By Steve Markman
Many organizations have recognized the value of holding
seminars at which their executives make presentations. However, more often
than not, the attendance is limited to existing customers or clients.
Companies who wish to show their expertise and technologies to prospective
customers and clients should take steps to have their executives speak
at public forums—conferences and seminars held by independent event
organizations, associations, professional and industry trade groups, academic
institutions and think tanks.
Speaking at public forums brings in new business by
bringing 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:
1. Attendees learn about a firm’s expertise
firsthand. They can interact directly with the speaker immediately,
before or after the presentation. An attendee asking for a business card
can be the first step to obtaining a customer. Press coverage of the event
presents additional opportunities for exposure.
2. A company can gain increased visibility
in targeted vertical/industry sectors or broad-based areas. This can
be an established line of business where the firm speaks from a position
of strength and is known as a “go-to” firm for a particular
area. Conversely, presentations can cover an area that is just getting
off the ground or at an early stage in its development and needs fast
exposure to a potential market
3. The company’s and speaker’s name
gain wide exposure by appearing in the event’s agenda, brochures
and promotional announcements that are mailed or e-mailed by event organizers.
Here are some steps an organization can take to develop
an effective speaker placement program for its executives:
1. Decide which product or service area(s)
the firm should target for increased visibility. Make sure that there
are executives in those areas committed to the idea of making public presentations.
Some will resist the idea of taking time away from other business activities,
so make sure that you have their full support.
2. Get the right speaker on board. Proposed
speakers should be experienced executives and, preferably, experienced
speakers. Small-to-medium-sized organizations should nominate their CEO
or other senior executive. Large organizations can also nominate staff
at the director or manager level, depending on the criteria of the speaking
opportunity.
3. Speak to the right audience. Thoroughly
research the events for which representatives of your firm can be proposed
as speakers, as solo presenters or as panelists. There are so many events
taking place on so many topics, frequently simultaneously, that you’ll
need to choose carefully in order to maximize the time and expense associated
with speaking. Identify speaking engagements whose audience represents
the customers and industries your organization wants to reach.
4. Develop a proactive speaker placement program.
It’s fine to evaluate unsolicited speaking opportunities. However,
having someone dedicated to the task who will aggressively identify opportunities,
develop relationships with event organizers and write and submit speaker
proposals, should lead to an increase in the frequency of speaking engagements
and thus increased visibility for the executives participating and the
firm as a whole.
5. Decide on the geographic area you want
to target—locally, regionally, nationally or even internationally.
There are hundreds of speaking opportunities worldwide, every year.
6. Create high-impact presentations. Audiences
want to acquire actionable information they can take back to their organizations.
They don’t want to hear that your firm is the leading firm in this
or that subject area. A solid, informative presentation that covers applications
or technologies and is not produc-t or company-specific will create instant
credibility and obviate the need for a “sales pitch.” A presentation
that turns out to be a sales pitch will ensure low evaluations by the
audience and a one-way ticket home from the conference organizer. The
speaker who gives a sales pitch is duly noted and rarely invited back,
oftentimes tainting the entire company in the eyes of the event organizer.
7. Learn the process for submitting a speaker
proposal to the event organizer—follow the format established
by the organizer for writing a presentation abstract, submitting bios
and speaker expertise, previous speaking experience information and, of
course, meeting the proposal deadline date. Make sure you tailor the abstract
and the bio to each speaking opportunity so that they fit the objectives
of the organizer.
8. Follow up continuously and persistently
with the event organizer to help your company stay above the noise, since
you may be competing with several other companies for the same speaking
slot.
Steve Markman is President of Conference Management & Marketing,
a Needham, Mass.-based speaker placement and conference development firm.
He can be reached at (781) 444-7500 or by e-mail at: smarkman@confspeakers.com
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