Starting a speaking business, however, is no simple task, regardless of your speaking experience. It’s a complex process, from managing finances to organizing travel plans, not for the faint of heart.
In this guide, we’ll walk through the process of getting started with your speaking business. While we can’t cover every legal aspect, as it may vary depending on your location, you’ll gain valuable insights to hit the ground running by the end of this guide. If a college or university primarily employs you, this guide may not apply to your situation since it’s designed for independently represented speakers.
Before we delve in, let’s look at the main topics covered in this guide. In addition to laying the foundation, we’ll also explore sales, marketing, and operations. This way, even if you can’t start your speaking business immediately, you’ll know what steps to take.
First and foremost, for your speaking venture to be considered a legitimate business, it must be officially registered. You may find it challenging to secure speaking engagements without a legal record, particularly in corporate settings. One significant reason for this is the tax implications that arise when receiving payments without proper income documentation. By registering your speaking business, you eliminate these concerns, making it more likely for event planners to view you as a reliable and professional speaker – someone perfect for their events.
The process of registering your speaking business varies depending on your location. In the U.S., it involves registering with federal, state, and local agencies that handle small businesses. You can find a helpful guide from the U.S. Small Business Administration that outlines the steps, including registering with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and complying with government requirements at the state and city levels (for licenses and permits). Additionally, it’s crucial to check the federal and state requirements for business insurance and taxes during registration. Avoid encountering unexpected tax burdens at the end of the year, even after running a tremendously successful speaking business.
If the registration process feels overwhelming, you can find valuable resources on the U.S. government’s website, offering a guide to starting your own business. It details each step and provides information for businesses owned by minorities or veterans, should those categories apply to your speaking business.
Let’s focus on the front end of your speaking business – your brand. When event planners visit your website, how do you want them to perceive you? Defining your brand’s identity is crucial, and it starts with a few essential questions: What image do you want to project? How would you describe your brand in five words? Which colors best represent your personality and message? These questions will guide you as you develop your brand.
Our in-house graphic designer recommends selecting fonts and colors that align with your chosen words and themes to represent your brand. His process involves choosing colors first, followed by fonts, then creating a logo, and finally, an icon to complement your brand identity. By strategically designing your brand, you can leave a lasting impression on event planners and establish a unique identity in the speaking industry.
Selecting your brand’s colors starts with understanding the common connotations associated with each color. For example, red often evokes a sense of “power” or “confidence,” while blue is often associated with “calm” or “trustworthiness.” If you’re new to color theory, 99 Designs’ guide on choosing brand colors is a great resource.
Once you’ve decided on the primary color that best represents your brand’s identity, choosing three or four additional colors that complement it is essential. When selecting secondary colors, consider having one or two that are vibrant and colorful, similar to your primary color, and one or two that are more neutral. Strive to maintain no more than five colors in your final color palette.
You can use tools like Canva’s color palette generator or explore collections at ColorPalettes.net to find inspiration and create a cohesive color scheme. By thoughtfully selecting your brand’s colors, you can create a visual identity that resonates with your audience and leaves a memorable impression on event planners.
Selecting the right fonts also requires consideration of their connotations. Like with colors, fonts can convey specific messages and impressions to your audience. For instance, sans-serif fonts suggest a more modern and contemporary brand, while serif fonts may evoke a sense of tradition or classicism.
Avoid overused fonts like Impact, Comic Sans, Bradley Hand, and Papyrus to create a unique brand identity. You want your brand to be remembered for its expertise and distinction in the speaking space, not for using overly clichéd or outrageous fonts.
For those unsure about which fonts to choose, Canva offers a helpful guide. By carefully considering your font choices, you can reinforce your brand’s overall message and personality, ensuring that it aligns with your professional image as a speaker.
Once you’ve chosen your brand’s colors and fonts, the next steps involve creating your logo and icon. While having an icon is optional, it offers numerous benefits, such as enhancing memorability and making it easier for people to identify your brand on social media profiles. As a speaker, making your brand stand out, remain memorable, and have a strong digital presence is essential.
As you design your logo and icon, keep these goals in mind. Consider the practicality of your logo, ensuring it can be easily incorporated into various platforms, including websites and social media.
If you’re unsure about creating your logo and icon or lack design skills, you can explore freelancing platforms such as 99 Designs, Fiverr, and Upwork. These platforms offer reliable and affordable graphic designers who can transform your brand’s essence and ideas into professional logos and icons. This way, you can focus on other aspects of building your speaking business, knowing that your brand’s visual representation is in capable hands.
