You’ve got your message down, and your talk is solid.
You’ve even spoken at some amazing events in the past year.
Now, how do you now take your speaking business to the next level by getting the event to ask you back next year, and the year after that?
Landing a one-off gig is great, but if you want to make a career out of professional speaking, having the event ask you back for repeat talks will add to your bottom line and help your business grow.
Repeat bookings is ideal for building your audience and having your clients recommend you to others. Learning how to cultivate long-term clients can be a lot trial and error, but the following tips will help you get started:
1. Maintain a social media presence
We are living in the age of social media, and you’re putting yourself at a serious disadvantage if you abstain from to using it to promote yourself.
You don’t have to craft every post into an ad – simply use Instagram or Facebook to remind people you speak, and what your key messages are If you need more advice on what you can talk about on social media go to Jump-start your social media presence as a speaker.
Post about things relevant to what you speak about, but at the same time try to make your posts entertaining and interesting.
Have your contact details displayed prominently, and check your messages frequently.
Let others take video of you and upload it themselves. It’s free advertising!
2. Improving your speaking skills
If you want to make a career out of speaking, you need to consider yourself a perpetual student.
Studying great speeches by others will help you to find inspiration, and there are always new, creative ideas to be found by others in the industry.
Never think of professional speaking as something you’ve perfected – there’s always something to learn. If your speeches are becoming better and better as time progresses, your clients – and future clients – will take notice.
3. Know what you want and what you’re willing to do
Building and maintaining client relationships will be at the heart of your professional speaking career, so always have the goal of creating and improving these relationships in mind.
You want to gain a reputation for consistency: don’t be afraid to branch out and work with clients on new projects, but make sure you are also aware of your limits.
You should be clear about how much you need to be paid to speak, what you’re willing to do, and what kind of audience you’re willing to speak to. Find out more about Negotiating your speaking fee.
Consider also where you’re willing to speak. A venue can say a lot about a person who chooses to speak there; perhaps you have particular preferences for size and style. Take this into consideration when taking bookings.
You may also consider doing the odd speech for free – it’ll give you exposure and a chance to meet new people, which might well lead to repeat bookings.
To cultivate long-term clients, you need to show that you have valuable things to say and that you can deliver valuable and diverse talks.
If you market yourself well and take your clients seriously, you’ll be well on the way to a successful career in professional speaking.
We would love to hear some of your tips and experiences when it comes to getting repeat bookings, please contact us.
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