Jeff Butler - Utilizing Authenticity as a Speaker

Jeff Butler is a keynote speaker, author, and workplace strategist who talks about how multi-generational organizations can thrive. He helps businesses with topics ranging from recruitment to retention management and offers managers and C-Suite members unique insights from a millennial perspective. Moreover, he talks about authenticity and how it can be leveraged to form connections and create a strong team. Jeff has been featured in over 50 media outlets, has founded 3 profitable companies by 27, and has published two books.

Key Takeaways

• Jeff's path into the speaking business wasn't linear. Learn about his challenges and road blocks along the way. 
• It's important to not only be authentic on the stage but also behind the scenes. Having a team can be a great asset, and it's important you're transparent with them. Let them know when you see them doing well but also point out where they could be improving.
• Sustaining a speaking business is more than just about going on stage. There's a lot at work behind the scenes like building up experience and marketing yourself. 
• A strategy Jeff gives to have a successful speaking business is reverse engineering everything. Figure out where you want to be and then look at what others did to get there. That is a great source of information and can lead you down the right path.

Memorable Quotes

• The ultimate thing that we're doing when we're being authentic or trying to practice authenticity is connection...not to get a result but to connect, feel heard." - Charles Clark
• "[In speaking] there's so many people who are better than me who can be funny or make an audience clap on command or get a standing ovation. But can you consistently get on stages for enough money to make this a successful business? That is hard." - Jeff Butler
• "The speaking business is not just about getting on the stage, it's a lot of leg work. It’s a lot of behind the scenes things that most people will never see." - Charles Clark

Episode Resources & Links

Jeff Butler

Website: https://jeffjbutler.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iamjeffbutler/

Instagram: + Twitter: @iamjeffbutler | Facebook: @iamjeffjbutler

Charles Clark

Website: https://thecharlesclark.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/charlesclarkusa/

Instagram + Facebook: @thecharlesclark

To get access to all our episodes, visit our podcast page!

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Transcript

00:00:01 Charles Clark

Welcome to the journey to pay speaking gigs podcast.

00:00:03 Charles Clark

Here we bring on guests in the speaking world to uncover how to find your voice as a speaker, get paid speaking engagements and develop your speaking skills.

00:00:12 Charles Clark

I'm your host Charles Clark.

00:00:13 Charles Clark

Mental health and resilience speaker, and today I'm talking with Jeff Butler.

00:00:18 Charles Clark

He's a keynote speaker author.

00:00:20 Charles Clark

And workplace strategists who has helped multi generational organizations.

00:00:24 Charles Clark

Thrive. We'll be talking about the challenges he faced getting into speaking as well as starts on authenticity. If you like the topic we covered today, check out the journey debate, speaking gigs Academy on my website, duckcharlesclark.com/apply the Charles clark.com/applied.

00:00:45 Charles Clark

Where you're going to learn everything that you need to know about creating a successful speaking business?

00:00:50 Charles Clark

Without further ado, let's invite Jeff on to the podcast.

00:00:55 Jeff Butler

Appreciate being here Charles.

00:00:56 Charles Clark

Yeah, you know we just learned something.

00:00:59 Charles Clark

We have a commonality athlete to athlete and you you kind of know the the hard work that it takes.

00:01:06 Charles Clark

And so I just want you to let the throughout Todd know a little bit about.

00:01:09 Charles Clark

Who you are?

00:01:10 Speaker 4

Who who is gentle?

00:01:13 Charles Clark

Yeah well, Jeff.

00:01:13 Jeff Butler

Bother someone who's in take care of his background for podcasts, 'cause it looks like I literally have all this stuff.

00:01:18 Jeff Butler

Disorganized I actually.

00:01:20 Speaker 4

Move that stuff to.

00:01:21 Jeff Butler

Roll out and for athletics, so I'll just look at my background.

00:01:24 Jeff Butler

I'm like Dang.

00:01:25 Jeff Butler

This dude looks like.

00:01:26 Jeff Butler

He's living like a bum.

00:01:28 Jeff Butler

Yeah, so my name is Jeff.

00:01:31 Jeff Butler

Went to UC Berkeley.

00:01:33 Jeff Butler

I do a lot of speaking now.

00:01:35 Jeff Butler

I had a corporate background I want to go into the story but in terms.

00:01:37 Jeff Butler

Love who I am.

00:01:39 Jeff Butler

Keynote speaker on generations, workplace dynamics, anything from recruitment to retention management and the way that I actually was able to position myself as a younger speaker.

00:01:50

Was going more from.

00:01:51 Jeff Butler

The angle of being younger and talking to people who are more in the C-Suite or manager saying, hey, here's what people?

00:01:58 Jeff Butler

My age are looking for.

00:02:00 Jeff Butler

That's initially how I got my segment.

00:02:02 Jeff Butler

In there, so as a speaker.

00:02:03 Jeff Butler

That's where I am.

00:02:04 Charles Clark

But I don't know if I.

