Learn How to Consistently Find and Book Dream Speaking Engagements That Pay
What You’re Worth
You have a message you believe in.
You have the confidence to deliver it from stage.
And with Booked & Paid to Speak, you’ll finally have the system you need to consistently uncover profitable opportunities to share that message, even if…
You struggle with how much to charge, where to find gigs, and who to contact You’ve never (or rarely) been paid to speak You don’t have a large following, existing platform, or years of experience
Our students have been booked and paid to speak by organizations like…
If you’ve ever thought these 4 little words, you know exactly how it feels to be an aspiring speaker…
You might not be proud of it.
You might have resisted thinking it.
You might even feel a little scared admitting that it’s crossed your mind.
I’m talking about all the times when you’ve sat in an audience, listened to a speaker on stage, and thought…
“That should be me.”
(Other acceptable thoughts include,
“I could do that,” and “Is this guy for real?” )
Listen, when you have a message you’re passionate about, those kinds of thoughts don’t come from ego or pride. They come from the frustration of KNOWING you have a message people need to hear, but NOT knowing exactly how to get it in front of more people.
And every time you start gearing yourself up to finally get serious about pursuing more (or your first) paid speaking engagements, some combination of the following happens:
Your stomach turns at the thought of having to sell yourself
You’re not even sure how to contact the mythic “decision makers” who book speakers in the first place
When you finally do fire off a few scattered emails to event organizers you hear nothing but crickets or the occasional “no thanks”
Your day job—the one that actually pays the bills right now—says, “Hey, remember me?”
Between putting together a demo video and a halfway decent website, the tech side of things feels overwhelming
Today, I’m going to show you exactly what that plan is, and how thousands of speakers across every industry are using it to build thriving careers that allow them to…
Get paid to share a message they’re passionate about all over the world
Transition from 9-to-5 work to a career that gives them the freedom and flexibility they crave
Supplement their existing business with paid speaking engagements (that also feed them a firehose of ideal clients and customers)
Hi, I’m Grant Baldwin, founder of The Speaker Lab.
Since I started my speaking career, I’ve earned over $2 million from 500+ paid engagements all over the world. I’ve done everything from closed-door workshops to keynotes in front of 13,000 people.
I mention those numbers for two reasons:
You deserve to know that I’ve actually practiced what I preach (and that I’m not just another online “guru”)
Since starting The Speaker Lab, I’ve seen over and over how attainable these kinds of career-altering numbers are for people in just about every industry imaginable—even though I never would have thought they were possible for someone like me.
If you’ve already gotten a few free (or maybe even paid) speaking engagements under your belt, you’ve probably heard the same kinds of comments I’d get from people at that point:
“You’ve got a gift for this sort of thing!”
“You really should be a speaker.”
“I really needed to hear that—thank you.”
The 3-Step Blueprint for Landing Your First (or Next) Paid Speaking Engagement
No two speaking journeys are ever quite the same, but when you zoom out and look at successful speakers from a high level, you’ll see that they consistently nailed these 3 steps.
Step #1:
Pinpoint the right problem
you can solve.
The #1 mistake I see holding most speakers back is failing to identify—and clearly communicate—the true problem they can solve.
Whether you’re still trying to figure out exactly what you want to speak about or you’re an experienced speaker who’s been doing it for years, getting this right can make the difference between speaking a few times per year and several times per month.
So, how do you do it?
Repeat after me: Speakers who solve problems will always book more gigs than speakers who simply speak about a topic.
The good news? If you’re speaking or you want to speak, there’s a 99% chance there are multiple problems attached to the topic/subject matter you want to speak about.
For example, if you speak about social media, that’s great — but what challenges does your presentation help the audience overcome? Asking that question might lead you to something like, “I help businesses be more relatable to millennials on social media.”
Thinking of your topic from the “problem” perspective will not only make it sound much more appealing to decision makers, it’ll also help you make the presentation more compelling!
For example, “Motivated leaders who want to leave an impact” is not a specific enough target audience (unless you’re Oprah Winfrey or Gary Vaynerchuk).
If you try to speak to everyone, you will end up speaking to no one.
Successful speakers have a well-defined audience in mind, which not only strengthens their content—it also makes finding paid speaking opportunities much easier.
To build on the previous example, “I help real estate businesses be more relatable to millennial clients on social media,” is going to make finding and attracting paid opportunities much easier than targeting ALL types of businesses.
Of course, it is possible to get too specific.
I like to call it nicheing yourself into nonexistence—coming up with a problem that either not enough people have, or that’s not actually a problem in the first place.