The fourth step in setting up your speaking business – creating your speaker website – can significantly impact your success. Your website should be a powerful tool to showcase your expertise, establishing you as an authority in your niche and a skilled speaker. For established speaking businesses, this means featuring logos of past clients, displaying testimonials, and providing social proof from fans or previous attendees. If you’re starting, work with the testimonials you have and continue building as you grow. Remember, quality evidence of your capabilities is more important than quantity.
On your website’s homepage, demonstrate your identity and target audience, and provide easy ways to contact you. Look to websites like Jacob Green and Katrina Cravy for inspiration, as they are excellent examples of ideal speaker websites. They showcase past clients, immediately present their sizzle reel, and include clear call-to-action buttons in the navigation bar, allowing visitors to schedule calls directly through their websites.
When designing your website, remember that convenience is key. Visitors make quick decisions, often within 50 milliseconds, about whether they are interested in your services. To make a positive first impression, highlight your value and skills, ensure easy contact options, and keep your website’s layout clear and concise. A well-designed and informative speaker website can be a powerful tool to attract potential clients and elevate your speaking business.
As you wrap up the setup of your speaking business, the final piece is to define your mission, vision, and core values. Although these aspects may seem unnecessary for a speaking business, they demonstrate your attention to detail and willingness to adapt and grow continuously. By articulating your mission, vision, and core values, you show your commitment to becoming the best version of yourself – not just as a speaker but also as a business owner and a human being. Such dedication conveys trustworthiness to event planners and potential clients.
Your mission statement is a concise description of what your speaking business does. Your vision statement outlines your ideal vision for the company’s future. Meanwhile, your core values represent the guiding principles that govern your actions as you strive to fulfill your mission and vision. Combining these elements enables you to create a cohesive and inspiring roadmap for your speaking business.
In the speaking industry, some professionals consolidate these elements into a “promise statement.” This statement captures what you promise to provide for your clients. Make sure to incorporate your new promise statement into your website, showcasing your commitment to delivering value and excellence to your clients.
Now that your speaking business is set up let’s delve into the essentials of bringing in clients. Selling in the speaking industry involves numerous intricacies, but we’ll start with some fundamental tips and tricks, including finding leads, organizing them effectively, and securing bookings for your upcoming gigs.
Finding Speaking Leads
Before you can sell your services, you must find leads. Speaking leads can be sourced from various places, such as association directories, lead generation systems, and educational databases. The ideal source depends on your focus industry or niche. For instance, if you are a retired professor speaking about women in STEM fields, targeting colleges and universities is beneficial because you possess relevant experience and credentials, making you trustworthy to educational event planners. Moreover, the extensive list of educational institutions allows for increased opportunities to secure speaking engagements.
To identify the best lead sources, consider two questions: “Where do I already have experience?” and “Where can my speaking experience compound?” Industry-specific guides for finding speaking gigs can be valuable resources. If your focus isn’t covered in the provided guides, you can reach out for further assistance in finding suitable speaking opportunities.
Your leads can come from various sources, including referrals, speakers bureaus, and speakers associations. While referrals are valuable, it’s essential not to rely solely on them and to focus on avenues bringing you gigs. Concentrate on areas where you are already succeeding and follow that trail.
Managing Speaking Leads
Central to the lead management process is having a system to track leads and set follow-up reminders. This ensures you communicate with each lead until they convert into a booking or opt out of further contact. A proper lead tracking system also allows you to collect information about leads and their interactions with your business, facilitating personalized and strategic follow-ups.
Many established speakers recommend using a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) lead-tracking system. CRMs offer a single platform to manage contacts, leads, event information, and related reminders. Additionally, they often integrate with other tools like project management or invoicing software, streamlining your sales process. Consider exploring CRMs to enhance your lead management.
Sales Data to Track
A CRM or sales system also provides valuable data insights. By tracking and analyzing sales data, you can identify the sources of your leads, understand referral patterns, and recognize the most successful sales avenues. Essential sales metrics to track include won and lost gigs and their respective industries. By focusing on industries where you consistently get booked, you can efficiently seek new leads within those sectors, saving time and boosting revenue.
CRMs often have built-in reporting for generating analytics based on your lead data. The following section will explore various tech tools, including CRMs, to optimize your sales process and maximize your success in the speaking industry.