00:02:05 Jeff Butler

Want to go into?

00:02:05 Jeff Butler

Existential E spiritually emotionally, psychologically?

00:02:07

Yeah, yeah go.

00:02:08 Charles Clark

But like I don't know, we have to have.

00:02:10 Jeff Butler

Enough time for that.

00:02:12 Jeff Butler

That's the small speaker side.

00:02:14 Charles Clark

Yeah you have family.

00:02:16 Jeff Butler

I do, Oh well, I.

00:02:18 Jeff Butler

Eat some family, but I don't have any kids.

00:02:21 Jeff Butler

I have a girlfriend who definitely is ready to get married, so could be.

00:02:25 Jeff Butler

A family thing.

00:02:27 Charles Clark

That's what's up, man.

00:02:28 Charles Clark

Congratulations in advance.

00:02:30 Charles Clark

Uh, that that's that's pretty awesome finding love and and being loved.

00:02:35 Charles Clark

So tell me your story like how did you get into this speaking industry?

00:02:40 Charles Clark

Because for somebody like me who was starting out as a speaker, I didn't know I could get paid for this.

00:02:47 Charles Clark

All right so.

00:02:48 Charles Clark

So tell me the story of of how.

00:02:50 Charles Clark

You got into this and and and.

00:02:52 Charles Clark

A paid speaker?

00:02:55 Jeff Butler

Short version.

00:02:56 Jeff Butler

Because speakers can.

00:02:57 Jeff Butler

Talk forever it's.

00:03:00 Jeff Butler

I have UC Berkeley.

00:03:02 Jeff Butler

I like you.

00:03:03 Jeff Butler

I I had dreams of like doing the Olympic route of track and I I stepped away from it because of making sure I had like a career in place.

00:03:12 Jeff Butler

I went to software engineering so I got computer science degree.

00:03:16 Jeff Butler

From Cal.

00:03:16 Jeff Butler

During that time I worked in corporate.

00:03:19 Jeff Butler

As a software engineer, in addition.

00:03:21 Jeff Butler

Uh, start my.

00:03:23 Jeff Butler

Own software company around 23 years old and after a year about doing doing that, it wasn't really thrilled.

00:03:30 Jeff Butler

So I quit that.

00:03:31 Jeff Butler

I didn't have any job or anything and so.

00:03:33 Jeff Butler

I had a.

00:03:33 Jeff Butler

Bucket list #8. On there was public speaking and there was a Toastmasters. I saw your website and obviously you went to Toastmasters as.

00:03:40 Jeff Butler

Well so I.

00:03:41 Speaker 4

Right?

00:03:41 Jeff Butler

Worked with Toastmasters.

00:03:43 Jeff Butler

Having no experience, I'm a huge introvert so I'm the guy who sits in the back of a classroom, puts their head up against the wall and looks like.

00:03:49 Jeff Butler

They're sleeping, but.

00:03:49 Jeff Butler

They're really trying to.

00:03:50 Jeff Butler

Follow along on that guy.

00:03:53 Jeff Butler

Well, I should.

00:03:54 Jeff Butler

Up and there's a table topics portion which.

00:03:57 Jeff Butler

Is 60 seconds to two minutes where you have.

00:04:00 Jeff Butler

To basically come up with the answer.

00:04:02 Jeff Butler

Some question they ask you.

00:04:03 Jeff Butler

I go up I speak for 50 seconds came and.

00:04:06 Jeff Butler

Make it the.

00:04:06 Jeff Butler

Full minute I sit down and like.

00:04:09 Jeff Butler

I want to do this for a living.

00:04:10 Speaker 4

Wow, like whatever this is.

00:04:12 Jeff Butler

This I want to do it.

00:04:14 Charles Clark

And later that day.

00:04:16 Jeff Butler

I set a goal to get on Ted X four months.

00:04:19 Jeff Butler

Later I was in the tax stage and Hilliard.

00:04:19 Charles Clark

3rd month

00:04:23 Jeff Butler

And then it was a matter of how to make this akarere how to actually get paid for it, which was very tough.

00:04:30 Jeff Butler

I even had to go back to working full time to dilute or to push my cash into building the business.

00:04:36

It wasn't like.

00:04:37 Jeff Butler

Oh, it happened all at once, no.

00:04:38 Jeff Butler

Like even with the Ted talk, it was very.

00:04:40 Jeff Butler

Difficult and worked in there.

00:04:43 Jeff Butler

Tried youth I saw you spoke to youth which I don't know how you.

00:04:46 Jeff Butler

Do it, but like high.

00:04:47 Jeff Butler

School kids will call you out and they don't care at all.

00:04:50 Speaker 4

Wait here.

00:04:51 Jeff Butler

So I I did that for a bit, then went down the corporate route, paired up with a buddy who showed me how to do outreach, build a sales process, build a sales team.

00:05:01 Jeff Butler

And slowly but surely for me, when I paired up with him, I hit 6 figures the 1st.

