Soar to Success March 2019

SOAR TO SUCCESS / Reinvention Uncensored (8¼®´ (±ob´U Lisa Ryan I am thrilled that my ĆUVW LQWHUYLHZ IRU this new column is with Lisa Ryan, Chief $SSUHFLDWLRQ 2IĆFHU at Grategy and author of 10 books. Here’s a transcript of just a part of our interview. You can listen to the entire interview at the Soar to Success podcast. Pat: Would you call the transformation you’ve made in the last couple of years in your business a reinvention? Lisa: Yes. There have been a few reinventions. I started in corporate America and reinvented myself as a professional speaker when I was let go via a group conference call! I started out speaking in the HR space focused on Grategy, my term for gratitude strategies. When I realized that wasn’t really attracting the caliber of speaking engagements I wanted, I looked around for a new niche. Someone suggested manufacturing. I hadn’t thought of that and wondered if it was possible to make money in that space. I did some research and found out yes, it is. I now speak on the same topic, but it’s framed as Employee Engagement and Retention. Pat: Even though you’ve selected Manufacturing as your niche, do you speak to other types of associations or companies? Lisa: Yes. My outbound marketing program is solely focused on manufacturing, however, frequently someone in the audience of one of my keynotes, comes and asks me to speak for their organization or association, that may not be manufacturing. If there’s a good ĆW , DP KDSS\ WR GR LW Pat: Tell us more about your outbound marketing program. Lisa: I have a list of about 400 manufacturing associations, and they hear fromme in some way about once every quarter. I vary the way I contact them, it could be via email, a call, sending a video, or sending an article they might like – I just keep dripping my name to them, until they hire me or tell me they don’t hire professional speakers for their association meetings. Pat: Wow, that’s really impressive, Lisa. Most people would give up DIWHU WKH ĆUVW unanswered email. No wonder you have built a successful professional speaking career. Lisa: Yes, being a professional speaker is not easy! It takes persistence, work and money to become a sought-after speaker. I have invested over $100,000 on building this career, so I encourage anyone who wants to become a professional speaker to make sure you have 2-3 years of living expenses in the bank, or another source of support, before you embark on this career path. Pat: Good advice. Thanks, Lisa, for being with me. Lisa: Thank you, Pat. Reinvention Uncensored