How speaking engagements can capture more business for consultants

FOR YEARS, EXPERTS in consulting firms large and small have given speeches at industry conferences to get visibility, credibility, and leads for assignments. Thanks to good presentation skills and fancy PowerPoint slides, many earn applause and "atta-boys" at the end. What they do not receive, however, are consulting assignments.

Conferences and consultants are a good fit for each other. Associations get experts at their conferences for a great price (usually free), while consultants are mentioned in the program brochures and websites, plus they have an opportunity to give 'Tree samples" of their expertise. The arrangement works. Many national associations get proposals from as many as 10 consultants for every opening in any given conference.

Yet, what is wrong with this picture? This great visibility no longer produces results for consultants. The stage has changed, but the players have not. If experts only depend upon the speech to generate leads, too much money is left on the table by not capitalizing on the front and back ends. It is an easy mistake to make. In the past, conference attendance was high, and so were the number of meetings. Audiences were filled with more decisionmakers, hungry for the industry-specific information only the experts had. The speaker simply had to deliver great content and a pitch at the end, and attendees would flock for more.

Today, competition among conferences stiffens as attendance decreases, mainly due to budget cuts. Moreover, the Internet offers tree information to all. Besides, the hungry decisionmakers are tired of paying high registration fees to be bombarded with "pitches." They have decided to fill up elsewhere.

Savvy consultants are responding by overhauling their public speaking efforts. Their days of the dog-and-pony-with-pitch show are over. Instead, they make speeches a focal point of marketing by expanding the opportunity before and after the actual program. Here are a few easy steps that help to leverage speeches:

Just say no. It is tempting to say yes to every speaking invitation, but don't. It is a big mistake speaking to audience members who cannot--or will not--buy services. The entire scenario is set up for failure.

Mary Taylor (her name changed to protect her agent) learned this lesson the hard way when she was invited to speak at a national convention for board members. Being a management consultant, she regarded this as a great forum for marketing her services--until she learned the group was homeowners' association board members.

Audience demographics are changing. Meetings that previously attracted targeted buyers do not any more. So, rather than accept an invitation fight away, first check out the organization and ask a lot of questions. It is better to speak fewer times with better results than have a calendar filled with speeches but few client appointments.

Pack the house with decisionmakers. Once there is an agreement to speak to a well-qualified group, the real work begins--and not just on the speech. Do not leave the audience to chance. Make sure the fight people will be in the room. How? Simply by inviting them. Sending a personal invitation via e-mail to qualified people not only can get desirable prospects in the room, but can build overall attendance. Crowded concurrent sessions usually get return engagements.

Referrals are the name of the game, so why shouldn't consultants remind clients of their expertise? Invite clients to speeches. Even if they cannot attend the upcoming session, they might send others in need of such services. Dates and descriptions of speaking engagements should appear on websites to tell the world, "I am a sought-after expert."

Do not forget the trade show floor. Have small cards with the session title, date, time and room number to give out to industry suppliers during networking. They use consultants, too.

Gather stories with marketing in mind. If the content will be customized anyway, you might as well contact the hottest prospects to help do the research? Many would be flattered being asked for examples to prove key points. If the session is being audiotaped, a recording makes a clever thank you gift. It is a great way to connect and continue the relationship.

The host organization wants you to customize, too, so key contacts would be happy to suggest key people to interview. Ask for names of their opinion leaders. If you uncover great examples during those conversations, ask permission to use them, and quote these leaders extensively. They will appreciate sharing the spotlight and the speaker looks like an insider.

Do not even think of asking general questions like, "What are your greatest challenges?" Pointed questions concerning specific issues can highlight industry knowledge. Make sure these conversations go beyond the standard networking before a meeting. They create opportunities for follow-up after the speech.

Submit articles. Many associations promote meetings heavily in their trade journals, newsletters, and other publications. Volunteer to write an article on a related topic. Being one of their speakers is a ticket to the inside track for having submissions accepted. Writing an article not only helps build program attendance, it keeps speakers" names in association archives long after meetings are over. It offers yet another opportunity to contact prospects and association "bigwigs" for quotes. Articles also make great additions to promotional materials and on websites.

Get media attention. Media outlets such as local newspapers and radio talk shows may be very interested in different viewpoints, especially if someone else also has expressed interest in them. After getting permission from hosts, distribute media releases outlining the program's key points. One never knows which prospects are listening.

