---

    Week 34:
    
    
85. Know your audience
    
86. Writing your introduction
    
    

    ---

    Week 35:
    
    
87. The importance of owning the room
88. Room setup checklist
89. Lectern checklist
90. Room traffic signs
    
    

    ---

    Week 36:
    
    
91. Post-presentation to-do's
92. Audience evaluations
93. Planner evaluations
    
    

    ---

    Week 37:
    
    
    

A Return to Marketing

94. The power of your self-introduction
95. Marketing through networking & schmoozing
    
    

    ---

    Week 38:
    
    
96. Marketing with ezines
97. Marketing with blogs
98. Marketing with podcasts
99. Marketing with Social Networking
    
    

    ---

    Week 39:
    
    
100. Promotion via Facebook
101. Promotion via LinkedIn
102. Promotion via Twitter, Craigslist, and others
     
     

     ---

     Week 40:
     
     
103. Cold calling
104. Advertising vs. publicity
     
     

     ---

     Week 41:
     
     
105. Direct mail mediums
106. Writing direct mail copy
     
     

     ---

     Week 42:
     
     
107. Running the numbers on direct mail
108. Testing your marketing
     
     

     ---

     Week 43:
     
     
     

Expand Your Product Base

109. Business Plan – Writing your Project Plans
110. Your product tree
     
     

     ---

     Week 44:
     
     
111. Physical vs. e-products
112. Business Plan – Writing your Product Plan
     
     

     ---

     Week 45:
     
     
113. Your book: self-publishing vs. being published
114. Other text-based products
115. Audio & video-based products
     
     

     ---

     Week 46:
     
     
116. Cloning your products
117. Marketing your products
118. Selling your products
     
     

     ---

     Week 47:
     
     

Master the Internet

119. Your speaker’s website (and do you need more than one website?)
     
120. Your domain name(s) -- what works and what doesn't work
     
121. Your hosting (and why it's important)
     
     

     ---

     Week 48:
     
     
122. Your site structure / layout design
123. Your "media page"
     
124. Your "planner page"
     
     

     ---

     Week 49:
     
     
125. Interact with your raving fans
     
126. Writing effective web copy
     
     

     ---

     Week 50:
     
     
     

127. Ecommerce overview
128. Do you need a shopping cart? If so, how do you get one?
     
129. Shopping cart gotta-have's
130. Shopping cart extras
     
     

     ---

     Week 51:
     
     
131. Integrating your shopping cart into your website
132. Selling e-products, physical products, and services
     
     

     ---

     Week 52:
     
     
133. Why speakers need Membership Sites
134. The basic components of a Membership Site
135. Comparing Content Delivery Systems (boring but vital)
     

^* To keep the Free to Fee curriculum both current and cutting-edge, this session list is obviously subject to modification without notice.
-jim