00:05:06 Jeff Butler

Year not like 500 thousand 100,009 next.

00:05:10 Speaker 4

I made it, I made it.

00:05:11 Jeff Butler

So like that's a big difference. And then from there each are doing a little bit better. Obviously 2020 was a huge slap in the face.

00:05:23 Jeff Butler

I definitely had to figure out different income streams and then.

00:05:27 Jeff Butler

And now, yeah, I'm doing 50 to 60 a year charging anywhere from, you know, a couple 1000 up to 15 for talks.

00:05:35 Charles Clark

Yeah, that's awesome man.

00:05:37 Charles Clark

Congratulations, I I love seeing people when your win is my win.

00:05:42 Charles Clark

And so when did you know like this was something that?

00:05:48 Charles Clark

That you know you could make a living doing I.

00:05:50 Charles Clark

I know you talked about the Toastmasters and having that experience, but was there ever a moment after that where maybe you were on a stage?

00:05:58 Charles Clark

Or maybe you were behind the scenes and you were like this?

00:06:00 Charles Clark

Is it?

00:06:01 Charles Clark

This is this is?

00:06:01 Jeff Butler

It's not.

00:06:03 Jeff Butler

I mean those are two different questions, right?

00:06:04 Jeff Butler

There's one when.

00:06:05 Jeff Butler

I think it's.

00:06:06 Jeff Butler

Possible and then the second was when I realized that I am.

00:06:10 Jeff Butler

Doing my dream and so the.

00:06:12 Jeff Butler

Two entirely different things.

00:06:14 Jeff Butler

I was not a very like, didn't have a very utopian perspective on.

00:06:19 Jeff Butler

Whether or not.

00:06:19 Jeff Butler

This is possible.

00:06:20 Jeff Butler

It was more that.

00:06:22 Jeff Butler

I don't want to work in corporate, so I gotta make this.

00:06:24 Jeff Butler

Work like that.

00:06:25 Jeff Butler

Was my mindset so I would want to.

00:06:27 Jeff Butler

Try anything man.

00:06:29 Jeff Butler

I was going into different.

00:06:30 Jeff Butler

Schools like bait being paid like barely.

00:06:33 Jeff Butler

Anything and the kids were yelling at.

00:06:34 Jeff Butler

Me like I.

00:06:35 Jeff Butler

Went to you.

00:06:36 Jeff Butler

Know Alternative High School is.

00:06:38 Jeff Butler

I went to alternative high school students.

00:06:40 Jeff Butler

And they straight up would start.

00:06:41 Speaker 4

Yelling at my station, and I mean.

00:06:44 Jeff Butler

Like this freaking boys are like.

00:06:46 Jeff Butler

They don't give a crap.

00:06:47 Jeff Butler

They're like they're just like.

00:06:49 Jeff Butler

Screw you dude some white dude.

00:06:51 Jeff Butler

Walking to my school tell me.

00:06:52 Jeff Butler

What's up, I know my God.

00:06:53 Jeff Butler

Like this?

00:06:55 Speaker 4

So like.

00:06:57 Speaker 4

Yeah, but it was like do.

00:06:58 Jeff Butler

Or die right?

00:07:00 Jeff Butler

Like I didn't care like I was like.

00:07:01 Jeff Butler

Let's let's just let's make it work like I, I don't.

00:07:04 Jeff Butler

I'm not living long enough.

00:07:07 Jeff Butler

To really waste time doing something else.

00:07:10 Jeff Butler

Let's figure out a way to make this happen.

00:07:12 Jeff Butler

And it was a grind for those first few years.

00:07:15 Jeff Butler

Man like barely earning anything.

00:07:16 Jeff Butler

Like if I don't know if you checked out my Ted tax talk at on smart.

00:07:20 Jeff Butler

Well, that college shirt was the.

00:07:22 Jeff Butler

Only one I had, those are the only pair jeans I.

00:07:24 Jeff Butler

Had my glasses.

00:07:25 Jeff Butler

Were completely scratched up like I was barely had any money at.

00:07:28 Jeff Butler

That time.

00:07:29 Jeff Butler

Trying to make that damn dream work did and so.

00:07:31 Charles Clark

Shining in the stage right?

00:07:34 Speaker 4

Yeah, I'm doing the comment section.

00:07:36 Jeff Butler

Man, people are ripping me a little bit, they're.

00:07:38 Jeff Butler

Like man, this is overly rehearsed.

00:07:40 Speaker 4

I'm like dude, they don't know.

00:07:41 Jeff Butler

How many times I've?

00:07:42 Jeff Butler

Practiced that talk because.

00:07:43 Jeff Butler

I was like, here's my one.

00:07:44 Jeff Butler

Shot to get this nice footage on here.

00:07:46 Jeff Butler

At TEDx stage.

00:07:49 Jeff Butler

I'm gonna do this so many damn times.

