Gissa job...

The PSA is a wonderfully supportive organisation, through which I've made many good friends. Sometimes, I receive a call from one of them, telling me that they have referred me to a client. I'm very grateful. I refer people too, whenever I am asked to deliver a speech or a training course that is not part of my core business (media). I think that referrals are part and parcel of being in a profession. It's what we do for one another.

However, there is a limit. Recently, I have been approached by several speakers (prospective, rather than actual, PSA members), asking me if I can help them find paid gigs. I'm always as helpful as I can be, suggesting ways in which they can market themselves in order to generate paid work. One particular individual has called me several times, asking for more detailed advice on each occasion. During the most recent call, he said "Look Alan, you're a successful speaker, and you seem to get lots of work. How about signing up a client, and then giving the work to me, to get me started?"

I won't tell you my exact reply, but I'll paraphrase it. All of us in the speaking business have to sell ourselves. No-one will do it for us, not even speaker bureaus. We can get advice from others, go on marketing courses, and learn how to close a sale. But clients are buying us. If you can't sell yourself, or employ someone to do it for you, you can't rely on professional colleagues to do it. That is not what the PSA is for.