by
Steve Markman
Markman Speaker Management
Marketing
and PR efforts should be in the forefront of your organization,
given today’s competitive business climate and challenging
economy.
Standing out from the crowd, regardless of your
organization’s industry, is a huge challenge. How can you best meet
this?
Many companies and organizations
have recognized the value of holding seminars at which their
executives make presentations. The problem with these
seminars is that, more often than not, the attendees are
existing customers, clients or individuals who are already
familiar with the firm.
Companies need to expose their expertise to prospective
customers and clients. What is a proven method of
accomplishing this objective? By speaking at public forums –
at conferences, seminars and forums held by independent
event organizations, associations, professional and industry
trade groups, and academic institutions and think tanks –
enormous exposure is created.
There is much evidence that speaking at public forums often
results in the attainment of business, by providing
increased awareness of the company in general and specific
subject areas in particular, to an audience of potential
customers or clients. Presentations about industry trends or
“how-to” talks can make a large impact on the audience.
Speaking opportunities for executives and managers represent
a strong marketing, public relations, and business
development tool for the following reasons:
1. Attendees get to learn about a firm’s
expertise firsthand and can interact directly with the
speaker immediately before or after the presentation.
2. Gaining increased visibility in
vertical/industry sectors or broad-based areas that the firm
has determined is in need of greater exposure.
3. The company gains “advertising” by
having its name and the executive speaker’s name published
in the agenda of thousands of brochures and promotional
announcements mailed or e-mailed by event organizers.
What should an organization be doing to get its executives
and managers out on the speaking circuit? Take the following
eight steps:
1. Decide which product or service area(s)
the firm should be targeting
for increased visibility.
2. Get the right speaker on board.
3. Speak to the right audience.
4. Develop a proactive speaker placement
program.
5. Decide on the geographic area to target
for speaking engagements
6. Create high-impact presentations.
7. Learn the process for submitting a
speaker proposal to the event organizer.
8. Follow up continuously and persistently
with the event organizer.
Even if speaking engagements are successfully attained, be
sure to maximize the engagement by ensuring that the
presentation has a shelf life. Always come armed with
“takeaways,” including handouts. You might also want to have
a colleague attend with the speaker, to take advantage of
the networking opportunities at an event.
Press releases,
either before or after a speaking engagement can attract
potential clients, especially when the release contains
information that demonstrates the firm’s expertise in a
particular area. And last but not least, bring business
cards … lots of business cards.
By developing an effective speaker placement program for you
or your organization, you will have taken a big step in
meeting its marketing, public relations, and business
development objectives.
Steve
Markman is President of
Markman
Speaker Management,
now in its 18th year and based
in Needham, MA. MSM is used by
corporate executives and
professional services to secure speaking
engagements as a
business development, marketing and PR tool.
Contact:
smarkman@markmanspeaker.com
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