00:07:52 Jeff Butler

I really went to like 30 toastmaster events but back to your original point, it was do or.

00:07:56 Jeff Butler

Die, it wasn't.

00:07:57 Jeff Butler

This hey I'm going to.

00:07:58 Jeff Butler

I'm doing my living but when I.

00:08:01 Jeff Butler

And then there's a side of can I?

00:08:02 Jeff Butler

Do this for a living.

00:08:04 Jeff Butler

Or is this possible and my flipping this dream?

00:08:07 Jeff Butler

I don't really felt like I really hit that dream point because.

00:08:11 Jeff Butler

Probably like you. Once I hit a certain number, I'm off to the next one like I'm pretty sure once you broke 21 seconds in the 200 you were like already thinking about 20.5.

00:08:22 Charles Clark

Well, break the world left down right.

00:08:23 Speaker 1

And then.

00:08:24 Jeff Butler

Yeah, yeah, oh like.

00:08:25 Jeff Butler

20 and then you're, like, alright, let's let's break 20 point.

00:08:27

Five in here.

00:08:28 Jeff Butler

Can I break the 22nd mark?

00:08:29 Charles Clark

Yeah, right, but.

00:08:32 Jeff Butler

That's kind of like the speaking side for me.

00:08:34 Jeff Butler

OK great, I hit this.

00:08:35 Jeff Butler

Mark, I'm looking at the next one and part of that's a good thing.

00:08:38 Jeff Butler

Part of this bad if you're looking at more traditional mainstream like motivational talk these days, they would say that's a really bad thing because they say, oh, you're not.

00:08:46 Jeff Butler

Satisfied where you are.

00:08:47 Jeff Butler

But existential E we do need a purpose in order to withhold the stress and difficulties of reality.

00:08:55 Jeff Butler

And having a strong enough why in sort of looking at more Viktor Frankel in a sense of existentialism, we do need something too.

00:09:02 Jeff Butler

To find invigorating to go through stress.

00:09:06 Charles Clark

Yeah, that definitely is the balance, right?

00:09:09 Charles Clark

You got this duality of like being in the moment, and then I I want to let my legacy.

00:09:15 Charles Clark

I want the best of the best you know?

00:09:17 Charles Clark

And I don't think there's anything wrong with that.

00:09:20 Charles Clark

Me being a a competitive athlete, it transcends to to my business as well.

00:09:26 Charles Clark

And so there's certain things that I don't like to compromise on and, and so I really like the fact that you said.

00:09:32 Charles Clark

You were hungry, like you didn't want to compromise that, and so the question I asked you listeners today is where is your hunger?

00:09:42 Charles Clark

Like do you? Do you really want to make a difference in people's lives? Do you really feel like your message is something that can change the world or change one person?

00:09:53 Charles Clark

Because that hunger is going is going to take you through those difficult moments.

00:09:58 Charles Clark

Those nights where you're not getting those emails.

00:10:01 Charles Clark

Or, you know that you're getting those rejections again and again, and your counter is not getting booked.

00:10:06 Charles Clark

What where's your hunger like?

00:10:08 Charles Clark

That's that's where you're going to find the success, right?

00:10:12 Charles Clark

I I love that.

00:10:15 Charles Clark

Here's another question for you.

00:10:16 Charles Clark

I know you have a book out.

00:10:18 Charles Clark

It's called authentic workplace.

00:10:20 Charles Clark

How authenticity is creating a workplace for tomorrow.

00:10:25 Charles Clark

I know I don't know how big your team is, but my question is is really like how are you using authenticity to build a successful speaking business?

00:10:33

Oh, I thought.

00:10:34 Jeff Butler

You were going to say, oh, I saw your.

00:10:37 Jeff Butler

Book and I was wondering how big your team is because you only have two.

00:10:39 Jeff Butler

Reviews on your post.

00:10:42 Jeff Butler

That way I was like.

00:10:43 Charles Clark

All right, I see I see one.

00:10:45 Speaker 1

Oh man.

00:10:46 Speaker 1

You took it.

00:10:47 Jeff Butler

Second, yeah, actually in terms of authenticity, I actually.

00:10:53 Jeff Butler

Wrote that book more.

00:10:55 Jeff Butler

As can I write something incorporated and taking take a bigger idea of what I'm seeing in the world and the actual first chapter is kind of reflecting on what I've seen in terms of.

00:11:06 Jeff Butler

My family tree on different managerial styles, so I grew up in Silicon Valley.

00:11:10 Jeff Butler

My parents were entrepreneurs.

00:11:12 Jeff Butler

My grandfather also was an entrepreneur.

00:11:15 Jeff Butler

A big risk taker.

00:11:17 Jeff Butler

They both succeeded very well, but came from nothing on both sides and.

00:11:24 Jeff Butler

In terms of authenticity on that they did have different styles and how that translates to how I work with my team, I've had this a lot and it's more of how are you transparent and consistent with team members.

