Public speaking is, by its nature, a tool to convey information on a particular issue.  Successful public speakers are revered by their audience for their knowledge base, broad appeal, and professional stature.  Any CEO at a podium before an audience with clout is going to have instant credibility.  What better platform is there to promote a product or service?  You have a room full of people listening to your every word, ready to participate, and willing to act.  The best speakers will engage the audience with an interesting personal anecdote and demonstrate a clear mastery of their topic.  The speaker will utilize the platform to talk about their corporation or individual products and service offerings.  Of course, public speaking is the perfect opportunity to ensure the ongoing success of your corporation to the masses! Whether it is on the spot or it is the next time the audience member sees the product online or in a store; you now have a consumer that has a connection to you and most importantly, these individuals are invested in your brand.

The recommendation is not that you begin speaking to local high schools (great for community service, but not for brand enhancement—unless your Facebook or My Space), it is however, that you turn your attention to trade shows in your industry.  If you are a CEO speaking to a group of sales people from various companies that can all be potential distributors/resellers of your product, then your dream scenario is staring you in the face. You cannot create a ‘softer’ sales environment.  A captivated audience of decisions makers who can immediately purchase mass quantities of your product is the ideal situation.  If that doesn’t get you excited; and if you can’t generate sales from that, then perhaps its time to think of another career.

Many times, CEOs will allow fear to stop them from speaking.  President Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, ‘There is nothing to fear, but fear itself.’  In the business world, fear will give your competition a distinct advantage over you.  So, I ask: how bad do you want it?  Personally, I use to hate public speaking, and at Ascendant Strategy, we have several clients that had to make the adjustment.  But, I am a witness that it can be done and when you think about the new revenue channel it creates while drastically decreasing your marketing expenses, your willingness to speak will receive a jolt, as well.  That is right, speaking equals lower overhead on marketing and more sales leads, more revenue, and ultimately it is one of the building blocks to develop a brand.

So, how do you build brand equity and increase revenue from speaking?  Here are some specific steps:

Step one:

Research potential organizations, conferences, and other events that would provide you with more exposure to the most potential customers for your business, then develop a contact database for them that includes mailing address, phone numbers, and key contacts.  You should pay particular attention to trade shows.  For most industries these are gold mines for the speaker.  Additionally, professional associations such as the American Marketing Association and the Society for Human Resources can be invaluable by providing direct or second hand contacts to buyers.  Finally, do not underestimate the relevance of the college circuit.

Step two:

Develop two speaking topics that relate to the service industry you are in and one additional topic that may be more outside your service industry, but you are passionate about and have experience with.  For instance, the CEO of a company in the financial services industry may select topics such as ‘Investment Strategies That Work in Any Economy,’ ‘The 7 Secrets to Financial Freedom,’ and ‘Leading During Crisis.’  Your titles should be interesting and you should have a brief blurb describing each topic.

Step three:

Next, develop your personal bio and make sure it highlights your brand ‘tag line,’ and speaks to your background.  You must also ensure that your bio is relevant to your speaking subject matter.  You should also include media, accomplishments, and personality traits that differentiate you from others.

Step four:

Create marketing materials!  At Ascendant Strategy (www.ascendantstrategy.net) we have a division of our company in house for all our graphics and web design work.    In this internet era, it is also essential for you to develop a website.  While you can choose to carve out a section of your corporate website to drive people to, a personal website is extremely important.  Never use templates, but rather find designers that are high-end designers that know code well and can customize your site to fit all aspects of who you are.

Step five: 

Develop your marketing plan and execute it.  This may seem very cliché, but it is critical.  After all, consistent marketing efforts yield results.  Keep sending the hardcopy mailings and you may also consider visiting organizations where you could potentially speak.  The face to face interaction will give you a strategic advantage.

Step Six:

Maintain your database with copious notes on every conversation.  At Ascendant Strategy (www.ascendantstrategy.net) we use ACT, www.act.com as our database software. ACT has some excellent features that allow you to be able to take detailed notes on every call, rank opportunities, and create a sales process.  ACT is an excellent tool and can be used online by multiple users.  It can be a bit cumbersome in the amount of CPU memory it takes, but if you have a high performance computer it is worth it!

If you follow these six steps. you will launch your speaking career–the revenue from speaking should be a great addition to your business or you can keep the money for yourself.  Additionally, you will be introduced to a new world of customers and direct sales.  Finally, these customers will spread the word about you, which will likely lead to more speaking engagements and more revenue.

One of our clients wanted to expand his real estate development practice, so we successfully created a tour where he spoke for private investors, city officials, and community activists.  The engagements with private investors led to interest in the company and local projects, city officials proposed projects and opportunities for our client to build and rehab real estate developments at pennies on the dollar, and speaking to the community activists led to support for all local initiatives.  This is CEO branding and this is what a speaking career can generate!  As a result of speaking, our client has generated millions of dollars in new business.  In fact, nearly half of my firm’s new business has come as a result of speaking.  Do you still have your doubts?  If all of this sounds intimidating, you can always seek professional help, our firm specializes in CEO branding.

Kim Reed is a Partner at Ascendant Strategy (www.ascendantstrategy.net) a world leader in CEO branding, the new corporate branding.  Ms. Reed can be contacted at info@ascendantstrategy.net or 1.800.838.8152.  Ms. Reed will be happy to answer your questions about the new corporate branding technique.

Is it the baking powder or the yeast box that has a skull and crossbones, which brand is it?

I am watching my wife from across the room making cookies in the kitchen, and I just think it’s a bad marketing strategy to put a skull and crossbones on a baking product.. God, some of those marketing guys are complete idiots aren’t they?

Answer
Get your wife to taste the goods first, then yay! big paycheck