You’ve been referred to as a “one of the greatest speaker trainers of our generation.†With the explosion of speakers that have inundated the marketplace, how do entrepreneurs who are speakers stay relevant, competitive, distinct, and sought after?
What most people don’t know about me is that the foundation of my speaking career is a very solid background in training and development. I have a master’s degree in instructional systems design and curriculum development. Before I went full-time as a speaker, I worked for one of the ‘big five’ global consulting firms, and I worked for Research One University in Training and Development. So about 10 years ago, when I started training speakers, I brought all of that background and skill-set to create learning experiences for aspiring speakers and authors, to help them get a fast, profitable, strategic and sustainable, launch into the speaking industry.
4 Quick Tips To Stay Market Ready:
1. Understand that there are two sides to your speaking business: speaking (the craft) and business (the enterprise). Both sides must be strong and well maintained in order to have staying power in today’s ultra-competitive speaking market.
2. Find a quality mentor to help you navigate the hundreds of nuances of this business. Someone who has integrity and is getting actively booked today–not 20 years ago. The industry has changed and is constantly changing, so you need to follow someone who is getting results now.
3. Invest in yourself (the product) and invest in your business (the enterprise). You need to invest good money to learn this industry, then develop and cultivate yourself and your business to be at the level where you can compete with speakers in your marketplace, and so the clients that seek to hire you will actually take you seriously.
4. Execute, execute, and execute. Take action. Tweak. Take more action.
With any monumental achievement of success, it inevitably indicates that you are standing on the shoulders of giants. Talk to us about the vitality of ‘right’ mentors in your life?
I love this question. My mother raised my brother and I primarily on extended family. We had a small family so, at an early age, I learned to connect with people who may not have been blood relatives, but who believed in me. I’m a huge advocate for mentorship. I think it’s a key to success. As I stood backstage at MDRT, the various mentors of my life flashed before me, and I knew that this moment in time was, in part, attributed to the people who helped me get there. Several of my mentors include, Dr. Lee Jones, Dr. Willie Jolley, Tony Robbins, Dr. John Maxwell, and Les Brown. I’ve also had personal mentors, people that society may not recognize, but who have helped to shape the way that I think, believe, and perform. I think it’s important that we have mentors, and that we also mentor others.
Your transforming footprint has impacted the masses globally. Â You’ve even had world influencers, such as Joel Osteen, share your success story in one of his messages. How do you stay grounded and maintain a spirit of humility in your continued servant leadership to humanity?
Both my parents were highly accomplished in their professions, but were very humble as well, so I learned a lot from them. Every big achievement in my life never feels like “I just did that.†It always feels like, I was blessed, fortunate and honored to be able to do that. For some reason, the way that my brain is wired, I don’t believe my own press. I remain humble because I know that every good gift comes from God. He is my source and my strength. I’m here on earth on assignment from Him, so I have no right to be arrogant, because I operate under His authority, leadership, and council in my life. The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away, so I just enjoy what He allows me to do. Thank Him for the good, and rejoice even in the bad. My goal is the hear Him say, “Delatorro, you did a good job son, well done thou good and faithful servant.†Ultimately, I count it an honor and a joy to be chosen as a global success ambassador. I think my profession is the greatest in the world. I love my purpose and assignment in life, and I’m simply honored that I was chosen to lead this transformative work.
Get or stay connected with Delatorro McNeal II: Twitter: @Delatorro,
www.Delatorro.com, www.CrushTheStageLIVE.com, www.CrushUniversity.com, www.CaughtBetweenADreamAndAJob.com, www.Facebook.com/DelatorroWorldwide
Roz A. Gee (@RozAGee) consults as The MediaMatch Mavenâ„¢ of The Rated Gee Agency with service sectors in media relations, brand readiness, and speaking and training. Roz has masterfully mixed over 20 years of cumulative experience and has worked professionally for industry titans such as General Electric, AT&T, AOL, IBM, and Northrop Grumman. Schedule a complimentary analysis at www.MediaMatchMaven.com. You can also find her on Twitter (@RozAGee) and Facebook.