00:11:34 Jeff Butler

For instance, you know I had to fire someone recently.

00:11:37 Jeff Butler

I was on.

00:11:37 Jeff Butler

My most difficult.

00:11:38 Jeff Butler

Firings we have a team around 15.

00:11:41 Jeff Butler

And this person been with me through the.

00:11:43 Jeff Butler

Pandemic she was.

00:11:45 Jeff Butler

A person, but we weren't aligned as much anymore.

00:11:50 Jeff Butler

I could just tell she wasn't as excited about the work.

00:11:53 Jeff Butler

So you know we had to part ways.

00:11:55 Charles Clark

And people were.

00:11:56 Jeff Butler

Curious like hey, what what happened, right?

00:12:00 Jeff Butler

Do you give?

00:12:00 Jeff Butler

The corporate answer.

00:12:01 Jeff Butler

And say, well, you know things in the workout.

00:12:04 Jeff Butler

Well, how do you?

00:12:05

But how do?

00:12:06 Jeff Butler

You not give so much information that you're.

00:12:08 Jeff Butler

Being a jerk to that.

00:12:09 Jeff Butler

Relationship right undermine that relationship.

00:12:09 Charles Clark

Yeah, yeah.

00:12:11 Jeff Butler

So I was basically.

00:12:13 Jeff Butler

But had to sell it a few things of like hey, you know what we went through this, this and this.

00:12:17 Jeff Butler

We had this conversation that didn't really work out and we started to part ways.

00:12:22 Jeff Butler

And if you all are consistent on that.

00:12:24 Jeff Butler

Side if they go over to the other.

00:12:26 Jeff Butler

Person say what they say if.

00:12:27 Jeff Butler

It matches it's like OK, you did.

00:12:29 Jeff Butler

Did the right thing.

00:12:30 Jeff Butler

There's that there's also showing them how much revenue are making.

00:12:34 Jeff Butler

There's also saying, hey, here's how I actually feel about you if they screw.

00:12:39

Up I let.

00:12:39 Jeff Butler

Him know if they do well.

00:12:41 Jeff Butler

I let him know and a lot of that being able to give that polarity and dichotomy of those two different perspectives really goes a long.

00:12:49 Jeff Butler

Way because they know.

00:12:50 Charles Clark

They low that.

00:12:51 Jeff Butler

They can get better.

00:12:53 Jeff Butler

But they also they know that they're being seen as what they're also doing well, in, right?

00:12:58 Jeff Butler

So those can both exist at the same time.

00:13:00 Charles Clark

Yeah, I I like I like the approach of authenticity for you.

00:13:04 Charles Clark

I was.

00:13:05 Charles Clark

I was expecting something completely different.

00:13:07 Charles Clark

But you know, I I, I really am seeing that authenticity is is.

00:13:13 Charles Clark

All-encompassing right? It's it's what goes what goes on behind the scenes and it's what you do on the stage as well. But but the I guess the true authenticity is is what you do like.

00:13:21 Speaker 4

Right?

00:13:26 Charles Clark

As a being like is this a part of your life?

00:13:30 Jeff Butler

Yeah, I mean part of.

00:13:32 Jeff Butler

That book, though, is looking at sort of the traditional definition of authenticity of being yourself.

00:13:37 Jeff Butler

And that's actually not true.

00:13:38 Jeff Butler

Because if you were.

00:13:39 Jeff Butler

Really yourself you would basically be someone who.

00:13:41 Jeff Butler

Looks like they have.

00:13:42 Jeff Butler

Tourettes affecting everyone around the field.

00:13:45

It's not good, so I.

00:13:46 Jeff Butler

Was looking at different domain of.

00:13:47 Jeff Butler

Authenticity and I even did that in this conversation.

00:13:50 Jeff Butler

If you want to get.

00:13:50 Jeff Butler

Meta for instance.

00:13:52 Jeff Butler

One of the things I had demonstrated in there was that and conversations there tends to be, you know, high like level depth, right?

00:13:58 Jeff Butler

If we say, oh, I.

00:13:58 Jeff Butler

Had a very deep conversation.

00:14:00 Jeff Butler

It's a level depth that you have to go down.

00:14:02 Jeff Butler

If if we save more on your traditional podcast path.

00:14:05 Jeff Butler

Right, it would say how is your speaking career.

00:14:07 Jeff Butler

How is this?

00:14:07 Jeff Butler

How is that?

00:14:08 Jeff Butler

But if we branched off and that's why I bought.

00:14:10 Jeff Butler

Your track thing.

00:14:11 Speaker 4

Right it.

00:14:11 Jeff Butler

Was a little off, but it was enough to build like reports say OK, like this dude.

00:14:17 Jeff Butler

Kind of gets me understands this side but I went a little bit deeper.

00:14:20 Jeff Butler

Kind of outside of the path.

00:14:22 Jeff Butler

And I knew how to take that, so that's.