For example, “I help realtors who sell tiny houses and yurts be more relatable to millennial clients on social media,” miiiiiight not have a big enough market to support a speaking career quite yet.
One of the most frustrating things you can deal with as a speaker is knowing you solve a valuable problem, but NOT knowing how to describe it in a way that clicks with event organizers and decision makers.
Let’s go back to our previous example: “I help real estate businesses be more relatable to millennial clients on social media.”
You KNOW that generating better social media results can solve valuable problems for real estate businesses…but what if every time you mention social media to a potential client they say, “We don’t hire speakers to talk about that”?
To illustrate the solution for you, let me show you an example from my own career…
What This Step Looks Like in Action:
Early in my speaking career, I wanted to speak to high school audiences about personal finance. On paper, it made so much sense:
I was passionate about personal finance because my wife and I had just gotten out of debt.
High school students learn almost nothing about personal finance in school.
Everyone understands why it would be useful for high school students to learn about personal finance.
But there was one big problem: every school I talked to had zero interest in booking personal finance speakers. It just wasn’t something they were used to hiring speakers to talk about.
But when I asked what they did hire speakers to talk about, I consistently heard the same response:
“Well, we usually look for speakers who can help students transition to college or life beyond college.”
Ding ding ding! That was exactly what my personal finance talk would help students do. I just wasn’t speaking the same language when I described it to administrators.
All I needed to do was align the problem I wanted to solve with the problem schools needed to solve. I created a talk built around helping high school students transition to college that featured personal finance as a major chunk of the presentation.
After that, getting booked was never a problem.
Step #2:
Find the people who are
desperately searching for answers
to that problem.
Once you’ve pinpointed the problem you can solve, the next challenge becomes finding the people who are looking for solutions to that problem.
Unfortunately, this is where most people make another big mistake. Because there are two kinds of people you can go looking for at this point:
People who are seeking any type of solution to the problem you solve.
People who are looking for speakers they can pay to be the solution to the problem you solve.
This sounds obvious, but it’s a critically important distinction to make…
It is much easier to get booked and paid to speak by an organization or event that already hires speakers than it is by one that doesn’t.
Getting distracted by Group #1 is how you end up spending a week exchanging emails with a student organization at your local college only to discover they don’t actually have a budget for paying speakers.
But when you start focusing on finding Group #2, you’ll quickly learn 2 things:
If you’ve pinpointed the right problem, paid speaking opportunities are NOT difficult to find.
Your competition for those paid speaking opportunities is often not nearly as intimidating as you think.
What This Step Looks Like in Action:
When BPS student Harjot Singh started looking for events in the healthcare space, he was intimidated for reasons you’re likely familiar with:
What if he couldn’t find the right events?
What if no one paid to book speakers like him?
What if he was miles behind the competition?
But look what happened when he followed the step-by-step strategies for uncovering speaking leads we teach in BPS:
Breakthrough #1:
He realized that “events were not hard to find.”
Breakthrough #2:
He now feels like he “can pitch to the highest event planners.”
When you put in the work to pinpoint the right problem to solve, finding the people who will pay for you to solve that problem comes down to simply knowing where to look—which is exactly what we show you how to do inside Booked & Paid to Speak.
Step #3:
Present yourself as the perfect solution to that problem (even if you’re not known as the go-to “expert” in your field yet)
Convincing the right people that you’re the right person for the job is not about being salesy.
You don’t have to transform yourself into a used car salesman and go into “closing” mode. You don’t need to roll out a laundry list of accomplishments and industry accolades.
If you’ve done Steps 1 and 2 properly, you only need two things to convince decision makers you’re the right person for the job:
A basic demo video.
Not a bestselling book. Not a YouTube channel with thousands of subscribers. Not a made-for-TV movie that was inspired by your life story.
If you have a basic website and demo video (and I can show you exactly how to put these together, even if you have no tech skills and no footage of yourself speaking) booking paid speaking gigs comes down to simply building relationships.
Which means you can finally focus on just being yourself instead of worrying about having to “sell” yourself.
What This Step Looks Like in Action:
When Andrew Dawson started sending cold emails to decision makers after enrolling in BPS, he didn’t have a bunch of fancy marketing materials. All he had was a link to his website that he included in his email signature. Here’s what happened, in his own words:
The Plan You Need to Stay Focused and Generate Results:
There are few things that hit you with more “What am I supposed to do now?” moments than growing your speaking career.
