You’ve decided to take your show on the road and market yourself and your business with public speaking. You call the local Chamber of Commerce and say, “I’m here. Book me.” They can’t run a credit check to find out who you are, but they can do a Google search, and if they find nothing you won’t be getting booked. Before you kick off your public speaking initiative, it’s important that you build a solid pedigree or background portfolio that demonstrates your industry knowledge and positions you as the go-to expert in your field.

Where’s the beef?
If you’re using public speaking to market your business, you’ve got to offer your audience insight that that has an immediate impact.  Looking good and making people laugh has its merits, but without a content rich, problem solving, meaty presentation, you’ll be branding yourself as a funny guy rather than the “must know” [...]

For most speakers, your topics are your foot in the door of your buying audience. If you don’t do your research before picking speaking topics, you’ll spin your wheels trying to get booked for speaking gigs.

According to Mariam Otte, author of Marketing with Speaches and Seminars: Your Key to More Clients and Referrals, “The end is really the beginning. “  I couldn’t agree more.
When you’re using public speaking to market your business, the block of time after you speak is prime. Take advantage of the opportunity to really get to [...]

Networking builds relationships and you need these relationships if you want to grow your business…. Any time you have impressed an audience with your presentation, you’re creating an opportunity to find your next new client, sell your product or book your next speak engagement with minimal effort.