00:14:25 Jeff Butler

Kind of a way of building rapport, and you do that with an employee or normal conversations.

00:14:29 Jeff Butler

It works well to appear more real.

00:14:31 Charles Clark

Yeah, I guess the ultimate.

00:14:34 Charles Clark

The ultimate thing that we that we're doing when we're being authentic or trying to practice its authenticity is connection.

00:14:44 Jeff Butler

You mean like connecting with just people?

00:14:46 Jeff Butler

As in they can trust you or that you can.

00:14:50 Jeff Butler

People are hearing your message as with your group, right?

00:14:54 Charles Clark

I, I think in in any sense, any formal connection not to get a result, but to connect, feel, heard.

00:14:54 Jeff Butler

You mean by that?

00:15:03 Charles Clark

And yeah, yeah.

00:15:05 Speaker 4

Of course.

00:15:06 Charles Clark

OK for sure so.

00:15:08 Jeff Butler

Actually with event planners, because you'll talk to a whole bunch of them and.

00:15:12 Jeff Butler

You'll get to a lot of nodes or someone who wants you.

00:15:14 Jeff Butler

And they say, can we have?

00:15:15 Jeff Butler

You for free and maybe.

00:15:18 Jeff Butler

You cannot, but what are you going to take the time to?

00:15:21 Jeff Butler

Help them find the right person?

00:15:22 Charles Clark

Yeah yeah, yeah, because later.

00:15:25 Charles Clark

On you know who knows what could happen.

00:15:27 Speaker 4

You don't.

00:15:27 Jeff Butler

Know, so why would you?

00:15:29 Jeff Butler

Be a jerk in that relationship, right?

00:15:31 Charles Clark

Yeah, yeah, because it didn't line up to what you.

00:15:34 Speaker 1

In it.

00:15:35 Speaker 4

Yeah it is.

00:15:36 Jeff Butler

Polite ways of going about it, but I just find it really annoying, especially in this space.

00:15:39 Jeff Butler

As you know, like you've done some things in sports much more than I have, but I'm sure you run into certain motivational speakers of some guy who's.

00:15:47 Jeff Butler

Like yeah, I played.

00:15:48 Jeff Butler

One year of of.

00:15:50 Jeff Butler

Junior varsity football and you're like dude?

00:15:53 Jeff Butler

Why are you talking about resilience?

00:15:55

What do you know about?

00:15:56 Jeff Butler

Resilience, right? And then they.

00:15:59 Jeff Butler

Have this attitude about them this lack of humbleness and you're.

00:16:02 Jeff Butler

Like, well, you know like I don't.

00:16:04 Jeff Butler

Really agree with weight.

00:16:05 Jeff Butler

You know it's like.

00:16:06 Jeff Butler

Balls on that line.

00:16:07 Charles Clark

Yeah yeah, I feel you, yeah.

00:16:09 Charles Clark

So what what would you say for you what?

00:16:11 Charles Clark

Was the biggest challenge.

00:16:13 Charles Clark

On your journey of becoming a paid speaker.

00:16:16 Jeff Butler

Having a consistent marketing channel.

00:16:21 Jeff Butler

I know you also wrote about your difficulties in writing and reading.

00:16:25 Jeff Butler

I've had my certain challenges because I didn't get into towel off of academia.

00:16:30 Jeff Butler

It was sports, right?

00:16:33 Jeff Butler

So I had that chip on my shoulder when I graduated that I was not that smart and I was not capable.

00:16:37 Jeff Butler

So I had a look how to write more effectively, which I turned out to be a lot better writer.

00:16:41 Jeff Butler

And I thought, which is cool.

00:16:42 Charles Clark

'cause you access driving passion?

00:16:44 Speaker 4

Well, it was part.

00:16:45 Jeff Butler

Of that, but also in the essay.

00:16:47 Jeff Butler

TI scored really well on the airplane and.

00:16:50 Jeff Butler

I thought it.

00:16:50 Jeff Butler

Was a fluke.

00:16:53 Speaker 4

I didn't believe it all.

00:16:55 Speaker 4

But still I would have thought but anyway.

00:16:57 Charles Clark

Oh wow, and a couple books later right?

00:17:00 Charles Clark

All my.

00:17:01 Jeff Butler

Mom and my mom edited my all my essays through high school.

00:17:06 Jeff Butler

So imagine what they'll do to your ego, right?

00:17:08 Jeff Butler

So in terms of what?

00:17:12 Jeff Butler

Was going back to the original question on there, sorry.

00:17:15 Charles Clark

Biggest challenge yeah.

00:17:16 Charles Clark

I I get I get lost all the time.

00:17:18 Speaker 4

So we're working.

00:17:19 Jeff Butler

100% because in.

00:17:21 Jeff Butler

Speaking, you can write a talk.

00:17:22 Speaker 4

You can be engaging there's.

00:17:23 Jeff Butler

Some people who are better than me.

