You live and die by your ability to turn one speaking opportunity into many other speaking opportunities. A good speaker, must also be a good marketer. The good news is your biggest potential marketing opportunity is your actual speeches. It is in this setting that you shine, and you are at your most eloquent. You are also providing everyone in the room a demonstration of your capabilities. In these settings you are offering up your best marketing pitch, your actual speaking ability. Finally, the audience is already on your side. As people already attending your speech, they are predisposed to be advocates of your offerings. To take advantage of this perfect storm of opportunity, capability and interest there are ten things you can do.
1. Ask for the Job
This seems like a simple thing to do, but way too many speakers, forget to actually come out during their presentation and when talking to participants one on one and let them know they are available for other speaking opportunities and would love the opportunity to book one or more on the spot.
2. Make Sure You Can Be Found
When the presentation is over and done, your participants will leave your presence and go back to their daily lives. It is often not until a day, week or even a month later that they have some reason to think about contacting you, or passing on your contact information to someone else. Make it easy for them to find your contact information. Put it on every piece of collateral you pass out.
3. Offer Value
Make sure every person leaves your presentation feeling like they not only gotten their money’s worth, but that you exceeded their expectations. That means becoming a master of details. Make sure your handouts are professional looking and when possible glossy. Make sure your Powerpoint presentation is well designed and graphically appealing. Make sure you are eloquent and powerful in your delivery.
4. Invite Attendees to Join Your Club (Social Community)
Online social communities are a great place to win over potential clients as well as create repeat business. They serve as an active reminder of your value and the benefits the participant gained from your presentation. They ferment a sense of relationship. Relationship is what sells the next presentation.
5. Master The Art of the Trinket
Small give aways, that have your contact information on them are great tools for marketing your services to participants. Even better are trinkets that are designed to be front and center in the participants eye line for the near future. For example, fridge magnets are great, but a snazzy cheat sheet with main points from your presentation that attaches to a desktop computer screen is better. It is more likely to be used, and it will be right in the participants eye line every time they sit down on their computer.
6. Advertise Your Offerings
You have to let people know you have something new to offer them, then what they just participated in. Make sure you have a brochure with your speaking offerings on very chair in the presentation room.
7. Collect Contact Information
Don’t leave a speaking gig, without getting contact information including email, phone number, addresses and names from every person in the room. This is crucial to building a lead list that you can use for marketing purposes.
8. Treat Breaks Like Cocktail Party
Get out there and mingle with the participants. You never know what conversation will lead you to your next job booking. Ask questions and engage in small talk. Leave the power sales pitch for later. During breaks, work on building relationships.
9. Use Subliminal And So Subliminal Advertising
You are a speaking brand. Make sure people in the presentation know who you are and what you have to offer them Put posters up around the room advertising other speeches you offer. Put table tents on the conference table, highlighting your capabilities. Add brochures and marketing material in your handouts.
10. Give It Away (Use Webinars and eBooks)
When participants leave your presentation, hopefully they are leaving inspired to share what they have learned with others. What better way to get new clients and create leads to the next job, then by giving your participants a way to share what they learned with colleagues, peers and friends. Offer free prerecorded webinars of the highlights or tips from your presentation on your website. Try writing a simple eBook with tips or inspiration from your presentation and giving every participant to your course a coupon to download it for free from your website.
