"You don't care about professional speakers."
I had two different (and excellent) professional speakers / coaches say this to me in the past six months. That stung! That hurt! That hit hard! They had no idea how much time and money I had invested in helping the National Speakers Association and our local chapter! How dare they say I don't care about speakers, or about any of our users?
Here's the thing - they were right. That hurt even more. Here's the context:
Each of these speakers were guests on the Teamwork - A Better Way podcast that I co-host with the incomparable Spencer Horn. I was so impressed with their knowledge, experience and approach, that I arranged follow-up calls with them, to learn more about what they do. Each of them help people like me - entrepreneurs and business owners. I wasn't actively looking for a coach but was intrigued by what they offered.
In each follow-up conversation, they asked me about my long-term goals and my business. I told them I was looking to build a business that ultimately would provide long-term financial security for my family and a comfortable lifestyle.
That's when they said, "you don't care about professional speakers."
See, my response to their question was all about me. When I answered the question, I wasn't thinking in terms of how I could help and serve speakers, or any other customers, to fulfill their dreams. I wasn't thinking about how I could make their lives easier. I was thinking about how doing business with speakers could help me. I was selfishly approaching this business, which is completely the opposite of how I felt when I started it.
These conversations have led to a lot of deep, personal introspection. I am now driven by this question: How can I - how can we at Rakonto - better serve our users? How can we better serve you? How can we help you?
If we really want to make an impact, if we really want to succeed, we must change our focus from account acquisition to providing people the platform, service and support they really need and deserve.
One year ago, I was introduced by Spencer to the world of professional speakers. I was immediately inspired by their sincere efforts to help others. Many feel driven by a higher purpose, a calling, a mission. Only a small percentage actually make a comfortable living from it. Many I've met aren't looking for fame and fortune for themselves. Instead they want the resources and the platform to reach and serve as many people as possible.
Importantly, speakers need credibility to get paid. That credibility comes through professional experience, accreditation, and social proof - testimonials and referrals. The Rakonto platform can help them get video social proof, very easily, cost effectively, and at scale. And yet, less than one in four Rakonto account holders actually use the platform.
Why is that?
Well, Rakonto could be easier to use, for sure. Yes, we can offer more webinars and training courses. But that will only incrementally increase actual usage.
I've discovered, after those hard conversations, speaking with hundreds of people, and using Rakonto ourselves, that there are many social, behavioral and capacity considerations that impact people's desire and ability to request, record and submit stories, especially video testimonials. It's much broader than the technology.
The use case we considered initially (after many conversations with professional speakers) was the QR code on the last slide of their decks. Just have audiences scan and record their instant reactions. This has proven challenging for two reasons. First, there are diverse ways speakers wish to use QR codes or SMS at the end of a presentation. Second, the audience may not want to record something right then. They might be tired, or want to get coffee and catch up with someone during the break, or have drinks afterwards. They may want to fix their hair, or feel shy recording something in front of others.
The most successful approaches we've discovered since then involve actual human beings. Crystal Washington shared a fantastic example a few weeks ago, where audience members recorded each other sharing inspiring stories. In the NSA Mountain West Chapter, we recently had the chapter president ask attendees to meet me outside the auditorium entrance so I could record and submit, via Rakonto, instant reactions. For the last two meetings, the chapter was able to capture and share almost 30 video testimonials singing the praises of their guest speakers.
We understand that many of you are solopreneurs and small business owners. Like me, you wear a lot of hats. Increasingly, there are many tools you can use to make wearing those hats easier, but you still wear them. What many people have said is they just want someone to step in and take care of it. We're looking at ways to help relieve your burden without breaking your budget, and will be announcing new offerings soon.
In the meantime, you have my relentless commitment to help and serve you. I am driven today by the same conviction that underpinned Rakonto at its inception - that every person is important, their stories matter, and they deserve to be preserved and shared in a way that honors them.
Sincerely,
Christian Napier | Rakonto Founder / CEO
