How can you use speaking engagements to generate new leads?

1 Choose the right audience

Before you accept or pitch a speaking gig, make sure you know who will be listening to you and what their pain points, goals, and interests are. You want to speak to an audience that matches your ideal customer profile and has a high potential to buy your product or service. Research the event, the organizer, and the attendees to see if they fit your criteria and how you can tailor your message to them.

2 Provide value and insight

Your presentation should not be a sales pitch, but a valuable and insightful session that educates, entertains, and engages your audience. You want to demonstrate your authority and credibility on the topic, but also show how you can solve their problems or help them achieve their goals. Use stories, examples, and case studies to illustrate your points and make them relatable. Avoid jargon, technical terms, and acronyms that might confuse or alienate your listeners.

3 Include a clear call to action

At the end of your presentation, you want to give your audience a clear and compelling reason to take the next step with you. This could be signing up for your newsletter, downloading your ebook, booking a consultation, or requesting a demo. Whatever it is, make sure you have a clear and easy way for them to do it, such as a landing page, a QR code, or a text message. Also, make sure you communicate the benefits and urgency of taking action, and create some scarcity or exclusivity if possible.

4 Collect contact information

One of the main goals of speaking engagements is to generate new leads, so you need to collect the contact information of your audience. You can do this in several ways, such as asking them to fill out a feedback form, scan a QR code, text a keyword, or join a live poll. You can also offer them an incentive, such as a freebie, a discount, or a bonus, to encourage them to share their details. Make sure you have their permission to contact them and follow up with them later.

6 Track and measure your results

Finally, you want to track and measure the results of your speaking engagements and see how they contribute to your outside sales goals. You can use tools like CRM software, analytics platforms, or surveys to monitor how many leads you generated, how many of them converted into customers, and how much revenue you generated from them. You can also use feedback from your audience, your peers, and the event organizers to evaluate your performance and identify areas for improvement.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?