There is a familiar story that plays out with coaches, trainers, professionals, and speakers, and it usually starts with effort going into getting noticed by agents and speaker bureau’s, followed by a period where very little happens, and then ends with frustration about why no work ever came from that relationship. The assumption is often that once you are listed, the job is done. Getting onto a bureau’s books is not the finish line, it is the starting point. They secure the listing, feel a sense of achievement, and then disappear, hoping that enquiries will follow. What surprises many people is how little effort goes into maintaining these relationships once the initial contact has been made. There is no follow up, no updates, no sharing of recent work, no reminder of what they actually do and where they are strongest. The answer is not complicated. You have not given them any reason to think of you. A strong relationship with a bureau is built on relevance and reassurance. Relevance comes from reminding them who you are best suited for, and reassurance comes from evidence that you are active, delivering, and getting results, which makes their job easier when they recommend you. Without those two things, you are just another name in a long list. The speakers who get regular work from bureaux understand this and behave differently. They stay in touch without being a nuisance, they share useful updates rather than generic noise, and they make it easy for the agent to understand when and why to put them forward. They are not chasing constantly, but they are present enough to be remembered. It is a commercial relationship, not a passive listing. There is also a level of responsibility that needs to be acknowledged here. Bureau’s do not owe you work simply because you are on their books. Their loyalty is to the client, and rightly so. Their job is to place the best possible speaker for that brief, not to rotate opportunities evenly across everyone they represent. Have you made your positioning clear enough that they know exactly when to use you? Have you given them recent examples they can confidently share? Have you stayed visible enough that your name comes to mind when the right enquiry lands? If the answer is no, then the issue is not the bureau. It is the lack of relationship.

You get three hours of energy, inspiration, and a standing ovation! If you want your students to be motivated and engaged, why not get in touch so we can come and show them how to set and ACHIEVE MASSIVE GOALS !!

Phobias are a thing of macabre interest, but rational fears are all too real. Naming that fear has become a bit of a quiz favourite over the years and as time goes on we seem to be engulfed in fears and phobias representing every part of everyday life, and sadly for some, they have formed part of their identity, or who they believe they are. The movies have depicted our darkest fears in graphic detail with Arachnophobia, The Birds and more recently Coulrophobia, causing a widespread movement of street invading clowns. There is however a more intrusive, all too real fear, one that silently paralyses and hampers our ambitions and desires. The fear of failure, the fear of success and the fear of change. Finding a goal that is bigger than our fear is tantamount to success but how do we get over the fear in the first place? The human instinct is built to cope with fearful situations and if faced with intense threat the human system goes into what’s called fight or flight mode. Either stay and fight or flee. This psychological state is beyond our control and until put upon we have no way of knowing which mode we will choose. Are Fear and Anxiety the Same Thing The experts depict a distinct difference in bodily reactions to a fear and an anxiety. “The sudden re-arrangement of your guts when an intruder holds a knife to your back (fear), is different from the mild nausea, dizziness and butterflies in your stomach as you're about to make a difficult phone call (anxiety).” For most of us though, this is irrelevant as however fear manifests itself it still manages to impeded progressions of: ● Relationships ● Career ● Self-improvement ● Studying ● Motivation Identifying Symptoms of Fear Don't’ be fooled into thinking it’s a weakness. Everybody, and I mean everybody, has fears, the most important thing to note is that it’s how you deal with fear that sets the achievers apart from the ‘if only’s.’ Fear can have an astounding effect on the body including: ● Quickening heartbeat