Do you ever wish you could shine a spotlight on your business and give yourself a megaphone to grab the world’s attention? You can! Welcome to the world of professional speaking.
There are two types of professional speakers. The first type are the ones that LOVE the stage. Their dream in life is to motivate a room full of people. They love the spotlight. And they want to be the next Lisa Nichols or Tony Robbins.
But that’s not who I’m talking to in this article. I’m talking to the business owners who could really UTILIZE the stage to get more visibility, more press, more leads, and ultimately more clients.
Here’s 5 ways you can utilize public speaking in 2019 to grow your business.
- Answer the questions your clients have- The reason YouTube, Podcasting, Facebook Live and Instagram stories work so well for your business is that your clients are no longer looking to businesses to answer their questions. These days clients are looking online for their information. So if you can become the person in your field that answers their online questions, the chances of you getting their business high! Let clients find you because you are the person creating the content they seek out. Google will love you! And you will love Google.
- Get in front of your ideal client- I don’t know a business owner that doesn’t’ want more opportunities to connect to their ideal client. I’ve always been of the mindset that I want to get as much done as possible in a short period of time. Speaking gigs are AMAZING for this. It allows me to meet a room full of the right type of people. Delivering a great keynote or breakout session will have your clients lining up to ask you questions. It builds rapport and trust with a room full of people all at the same time.
Create authority- You want to be seen as an authority in your field. And speaking is a great way to do that. A video of you speaking in front of a live audience has the effect of making you look like someone your clients would want to listen to. If you were choosing between two companies, wouldn’t you want to chose the one that really knows what they are doing? Speaking shows your clients and potential clients that you are enough of an expert to get invited to speak at events.- Free Press- If you’ve ever produced commercials either for radio or TV, you know they are pricey! But there is FREE press available. Watch what’s going on in the news. Is there a topic trending that you could speak to because of your expertise in business? For example, if there’s been heavy rains or flooding in your area, and you do Mold Remediation, pitch a story to the local media showing the signs to watch for that you need to get mold testing done. If you are a psychologist and there has been a school shooting, pitch the idea of knowing how to talk to your children about scary events. Those segments will not cost you anything, but they will get you a lot of exposure.
- Speak to sell- Some speaking opportunities will allow you to offer your products or services on the spot. You will be able to teach, talk about what you do, lead generate and sometimes even pitch your service for them to purchase that day. It’s a great way to bring new clients into your business.
You don’t have to be the first type of speaker in order to benefit from this powerful marketing and PR strategy. I hope you’ll seriously consider adding speaking into the mix for your 2019 business strategy!