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I’ve applied, now what? by @KerryHeaps

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by Kerry Heaps  | Featured Contributor

The process of applying for speaking engagements can be tedious, and frustrating because it does have a long turnaround time for a response. I’ve compiled a few tips on how to create a follow-up system after you’ve had a conversation with a meeting planner. Keep in mind after you apply for an open call for speakers, it can take a month or two before you hear back. Sometimes the email will be a “thanks but no thanks” email or they’re interested in your topic and would like to talk to you further. After that initial conversation it’s good to apply some of the techniques listed below, these are especially useful when you apply to colleges, universities, and private companies.

  1. Send a handwritten Thank You note. Sending a handwritten thank-you note in the mail is a lost art, it’s the little things that can make the biggest difference and help you standing out. You can buy thank you notes in bulk, so sending a note in the mail should be costing you less than a dollar per card including postage. It takes just a few minutes to say thank you for taking the time to speak with me, I look forward to establishing a relationship with you and your company. Then drop it in the mail. Meeting Planners get so few sentiments, especially in the mail so this is always a nice touch and it’s not forgotten.
  2. Send a copy of your book. If you have not written a book, I recommend that you do so, as we are asked 95% of the time if a potential speaker has written a book, more so than a request for video. Sending a copy of your book, not an electronic copy but an actual copy in the mail is a great way for you to establish a relationship with the meeting planner and it gives them the opportunity to learn more about what you do.
  3. Connect with them on LinkedIn. Another step to take is to connect with them on LinkedIn, do a quick search and see if they are listed and send them an invite to connect along with a personalized note.
  4. Pick up the phone. This last one seems to be a task that most speakers don’t want to do, however you will find out more when you pick up the phone and talk to the meeting planner then you ever could from an email or text. Having a conversation with them, just finding out more about their event, what’s going on, do they need additional information, etc. If you can’t reach them definitely leave a voicemail, I would recommend reaching out once a week until you get them on the phone, you don’t need to leave a voicemail every time, just once.
  5. Keep track of your results. Keeping track of your results is crucial, that way you know the date and time when you sent a thank-you note, when you connected with them on LinkedIn, and each time that you’ve reached out via phone. A follow-up system can be as simple as pen and paper or Excel, your choice. This will also give you an idea of the timeline for each event that you are pursuing.

6 Ideas To Connect With The Audience @XLConsultingGro

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by Elaine Slatter | Featured Contributor

Last week I was pacing up and down my kitchen rehearsing for an hour presentation on “standing out from the crowd”.  A branding talk.  My dilemma was how to connect with the audience.

I had all the facts, but since I wrote a script and was trying to follow it, the delivery was quite frankly, boring!

Then the lightbulb hit me.  It was boring because there is no passion when you read from a script. And I definitely didn’t want to use Powerpoint only to see the audience on their phones or yawning because it was yet another slideshow.  So here are some ideas I incorporated to connect with the audience.

Ditch the script and speak from the heart

When you do this, you are more natural and your passion for the subject matter shines through. It is a bit scary to abandon the script, but you have to trust you have the power of knowledge and belief in yourself.

My favorite speaker of all time is Professor Maja, a sociologist and women’s empowerment speaker. What makes her stand out is the power of what she says and how she says it.  Then, it’s how she dresses!  Yes, definitely NOT like a professor.  Hop over to watch a clip from Prof. Maja’s TV spot on The Social talking about the “Imposter Syndrome” and you will see what I mean.

She shared with me that people tell her often that she doesn’t look professional…..but she has a unique style that makes her stand out and she stands her ground and doesn’t back off.  And I love that about her, too.  She is unapologetically herself and connects totally with her audience and you can too.

Hook and Hinge or Angle and Peg

Whaaat?   These are techniques to pull the audience in right at the beginning and the best way to do this is to tell a story.  In my audience, there were a few people I know well, so I used their stories to connect both to them, their friends and the whole audience.  They weren’t scary, silly or embarrassing stories, they were branding stories related specifically to their companies.

Breakdown the Topic into Small Bites with Actionable Tips

Use the KISS formula (Keep It Simple, Stupid!)  Your audience can’t possibly know what you know and they don’t want to know it all.  So break it down into smaller bite-size pieces that are easy to swallow. You can always elaborate further by sending them a link to a free tip sheet or checklist after the presentation.  In fact, that is an excellent way to follow up.

