3 Things You Should Do When Your Speaking Calendar is Sparse (1 of 2)

Just because the phone's not ringing doesn't mean your business is about to fail…

Every speaker deals with periods of extreme slowness… it's what you do during these times that counts the most!

:: Blues riff on a gritty guitar ::

Oh, the phone ain't ringin',
(Nah, naah, na, nah)
My calendar's clear,
(Nah, naah, na, nah)
That's why I'm singin',
(Nah, naah, na, nah)
And writin' here!
(Nah, naah, na, nah)
I've got the speaker's blues,
Ohh… ohh… the speaker's blues!
(Nah, naah, na, nah!)

June and December. Every. Single. Year.

Those are the times I fall victim to the speaker's blues.

Maybe you've experienced something similar – two times every year when you start to get worried… seriously worried… about the future of your speaking business.

This is when you look ahead… and the days and weeks look like the dating calendar of a teen who hasn't yet discovered deodorant… completely open.

No events, no webinars, no gigs of any sort.

When this happens, it's easy to think you're just like that poor kid… you stink! And it's common for nasty little ideas to work their way into your mind…

"Aww, it's finally over. I'm a bad speaker. Nobody's ever going to hire me again. I guess it was a good run. It's time to find a new career path."

Ugh… I hate to see you feeling this way.

If you are currently – or have in the past – experienced these emotions, remember two things:

1. It's 100% normal to have slow times on your calendar.
2. Don't fall into despair. Instead, take action!

Today, I will show you why it makes perfect sense for your phone to stop ringing during certain seasons of the year.

Plus, I'll share with you three decisive actions you can take during your slow months that will pay dividends over the next speaking season.

So, get rid of that blues guitar… and let's take a closer look.

Map Out Your Yearly Calendar… Even The Scary Stuff

Since we started with my awesome blues song, I figure it doesn't hurt to share one more song by another (almost as awesome) band called The Byrds. In 1965, they sang…

To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time to every purpose, under heaven
A time to be born, a time to die
A time to plant, a time to reap
A time to kill, a time to heal
A time to laugh, a time to weep

These lines can help us remember that time will keep going and those busy seasons will eventually come back around. It's all a natural progression.

Think in Terms of Seasons

The first step is to start thinking of your speaking year in terms of "seasons."

Personally, I break my year into Spring and Fall speaking seasons when I'm really busy with events. My Spring speaking season lasts from March through May, and the Fall season is from September through November. During these six months, I can expect to present most of my speaking gigs.

Your speaking seasons might be a little different from mine because you speak to another type of audience.

For example, many companies and organizations have January sales kick-off meetings. If this makes up your primary audience, you might have a Winter season from January to March. Or, maybe you speak mostly at educational conferences, so you tend to be very busy during the Summer season, which lasts from June to August.

Regardless of what two speaking seasons you identify, when you recognize the busy seasons of the year, you can better understand why things slow down during the slow seasons.

Avoiding "The Pit of Speaking Despair"

Identifying the slow seasons is just the very first step. Next, we need to look at why things are so languid during certain times of the year.

In other words, why do so many speakers literally start worrying if their careers are over? Why do we fall into The Pit of Speaking Despair?

It helps if you understand the patterns in how your event organizers book events. When you track your events, inquiries, confirmation dates, and other speaking data, you'll notice two things…

1. First, there are certain months of the year when you get booked for lots of gigs – those are your busy seasons. And you'll see when event organizers don't book you – a.k.a. your slow seasons. Keep in mind if you're not speaking at events, you're also not getting stageside leads during this time.
2. Second, you'll see the average amount of time before an event when event organizers make initial contact and when they confirm gigs.