Hi there, it's Jon Cook with Keynote Content, slidin' into your inbox with a quick question. But first, some crucial context. While working with 1,500+ coaches, consultants, advisors, and other professional service providers, I recognized a pattern... Every single expert who is in this space is offering one of three distinct experiences for their clients. When working with clients, is it a hot mess, your best guess, or a process? Not sure? That's a huge red flag. I was a hot mess for years...
6 months ago • 1 min read
"Jon, is it worth creating my own proprietary process? Why not simply use the standard process from the CFP Board?" Earlier this week, I led a two-hour workshop for professional service providers (financial planners, lenders, etc.) down the street from Colorado State University. The topic? Packaging your proprietary process as a value differentiator. A client who is a CFP® asked me that question right before the event. Fair enough. Let's consider the actual differentiation you may gain from...
7 months ago • 2 min read
It's a scandal and an opportunity. The scandalous part? Most speakers don’t take the time to rewatch their talks…at all. How do I know? That's the collective confession I've heard working one-on-one with 1,000+ speakers. Many rely on an event planner’s feedback, if they get any, a speaker rating, hallway testimonial, a quick comment, or even worse, they just go with what their gut tells them. That’s a huge mistake! So, what's the opportunity? The most overlooked, underleveraged advantage for...
7 months ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader, Books and doors work well together. Some books open a door, and others make great door stops. Whether you're a coach, consultant, advisor, trainer, practitioner, or some other industry expert who wants to speak on stage, a side quest is often becoming a published author. Public speakers with books tend to get better traction (and bigger paydays) with event planners. However, it begs at least one question for non-published aspiring speakers... "Do I need to publish a book to get...
7 months ago • 2 min read
Want to ruffle some feathers in the coaching, consulting, and advisory space? Take a contrarian view on AI. It's not that hard. Much of the conversation now seems stuck between Chicken Little and an ostrich neck-deep in the sand. Some are shrieking that the sky is falling. These are actual quotes from people in my network about AI in the past two weeks: "Calling it now....AI is going to replace all financial advisors by 2030." "The coaching industry is toast, bro. Just gone thanks to ChatGPT...
8 months ago • 3 min read
I looked up from the round table, deflated again at the experience. Not my experience, but the experience of workshop attendees who were sold a massive bill of promises with little to no actual fulfillment. My conscience was itching like crazy! A strategic partner contracted me to provide message development and copywriting support helping speakers create their promo content. Sounds amazing, right? It would have been amazing if the overall experience matched or exceeded the promised...
8 months ago • 3 min read
"Jon, I want to help these women so badly, but I'm not..." Cynthia's voice trailed off. "You're not what?" "I'm not qualified to coach them. I don't have the education or the credentials." "Who told you you're not qualified?" "Some coaches in my community. They said that I couldn't help these women, even though I care so deeply about them, because, well, because I'm not a certified coach." My blood pressure spiked. Unfortunately, this was not shocking to me. I'm intimately familiar with the...
8 months ago • 2 min read
Since August, I've been on pace to have one-on-one conversations with more than 500 speakers over the course of a calendar year. These are business coaches, corporate consultants, financial advisors, health and wellness practitioners, CPAs, private equity lenders, real estate investors, motivational speakers, and more. Their speaker fees range from barely paid to over $50,000 per keynote, with a minimum crowd size of 10,000. Side note: That doesn't include the thousands of additional LinkedIn...
9 months ago • 4 min read
"Habits Over Goals." The words crawled across the top of my Evernote screen. I nearly blanched in disbelief. For years, I've been a goals guy. Translation: I'm a recovering Goals Hoarder. I used to set goals for every year, quarter, month, and week. Personal, relational, and recreational goals landed on my radar, and I'm blessed to say I accomplished nearly 90% of them. It also came with self-suffocating pressure. Exhibit A: I felt compelled to be on all the social media platforms. I spent...
9 months ago • 3 min read