Use Examples

Again, you can use stories here, good stories and bad stories, but a story the audience will remember.  My favorite branding story is Nike.  Because quite honestly their logo is just a simple, curvy tick.  Absolutely nothing remarkable about it at all.  It only cost Nike under $20.00 to have the logo designed. It’s how they connected the logo and tagline “Just Do It” with a series of athletes who were “doing it”! And the comparison is if they can “Do It”, so can you!

Everyone can connect with that story because Nike is a household name and recognizable to everyone who has ever gone to a sports apparel store.  And if you have kids, you definitely have been to that kind of store!

Give Local Examples

This is effective because your audience will instantly relate to a business in their local area.  After the talk, members of the audience mentioned that was the part they loved the most.

That was very easy to do because I interviewed the owners of these businesses right there on the spot. We were sitting side by side on stools.  I sent them the questions ahead of time so they had some idea of what I was going to ask, but the conversation flowed naturally and I noticed not one person was glancing out of the window or on their cell phone.

Have a Close

Wrap it up with a memorable summary and a call to action and you simply have done your job! Leave them with a few nuggets that they will remember for a total of 30 to 45 minutes max with a few minutes for questions and you are on your way to connecting.

Top 5 ways to find PAID speaking gigs for FREE by @KerryHeaps

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by Kerry Heaps  | Featured Contributor

Here is a list of resources that you can use when searching for speaking engagements online. Some of these resources have an upgraded option, however I find that the free versions work just fine. When utilizing these resources, it’s important that you put together your own database, you can use these resources to start building your own. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, Excel spreadsheet is just fine or if you are a paper and pencil person, that will work just as well. Do what works best for you in this process.

Sign up for Google alerts.   One of the first things you should do is sign up for Google Alerts  using the phrases, “call for speakers”, and “call for papers”.  This way, you save time searching on a daily basis which shows have opened their call for speakers portal. Check out the call for papers because they often are accompanied by a call for oral presentations that don’t always show up in a call for speakers search.

If you want to speak at Colleges, search for the Director of Campus Activities.  You can do a simple search on Google just type in “Director of Campus Activities at *” then hit enter.  This will bring up certain contact pages on the Colleges site that will have the contact person listed. The *  search doesn’t always work with all titles, you have to play with the wording a little bit. For example, if you want to speak to the College staff, your best bet is to find the VP of HR. You can do a Google search for that title as well just to make sure you put  “at *” after the title.

If you want to speak or train at company engagements,your best bet is a list.   If you are a member of your local library, you can access databases online at no charge. Every library is different, however if you go to their website, click on the database link and see what’s listed under the Business section. A lot of libraries will have access to databases such as Reference USA, LexisNexis, etc. This way you can download a list a businesses in a targeted area, with titles. For example, if you want to speak to a company’s sales team, you will want to target the VP of Sales, if you want to do training for customer service or interoffice communications, you’ll want to target the VP of HR. It depends on the type a company, your topic and who it serves best within the organization.

Get a list of Associations and target their state chapters.   The library can also give you a great resource for Association lists. Each Library will have access to Gale Publications. There is one for associations and you can do a search to target specific associations, by location industry type, etc. These lists are downloadable at no cost. I also recommend for each Association to research their state chapters. They also booked speakers and can be an easy way to gain entrance to the National Convention.

Bookmark Events in America and Events Eye.    These two sites list upcoming events for the US and overseas. It’s a great resource to find out what is coming up in your area, or in areas that you’d like to target and you can easily go to the show’s website and find out if they are looking for speakers. Events in America also gives you the opportunity to list yourself as a speaker at no charge.

Stay tuned for my next column, I will be discussing best practices for reaching out to these organizations and how to create a solid follow-up system for each.

 

5 things you need PRIOR to applying for speaking engagements by @KerryHeaps

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by Kerry Heaps  | Featured Contributor

Almost every event that you apply to will require the five following items. Any topic that you are an expert on, you should have the following items in place.

A Topic(s) that is eye catching.  The topic of your speech is very important. It’s the first thing most Meeting Planners see in your submission.   Your topic should be catchy, drive home a point and should be applicable in today’s market. If you’re struggling creating a title, start jotting down a few samples on paper. And try replacing some of the words with buzz words or action words. This will get you started on creating a topic that stands out.

