Speakers are funny

At least once a day I hear from a speaker I've never heard of.  I receive a nice introduction about what phenomenal speakers they are, how much money they deserve, and how intelligent they are; but they never say why they are contacting me.  I ask.

Do they want my advice? Do they want me to congratulate them and tell them I think they are as wonderful as they tell me? Do they want me to publicize them so they get more of the adulation they crave? Do they want me to send them something? Do they want me to represent them? I don't know.

Sometimes I think they believe I own a speaker's bureau. I don't. I own a public relations firm (since 1979) and I negotiate bigger fees and contract terms for my clients. (I will help a non-client speaker if she wants assistance with a contract negotiation.)  And if they are as intelligent as they claim they already will have spent time at my web site to see that before they contact me.

If they are brilliant they will contact me to hire me. If they are not representation-worthy they will do four things:

1. They will not bother to read through my web site.
2. They will not have the good manners to reply to my response.
3. They will not give me the information I need, in the form I ask for, to determine if I will want to work with them.
4. They will not hire me to help them generate high-paying speaking engagements nor ask me to increase their contract fees and terms.

Time after time, I write a reply never to hear from them again... except to be bombarded forever after with their emails, telling me something else wonderful about them. When this happens I just delete them, but I remember who they are.... and that's not a good thing.