That’s why BPS maps out every step you need to take, from fine-tuning your topic and creating a magnetic presentation to identifying profitable speaking opportunities and sending the perfect outreach emails to decision makers.
You’ll get an entire library of actionable video lessons that walk you through every critical milestone on the path to filling your calendar with paid gigs.
You’ll also get the hidden benefits that comes with having this kind of plan:
The focus you need to tune out distractions and the confidence that comes from knowing you’re taking the right steps instead of just guessing your way through confusion.
The Feedback You Need to Make the Right Adjustments:
You’ll not only be able to connect with fellow BPS students for feedback and accountability in our private BPS Insiders Facebook Group—you’ll also have direct email access to our team of coaches so you can get the kind of 1:1 guidance and mentorship that can shave years off your learning curve.
All of our coaches at The Speaker Lab are actively getting paid to speak right now, so you won’t be getting guidance from anyone on the sidelines. You’ll be getting it from experienced speakers who know what’s working because they’ve done it.
The Resources That Save You from Reinventing the Wheel:
You shouldn’t have to burn valuable time trying to figure out how to build the perfect speaker website, piece together a standout demo video, or draw up a bulletproof contract.
After helping thousands of students create all of those resources, we’ve learned what works and what doesn’t.
That’s why BPS comes with a vault of plug-and-play templates, outlines, and examples you can use to quickly create top-quality resources that show decision makers you’re not an amateur.
When you enroll in BPS, you’ll get instant lifetime access to all five video modules that are each dedicated to a specific step of what we call the Speaker Success Roadmap:
Module 1:
Select a Problem to Solve
Whether you’re just getting started or have been speaking for years, zeroing in on the right problem to solve for the right audience and industry will make a dramatic difference in how much (and how frequently) you’re paid to speak.
The lessons and resources in this module will prevent you from spending years fighting an impossible battle trying to get booked for topics that don’t have an existing (or paying) market.
By the end, you’ll know…
How to nail the balance between what you want to speak about and what clients are willing to pay for
How to use the “Speaking Industry Matrix” to determine which industries you’re best positioned to pursue right now (and going forward)
The biggest mistakes speakers make when selecting their topic / problem to solve
3 actionable strategies for uncovering topics that events are dying to hire speakers for
How to craft a topic / problem (or tweak an existing one) so it that passes all 3 tests of “The Topic Trifecta”
Module 2.
Prepare Your
Talk
It’s obvious that delivering an outstanding talk can go a long way in getting you more paid opportunities. But how do you actually create one?
What specific actions can you take to fine-tune an existing presentation that’s “pretty good” and transform it into something unforgettable?
The lessons in this module are dedicated to showing you how to create keynotes, workshops, and seminars that will captivate your audience and inspire event organizers to give you referrals and repeat bookings.
By the end, you’ll know…
The differences between keynotes vs. workshops vs. seminars (including why some pay more than others and which types of content you should prepare for each to maximize your opportunities)
How to sell from stage without annoying your
client or audience
How to create a “menu” of presentations that will open up your core topic to a greater number of audiences and events (with specific examples)
How to write simple, one-paragraph descriptions of your presentations that will instantly capture the attention of decision makers and event organizers
How to craft a topic / problem (or tweak an existing one) so it that passes all 3 tests of “The Topic Trifecta”All the nitty gritty details on what makes a great talk vs. a mediocre one (including structure, when you should and shouldn’t use slides, how to customize 5-10% of your talk to make it fit different settings, and more)
Module 3.
Establish Yourself
as the Expert
I’ve already mentioned more than once that you do NOT have to be the world’s leading expert in your field in order to get paid to speak.
You do, however, need to demonstrate some level of expertise . And as long as you know enough about your topic to deliver presentations that engage your audience, trust me—you have more than enough expertise.
But none of that will matter if you don’t know how to properly communicate your expertise to decision makers. And the two biggest pieces you need in order to do that are a rock-solid website and a compelling demo video. The lessons in this module show you exactly how to create both (or improve your existing ones).
By the end, you’ll know…
How to create a speaker website that will wow your prospects (even if you have no tech skills and little to no budget)
The 6 elements your website MUST have if you want clients to take you seriously (and how to quickly create each of them)
What prospects DO and DON’T want to see in your demo video
How to shoot and edit a killer demo video even if you have no footage of yourself speaking, no fancy equipment, and no video skills
All the tools and resources you can use to get professional-quality marketing and branding material at a fraction of the typical cost (and sometimes even free)
Module 4.