Turbo-charge your takeaways. Any consultant on the speaking circuit knows the old, "I'll give you an article if you give me your business card" strategy. This worked great before the Internet made archives available with the click of a mouse. Audiences now expect a compelling reason to hand over their contact information.

Bill Wagner of Accord Management Systems turbo-charges this technique by using personalized survey results as a way to get permission to follow up with attendees. During his speeches to executive groups, he engages the audience in a survey. He will offer the findings of how they voted--and how they compare to similar attendees in other audiences--to those who give him their business cards.

Make the speech live on. Giving a speech is a marketing tool that just keeps on giving--if it has been taped. Audio recording is easier than ever with digital minidisc recorders that are the size of a credit card. Software also is available to edit speeches. Upload the speech from the disc onto the hard drive and presto! There now is an audio file to burn onto CDs and send to prospects. Other ways to make a speech live on are downloading audio clips on websites or a white paper or report that can be sold.

Remember all of those phone calls made before the speech, or the prospects who were invited but could not come? One great way to follow up is to send CDs of the speech with compliments. The speech becomes an ongoing marketing tool that shows the value of a speaker's expertise.

Offer low-risk options. Consultants who work with larger companies certainly do not expect an attendee simply to sit down and write a big check for their services right after the speech. High-end consultants know that offering a low-risk option will separate serious prospects from the tire-kickers and will plant seeds for long-term assignments.

Deborah A. House, CEO of The Adare Group consulting firm, found that starting with a small--but focused--project allows her to create value quickly and set up larger assignments. After every speech, she offers "special issue coaching" for attendees. Ranging from a couple of hours to a full month, these assignments focus on a single high-stakes issue. To lower the risk while still maintaining credibility, she offers this help at a discounted rate. "Allowing a consultant to come in and reposition their entire business model after hearing you speak for two hours is not realistic," she relates. "Doing well on these projects gives me credibility for larger assignments."

Another benefit is that House sees the client "up close and personal" and makes better decisions on how to proceed. "Offering decisionmakers a low-risk way to sample your services allows us both to determine if it makes sense to work together in the future," she notes.

Less is more. How does the audience feel about marketing through speeches? They are turning cynical and highly sensitive to "pitching from the platform." They expect specific take-home value and will not tolerate boredom. Some consultants overcompensate by filling the program with too much content. They cram their speeches with so much data that listeners leave overwhelmed with information. Their logic: If I show the audience how smart I am, they will hire me. However, including too much material for the time allotted has the opposite effect. What the listener really thinks is, "I have now learned everything this person does. I can reinvent my entire organization on my own."

Worse yet, these consultants leave audiences brain-dead. With so much energy sapped from the deluge of data, many attendees think, "As soon as I implement some of these suggestions, I'll hire this consultant." The problem is that implementation never actually occurs since there is too much data to process. That makes them excellent prospects for the next consultant they meet. This strategy might have worked when knowledge equaled power, but since the advent of the Internet and its free access to information, audiences now demand high-quality data, but in manageable amounts. Therefore, decisions must be strategic when it comes to what is included in speeches, special reports, and articles.

Make even more marketing speeches. The frequency with which speaking is used as an experiential business card will only increase because it works well when managed skillfully. Today, a wide variety of professional services firms--such as coaches, trainers, and even accountants--are overcoming their fears of speaking to market their companies. Even Corporate America eyes "speaking" as a brand extension tool. Public relations finns are turning into agents, pushing their clients' CEOs out on the circuit to generate media buzz. As a result, program planners strategically look at who the speaker is as well as the message offered.

Information alone no longer is enough to attract clients. Because audience members want to have an "experience," tools and exercises for learning have become the norm. Applicability is king, which is good news for consultants who use a facilitative approach.

"Inside workings" are needed for success. Consultants will have to work smarter to capture the potential clients that attend their speeches. Further, the speech itself cannot be the sole vehicle that drives lead generation and sales. Like the face on a watch, public speaking is the element of "show" in the marketing effort. It needs the "inside workings" of the marketing mix to succeed.

Vickie K. Sullivan is president, Sullivan Speaker Services, Tempe, Ariz.

COPYRIGHT 2005 Society for the Advancement of Education
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