A Summary. Your summary is just that, a few sentences or short paragraph describing what you are going to talk about. It’s important to note that your description, should you be chosen to speak, is typically copied verbatim into the marketing materials of the event. Meeting Planners typically will not change anything that you have put in, as you are the expert on this topic. Your description and 3-5 takeaways should match what you teach at the event. Attendees typically will complain if they sign up for a workshop and the instructor teaches everything but what was in the workshop outline. Make sure whatever you put in your description is what you plan on teaching.

3-5 takeaways. Finally, for each topic and description you will need to provide three to five takeaways or learning objectives. What will the Attendees learn by attending your keynote or Workshop? Meeting Planners like to see a specific format, such as:  attendees will learn how to, attendees will walk away knowing how to implement, or attendees will learn the difference between, etc. Have a minimum of three and no more than five takeaways, it’s very rare for a meeting planner to ask for more than five. Make sure the learning objectives that you built into your description match the takeaways.

An updated Bio.  Your bio or Entrepreneurs resume should be kept up-to-date, highlighting your great achievements, you should consistently be adding to it throughout the year. If you haven’t added anything to your bio this year, start looking at potential achievements. For example, if there is an award or contest within your industry that you can apply for and win, compete. If you can get a writing column, or the potential to get featured on a major media outlet, go after it. These are the things that you should be adding to your bio on a consistent basis. Try to review your bio every 6 months, adding new accomplishments and deleting items that are over five years old.

A current head shot.  Finally, your head shot. Meeting Planners want to see an updated head shot, when you walk through the door you should match your photo. Meeting Planners do not like to receive photos that are not recent, as this can cause confusion when you’re being introduced, and you look nothing like the photo in the brochure. I recommend having head shots taken once every 6 to 12 months, it’s an investment in your speaking business.

Keep Calm and Enjoy the Ride @TimeFliesVA

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Keep Calm and Enjoy the Ride

by Marianne D’Alessandro | Featured Contributor

Fear is known to all of us in some way. It’s most likely that each of us has a fear or two in our back pocket. I know I have many! We’ve often been told that if we address and face our fears, we can overcome them. So why not face the fear of public speaking. Hmmm, standing in front of a few people and giving a presentation doesn’t seem so bad versus some of my other fears. But I know to some, the fear is genuine and frightening.

My husband loves fishing and he loves going out in his boat to where the fish are. Well, I don’t know how to swim and although I love the water and boat, as soon as it gets a bit bumpy, I’m terrified. If another boat flies by and we get the wake, I am clinging to my seat and shaking. Seems unrealistic and quite dramatic to my husband who has been driving a boat since he was a child, but I just can’t help it.

There are always ways to help address and work through the fear.

On the boat, I know that by sitting upright in the seat keeping my weight on the balls of my feet will help me bounce with the boat. I know that my taking a few deep breaths and enjoying the scenery will help me relax. I know that my life jacket is extremely important. And I know that my husband is conscientious, alert, and a very safe boater. So all of these help me relax and enjoy the ride.

When public speaking, there are many techniques to help address the fear.

  • I can’t stress the importance of practice (as discussed in my first blog).
  • Find some techniques for deep breathing exercises. One is box breathing – inhale for 3, hold for 3, exhale for 3, and hold for 3.
  • Visualize – take the time to visualize yourself in front of the room giving your presentation.
  • Have fun – if you get too serious and tense, you’ll be even more nervous. If you’ve taken the time to practice, you’ll be comfortable with the material and you can have fun!
  • Remember that you’re human and not always perfect. If you make a mistake and say something incorrectly, just move on. Get back on track with your material and forget about. Chances are, others will forget about it, too!

When something makes us uncomfortable or afraid, we need to find our comfort zone to overcome, or at least address, the fear.   Find some techniques that work for you and Keep Calm and Enjoy the Ride!

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Marianne D’AlessandroMarianne D’Alessandro knows how busy an executive can be. Marianne has been an Executive Assistant for 30+ years. She has supported many, many, many senior level execs and is now working toward her own virtual assistant business. Her goal is to save time for her clients by looking after their admin tasks. When it comes to public speaking, she conquered her fear more than 20 years ago by taking, and now instructing, the Christopher Leadership Courses of Canada. The highlight for her was traveling to China to train instructors to teach the course there! Marianne loves seeing people take the challenge and conquer the fear by “taming those butterflies!”