Acquire Paid
Speaking Gigs
If you’re like most speakers, this is the part that feels the murkiest to you—finding the best paid opportunities and taking concrete steps to actually book them.
Even seasoned speakers who feel 100% confident and comfortable on stage often feel at a loss when it comes to reaching out and winning over decision makers. You don’t want to say the wrong thing. You don’t want to come off overly salesy. And to top it off, you don’t even know where to look.
That’s why we made this the most in-depth module in the entire course. Because so often the only reason speakers don’t feel confident in their ability to land more paid gigs is because they simply lack the right information.
By the end, you’ll know…
How to turn Google into a lead generation machine for ideal speaking gigs
How to generate quality referrals from other speakers in your industry/niche
How to get a spot in a speaker showcase and maximize the number of opportunities it generates
3 easy ways to generate new referrals every time you speak
How to email prospective speaking clients without sounding awkward or pushy (I walk you through REAL examples from actual emails that you can customize for your own outreach)
When you SHOULD and SHOULDN’T speak for free (and how to leverage your free speaking gigs into paid ones)
Everything you’ve always wanted to know about speaking fees (including what you should charge, what you can expect to make if you’re newer to speaking, and the earning potential of each major industry)
How to create a fee structure with different options/packages (and why you should always do this instead of just quoting one fee)
Exactly what your speaking contract should look like (and why you should always call it an “agreement” instead of a “contract”)
The one follow-up email you should always send after quoting your fee to a prospect (this alone will increase your close rate)
How and when to negotiate your fee
Everything you should (and shouldn’t) say during client phone calls if you want to start hearing “yes” more often
Module 5. Know When to Scale
Learning how to consistently booked paid gigs is one thing…but how do you build a healthy, thriving business around yourself as a speaker once momentum starts to grow?
Whether you want to speak full time or on the side, understanding how to scale as your success increases will help you build a sustainable revenue engine without getting overwhelmed or burned out. From business models to taxes and cash flow, Module 5 walks you through all the details that make the difference between hobbyists and professional speakers.
By the end, you’ll know…
How to generate additional revenue from speaking opportunities by selling services, products, or promotional opportunities to your clients
Finance 101 for a 6-Figure Speaking Business: You’ll get an inside look at how to manage your cash flow, avoid costly tax mistakes, and properly structure your business
The risk-free formula for transitioning to full-time speaking (so you know when and how to make the transition without jeopardizing your finances)
How to achieve Road Warrior Status (AKA my exact system for having the easiest and least stressful travel experience possible—you’ll learn everything from what to avoid when booking travel to how to maximize rewards points and more)
The truth about Speaker Bureaus—what they are, what they aren’t, and how to determine if they’re a good fit for you
LIFETIME Access to the BPS Insiders Private
Facebook Community + LIVE Monthly Q&A Calls
And if getting my direct feedback from our team of coaches at The Speaker Lab isn’t enough, you’ll also have access to over 1,300 fellow speakers (including me) inside the premium BPS Insiders community on Facebook!
Unlike so many other “premium” Facebook groups, you will not find any cases of “the blind leading the blind” here. Not only is the entire Speaker Lab team active in the community, but so are all of our most successful students, who know firsthand how to use the BPS system to grow your speaking business.
But instead of just talking about it, let me take you behind the curtain and actually show you what the interaction looks like inside the group.
Check out this example from BPS student Lea Pica. She came to the group with a question about her speaking business:
Did you notice the level of confidence this kind of individual feedback inspires?
When you KNOW you’re not guessing, taking action becomes 100x easier. And listen, while you may not be ready to ask advanced questions about upcharging for international travel like Lea, that doesn’t mean you won’t find help! On a weekly basis, BPS students get help on all sorts of topics like:
Speaker website feedback
Demo video feedback
How much to charge for a speaking engagement
How to respond to an email from an event planner
How to negotiate for a larger fee
Whether a potential speaking topic sounds compelling or not
The best ways to leverage a free speaking opportunity
And More…
You’ll also be able to attend our LIVE Monthly Q&A Calls, which give you the chance to get your questions answered in real-time by our team of coaches and speaking experts. And if you can’t attend live, no worries—you’ll have access to our full archive of recordings so you can catch up on all the actionable strategies and advice that get covered on the calls.
Whatever challenge you encounter, you’ll have an entire community of seasoned speakers there to talk you through it.
When you enroll in
Booked & Paid to Speak,
you get instant access to…
The entire Booked & Paid to Speak Training System
12 Months of Email Consulting with The Speaker Lab Team
