Wednesday, October 15, 2025
Once you’ve considered the foundational items covered in Part 1, the focus shifts to creating efficient systems and strategic market positioning. This section covers the operational backbone lessons that enabled my growth —from systematizing my processes to mastering client qualification, pricing strategies, and even travel logistics. These lessons helped me to work smarter, continue to expand my offerings and raise my rates, and build a reputation that attracts my ideal clients.
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7. Systematize everything.
Think in terms of systems from the beginning. If you are already established, where don’t you have systems? Some easy places to look: do you have an intentional system to follow up on leads? To get leads? Do you have a system and process for all the logistics involved with booking each type of engagement you offer, including before, during, and after? Do you have an efficient, intentional system for managing your tasks, communication, and workload? Reinventing the process, or trying to remember all the steps, of major components of your operations, leads to mistakes, wasted time, and constrained innovation.
8. Know your audience!
With AI, it’s easier than ever to do deep research on your audience and their needs. I bombed that first $1,000 keynote because I didn’t take my audience and their needs into account, I just assumed they could use what I had to say. I booked that first keynote the very first year I began speaking and writing about my “new idea” on my topic, which I later became known for. I was so excited about this new idea at the time, but this unique approach was not at all relevant to this audience, and people actually walked out!
9. Ruthlessly qualify your clients.
This is similar to “knowing your audience,” but it means identifying who your core target audience is before you get in the room. More than that—especially in the case of training or coaching—ask as many questions or do as much advance work as you can. This could involve speaking to employees/members or sending out a participant survey. Especially in the case of coaching and training, do whatever is required for you to be confident that your potential audience knows that they need what you offer, because audience buy-in is critical to your success. If your audience feels that your content will be relevant to them, and they are excited to attend, this improves the odds that they will love you and increases your opportunity to create raving fans.
I want everyone who interacts with me to be able to enthusiastically refer me, instead of risking them saying, “She was ok, but it wasn’t really relevant to me.” I know I’ll never please everyone, but I want to do everything possible to avoid that kind of feedback. My target audience is professionals who work on a computer for much of their work day, but I remember a call I got requesting a keynote on managing attention to increase safety for miners. Could I have customized to that extent? Maybe. But this group wasn’t my core audience, and the majority of my work does not apply to them. I was thrilled to help this client find a good fit from among my NSA peers.
10. Will you be a generalist or a specialist?
I have found success by identifying my specific expertise, relentlessly “staying in my lane,” and developing a unique perspective on my topic. It was easier to become known locally, and eventually to be seen as an expert more broadly, and to differentiate myself from others in my space. Also, your definition of your “lane” can be broad, so this strategy doesn’t have to be too restrictive. For example, my expertise is in productivity, but that includes distraction, workflow, efficient communication, task and project management, productive culture, work-life balance, burnout, and behavior change. Each component is part of my overall framework, but I can also speak to each topic independently.
On the other hand, I have a speaker friend who has had a thriving business she started around the same time as me, who only recently (in the last few years), homed in on the one topic she wanted to specialize in. For the rest of her decades-long business, she offered speeches and trainings on a variety of topics. Neither is right but consider deciding on your path and walking it with intention.
11. Decide on your pricing strategy.
What is your target rate? This is the rate you feel you can earn with a commensurate performance and the value you provide, and the rate your market and client base can support. (See Crystal Washington’s, CSP, CPAE, excellent article, LET’S GET CANDID ABOUT KEYNOTE SPEAKING FEES!). Then decide your rules for negotiation. Most everyone discounts their rates sometimes, but personally, I think it’s helpful to have a good reason. If one client pays less for the same service just because they asked, I feel like that devalues my services, and it’s unfair to my clients who paid my full rate.
Even if you don’t agree with my feelings on the topic, it’s still easier to go into a negotiation if you aren’t starting from scratch every time, and if every discussion on pricing isn’t a “special situation.” Some common reasons to lower your rate include: a city you want to visit, another engagement in that city, other value received (video footage, client testimonial, email list, etc.), non-profit client, repeat client, personal referral, big-name client, great lead potential, etc. If you decide on your target discount for each situation (maybe it’s the same for every situation) and write it down, this will allow you to honestly say that “this is my policy.” But remember, these policies are yours and you can always break your own rules if you decide the situation warrants it.
12. Offer a lot up front so you can remove things without devaluing your content.
Include a lot of valueadded products and services in your rate (books, follow-up webinar or program, future coaching, worksheets, etc.). This gives you another opportunity to discount without devaluing your work. For example, “The typical investment for my program includes a book for everyone and a follow-up program. Since your budget doesn’t allow for my full fee, I can remove these items from the package to meet your budget.”
13. Have a business development and pro bono policy.
Decide in advance on how many events you will do for free, and how often. That way, if you often get asked to do events for “exposure,” or for charity, you have a policy to fall back on. For example, “I do one pro bono event for [non-profits/business development] per quarter. I’m currently booked for first and second quarters, but if you’d like to discuss a date in the last half of the year, I’m happy to consider it.” Of course, as I’ve mentioned in other tips, you can always break your own rules whenever you want!
14. Take full advantage of loyalty programs.
Write into your contract that you prefer to book your own travel. You can charge a flat fee, or my contract reads, “Travel and expenses are additional and actual without markup, and will be presented as a single line item on the invoice. Receipts are not provided.” If this seems like it will make things difficult for my client, I adjust. But most don’t care either way. Then use the same travel providers to earn status. Many people just book whatever options are the least expensive. But there are several reasons to consolidate, even when it costs more up front.
One good example is preferential treatment: when you have status, you are treated much better by the brands, which can mean the difference between: a comfortable trip, or not; making your gig, or not; having a room available and offered—or not; and getting a car or waiting hours at the airport. Admittedly, that last oneride-sharent as it used to be with ride share services so ubiquitous, but I like to have control over when I can arrive and leave. (Yes, Type A person here—I even avoid valets whenever possible!).
Your time is valuable, and you need to take care of yourself to be your best on “stage,” whatever type of “stage” that may be. Spending a little more when required to earn and keep status pays off in dozens of ways, and also earns you points that save you money later. Consolidating your travel and maximizing your points and status is ultimately an investment, not a cost.
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The tips above have helped me to build robust systems and establish my market position. In Part 3, I’ll share lessons I’ve learned about the value of our professional community, how to scale impact, and maintain relevance and well-being as I’ve built a fulfilling career in this industry I love.