Speaking Out

Excerpt from HOW magazine
October 2001
By Jennifer Lieberman

During a snowstorm last winter in Chicago, Rob Wallace, managing partner of New York City-based brand imagery consultancy Wallace Church Associates, spoke at a conference to an audience of just 25 people. Despite the low turnout, three audience members became prospective clients and one joined the firm's client roster. "These were people who came up to me at the end of the presentation and said, 'I like what I saw,'" Wallace says.

Wallace says speaking gives him the opportunity to build an immediate sense of trust with his audience, laying the foundation for a good client relationship. He and his partners present at national conferences throughout the year. "We do it for the visibility and because it opens up new avenues for us to establish client relationships," he says. "We want to constantly affirm our authority in our area of expertise."

Unleash the extrovert in you

In a competitive marketplace, you're seeking ways to build your firm's advantage. Speaking engagements offer the opportunity to both educate and market directly to industry leaders who may be your next clients. By integrating speaking into your firm's marketing plan, you join the ranks of principals who have swapped many a sweaty palm for business growth.

"Speaking engagements are a major component of many successful design firms' marketing plans," says Linda Fisher, whose Thompson, CT-based marketing-services firm, Design Management Resources, places executives in such engagements worldwide. "If managed well, this is a surefire way to attract challenging and creative new projects, and to increase fees and revenues."

We're not talking about presenting a slide show of work to your peers at a local AIGA meeting, although that's a good place to start. Rather, your goal with speaking is to get in front of prospective clients. If your firm specializes in design for the medical industry, for example, you might speak to an organization of hospital administrators about marketing strategies.

As the Wallace Church partners discovered, speaking provids tremendous benefits: It increases overall visibility, broadens awareness of capabilities and builds strong credibility. "At major conferences, you put yourself in front of a large audience of pre-qualified prospective clients who have not only opted, but paid to hear what you have to say," Fisher says. The bottom line: Speaking engagements help you create the platform for your firm to grow to the next level.

"When you speak, you make a personal connection with each member of your audience," says Chris Clarke-Epstein, president of the National Speakers Assn. "Unlike a direct mailer that requires further follow-up, people are seeing you in a way no other marketing tool offers. You start to build a serious relationship right away, and in a professional-services business, it's all about relationships."

Start in your own backyard

Regardless of your level of speaking experience, it's never too late to get started. Like any professional endeavor, you need to establish a plan. First, set goals and objectives for how often you'll speak, to whom and in which settings. Then, develop your strategy. For less experienced speakers, your initial goal is to hone your skills and gain experience.

Having recently embarked on a speaking plan, Dana Castle, managing partner of Atlanta-based Function Design says, "We needed a way to establish ourselves as a recognized authority, and the best way to do that was by speaking, to put ourselves right in front of our target audience."

Like Castle, other neophyte speakers should follow three preliminary steps:

• Select your subject. Identify your topic, such as corporate identity, package design or interactive design, and stick with it. Focus on the subject that most reflects your firm's experience and expertise, one in which you can effectively infuse examples of your own success. This provides the forum to communicate your firm's capabilities and personality.
  
  
• Polish your skills. Join Toastmasters, take a public speaking course, get involved in your local chapter of a professional association like the National Speakers Assn. or hire a speaking coach. Castle joined her local Toastmasters group, along with her business partner and client-service manager, and together they attend weekly lunch meetings. After the meetings, they have regular internal discussions and practice sessions. "The whole purpose is to grow our business," Castle says. "This should be a team effort."
  
  
• Find local opportunities. Seek out speaking engagements to get experience under your belt. Present yourself as a speaker to local colleges, continuing-education programs, chambers of commerce, professional associations or civic groups. Your marketing and branding expertise will invariably interest other business owners.

Rise to the Next Level

Once you're ready, make your move to national and international conferences where you can position yourself among the top guns in a particular industry. Your topic generally remains the same, although you'll tailor it to fit the event. The real difference is your audience: Before, you spoke to 25 business students; now you'll address 50-500 prospective clients.