00:17:24 Jeff Butler

You can be funny or made audience clap on command or give us an ovation, but can you consistently get on stages for enough money to make this a successful business?

00:17:34

That is hard.

00:17:36 Jeff Butler

It's very hard and I don't want to undermine.

00:17:39 Jeff Butler

That it's because.

00:17:40 Jeff Butler

Obviously, why would people be joining your Arthur eyes?

00:17:45 Jeff Butler

To thrive, right?

00:17:46 Jeff Butler

Like why would people actually join that?

00:17:48 Jeff Butler

It's because it's difficult because it takes.

00:17:50 Jeff Butler

A lot of know how.

00:17:52 Charles Clark

Did did you ever?

00:17:57 Charles Clark

That it factor for you.

00:18:00 Charles Clark

Just terms in marketing.

00:18:03 Charles Clark

I think it's.

00:18:03 Charles Clark

Different for everyone, right?

00:18:04 Charles Clark

I I can't do what you do to create success.

00:18:08 Charles Clark

Possibly I could, but I think we all have our lane and and So what?

00:18:13 Charles Clark

What was that for you that that you said, hey man, this is it.

00:18:16 Charles Clark

This is it.

00:18:16 Charles Clark

For me, this is what I really need to focus on.

00:18:19 Jeff Butler

Well, that that's more of is it that the industry that I went after or the marketing channel?

00:18:24 Jeff Butler

I'm more I'm more meant like marketing channel what I did and what I did is I did a lot of outbound sales.

00:18:31 Charles Clark

And then what?

00:18:31 Jeff Butler

I thought if I reached out to enough places I put enough of them.

00:18:34 Jeff Butler

My site.

00:18:35 Jeff Butler

I got footage from those I would build up the brand and the next time let's say if I use.

00:18:39 Jeff Butler

Ads and then someone comes to my site, they're.

00:18:42 Jeff Butler

Like oh this.

00:18:42 Jeff Butler

Is a big speaker.

00:18:44 Jeff Butler

It's because I was able to do all that legwork.

00:18:46 Charles Clark

Yeah, yeah.

00:18:46 Speaker 4

And all that.

00:18:47 Jeff Butler

I ran into was how can I send out that many emails do that many calls and it's that I.

00:18:53 Jeff Butler

Didn't do it.

00:18:54 Jeff Butler

I love hiring people and I was paying people to do the emails to do the calls and that's.

00:18:59 Jeff Butler

Where I met.

00:19:00 Jeff Butler

Building the team.

00:19:01 Jeff Butler

Yeah, then from when.

00:19:02 Jeff Butler

I had the.

00:19:02 Jeff Butler

Team people started asking me how to do that and that's why I start.

00:19:06 Jeff Butler

Had started hiring different booking agents.

00:19:09 Jeff Butler

For other speakers, right?

00:19:11 Jeff Butler

So then I got.

00:19:12 Jeff Butler

To see multiple people.

00:19:13 Jeff Butler

Succeeding in that same.

00:19:15 Jeff Butler

Yeah, and but big and dumb, though it wasn't.

00:19:15 Charles Clark

I love it.

00:19:18 Jeff Butler

It wasn't like I had a tick.

00:19:20 Jeff Butler

Tock that went viral.

00:19:21 Jeff Butler

Or I was?

00:19:22 Jeff Butler

Flexing my abs on Instagram and then.

00:19:24 Jeff Butler

All these all these event planners solid.

00:19:26 Jeff Butler

I'm like, oh, you're so cute.

00:19:27 Jeff Butler

Come to our conference would.

00:19:29 Jeff Butler

Give you all.

00:19:29 Jeff Butler

The money you want for a lap dance or nothing like.

00:19:32 Jeff Butler

That happens, you would just.

00:19:33

Speak really.

00:19:34 Jeff Butler

I want a pair of stuff, yeah?

00:19:37 Charles Clark

I, I mean I, I think that's what it is like you, you need a you need a system like I obviously if you do something more than once, it needs a process and and you can define what you do as a process.

00:19:49 Charles Clark

That's when you truly have a business because you know, speaking, speaking business is not just about getting on the stage, it's a lot of legwork.

00:19:57 Charles Clark

It's a lot of behind the scenes things that most people will never see, but they'll see their success on the stage.

00:20:03 Charles Clark

They'll see it on your website, so yeah, that great perspective on that.

00:20:07 Charles Clark

I I know you talked a lot about the challenges, right?

00:20:11 Charles Clark

The adversity of getting into the speaking business.

00:20:16 Charles Clark

If you could speak to anyone who is at that place that you were that had possibly fear or doubt about doing something like this, what would you tell them?

00:20:28 Jeff Butler

And what would?

00:20:28 Jeff Butler

Their goals be though.

00:20:30 Charles Clark

To be to build a successful speaking business.

00:20:32 Jeff Butler

OK.

00:20:34 Jeff Butler

What I would tell them.

00:20:36 Jeff Butler

Well, First off, you have to reverse engineer everything.

