Everyone knows that speaking is one of the fastest paths to cash. And if you want to throw your hat into the ring as an expert, you’re going to have to learn how to rock your talk a little….
or your competitors will soon be passing you by.
As I was driving to the Coast with my family last week I shouted out to my hubby as went through every small ,medium, and large town.
Spoke there. Spoke there!
Spoke there. Spoke there!
In fact if you’ve heard my story, you know that in the beginning my rule was to book a minimum of one talk every working day.
My biggest day ever was six gig booked in a single day! And my best month 33 gigs booked in 30 days.
Everyone always wants to know how I got all those gigs!
Here are 7 ways to get more gigs starting today!
1. Ask your network:
Reserve two 30minute sessions on your calendar each week for “Partnership/Support” calls. Reach out to your network of friends, colleagues, and people you want to know better.
Ask them what’s on their agenda for the next 6 months and how can you help. Then tell them about the type of places and events you want to speak at and start getting some names! You’ll be pleasantly surprised by how people will want to help you, and by how many OTHER PEOPLE they know!
2. Keep a dream list:
As you see events being promoted (Facebook, magazines, ads, word-of-mouth) start jotting down the names of the ones that cater to your audience.
3. Check out your local business journal.
Every major city has one, (ours is the Portland Business Journal) and its a great resource for companies in any major industry you can think of, and you can even purchase their “Book of Lists” which is a great source of leads, if you want to reach corporate clients.
4. Ask for referrals every time you speak.
We teach this in Command Any Room. Never leave a speaking gigs without asking for referrals to other speaking gigs. If it takes you 20 conversations to get one speaking gig when you start cold, it will take maybe 3 or 5 conversations when it starts with a referral.
5. Audition at Speaker Spotlights
Often hosted by your local Meeting Professionals International Association, these events give you the chance to be seen by lots of people who can book you. They give you the opportunity to give a shot sample of your talk, and if you’re good you can get booked for conferences right then and there!
6. Start small.
I started speaking EVERYWHERE. That’s how I started. I spoke at sales meetings with five people. I spoke at Chambers with 30 people. I spoke in Portland, and in the wine country an hour away and every small town in between.
I spoke where 3 or more were gathered who were a good audience for my talk topic. In fact one time I spoke for three people and sold four workshop tickets for 400 each and walked out with $1600, so don’t knock it! That was a nice pay day for an hours work in the beginning.
7. PICK UP THE PHONE!
This is another nugget from Command Any Room. You can email. You can snail mail. You can outsource all you want. But the way I get my gigs, is by personally picking up the phone when I can, and connecting with leaders who run events I want to speak at.
In Command Any Room we go more in depth about what to say, and give you the template to help you promote your talk, but let me give you the quick trick here.
When you call to get booked, don’t say, “I WANT TO SPEAK AT YOUR EVENT!”.
The thing that the event planner cares about most is…. THE EVENT!
So talk about how you’ll add value to the event and how you’ll help their audience. They’ll appreciate it, and you’ll get more bookings!
Ready to kick it up a notch?
CLICK HERE to join us for Wednesday’s F>R>E>E Rock Your Talk& Profit training call. Its the first step before you take Command Any Room.