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Want More Speaking Gigs in 2016? Do This. by @drmichellemazur

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Want More Speaking Gigs in 2016

by Michelle Mazur, Ph.D. | Featured Contributor

2016 is fast approaching. If speaking is one of your must-do goals for 2016, then you need to plan now for  success.

Whether you want to speak more, get paid to speak, or double your speaking fees having a solid, strategic plan will get you started on the path to achieving your ambitions.

Here’s a start on building your plan for speaking success in 2016.

Step 1: Review your 2015 speaking accomplishments

It’s always good to do a sunset review of how you’re speaking went in 2015.

Ask yourself how many times did you speak in 2015? How much money did you make from speaking? How many clients did you get in 2015 from speaking?

Did you speak as much as you wanted to last year? Did you speak in front of the right audiences? And finally how well was your speech received?

These answers serve as your baseline for planning your 2016.   

Step 2: Answer “how many” and “how much”

Now that you analyzed the year that was, it’s time to look ahead.

Ask yourself these two questions.

Question number 1: how many times do you want to speak in 2016. For me, I know that speaking 15 times in 2015 was a little too much. I would rather be speaking less so my new goal for 2016 is to only speak 8 times during the year.

Question number 2: how much do you want to be paid to speak? The baseline for answering that question should be the revenue you generated from speaking last year.

I like to develop a percentage of how many paid speaking gigs I  expect vs. how many pro bono or fee waived speaking gigs i plan to do. Then multiply  how many speaking gigs I want to do by my fee and that is my revenue goal for 2016 around speaking.

Step 3: Put resources in place

To make that revenue goal happen,  you need to make sure that you have the resources in place to get you there.

You need to know exactly how ready you are to sell your speech so you can get those gigs.

Ask yourself:

What do you need to have in place to make that goal happen?

Make a list of resources and start taking action.

Step 4: Develop your target list of speaking gigs & start building relationships

Make a list of places that you would love to speak.

They should be a mixture of places from where you know you have a good chance of selling your speech, all the way up to those places that would be your ultimate.

With that list in hand, start building relationships.

Find out who the conference organizers are. Connect with them on LinkedIN or in groups. Follow them on Twitter. (Better yet create a private Twitter list of all the people you’d like to connect with and check it daily). Share their content. Start conversations on social media with them.

Most importantly, go to the events where you want to speak. Meet the people. Understand the audience. Most speaking gigs come from personal contact not cold calling or emailing. So get out there and go!

Now is the time to make your plan for speaking in 2016. Review the past year, figure out how many gigs you want in 2016, put resources in place and start building relationships.

Here’s to your speaking success.

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Michelle Mazur, Ph.D., Audacious Breakthroughs for Standout Presentations – Seattle, WA

Michelle MazurMichelle is the CEO of Communication RebelTM, a boutique communication consultancy specializing in the content development of presentations. To steal a lyric from a terrible Bryan Adams song, she firmly believes “Everything you do. You do it for the audience.” Armed with a Ph.D. in Communication, she has helped hundreds of business leaders and entrepreneurs design and deliver presentations from the audience’s point of view. Her speakers have spoken in front of world leaders, First Ladies, and have raised three times the amount of money than expected for charities.

She believes every presentation should leave a lasting impression and the last words of your presentation are the most important real estate in your speech. Check out her free tool the Audience Journey to help you craft that final thought. It’s proven to leave your audience talking and taking action long after your finished speaking.

She is also author of the Amazon best-selling book, Speak Up for Your Business: Presentation Secrets for Entrepreneurs Ready to Tell, Sell, and Compel.

Michelle lives in Seattle with her adoring husband, 2 obsessive felines, and huge collection of Duran Duran memorabilia. You don’t have to fly to Seattle to hang out with Michelle. Come visit her on the blog for all things public speaking, hit her up twitter @drmichellemazur, or like (you really like her) on Facebook.

