Getting New Business in the Next Decade
Earlier this year, Speakernet News did a survey on how speakers get new business. When asked how new business was obtained, the top three responses were referrals: from existing clients, from other speakers and from friends.At the bottom of the pile: direct mail, telemarketing, advertising and publishing. So guess what speakers said that they were going to do more of next year? You guessed it: more direct mail, telemarketing and advertising.
Why do we do what we know is not effective? Because it was effective in the past – and therefore, safe to do it again.
It’s the experience
What created the referrals in the first place? Was it telemarketing or direct mail? Great web site? No, it was the experience you created from the very first interaction. Experience is becoming the "next big thing" in the meetings industry, as competition forces everyone to create an emotional bond that can be leveraged into loyalty, repeat business and more speakers are in the hot seat to make that happen.
Three elements
Every facet of the experience has three elements that can turn the experience into new business: Credibility, Visibility and Leverage.Credibility consists of the experiences that position you as the expert. Does your content differentiate you from your peers? Does your website go beyond being a resource of material and actually provide solutions and assessments? Every experience must show not only how different you are, but also how that difference translates into a benefit.
Three ways to create credibility: use critical beliefs to create content, apply your content to issues that matter (see hot topics article) and use your solutions to create a track record that can be publicized.
Visibility
If credibility is the flag, then visibility is the flagpole. Without visibility, none of your marketing efforts will pay off. That’s why so many speakers are writing articles, even though the Speakernet survey indicates that very little inquiries actually come from them. In the past, books were the main vehicles of differentiation. Now, articles and books are the vehicle for visibility.
Other ways: to get visibility: the internet (duh!) and media. Entire books are written on these topics alone. Do your homework and experiment to find out what works.
Leverage
Leverage is the conversion elements of the experience. It is the connecting of all the "dots" of the marketing efforts to get specific opportunities. Creating referrals are in this category, along with implementing The Golden Triangle from Springboard Marketing™ (see previous Splash issues at SullivanSpeaker.com for more ideas.)
Hot Topics 2000
As the end of the decade approaches, three trends will continue to create hot topics and opportunities for speakers in the 2000’s.
Independence reigns
A tight labor market and massive changes in the work environment has resulted in a new independent mindset for staff and management alike. Coined "Free Agent Nation" by Fast Company magazine, this trend will dictate topics in both association and corporate markets. Associations will revamp services and education to help manage the careers of their members and will offer more "lifestyle" topics that tend to the "whole" person.
Hot topics here include:
peak performance, management/marketing of "brand you", influence/persuasion skills, lifestyle issues, "making a difference" topics.
In corporate markets, management will continue to be concerned with retaining and keeping top talent as well as "herding cats" such as free agents. Hot topics created by this trend: coaching skills for managers, influence/persuasion skills, creating positive work environments, keeping top talents,
Must be seen
Visibility has become king. Associations and organizations alike are using conferences and meeting to draw media attention to their cause. Result: Keynote and special event markets will continue to use high visibility speakers whose topics are broad but filled with soundbites for the media. Corporations will also use education as a marketing tool, and will focus on authors and other high visibility experts to draw in audiences and increase media exposure. Sponsorships will continue to shift into high gear, increasing the number of private conferences. Hot topics in this area must be broad enough to draw large audiences but specific enough to be seen as an expert.
Examples: Terri Lonier’s SOHO niche, Tom Peters’ Project WOW effort.
The 500 lb gorrilla
The Internet has planted the seeds for topics that go far beyond the "technology" topics and speakers we’ve seen so far. Soon, it will no longer be a competitive advantage to know about the Internet – the hot topics will be applying nuances of other areas such as marketing, management and product development using the Internet. These now-hot topics will continue: using the Internet as a management tool, developing Internet products, and getting business form the Internet. Bottom line: There are many opportunities for both the skill building and the keynote speaker. Apply your expertise to these solutions and ramp up the visibility campaign.
I’m a veteran speaker who speaks at a lot of corporate special events. I still get rave reviews but also less repeat business. What can I do to increase repeats and spin off business?
The leverage between corporate special events and ongoing work for that company has diminished for two reasons: consultants do a lot more training and the increase of corporate universities, many who use local sources. Distance, online and computer-based learning doesn’t help either.
Instead of competing with these formats directly, go for corporate sponsorship, either for associations affiliated with the organization or even special events to create more visibility for the company. The trend toward using education as a marketing tool is in your favor here. Examples: associations that fit the company’s customer profile, or "road show" seminars where potential clients gather. Key person to talk to about this: CEO or VP of sales.
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