Speak For Free? No. Yes. And No.

I hear a lot of BUNK about speaking for free.

This is the bane of my existence - tribal knowledge of incomplete strategies, partially true myths, and pure falsehoods passed down from one generation of speakers and experts to the next. 

Let me explain… 

Here’s what I’ve heard in sessions and in the hallways of NSA: 

• You haven’t earned the right to charge a fee until you’ve done 500 talks for free
• Your best marketing is your speech - whether you do it for free or fee
• The more free speaking you do, the more clients will know, like, trust, and hire you
• The era of paid speaking is over. Now it’s all about speaking to sell your other services because why get a $5,000 fee when you can sell $25,000 from a free speech?
• If you’re not willing to speak for free, you’ll never get any traction in this business
• I spoke 45 times last year, mostly for free, and I’m glad I did because that’s how I got good at speaking 

I almost don’t know where to begin, but let me give it a shot… 

• Imagine a house painter saying “you haven’t earned the right to charge for painting houses until you’ve painted 500 houses for free.” BOOM.
• Your speech is a product. Marketing and sales outreach is how you earn a living.
• The more free speaking you do, the more free speaking you’ll get. You’ll never get out of low-fee, no-fee jail. OUCH.
• Speak to sell is a broken model. I like “Speak AND Sell.” Get paid to speak AND offer your other investable opportunities to help your clients and audiences long-term. 
• If you’re not willing to charge a competitive “going-rate” fee out of the gate (which is $4,500 and up) then you’ll never be taken seriously as a high-value expert. YIKES.
• You don’t “get good at speaking” in front of a live audience any more than a concert violinist gets good at the violin by playing in the Philharmonic. Professionals practice, get coaching, and improve in private, not in front of live audiences!

I love speaking for free. 

I do it all the time. 

I recommend YOU do it all the time. 

With one word added to that sentence… 

STRATEGICALLY. 

Speaking for free is terrific if you’ve selected that conference, association, or group specifically because you have STRONG evidence that your next 3-5 paying clients are hiding in that audience. 

My problem is not with speaking for free. Never has been and never will be. 

My problem is when you speak for free for NO REASON - no fee, no leads, no prospects, no clients, and no sales. 

Ready to escape the low-fee, no-fee trap?

Find a time on the calendar that works for you and we’ll schedule your breakthrough session to see how we can help you right now:

www.doitmarketing.com/call  

Getting paid to speak? Great! Getting paid because you spoke? Awesome. Getting paid to speak to a profit-rich audience AND selling additional services, products, and programs? Better still. Want to do more of all three? Book your call right now