Speaking is an excellent way to spread your message to multiple people at once. If you are a business owner, it’s also a great way to sell your programs and services. Instead of speaking to each person individually, you can speak to multiple people at once and actually save time and make more money helping people and making a difference. When you start speaking, word starts spreading and people refer you to other people to speak.  You just have to get the ball rolling and the rest is easy.

So where do you start?

From my experience, I am convinced that cold calling is the BEST strategy to get what you want. I booked dozens of speaking engagements using this cold calling strategy.  When I was searching for speaking events to promote my book, my emails would get ignored over and over but phone calls got immediate booking results.

The truth really is that speaking event organizers are searching for you. They have a big job to get great speakers and often feel a lot of pressure. Often I could get booked at their next event because they didn’t have anyone yet.

Here is the Beginner’s Guide to Getting Booked at Speaking Events:

Step 1: Make a List

Make a list of all of the groups you can find that might be interested in having you speak. Start with your local area and then you can always expand to other areas. If you are a fan of delegating research, you can use an assistant to do the research for you. But, I don’t recommend using an assistant to call and coordinate the speaking events. You need to be the one to talk with the organizers since they will want to speak with you personally about your topic. They will also want to ensure that you can speak clearly and the audience will like your topic and presentation.

Look around online and find the contact information of the meeting organizers.

Step 2: Start dialing

Clear your distractions for a few hours and dedicate that focus time to calling your list. Have no distractions and just mentally prepare yourself to start calling around the people on your list from step 1. The first person you call will always be the scariest but it’s not that hard once you get the hang of it.

After the event is over, always ask for referrals too. Ask who else they know you can contact to get booked, if they can introduce you to them and if they can write you a recommendation on LinkedIn.

Step 3: Have a Script Ready

Here’s an example for you:

“Hi, my name is Anna Runyan. I am a speaker and I wanted to talk to you about bringing me in to speak at your next event because I think I could really help the women in your group!  The presentation is based on a book that will be published this fall called The Professional Woman’s Guide to Managing Men and it is basically a guidebook on how to work with and manage men.  What would you need from me for you to bring me into your next event?”

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Step 4: Prepare Answers to Questions

Know the answers to the following:

-What is your presentation about?

-What is your budget? (Remember to say that it depends on what your budget is). Try not to say the number first! Then, always give a range. It’s just like a salary negotiation.

Step 5: Turn the No Into a Yes

If they are already booked or they say no, be prepared to ask, “Do you need a list of backup speakers in case someone cancels?”

Are you ready to get booked at a speaking event! Let us know where you are speaking! Maybe we will come watch! 🙂