Gift of Gab: Speaking as a Way to Grow Your Business

In a world where exposure welcomes success, and success leads to more exposure, speaking is a way to attract both. If the idea of speaking is both exciting and terrifying, you are not alone. The fear of public speaking is the number one fear worldwide. But if you can find the courage to step into the spotlight to use your gift of gab, you are at a significant competitive advantage in your coaching business.

Why Speaking?

Speaking is a great way to grow your business. Speaking differentiates you from other coaches and establishes you as a thought leader. It’s an opportunity to share your ideas, which will attract your ideal clients. For example, you could do a discovery call to connect with one client or speak in front of a room of 100 of your ideal clients. It can also add names to your email list; I’ve easily grown my list by 1,000 potential clients I’ve meet while speaking. And by adding speaking to your offerings, you might be able to monetize more of your talents.  Professional speakers typically receive deposits of 25-50 percent of the total speaking fee which are paid to hold the event date.  It’s a great way to generate income during slower coaching months, for example, a fall conference confirming speakers and paying a deposit in July.

Are You Ready to Step into the Spotlight?

Before

• Pick a topic that lights you up. Your audience will feed off that energy, and it will put your nerves at ease
• Put together a summary and takeaways and create a zippy title
• Decide where you want speak. (Depending on your skill set and expertise, you may need to speak for free to get started.) Consider reaching out to libraries, professional groups and nonprofits; many are looking for guest speakers for their programing. Take into consideration their audience demographic. Will it get you in front of your idea client?
• Pitch your presentation. Why the topic? Why you to deliver the message?
• Create your talk. Provide a lot of value, but don’t add more content than the time allows. Leave your audience wanting more
• Practice your talk. Practice again. Practice some more. (Notice that I didn’t suggest memorizing it)

During

• Have your presentation videotaped if possible
• Have someone take pictures while you are on stage or take selfies before or after as appropriate
• Include a hashtag on your slides to encourage your audience to post on social media
• Collect evaluations. The feedback will help you improve, and you can use comments as testimonials. (As in coaching, testimonials are social gold)
• If allowed, make an offer inviting your audience to work with you. For example, a free coaching consult or a special discount to join a group coaching program

After

• Send a thank you note to event planner
• Post pictures on social media, thank audience and give a summary of the event
• Send a follow-up email to attendees. I share a free e-book on the topic or an article I mentioned and reiterate my offer (if I made one on stage)
• If you didn’t ask for evaluations, reach out to anyone you knew in the audience. Thank them for their time and ask for feedback or a testimonial

Some Day

• Create a speaker one sheet that highlights your speaking topic(s), your expertise and includes testimonials and pictures of you in action
• Add a “speaking” page to your website
• Create a sizzle reel of your speaking highlights

Show Me the Money

Once you’ve given a presentation and proven yourself on stage, you are more likely to monetize your speaking. Search online for the phrase “call for speakers” or your preferred topic, for example, “leadership conference,” to find speaking opportunities. I set up a Google Alert, so every day leads are emailed to me. Another way to find paid opportunities is online communities that connect event planners and speakers. These websites promote upcoming events that need speakers (some of these websites are free and some charge a monthly fee for speakers). Form relationships with other speakers, especially those with complementary topics so you can cross-refer business. Reach out to your community to share that your business is growing and tell them to keep you in mind if they hear of any speaking opportunities.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, “Speech is power: speech is to persuade, to convert, to compel.”  Speaking is an ideal way for coaches to share what they are most passionate about to attract—and convert—new clients. Ready or not, it’s time to step into the spotlight to grow your business.