00:20:40 Jeff Butler

Right, so you look at where you want to be.

00:20:42 Jeff Butler

You look at what they.

00:20:43 Jeff Butler

Did and copy what they did.

00:20:47 Jeff Butler

Some of that works pretty well, others as digital innovation happens, like emails used to work a lot better than they do now.

00:20:54 Jeff Butler

But they still work.

00:20:56 Jeff Butler

Right there or certain things on people thought Instagrams be great, but anyway it's cutting through it on there.

00:21:03 Jeff Butler

It's more of.

00:21:04 Jeff Butler

Being able to reverse engineer.

00:21:08 Jeff Butler

One to understand that this is a long.

00:21:10 Jeff Butler

Term business 3

00:21:12 Jeff Butler

Actually understand how much people make.

00:21:13 Jeff Butler

If you're comfortable earning that.

00:21:15 Jeff Butler

Much money in doing this for a living.

00:21:16 Jeff Butler

Then go at.

00:21:17 Jeff Butler

It one more things that kind of knocked.

00:21:19 Jeff Butler

Me off my chair was.

00:21:21 Jeff Butler

Realizing if you're on the road 5060 days.

00:21:23 Jeff Butler

A year, that's a lot.

00:21:25 Jeff Butler

Like I have 8.

00:21:26 Jeff Butler

Speaking engagements next month in person.

00:21:29 Jeff Butler

And this is a month now, almost a.

00:21:31 Jeff Butler

Month now after my surgery right for my broken leg, so did I was six days after my surgery and the doctor was freaking out.

00:21:38 Jeff Butler

And I had to.

00:21:39 Jeff Butler

Configure on the plane.

00:21:41 Jeff Butler

Think you could get a.

00:21:42 Speaker 4

Blood clot

00:21:43 Jeff Butler

No more or

00:21:43 Jeff Butler

Blood clot and I'm like.

00:21:45 Speaker 4

Oh well.

00:21:45 Jeff Butler

I still gotta get paid.

00:21:47 Speaker 4

Second, you see folks like this guy, obviously.

00:21:56 Jeff Butler

Doesn't have to work hard for a living.

00:22:00 Jeff Butler

Freaking Doctor Paul had like 4.

00:22:02 Jeff Butler

100K not thinking about it, yeah?

00:22:05 Charles Clark

4K just awful for you.

00:22:09 Charles Clark

Oh man, that this was good final final words working the drive shaft.

00:22:14 Speaker 1

Thank you.

00:22:16 Jeff Butler

Uh, you can find me at Jeff J Butler com. Just know that there's three JS, not 2 Jeff J butler.com.

00:22:24 Jeff Butler

Yeah, it's two days, so I'm sticking to my e-mail address.

00:22:26 Jeff Butler

Just remember that second J because Jeff Butler hates me.

00:22:31 Speaker 4

The other.

00:22:32 Jeff Butler

Ones have emails and keep sending me stop.

00:22:35

Sending me emails and.

00:22:36 Charles Clark

Well, just let me by your name just let me by the last name bro come on.

00:22:36

I'm like dude.

00:22:39 Jeff Butler

When he said it, he's like gerads broker.

00:22:41 Jeff Butler

That doesn't use his e-mail at all.

00:22:43 Charles Clark

Don't you hate that?

00:22:44 Charles Clark

Don't don't you hate them?

00:22:44 Jeff Butler

Even by the price dude, I just got through a brain off price one day.

00:22:47 Jeff Butler

Adam, I say yeah.

00:22:47 Charles Clark

Hey thought though 10K at him, I'm pretty sure maybe he'll he'll budget.

00:22:51 Charles Clark

Little bit alright man so.

00:22:52 Charles Clark

We're getting ready to go behind the scenes real quick.

00:22:54 Charles Clark

Hey, I love this.

00:22:55 Charles Clark

Episode thanks so much Shirley.

00:23:00 Charles Clark

Alright rob, I hope you enjoyed the episode with Jeff before we go.

00:23:03 Charles Clark

Here are some major takeaways.

00:23:05 Charles Clark

One your path into the speaking world may not and possibly will not be linear to be authentic on the stage and all stage.

00:23:14 Charles Clark

If you have a team, be transparent about your.

00:23:17 Charles Clark

Goals and provide fair feedback.

00:23:20 Charles Clark

3 building up a portfolio of working and marketing effectively is really important.

00:23:25 Charles Clark

This process can be streamlined and maximized with a strong team.

00:23:33 Charles Clark

Hope you enjoyed the episode today.

00:23:34 Charles Clark

If you're curious about speaking, or maybe you just want to learn a thing or two about confidence and mindset.

00:23:40 Charles Clark

Follow this podcast and be notified when another episode is released.

00:23:44 Charles Clark

You can also find me at the Charles Clark on all major social media platforms.

00:23:48 Charles Clark

I'll catch you guys on the next episode.