4
NOTHING SAYS “THANK
YOU” LIKE CHOCOLATE.
After getting my CSP,
I FedExed a bar of chocolate
to every client who did
an evaluation. Not some
cheap, waxy stuff. Fine, dark
chocolate with my name
carved into it and a custom
label. Yeah, that’s how to
be memorable. Every client
emailed me congratulations.
5
OH YEAH, I SHOULD CALL …
Almost without exception,
every new CSP speaker has
told me that going through
the application process
revealed old clients they
should contact again. And,
almost everyone who told
me that got new business
from their old “list.” That’s
the fastest way to monetize
your CSP!
MORE THAN A GLANCE.
Tracking every client gig
you did for five-plus years
seems like a hassle, not a
benefit. But completing the
CSP application gave me a
deep dive into a key chunk of
my business. In one concise
spreadsheet, I saw the value
provided to clients. It reminded
me of what I can do. It will do
the same for you.
2
FEES FROM “OW” TO
“WOW.” Tracking your fees
in the CSP application is
revealing. I discovered fiscal
“jumps.” Certain clients or
new speeches provided fast
fee escalations. Patterns
emerged and I realized I was
due for another jump. And past
performance is predictive of
future performance. The jump
happened.
3
“WINE” TO YOUR CLIENTS
ABOUT AN EVALUATION. To
help prompt 20 clients to fill
out online evaluations, I sent
them each a bottle of wine. Not
a bribe (heh-heh, of course not
… simply a “pre-thank you”).
NOTE: All my high-scoring
evals were completed within
three days. In vino veritas. BRIAN WALTER,
CSP, CPAE,
is a 20-year
NSA member
and the 2017–
2018 NSA
National President. He is an
“infotainment” expert and
serves his clients through
Extreme Meetings, Extreme
Emcee, and Extreme
Multimedia.
Gold-Medal
Ideas
Five happy results of the CSP process
Earning your CSP™ (Certified Speaking Professional)
designation gets you much more than a shiny
medal. The application process offers insights and
opportunities for increasing your business.
