What kind of marketing materials do you wish you had? A compelling capabilities brochure, beautiful one-sheets, and clever giveaways, perhaps? An interactive website, interesting blog, and a professionally shot video? That's what I thought, too.
I sent out materials, wrote articles, negotiated online links, and did everything else I learned at NSA marketing workshops. I listened to Joe Calloway, and "let it go." I channeled Seth Godin and "became remarkable." I followed Tom Peters and built the brand called "me." But none of those things got me gigs. Lots of activity added up to nothing.
Then one day I was eating breakfast with Michael Gehrish, the president of Destination Marketing Association International (DMAI), and he invited me to keynote at his organization's annual meeting. We agreed on a fee, set the date, and I blocked out the time on my schedule.
Turning Point for Success
The DMAI keynote was my tipping point. My speech was for the industry in which the firm does most of its work (travel, tourism and entertainment), so I decided to attend the conference, figuring the networking opportunities would be beneficial for my ad agency.
This strategy led to invitations for other travel-related events and state Governor's conferences.
I chatted with the executive director of a western state tourism organization that had invited me to speak, and she told me her association prided itself on the quality of its speakers. Many of its members were small companies that couldn't afford to attend expensive national conferences, so she would attend those events and then invite the speakers she liked to her state. In other words, my paid speech at the national event served as a showcase for her state event. Since that time, I have tried to attend every event that invites me to speak because most good events generate three more.
Want To Speak More, Speak More
- Ask your bureaus to arrange conference calls with their clients.
- Try to book the opening keynote for an association organization, so you can network with potential customers who heard you on the first day.
- Take advantage of your speech by offering to stay for the whole conference and benefit from networking opportunities. Most organizations will happily cover your expenses.
- If you stay at the conference, position yourself outside the door to smaller meetings and workshops so you can meet potential clients entering and exiting the room.
- Create an attention-grabbing business card. I'm in the travel business, and my card looks like an airplane ticket. People request it so they can show it to others.
- Focus your efforts on an industry or business category in which you can be a proven guru and can solve problems in your audiences' day-to-day businesses.
- When you reach out to potential clients, take the professional high road and send a letter that requires a postage stamp, not an email.
- It's more important to speak more than to charge more, so adjust your rate card to get more gigs.
- Look for opportunities to turn one speech into many; for example, offer to speak to your clients' chapters, regional offices, field offices, etc.
Strength in Numbers
How can you speak more by speaking more? It's simple - speak more. A great speech is your best marketing tool and the cost-of-entry in this business. But just having a good stage act is not enough.
What matters is how many people see your speech. We all know that word of mouth is the best marketing tool. You never know who's sitting in the audience and when they'll need a speaker or be asked to recommend a great speaker. By speaking more, you increase the chances that your name will be dropped.
If you're an established speaker, look for opportunities to turn your existing schedule into more work. After your speech, stay to network with event attendees, and watch the invitations develop. Nothing says "I'm not interested in any more work" than a speaker who parks her RollAboard next to the stage and wheels it out the door the minute her presentation ends.
Multiply a single gig into several by reaching out to your audience. Create compelling materials, but don't mail them; instead, hand them out at events. Scrupulously follow up on every interaction. Consider every speech you do as a showcase for more work.
Booking Bureau Business
Speaking more also works if you want to get booked by bureaus. The common anecdote is that bureaus won't book you until you don't need them. That is, they won't have an interest in what you're doing until their clients start asking for you. But there's another way to get to bureaus - get recommended by the speakers they already represent.
Speaking more means speakers will see you, too. Mark Sanborn, explained at the 2011 NSA Keynote Lab that the bureaus he works with often ask him to suggest speakers. He is protective of his bureau relationships, so he's careful about his recommendations. But when he sees a great speaker on the circuit, he feels he's doing his bureaus a favor by passing the name along.
Make Things Happen
If you're a beginning speaker still looking for your chance to get up in front of people, you can still speak more by speaking more. Get aggressive about finding chances to speak wherever you can, and lower your fee when necessary so you don't miss your chance to get on the lectern. You can:
- Offer to speak for charity fundraisers, especially if they cater to the industry in which you are an expert.
- Partner with successful local speakers to do an opening act for them.
- Speak at local colleges, community groups, churches and synagogues.
Besides generating exposure, speaking more also gives you more stage time. As Malcolm Gladwell wrote in Outliers, true mastery only comes after 10,000 hours of concerted effort. How much time have you spent giving your talk?
Speaking more by speaking more doesn't work if you squander opportunities. Because your audience is enamored with you (thanks to your great speech), they will be that much more appreciative when you follow up. They'll also be that much more disappointed if you don't do what you promise. Therefore, it becomes critical that you're diligent about collecting business cards, keeping track of what you offer, following up with the people you meet, and making sure you honor all the promises you toss out at networking events. If you tell someone you're going to send a copy of your audio book, do it. If you promise to email the opinion paper you wrote on their industry, do that, too. Even if you only shake hands and stick their business card in your pocket, they deserve a personal thank-you letter.
Once you've been considered for a gig, you can speak more by scheduling a conference call with your potential clients before they book you. Let the executive director and conference manager know they'll be in good hands if they hire you. This strategy has proven so successful that we ask our speakers bureaus to arrange conferences whenever they're considering us for a particular gig. When we talk to potential clients, we're more likely to hear what they need, and we can tailor our presentation to match those needs. We're able to provide details on any relevant business or experience we've had that could convince the client and close the sale.
Comedian and actor Steve Martin says that becoming a millionaire is simple. All you have to do is start with a million dollars. Becoming a successful speaker is simple, too. All you have to do is speak.
Taken from Speaker magazine Written by Bruce Turkel
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