I Want to Be a Six-Figure Speaker Victor Antonio Quick Start Guide to Public Speaking 1 I Want to Be a Six-Figure Speaker Victor Antonio This is dedicated to new speakers who have a passionate message to share with the world. Quick Start Guide to Public Speaking 2 I Want to Be a Six-Figure Speaker Victor Antonio Biography: At 37 years old, Victor Antonio temporarily retired. His retirement didn’t last long… now he’s a speaker who helps people understand how they can earn a six-figure income and follow their passion. His workshop participants are making money because he shows them how it is possible. And he wants to help you too. By the time you’re done with his course, you won’t be motivated by mere words and cute stories. You will be motivated because he will teach you how to execute your own six-figure income plan. The mission of this book is to help you the speaker achieve your financial goal in the speaking business. Victor’s experience in business and creating successful companies has provided the necessary elements to form the foundation of this program. As president of Global Sales and Marketing for New World Network, he was responsible for growing their revenues from $1 million to $36 million in six months. He was tasked with building a global sales force, establishing contract agreements, Quick Start Guide to Public Speaking 3 I Want to Be a Six-Figure Speaker Victor Antonio developing financial pricing models, overseeing the development of the corporate brand and marketing the company’s services for worldwide acceptance. Prior to becoming president, he was vice president of International Sales in a Fortune 500, $3-billion corporation. Within two and a half years, he grew one of their struggling business units from $14 million to $98 million in annual revenue. During that time period, his cumulative sales totals were $162 million. He was selected from over 500 managers to join the President’s Advisory Council in 1999 and 2000 for excellence in sales and management. He has conducted business in Europe, Asia, Latin America, the Caribbean, South Africa and the Middle East. As a speaker, he has won numerous speaking awards at district, state and international levels. His ability to communicate and present complex concepts is the underpinning of his continual success. Quick Start Guide to Public Speaking 4 I Want to Be a Six-Figure Speaker Victor Antonio Victor has a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering (BSEE) from Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago and a Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA) from Cardinal Stritch University in Wisconsin. Victor is a sought after professional trainer helping businesses align their strengths with their products in order to produce a consistent message to the market and an effective sales and marketing strategy. He has written two books: “The Corporate Inferno,” a philosophical treatise on ethics in business, and “The Logic of Success,” which is about the logic of why some people fail and others succeed. Quick Start Guide to Public Speaking 5 I Want to Be a Six-Figure Speaker Victor Antonio The Story Behind “I Want to Be a Motivational Speaker” Like many speakers, I started out by joining my local Toastmasters Club, a speaking organization which I’ll discuss later in this course. I enjoyed Toastmasters and the opportunity to learn more about this thing we call public speaking. I was a pretty good speaker starting out. By my second year, I was competing at the area and district levels with much success. I never viewed myself as a speaker who was ready to take on the world because I felt I had a lot to learn so I stayed in corporate America for a while. About two years ago, I decided to finally go after the dream and become a speaker. I felt comfortable because I had earned my credentials in the business world, and I looked Quick Start Guide to Public Speaking 6 I Want to Be a Six-Figure Speaker Victor Antonio forward to sharing this valuable knowledge with an audience. But the more I got into the speaking business, the more I started to notice the disparity between what I thought and the realities of the speaking business. Isn’t it funny how things aren’t always as they appear? When I came into the speaking business, I had my head screwed on backwards. My first inkling that the speaker’s market was not as I imagined was when I began attending Toastmasters again after many years to “build my care”e rW. hen I returned to speaking, I began to analyze things more closely and asked more probing questions about the speaking business. I wanted to know who was making money, how much and how they were doing it. This line of questioning garnered some unusual behavior from speakers. I could only classify their reactions to my inquiries as obfuscation (i.e., not very clear). It seemed as though no one was willing to share with me how well they were doing in the speaking business (i.e., how much money they were making). Quick Start Guide to Public Speaking 7 I Want to Be a Six-Figure Speaker Victor Antonio I decided to start attending the meetings of the regional speaker’s organization. I attended many of these meetings, but I was still not able to crack, what I refer to as, the income code. It became apparent to me that 5 percent of the speakers were actually making a good living speaking full-time. I started hanging around these speakers and began to figure out what they were doing. The more speakers I spoke with, the more I began to understand how tough this business really is. Most speakers chant the mantra, “Speak for free and then for fee.” The philosophy being that if you speak often enough and well enough, someone is bound to notice your existence and hire you as a speaker. I began questioning that line of thinking. It seemed as if those preaching the mantra were not doing so hot themselves, even though they had been at it for years. Quick Start Guide to Public Speaking 8 I Want to Be a Six-Figure Speaker Victor Antonio I was faced with two options: 1) build slowly and hope for my goal, or 2) simply accept the fact that you can’t make money in this business. I opted for neither one. Instead, I took the road less traveled. I started looking into the college market. I started to uncover what many speakers are totally clueless about and what others weren’t willing to share. I did well in the college market and then staretd moving into the corporate arena. This was a whole new ballgame where you really had to have your ducks in a row. I’m talking about books, website, press kits, and on and on. This speaker’s course is designed to help you get started in the business of speaking and guide you on what tools and strategies you need to implement if you want to be a successful speaker. As you read this book, keep in mind it is a business strategy with many moving parts. Each part or component is critical to achieve success in the market. Failing to take care of the Quick Start Guide to Public Speaking 9 I Want to Be a Six-Figure Speaker Victor Antonio details may not affect you in the short term, but the long- term consequences could be detrimental. The worst thing that can happen is opportunity comes your way, but you are unprepared to take advantage of it because you tried to shortcut your way to success. Follow my instructions and guidance and you stand a greater chance of hitting your financial goals. I know, I’ve been there! Quick Start Guide to Public Speaking 10