Marketing Best Practices

Public Speaking
A Great Way To Market Your Business
By Dale W. Hutchings
Published: November / December 2008

Whether you are just starting out or have been in business for years, if you are looking for an easy, inexpensive, market-focused (and perhaps even a revenue-generating) strategy to promote your business, think about public speaking. Yes, I know for some of you the idea of speaking in public is more frightening than imagining a rat in your bed, but this is something you can overcome. (I should know, I was one of those people.) Still not sold on the idea? Read on. Here are several really good reasons why public speaking can be a great way to promote your business:

1. It’s An Excellent Way To Demonstrate Your Expertise. Talking about your profession, or the products and services you offer, will greatly enhance your credibility and position you as a expert in your field for potential customers.

2. It’s An Easy Marketing Strategy To Implement. Basically, all you have to do is develop an educational talk/presentation you want to give; rehearse the speech a few times so you remember whatever facts, figures and examples you want to stress; and then get on the phone and start calling various organizations to schedule a talk before their membership. Numerous professional, business and civic organizations (Rotary, Kiwanis, Lions, etc.) are always looking for speakers. If you do a little digging, you will soon find that the opportunities to speak in public are endless.

3. It’s A Great Method For Helping To Brand Your Business. Regular public speaking gives you tremendous visibility and stronger name recognition over time. Set your sights on a presentation that presents a problem for the audience and then give them suggested solutions to the problem by using your products or services. But don’t stop there. Always provide the audience with a handout in support of your educational presentation. Give them something to walk away with to remember your recommendations and also you. (A simple notation at the bottom of the handout noting who is responsible for the information provided will achieve this.)

4. It’s A Wonderful Way To Build A Team To Market Your Business. In consulting with clients, I encourage many of them to pursue “Team Marketing.” TM is a concept whereby people of various professions that complement one another come together as a team to help one another in marketing their individual businesses. One such initiative I often suggest is doing a seminar or educational symposium together that will mutually benefit all of them. For such a function, it is the responsibility of everyone in the group to present a short talk about some aspect of their business or field that would be of interest to the audience. This teamwork offers many benefits, one of the most important being a sense of trust and understanding among group members that can lead to other marketing efforts to further benefit everyone on the team.

5. It Can Be An Excellent Means To Additional Income. Many companies, educational institutions and business associations regularly seek and hire speakers for conferences and other functions and pay them well for their talks. Do not take the flattering comments lightly when you have given a number of talks and are praised and have even heard, “You are a very good public speaker.. so good, in fact, I would pay to hear you speak.” Or, if you have been giving free seminars for some time and are getting great evaluations from your talks, maybe it’s time for you to start charging for your seminars. You don’t have to charge a lot of money. Even a half-day seminar for a small fee per person can generate substantial additional income over time.

6. It’s An Outstanding Way To Enhance Your Personal Growth & Have Fun. Public speaking is a skill many people fail to develop because they just cannot get beyond their fear. However, anyone who does public speaking on a regular basis will tell you the process of achieving this skill greatly builds self-confidence, not only in your ability to share information related to your products, services or profession, but in other aspects of your life. You will also, in time, come to look upon public speaking not as a task or challenge, but something you truly enjoy.

Sure, for many people being a good public speaker doesn’t come naturally. But that’s okay. There are various resources available to help you improve your speaking abilities and, yes, deal with your fears. For example, both the National Speakers Association and Toastmasters International offer you the opportunity to speak before groups, along with receiving constructive evaluations and unconditional support. These organizations also are great places to network and develop contacts. You also might want to consider enrolling in an acting and/or drama class through a local community college or adult education program. Either will help you tremendously in getting over your fears of speaking in public.

Dale W. Hutchings, APR, specializes in “out of the box” marketing and has more than 30 years of Public Relations, Marketing and Advertising experience. Known for his outstanding brainstorming ability, excellence as a copywriter and marketing consultant, he also speaks regularly to groups offering “how-to” information on various marketing issues. Dale has had his own practice since 2001. He can be reached at hutch7@verizon.net. 

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