Every speaker knows the feeling: the moment you try to claim your space or own the room, something pulls you back. Julie Masters has spent twenty years working with speakers at the highest level and she’s identified exactly what that feeling is costing you.

Good topic. Strong track record. Inconsistent bookings. So the conclusion forms: get onto the right roster and the pipeline sorts itself out.

It’s one of the most common beliefs in the speaking industry and one of the most expensive.

Twenty-five years ago, if you asked a client why they were booking a speaker, the honest answer was usually: because we have a slot before lunch.

I’ve been booking speakers for twenty-five years. In that time, I’ve watched speakers I genuinely believed in, those who are talented, prepared and commercially aware, disappear from the market.

There’s a version of events that most speakers believe. You get good. You get known. Bureaux find you, put you on lists, and the phone starts ringing. The quality of what you do on stage is what drives the opportunity.