Get ready for the big time by taking these steps:

• Focus on your market. Search the Web and peruse industry publications to identify organizations that sponsor events within the industries you've targeted in your marketing plan. Many trade associations' Web sites feature listings of industry-related events. The National Trade and Professional Associations directory (Columbia Books, 888/265-0600; www.columbiabooks.com), is another great source for information on events. Using this research, develop your database and implement a contact-management system.
  
  
• Qualify key events. Contact conference producers to identify key decision-makers who choose speakers, to determine the professional level of attendees and to gauge the lead time for speaker selections. Get a sense of the criteria conference programmers use to select presenters so you can tailor your credentials kit. Does the producer prefer that you submit your proposal via snail mail or email? Do you need to provide references? Many conference organizers require a formal Request for Speaker (RFS) or Request for Presentation (RFP), which will guide you through the application process.
  
  
• Solicit speaking engagements. Speaking is a public- relations function, so you should assign a dedicated marketing or PR staffer to develop and oversee your speaking schedule. Her role is to develop a contact-management system, market your firm's speaking capabilities and handle relationships with conference producers. This requires consistent follow-up, thorough research skills and commitment to deadlines. Organizers often select speakers up to 18 months in advance. If you initiate contact and don't follow up, you'll not only miss that opportunity, but you'll fall off the radar screen for conference planners as they make selections for their next event.
  
  Failure to clearly assign responsibility is the most common mistake design firms make-and it's the easiest one to avoid, cautions Martha Francis, PR associate with Design Management Resources. If you don't have a PR or new-business development manager, hire a marketing or PR consultant.
  
  
• Show 'em what you got. Develop a promotional kit comprised of a customized cover letter, a speaker bio and credentials, and a profile of your firm with case studies that target the conference theme or industry. Include title and topic ideas and a brief description of the presentation and its benefits for the audience. More experienced speakers may also provide video clips.
  
  With the right list of targets, pitch your topic like you would new business. "Conference producers receive more speaking requests than they can handle," says Lynn Wolff, vice president of marketing at the Institute for International Research and conference director for the organization's highly regarded Brand Masters event. "Distinguish yourself by including anything that's unique-like your ability to run a special interactive session with group activities, or a longer workshop."
  
  
• Do your homework. If you're invited to speak at a conference, you'll find an enormous amount of details to manage. The most important is to identify business opportunities among the list of attendees. Find out who else is speaking. Confirm the lecture room specifications and equipment available. Negotiate fees and expenses up front. Provide a write-up and photo for the program brochure, speaker introductions or handouts. Finalize travel arrangements.

Be More than Just a Talking Head

If you've ever attended a conference, you know there's nothing worse than an ill-prepared speaker who regurgitates a canned spiel and then vanishes from the scene. Avoid "bad-speaker syndrome" with these tips:

• Nail the presentation. Refine your presentation for the attendees. "Conference audiences don't want to hear sales pitches or company histories. And they don't want top-line theories without practical applications," Wolff says. "They need real-world solutions, new ideas, hands-on strategies and how-to's that they can put to immediate use in their jobs."
  
  And don't forget the visuals, notes Elinor Selame, president of Newton, MA-based BrandEquity International. "Just writing a speech and delivering it is the worst thing you can do," says Selame, whose demand as a speaker led to her presentation this spring at the International Corporate Identity Conference in Prague. "It's important to keep the audience's attention, so make it very visual, very colorful. We're in a visual business, and what you speak about has to be shown."
  
  
• Maximize your opportunity. This is your chance to make connections with the audience. These people have traveled to conferences to find solutions to their business problems and to meet people who can help solve them. "You should tie the information you're presenting into case studies that are most meaningful and most recent," Wallace says.
  
  Wallace turned a high-profile project into a compelling presentation for the Package Design & Brand Identity Conference in Chicago. As always, he made sure to get to the podium early-only to find out that his computer was incompatible with the projector. So, as he began his presentation, he stepped off the stage and right into the audience.
  
