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 Marketing with Speeches and Seminars: Your Key to More Clients and Referrals
By Miriam Otte
Reviewed by Warren Sloat
There's no shortage of books about public speaking, but most of them concentrate on speechmaking itself -- finding the right topic, writing and researching it properly, and delivering it effectively. In Marketing with Speeches and Seminars, Miriam Otte takes speechmaking a step further: she argues that public speaking is a useful means to an all-important end -- getting clients.
The first issue the aspiring public-speaker/self-promoter should address, Otte writes, is that of venue. Once you've identified potential audiences, getting an invitation to speak probably won't be difficult. Otte makes the point, one easily confirmed in practice, that many clubs and organizations are eager, even desperate, to find speakers for their regular gatherings. Not only does Otte suggest how to find service clubs and other local organizations (start with the Chamber of Commerce), she even tells you what to say to the folks who schedule the speakers (give them a choice of topics). Otte furthermore describes how to size up an audience; how to publish an article based on the speech; and how to develop visual aids, among other things.
Much of the book's material about speechmaking is familiar stuff -- use index cards, prepare an outline, practice your first few minutes especially hard (a good start helps allay nervousness), and so forth. The real meat of Otte's book, however, is contained in the part about marketing.
The End is the Beginning
The real work of public speaking begins when the speech is over, Otte says. (During long seminars, it can begin during breaks.) This is your chance to talk with audience members one-on-one, to exchange views, to hear and address questions, and, of course, to trade business cards. This is when you have to be most alert. As names, faces, and inquiries follow in rapid succession, write key words or phrases on the backs of business cards. These notes will jog your memory later, when you're preparing to make follow-up calls. And getting business depends on follow-up.
During these post-speech networking sessions, don't let one person monopolize your time; others will grow impatient and leave. Politely suggest to long-winded conversants that you continue the chat later and in private. Then turn your attention to new faces.
Otte also deals with the tricky matter of promoting your business in the speech itself without sounding crass. (One oft-employed way is to get the emcee or moderator to do it for you.) You can, for example, tell about some of your clients, especially those well known in the community, to illustrate a point; it's even better if you can tell a success story about a client that happens to depend on work you did. If you decide to make an open pitch for clients, the best moment is near the end of the speech, once you've given the audience something of value. Before beginning the speech, distribute material about yourself and your enterprise.
The best marketing of all, of course, is a great speech. It should be the fulfillment of a promise -- the promise made in the advance notices about it. "If you spend your entire time promoting your business and not giving any tangible value," writes Otte, "your audience will feel ripped off (rightly so), and you will have created a negative image."
No matter how often you speak, Otte contends, you'll be nervous. You'll always have butterflies. Nervousness is a sign that you care about your performance. Remember that your audience wants you to succeed; they came to hear you because they wanted to learn something. Find strength in their support. The most effective way of coping with nervousness, she points out, is to be extremely well-prepared.
Smelly Felt Pens
Otte has thought of just about everything. There's advice on setting up the room, how to handle drunks, hecklers, and latecomers, how to use a microphone. Otte also reminds you to beware of felt pens with chemicals that smell bad, to eat healthful meals, to bring a small clock for keeping track of time at the lectern, and to use "big chunky lettering" when you make signs. She reminds you not to tell jokes in bad taste, to clean up after yourself when the event is all over, to dress professionally, and to smile often. She even reminds you to go to the bathroom -- and, if you're using a lapel microphone, to turn it off before you unzip.
An appendix includes checklists for the day before and the day of the presentation, items to bring in an emergency kit, examples of flyers and questionnaires, handouts, and press releases. In short, the book is an amazing compilation of every imaginable detail involved in marketing your business through speeches.
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