5 Ways to Work Thought Leadership into your Content Marketing Strategy by @BBorowicz

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600px-Content-marketing-cycleby Brittney Borowicz | Featured Contributor

The intent of thought leadership is to become a trusted source of information for your audience so that they view you and your company as an authority in your industry. Not only does thought leadership position you and your company as the go-to for specific information in your industry, but it also helps to build trust with your audience in both you and your products/services. It is therefore one of the most (if not, the most) important element of your content marketing strategy.

Here are five simple and effective ways to work thought leadership into your content marketing strategy.

1. Be Specific

When I first introduce the concept of “thought leadership” to a client or company, they often run into the problem of trying to tackle a very broad topic. Although you want your audience to know you have a wealth of knowledge, broad topics such as customer service, technology, marketing, etc. are very crowded and make it hard to stand out in your industry.

Breaking that broad topic down into one, two, or ever three smaller topics is a much more effective method of working thought leadership into your content marketing strategy. To do this, you must know and understand your customer. What is valuable to them? What matters to them? What are their pain points? Once you know these things about your audience and can prioritize them, you can create content on specific topics that will build their trust in you as well as make you an authority in your industry.

2. Stand Out from the Crowd

It’s one thing to be able to pick a few topics that will really resonate with your audience. It is another thing to be able to be unique and stand out from all of the other people and companies who are talking about the same topics.

For each topic you choose to focus on, find your own unique angle. What are others saying about this topic? Don’t repeat what everyone else is saying. Find some part of that topic that hasn’t been talked about yet and don’t be afraid to disagree with everyone else as long as you have something valuable to say. Some things to think about are what makes you different and what is something that only your company can say? Maybe your company offers something in your product/service that nobody else does that can help alleviate some of your customers’ pain points or maybe you have some statistics that nobody else can share that will bring more insight to your topic.

3. Thought Leadership is a Team Sport

Being a thought leader doesn’t have to be an individual effort and in fact, having a team of supporting players can bring even more success to you and your business. The more people that can support your position on a topic, the stronger your position becomes.

The best people to have on your team are those who have a grasp of what your stance is on a specific topic and then can effectively communicate it. Start by getting the CEO and executives in your company involved. Make sure you all have a consistent message when writing about a specific topic or speaking about it at conferences. Next, make sure your marketing team is putting the word out there about your areas of expertise. Finally, get the rest of your company involved in that messaging! Start by having employees share your content and then have them create content of their own that supports your stance. Another route to consider is outsourcing some of your content. As with your other teammates, be careful with this and make sure any outsourced content that is being created supports your position.

4. Variety is the Spice of Life

If you are ONLY blogging, you are doing content marketing wrong. Mix things up! From the type of content to distribution channels, thought leadership knows no bounds.

All people digest information differently. Some people just need text, while others are more visual or need an auditory element to truly understand your information. Obviously, blogging is one of the most well-known types of content out there. Some other types of content that thought leaders should invest their time in include social media, infographics, public speaking, videos and more. While your company’s blog may be a great start to get your content distributed, don’t be afraid to venture out into conducting webinars, writing ebooks, or even writing guest posts for OTHER peoples’ blogs.

5. Connect with Other Thought Leaders in Your Industry

Engaging with other thought leaders in your industry and building a relationship with them is mutually beneficial. This goes back to the point about thought leadership being a team sport. Having someone else in your industry supporting your stance further builds trust with your audience. In addition, when they share your information, it is being disseminated to a different audience and platform than the one you already have established. Work together with these thought leaders to exchange information and ideas, share each other’s thoughts with your audiences, and even contribute to each other’s content!

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Brittney BorowiczBrittney Borowicz is an integrated marketing professional with a strong communications background specializing in journalism, public relations and social media. Originally from the northwest suburbs of Chicago, Brittney has spent the past few years working with entrepreneurs and start-ups in the Chicagoland area to enhance their marketing and social media efforts.

Prior to her current role as the Marketing Manager for an embedded networking company, Brittney realized her affinity for all things media and marketing while working in radio and television and as a professional presenter. Later, she began working at a couple of small marketing agencies in Chicago as a Public Relations and Sales Director and Account Manager, which required her to be well-versed in coordinating specialized public and media relations strategies, creative marketing initiatives and cohesive sales process implementations.

As a strong believer in intimate consumer/brand involvement, Brittney helps her clients create content that engages and educates brand audiences while establishing each individual or company as a thought leader in their industry.

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