  Speaking extemporaneously, he presented a compelling case study of the graphic and structural designs Wallace Church developed for Gillette's Mach3 razor. Addressing an audience interested in consumer branding, Wallace described how Mach3 generated more than $2.5 billion dollars in revenue and captured more than 20% of the razor category. In demonstrating how his firm's solution helped the client achieve measurable goals, he made a personal connection with the members of his audience. The presentation generated a lively discussion-and it sparked serious professional relationships. "In this business," Wallace says, "You've got to know your topic inside and out, and speak from the heart."
  
  
• Mix and mingle. During breaks, interact with as many attendees as you can-they may become clients. Learn two important facts about each person you meet, then move on to talk with other potentially meaningful contacts. Take advantage of the opportunity to learn. "If it's an industry gathering," Selame says, "talk to people and learn about their concerns and interests so you're better prepared when you pitch a client in that industry."
  
  
• Don't forget to follow up. After the presentation, make notes regarding what was and wasn't effective. Contact the conference producer to request a letter of reference and evaluations. This is your best source for feedback to improve your next presentation. For the following year's event, catalog all pertinent data and set a reminder to submit your credentials. Most important, prioritize the potential new-business contacts you made and follow up as soon as possible.

Integrate Speaking Into Your Marketing Plan

Speaking can become an integral part of your marketing mix. Implement and follow a speaking plan as consistently as you do a marketing plan, focus on your goals and objectives and go at your own pace.

An added benefit of speaking is the accumulated set of contacts. Information about prospects you've met at each event becomes part of your firm's marketing database.

Expanding your marketing plan to include speaking is most cost-effective if you have a strong PR program in place. Because many publications sponsor conferences, established relationships with the media foster speaking engagements. The editor who already knows your firm can facilitate your involvement in the event his magazine sponsors. Distribute press releases to editors of related industry publications to communicate the news that your firm is a key participant in an upcoming conference. "This is a second opportunity to reach your prospects," Selame says. "Your name becomes familiar within the industry."

As you continue to build your speaking schedule, focus on your topic and keep abreast of everything related to it; you need to be prepared to field questions from your audience. Attend workshops and hear other speakers on similar subjects. You'll need to continue to manage your placement efforts and further tweak your presentation, but the process will begin to move like a well-oiled machine. You'll have proposals accepted for national and international events. You'll be invited to speak because your reputation precedes you.

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8 Tips to Soliciting Speaking Engagements

1. Set goals and objectives. How many engagements do you plan to schedule a year? Perhaps six throughout the year or one per quarter.

2. Choose a hot topic. Consider the major challenges your audience faces and offer innovative solutions.

3. Create a speaking credentials kit. This includes: a customized letter; speaker's credentials, bio and photo; firm's credentials, capabilities, contact information and relevant case studies; presentation description; titles and topics or outline.

4. Determine your focus. Ask yourself: Who is your target? What kinds of events are you interested in? Be consistent with the principles you identified in your marketing plan.

5. Develop a database. Research prospective speaking opportunities. Identify key decision-makers and their criteria and lead time for making speaker decisions.

6. Identify your target list. Qualify prospects and contact them to discern if they fall within your marketing plan. Learn pertinent information for your submission.

7. Submit proposals. Present your credentials as you would pitch new business. Discuss how your firm's solution to a particular problem fits with the attendees' interests.

8. Follow up. Touch base periodically with the conference producer to check the status of your proposal and cement your reputation as a dependable resource.

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Speaking Focus: Words of Wisdom

• Give your presentation a sexy title, one that reflects a current issue that your audience needs to learn more about.
  
  
• Showcase studies that present challenging problems and out-of-the-box solutions.
  
  
• Use only professional-quality visuals.
  
  
• When you share the podium with other experts, present your credentials so the audience recognizes your expertise as well.
  
  
• Use speaking opportunities to share your unique insight and methodology, which differentiates your firm from its competitors.
  
  
• Educate but don't forget to entertain your audience.
  
  
• Focus on your firm's area of specialization. Share a success story, and demonstrate how your solution helped your clients achieve measurable results.

About the Author

Jennifer Lieberman is a public-relations associate with Design Management Resources, a national network of marketing and PR professionals that works exclusively with design firms. www.DesignManagementResources.com

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