Speaking to share your expertise is one of the best ways to establish yourself as an expert and start building credibility and trust with your potential clients and customers. When you are just starting out, you will have to accept speaking engagements for free such as presenting at a local community organization. But as you get more experience, you may even be paid to speak.
Most communities have clubs, civic organizations, business and social events and they are always looking for speakers. Check your local newspapers, magazines, publications and online communities for listings of these groups. Some cities even publish a list of all business, non-profit and community organizations and offer it through the chamber of commerce.
Groups that typically need speakers include:
- Chambers of commerce
- Business networking and professional groups
- Professional associations
- Trade groups
- Charitable organizations (Junior League, Heart Association, etc.)
I recommend that you have one “signature talk” presentation that you create once and re-use. Each time you present it, you will refine and perfect it over time. Your presentation should include: a little bit about you (your authentic back-story of how you got where you are today) the pain points of your target audience, the big problems you solve for your clients and a little bit about your unique solution. Don’t give too much information about your solution, product or service. You want to give just enough information to get prospects interested to take the next step with you, which is usually a one-on-one conversation via phone or in-person meeting.
Getting a local speaking engagement is simpler than you might think. I suggest sending a short email to the organization’s meeting coordinator or education chair. For example:
Dear Cathy,
Do you accept outside speakers for your events?
I speak on the topic “ Lead Generation Made Easy” for small businesses and solopreneurs. I would love to share this valuable information with your membership.
Please let me know if you have any events coming up that might be a good fit for this topic.
Best regards,
Cindy Earl
It’s as simple as that! Then, you can promote your speaking engagements by listing them as events in your social networks and sending invitations to your connections (don’t forget to promote with Facebook and Linked In updates and tweets). Creating a “signature talk” that you give everywhere you speak helps you become known for your expertise in this subject.