How Speakers, Authors and Experts Can Protect Themselves Against the Latest & Most Common Scams, Shams, and Ripoffs

~Mark Twain

Speakers

Experts

Authors

Entrepreneurs

Anyone who might be invited to

participate in a book or conference

based on your knowledge and your

skillful marketing of that knowledge.

Communication expert since 1996

Consultant, speaker, and #1 best-selling author

Master of Communication & Master of Adult Education &

Training

Small, Home-Based Business Owner

Clients in 22 countries worldwide

Mom, wife, faith-filled, happy person

I may be nice, but I’m a tough cookie:

Cancer couldn’t beat me.

Life-threatening disease & nearly dying giving birth to a

preemie couldn’t beat me.

Mental illness (PTSD & OCD) couldn’t beat me.

I eat failures and set-backs for breakfast. “Fail forward” is

my motto.

The latest scam against experts and speakers –

yes I’m NAMING NAMES.

Two other older, yet still on-going scams you

need to protect yourself against.

Top warning signs you might be dealing with a

scammer - even if on the surface everything

seems legit.

How to get *real* attention & *real* bookings.

NotAboutU.com

Author

Speaker

Working hard to get his name “out there.”

Investing lots of time & energy on social

media.

Has LOTS of projects going on.

Makes a regular & concentrated effort to

build his business, sell more books and

get more speaking engagements.

• Claim 250 journals, but according to the Chronicle of

Higher Education, most have no content.

• Accepted bogus article in 2013 in a sting operation by

Science magazine.

• Lawsuit by the US government.

Used to be scholarly journals only.

Scam was to publish academic research articles for a fee targeting newer researchers.

Now they’ve moved into the conference world.

They invite experts of all kinds to present content –related or not - at dozens of conferences.

1. They contact you on social media; usually LinkedIn or

Facebook.

2. They praise your work, but not in an over-the-top way.

3. They invite you, in that first message, to present.

4. Usually all correspondence is via email.

5. They show you a realistic-looking site.

6. They name other REAL speakers who they say will be

there.

7. Once you show interest, they tell you it will COST you

$300…. But that’s not all…

1. After you decline, they continue.

2. They CALL you – almost unheard of – and try to get you

to go for a discounted $150 rate.

3. But remember – this means not only the conference rate,

but you pay your own air travel, hotel, transportation

to/from airport, parking, food, etc. Plus your TIME away

from REAL work.

4. So now, you might be wondering what happens to your

money. Do they cut and run?

1. Takes scamming to a whole ‘nother level.

2. They invite some speakers to be on the “organizing committee,” but never contact them.

3. They claim hundreds of registrations, but typically have no more than 1-2 dozen people in the room.

4. They claim speakers on the schedule who then turn out to be “no-shows” – because they were never actually booked.

5. They cut the event short by 1-2 days.

6. Everyone in the audience is there because they PAID TO SPEAK not because they are actual attendees.

7. They gather social proof at the event to praise themselves and trick others into going to future events.

1. Using the names of scientists and speakers, oftentimes

without their permission, to invite participants to their

meetings,

2. Promoting their meetings by giving them names that are

deceptively similar to other well-established meetings

that have been held for years, and

3. Refusing to refund registration fees, even if their

meetings are cancelled.

Typically against speakers outside the UK.

Initial contact via email.

The church is unfortunately a REAL church.

The names from the event planners are REAL people.

There is no event.

They get you excited to speak, then ask you for several

thousand dollars, a few hundred at a time for work

permits, visas, and a “security bond.”

This is a Nigerian scam.

First contact is through social media.

Event planers offer $3000 (or close to it) to pay your

speaking fee.

You must cover your travel expenses (all of them – to

MALAYSIA!).

They agree to pay you AFTER you speak.

The conference is real.

The speakers NEVER get paid.

Does this conference or event make sense for what I

teach?

Is the audience MY people?

How much lead time between initial contact and

conference date?

Are they asking you to pay anything?

Does the offer make sense?

How did they hear about you?

What is your intuition telling you?

Poor or clunky English, with no obvious reason.

Emails coming from gmail, yahoo, or other non-professional addresses.

They ask YOU to pay.

They contact you close to the event.

The event is out of your home country.

No website to send you to for more info on the event or the organization.

Offer to hire you before ever speaking to you, usually in the first, initial contact.

Refuse to sign your contract/don’t offer a written contract.

Ask questions. Lots of questions.

Ask for references and then CONTACT the references,

via phone if possible. Check out the references – are they

real people?

Learn how to search and what to look for online.

Don’t just Google – add the word “scam” or “rip off” after

their name or organization. (My own story of “John” in

Thailand.)

Get a contract or even better create your own.

Set your appointment to see if you will be a good fit for

coaching with Felicia.

Ideal clients:

o Successful in your work / prior career

o Have plenty of topics and content to speak about

o Intelligent and fun

o Want to build out a full business: speaking, books, digital training

programs, etc.

http://FeliciaSlattery.com/meeting - Let’s discuss!

Goals that get results and don’t work to get results for speakers.

Building a money-making keynote speaking business from the ground up.

Making money with your speaking locally.

Building an entire business using speaking.

Creating multiple streams of income from speaking.

Tips for getting booked.

Process/strategy for identifying how to start, what to say, how to follow up with meeting planner.

Letter of Agreement Basics.

Using social media to advance your speaking career.

“I have taken 4 courses

Felicia Slattery has offered.

There is a reason I keep

coming back. Her material

is not only timely but she

put it together in such an

organized succinct

manner. She over-delivers

on her content each and

every time!”

Jean Kuhn,

JeanKuhn.com