With all the information provided, you might feel overwhelmed. But technology is here to support you in handling the sales processes efficiently. Here are some go-to systems and tech tools to optimize your speaker sales and our best practices for utilizing them.
The Speaker Intel Engine, developed by speaker and sales expert Sam Richter, is a top-notch sales system. It acts as an overlay to Google searches, enabling you to use complex Boolean searches easily. With the Intel Engine, you gain access to 100% of Google search results, compared to the mere 4% visible through standard searches. Tailored for speakers, it allows you to search for event planners, associations, and competitors. This tool provides valuable and hyper-relevant information, leading to qualified leads and better decision-making.
SpeakerFlow’s operating system, launched in 2019, is another powerful tool. This comprehensive CRM includes modules for tracking leads and contacts, in-app project and event management software, and extensive speaker customization. The CRM offers robust automation tools, 5 T.B. of free cloud storage with built-in analytics, in-app e-signatures, form-building software for your website, a mobile app, and more. At just $45 per user per month, it is an excellent option with multiple features packed into one cost-effective package. The CRM seamlessly integrates with other apps, such as email marketing, e-signatures, and file storage, streamlining your speaking business management.
Several features can significantly boost your sales process regardless of your chosen CRM. Automation, lead scoring, and productivity tools are particularly valuable. Automation streamlines various tasks, from tracking emails to managing email campaigns, saving time and effort. Lead scoring allows you to assign scores to contacts based on their actions, helping you prioritize follow-ups with the most promising leads. Productivity features like task creation and reminders enhance efficiency and organization.
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) dialers offer an alternative to using your personal phone number for sales calls. VoIP technology enables voice calls over a broadband internet connection instead of traditional phone lines. Many dialers integrate seamlessly with CRMs, allowing you to track sales calls within your contact, lead, or event records. VoIP dialers like Kixie and Dialpad are highly recommended for ease of use and growth potential. Call recordings provide insights into successful sales techniques, helping you become a better salesperson and make your speaking business more profitable.
In essence, these sales tools can streamline your processes, save time, and enhance overall sales effectiveness. By leveraging technology, you can focus on nurturing leads, securing speaking engagements, and growing your speaking business successfully.
Now that we’ve covered setting up and bringing clients to your speaking business, let’s explore practical ways to organize and manage it. This section will cover the fundamentals of business operations in the speaking industry. We’ll also highlight some organizational technology and how you can implement it for your business.
Staying organized in your speaking business is crucial, and it’s vital to establish a consistent process for systemizing your company’s information. To ensure smooth operations, here are some general rules that our team follows:
1. Upload important files to your preferred storage platform (e.g., Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive) as soon as you have them. This habit saves time and ensures easy access to essential materials. Organized back-end operations reflect positively on your business and enhance client perception.
2. Adopt consistent organizational tools for your team. Utilizing tools like Google Drive for storage ensures everyone can access shared files, enabling smooth collaboration and efficient information sharing.
3. Hold all team members to the same organizational standards. As your speaking business grows, maintaining consistent organization becomes even more critical. Setting the bar from the beginning allows your team to take on tasks efficiently, streamlining operations.
Automation plays a vital role in successful speaking business operations. In addition to sales automation, you can leverage various tools to automate other aspects of your business. Zapier is a powerful app that connects apps and allows seamless integration, even between non-native integrations.
Zapier can be used for various tasks, such as notifications for discovery calls and tracking affiliate program commissions. This automation saves time, reduces email and app notifications, and minimizes manual data entry. Automation empowers you to manage your business more efficiently, even without the need for additional assistants.
Effective operations also involve managing speaking gigs and daily appointments. Creating a “For Event Planners” page on your website and a corresponding folder in your cloud storage platform is recommended for speaking gigs. This centralized location should contain all relevant event information, such as headshots, A.V. requirements, and your speaker biography. When hired, you can provide event planners with a link to the folder containing all necessary details.
Consider using an auto-scheduler on your website or in sales emails for daily appointments. This tool lets people see your availability and book appointments that suit both parties. By controlling your availability settings and the information in the scheduling form, you can streamline the appointment booking process and eliminate unnecessary back-and-forth communication.
In the next section, we’ll discuss various software options for event management, covering both speaking gigs and daily appointments. These tools will further enhance your speaking business operations and enable efficient scheduling and management.
