You know that no one likes to be sold anything and that you should look for ways to help and not sell, but how do you build credibility so that you’re known as a reliable consultant that people can trust? Look for speaking engagements, where you can actively demonstrate your knowledge and expertise!
Speaking engagements:
- Give you an opportunity to really shine as an expert in your field
- Allow you to provide helpful information and tools to an engaged audience ready and willing to learn
- Impact a large group of people in a small amount of time
A BDU coach recently gave a 1.5-hour presentation that resulted in formal engagements with three out of the twelve companies present!
Want to land a speaking engagement but not sure where to begin?
- Come up with a list of a few key topic areas you feel comfortable presenting. You don’t need to offer a wide variety of topics. Just choose a few areas you have vast knowledge about and can confidently present to a group.
- Put together a one-page document that’s easy to send out. This document should include your photo, a brief bio and a list of your potential topics. It’s an easy way to present all your speaking information to someone quickly. Here’s Lisa’s for reference.
- Contact organizations in your area. Identify chambers, trade organizations and other groups that might benefit from a talk on your specific area of expertise and reach out to their event coordinator to see if there are opportunities to present.
- Reach out to past speaking engagements. Have you presented somewhere already? Reach back out to them and see if they are looking for any new content or programming you could deliver.
- Ask your centers of influence. Find out what associations your contacts belong to and if their organizations ever have a need for speakers.
- Look out for bookers. Be on the lookout for programming chairs responsible for booking speakers and keep them on your contacts list.
PLUS…It’s not only during your speaking engagement that matters but what you do before and after as well. Prior to the event, promote your talk on your social media channels to gain attendees and get your followers interested. Share the information with your centers of influence so that they can promote it to their network as well.
After the event, encourage participants to follow your company, connect with you on LinkedIn and subscribe to your newsletter. You can also offer complimentary consultations to help get your foot in the door and keep the lines of communication open.
What are some benefits you’ve experienced that have come from your speaking engagements? We’d love to hear your success stories!