Be My Guest Susan Tomlinson – Speaking for Success

For today’s Be My Guest post I would like to introduce you to Susan Tomlinson, Business Consultant and Coach of Real Coaching Solutions. who I’ve been following for a few years now.  It’s great to have her as a guest now on my blog.  Susan is going to be sharing insights on speaking for success.

For many years Susan held senior roles in well-known international businesses and industry sectors.  It gave her a fascinating insight into how businesses work, as she was often involved in start-up ventures.

Eventually, always being an entrepreneur at heart and feeling restless, she took the leap and set up her own consulting business winning large contracts and working with top names.

However, even with all her previous experience Susan soon realised the challenges of being a solo entrepreneur!

So early on she made the decision to make a significant investment of her time and money in hiring her own mentors and learning everything she could about marketing, sales and mind set to consistently grow her own business and continue to create the lifestyle of her choice.

Having worked with hundreds of people in business Susan now shares her hands on, real life experience and knowledge with other female solo business owners (from New York to South Africa), who know that the quickest route to success is working with a trusted business advisor and mentor.

Describe yourself in 3 short, fab and fun sentences

A yoga loving, spiritually minded, super foodie business owner who loves beautiful things.  I work with female business owners and solo professionals who are stuck or struggling and want to develop a more authentic and feminine approach to growing a business and making more money

What made you decide to become an entrepreneur?

At heart I am a freedom loving, rule breaking individual who loves a bit of fun and excitement at work.  I did have a highly successful corporate career which gave me the opportunity to travel all around the world first class! However, I felt trapped working for an organization and was always plotting my escape. I finally made the leap and set up my consulting and coaching practice 11 years ago.

Who has been your biggest inspiration in business?

The amazing coaches I’ve hired from the day I started my business.  I’ve really benefited from the high level of support, accountability and best practice that they’ve shared with me.  Each of them has offered me unique ideas and insights which I have been able to implement and then share with my own clients.

What’s the best business advice you’ve ever been given?

Get help! In my corporate role I worked in very male dominated roles where I thought that asking for support would be seen as a sign of weakness.  It turned out to be a very lonely, stressful and hard path to success.  Since starting my own business I’ve built a wonderful worldwide team around me who have worked with me for years and are just amazing.

What three tips would you give when working on speaking engagements to attract clients?

1. Design one or two signature talks and include your own personal stories/examples
2. Get lots and lots of practice in front of groups so that you can develop your content and delivery
3. Make an offer to the group at the end of your talk, whether this is a complimentary session, a business card competition or a sign up sheet for your newsletter.  So many people miss this opportunity to form a longer term connection with their audience because they don’t want to appear salesly.

 What are the three biggest mistakes that coaches/people make when speaking in public?

1. Letting fear of speaking in public get in the way of standing up in front of groups.
2. Lack of preparation and practice.
3. Trying too hard.  It’s best to speak from the heart than from PowerPoint slides.

What if I have no idea where to start with public speaking, what do you suggest?

In my corporate life I had to deliver lots of presentations and talks so I attended presentation skills classes and then worked with a coach on individual areas that I needed to develop such as my content and delivery.  I’ve read lots of books and also attended conferences and events so that I could learn from and observe professional speakers.

How much time do I really need to spend on speaking engagements?

When I started out in business I set up speaking engagements at least twice a month.  It was a quick way to increase my visibility, grow my list and engage new clients

Is there anything else you’d like to share?

Develop your own style as it will be much more interesting and engaging for your audience.  And as this quote says, ‘Stop being afraid of what could go wrong and focus on what could go right.’

If I wanted to connect and/or work with you where would I find you?

To get a copy of my Speaking for Success Guide which will help guide you through the process of effortless presentations please click this link.

Thank you so much for sharing your insights Susan.  I personally want to get involved in speaking engagements so found it really interesting and know my coaches will too.  Your Speaking for Success Guide is a fabulous read with lots of useful hints and tips.

I hope you’ve all enjoyed the interview.  Whether speaking is on your list for now or further down the line I would definitely pop over and download your copy now.   Have you done any speaking engagements or does the whole thing terrify you?  I’d love to hear your thoughts, leave a comment below.