One of the most crucial pieces of data to track is your revenue. Besides the gig-related information mentioned in the “Sales” section, monitoring the amount of money going out of your speaking business is essential. Often, speakers face challenges when managing technology expenses, leading to unexpected costs.
Besides the gig-related information mentioned in the “Sales” section, monitoring the amount of money going out of your speaking business is essential
TKC
To avoid such issues, follow these general rules:
1. Avoid signing up for free trials that require credit card information. This can lead to unintended charges if you don’t use the tool during the trial period.
2. Maintain a record of all tools and software you are paying for. Store this information in a document or project management system, ensuring you have a reliable source of information regarding your expenses.
Now, let’s dive into the tools and technology that can enhance your speaking business operations. While there are numerous alternatives, the following recommendations are based on their value and extensive features:
1. eSpeakers: eSpeakers’ Event CX platform is an excellent tool for event management, including a calendar, meeting planner database, and an eSpeakers bureau profile. With task checklists, you can effectively prepare for gigs and ensure a stress-free event planning process.
2. Asana: A project management system like Asana helps you organize various aspects of your business, from marketing projects to content calendars and financial tracking. Its extensive feature set, including animations and templates, makes it an ideal choice for staying on top of your speaking business operations.
3. G Suite: G Suite is an affordable and intuitive cloud storage tool that offers seamless organization and information sharing. You can store all relevant materials for event planners in one place, simplifying communication with them.
4. Better Proposals: This software streamlines the proposal-sending process after closing a sale. You can create and send proposals quickly with templates and the option to add branding information. Event planners can also make payments through the Better Proposals portal.
5. Calendly: Calendly is an auto-scheduler that allows people to schedule calls with you conveniently. You can create different events for various purposes, each with its specific link. Calendly is affordable and offers free versions with useful day-to-day features.
The following section will explore the marketing basics for your speaking business. Marketing is critical in attracting clients and showcasing your expertise beyond speaking engagements.
Your speaker website is a crucial tool for marketing your speaking business. You can focus on Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to bring more attention to your site. SEO involves optimizing your site or digital content to rank higher in Google searches.
Key factors to focus on for your speaker website’s SEO are speed, design, and content:
1. Speed: Aim to load your site in less than 3 seconds to keep visitors engaged. Faster loading times improve user experience; users are more likely to stay on your site if it loads quickly.
2. Design: Consistent branding and modern design practices are essential for a professional and engaging website. Ensure your website reflects your brand identity and is visually appealing.
3. Content: High-quality content is critical for SEO. Your blog, in particular, plays a significant role in SEO. Aim for blog posts with at least 1,500 words, and focus on a single keyword or phrase throughout the post. Use headings, graphics, and images to make the content engaging and easy to read.
Social media is another powerful tool for marketing your speaking business. To build a strong social presence, follow these tips:
1. Diverse Content: Share various types of content, including videos, Instagram Stories, memes, and impactful posts. Keeping your content diverse keeps your audience engaged and interested.
2. Social Interaction: Interact with other speakers and business owners, and respond to comments on your posts. Show your human side and engage with your audience.
3. Be Authentic: Be yourself on social media. Share content that aligns with your personality and values. Authenticity resonates with your audience and helps build a loyal following.
Data-driven decision-making is crucial in marketing. Track the growth of your business through data analytics. For your website, monitor the number of visitors, time spent on the site, and pages viewed per visit. This data helps you understand your website’s performance and make improvements.
Similarly, analyze social media data, such as follower growth and demographics. Focus on what works best and tailor your marketing strategies accordingly.
Here are three marketing tools to enhance your marketing processes:
1. Google Analytics: An essential and consistently updated marketing tool that provides insights into web performance, lead sources, and user behavior. Use Google Analytics to understand where your leads are coming from and make informed marketing decisions.
2. Canva: A versatile graphic design tool that offers templates and layouts for various marketing materials. Create professional and on-brand designs for both print and digital content.
3. Buffer: A social media scheduling tool that allows you to plan and pre-post social media content. Schedule your posts in advance to maintain a consistent social presence even on the road.
With these marketing strategies and tools, you can effectively promote your speaking business, attract more clients, and showcase your expertise to a broader audience. Remember, staying true to yourself and maintaining a strong online presence are key factors in building a successful speaking business.
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Booking a Keynote Speaker: The Essential Checklist
