Speaking to interested audiences who have gathered to hear your brilliant message is your ultimate goal. It allows you the opportunity to share your expertise and experiences, and validates you as an industry professional.
Getting on stage does take hard work, along with a lot of patience and perseverance. One of the keys to successfully landing the perfect speaking opportunities is to have a thorough process in place that takes you through the research to the pitch to the follow up, and beyond. The following guidelines will streamline your process for finding and securing the speaking events that best fit your message and help grow your business.
Get organized. As you begin your research for the kind of speaking opportunities you’re interested in, you will want to have an organized way of recording the prospects and tracking your progress with each. A simple way to do this is to create a spreadsheet that includes all pertinent information, including the company/organization name, location, and contact info, along with all event details. Also include such things as the dates of your initial contact, follow-ups, etc. This spreadsheet will become your master list of the types of organizations you want to work with and the events you want to speak to.
Do your research. This is an ongoing activity. Once you create your master spreadsheet, begin your research by listing the ideal types of events for you to share your message, and then perform an internet search for upcoming events that fit. As you identify events and organizations to contact, record them on your master spreadsheet. Be sure to include the primary contact name, email address, phone number, and key details about their event.
Put your materials in order. Once you identify organizations you wish to contact, or pitch to, you should spend some time reviewing your marketing materials to make sure everything is complete, accurate and up-to-date. This includes your one-sheet, speaker’s page, bio, videos, headshot, speaking topics, and prior engagements. It’s imperative that everything you send out in your pitch provides an accurate and thorough picture of who you are and how you can add value to the event you’re pursuing.
Wow them with your pitch. Your pitch is your first impression, so make it count. Take the time to write a pitch that will grab the recipient’s attention from the beginning and make them want to learn more. You need to fully understand the purpose of the event and who the primary audience will be. Then style your pitch to address those specifics. Focus on how you can add value to their event, and include something that will differentiate you from the competition, maybe send a video email. Be sure to follow all of the submission rules outlined by the organization, but provide them with information that will cause them to think “this is our next speaker!”
Follow up, and follow up again. Once you have submitted your pitch, record it in your master spreadsheet and set dates for follow-ups. The first follow-up should be within three days of your submission. During this follow-up you should ask when a decision is expected to be made. Your second follow up should be within 3 days of the first one, and should include something new—a link to your video, a few testimonials from past engagements; something that you didn’t include in the initial pitch but will be relevant to their decision. Remember, you are trying to stand out from the competition; shine your best light so they will remember your name.
Learn from rejection. If you are not selected, contact the event planner and ask the reason for the rejection. Chances are your topic simply didn’t fit their particular needs for their upcoming event. Whatever the reason, record it on your spreadsheet, learn from it and use the lesson learned to improve your chances next time.
Once you land your first few engagements and you leave your audiences inspired and motivated, your reach will expand as your reputation grows. You just never know who may be in the audience. Following the guidelines here will help you streamline your pitching process and maintain relationships with prospective event organizers.
My challenge to you this week is to create your master contact spreadsheet and develop your pitch. Then research events to pursue and send your pitch to the organizers. And don’t forget the follow-up!
