One of the primary reasons people get into this business is because they want to earn some serious cash.
With dreams of stardom and hopes of owning the Mercedes and the million dollar home, they set off in pursuit of getting highly paid gigs only to get knocked down by rejection after rejection. After doing some research they find that most of their starting events will be free speaking events. What?
If “free” is a horrendous four letter word in your career vocabulary, you’ll need to learn the importance and value that “free” can really provide. There are tremendous benefits that come with speaking for free including having the ability to promote your back of the room products where you can actually profit. You’ll be gaining new experiences and building your clientele list.
1. “Free” still gets your name out there. The more people who hear you speak, the more people there will be to purchase your product and refer you to other people are looking for professional speakers. For example, speaking for free for an organisation like a Rotary Club or Elks Club can lead to paying jobs because many of the members who belong to this organisation have businesses of their own or are in positions in their careers where they are the decision makers to “hire” speakers.
2. You can still have the opportunity to sell your products at these free speaking engagements. Statistics show that back of the room products account for over 50 per cent of professional speaking profits. Promote your business and promote your products in the same place! At the very least, you will be able to refer them to your website for more information or additionally, to purchase products and books. The more people that hear you, the more opportunities you’ll have.
3. Free speaking opportunities are still opportunities where you can create a video tape of yourself. Many speaker bureaus and meeting planners will not hire you without seeing a video tape of your presentation. On top of that, many organizations like the Rotary Club or Elks Club have people who can help you create your video. Can you trade services?
4. Free speaking engagements are a great place to network. Hopefully by now you understand that you have to get your name out there. In order to get your name out there, you’ll have to be out there. You can still mingle with your audience as well as network with meeting planners for the function.
5. A free speaking event is still a great reason to send out a press release. If you’re looking for a reason to send out press releases about yourself or your career, use free speaking engagements. Submit them to local newspapers and various online sites that have a “to-do in your area” section. This is just another way to get the word out about your business.
Speaking for free has its benefits. What you’ll need to learn next is how to leverage these free events into referrals and product sales. As you do this, more people will know about you and your business will be well on its way to success!