Mo shares his insights from the habits of Grant Baldwin.

• Speaking is an incredible way to simultaneously create and close business at the same time, either by going to where your ideal client already gathers or by organizing your own event. Both methods work well.
• If you’re trying to land a speaking gig for a big event or conference, you usually have to start a year in advance. You need to figure out who the decision makers are and get your name in front of them before they start looking for speakers. Learn what themes they want to emphasize for the following year and get into a dialogue with them so you can show them you can deliver on what they want to accomplish.
• Ideally, you want to be able to show why your unique perspective will solve their problem. If you can stay top-of-mind while they are writing out what they are looking for in a speaker, you’re going to win far more often.
• If you do the work up front and help them shape where the event is going, it will greatly increase the odds of your success.
• If your ideal client tends not to gather in a specific space then putting your own conference together can create great results. The first step is to find one or two partners and then look to work together with a university or non-profit. If you can combine someone known for their knowledge, someone known for their technology, and someone known for their research, you can create an incredible brand for your conference.
• This kind of event creates an incredible level of collaboration between you and your partners as well as for the people attending.
• Sometimes it’s best to start with a small, intimate group instead of a grand-scale event.
• When you’re speaking, you’re building a relationship with your audience at scale.
• There is a major difference between delivering a talk on your own and delivering it with a client. Not only is it an incredible relationship-building experience with that client, you are also able to change the mindset and expectation of the audience at the same time.
• One of the biggest benefits of speaking is the scale and efficiency of each presentation. Make your talk about whatever you would talk about in a one-on-one conversation. Don’t let the organizer determine the topic completely. Instead find win/wins that meet in the middle.
• People do what they rehearse in their mind. Ideally, you want people in your audience identifying with the stories you’re telling on the stage. At some point in the conversation, you make the next step as easy as possible.
• The goal is to have a speech that actually converts into a conversation with the people you want to talk to, either by making the offer directly in the presentation or by offering a more in-depth one-to-one discussion.

Mentioned in this Episode:

GrowBIGPlaybook.com

thespeakerlab.com