Speaker - April 2011

» 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 than 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.