Now you’ll need to send your “Press Kit” page to those who might book you as a speaker. I’ve found that there is very little response if I send it without calling the person and having an engaging conversation with them. It’s not good enough to call and leave a message.
You’ll also want to make sure you have a video compilation of several speaking engagements on your home page. Make sure it’s no longer than five minutes.
If you’re not sure what might be a likely organization, ask for referrals to other speakers. Ask them to share their contacts with you. Look in the Sunday section of your local newspaper to see what organizations meet where and who the contact is for the group. You’ll find most Rotary, Lions, Kiwanis and Soroptimist groups post their meetings in the paper. You’ll also find women’s groups, associations and outplacement groups listed in most newspapers.
Fortunately you will also find a great number of groups, especially associations listed on the Internet. I typically search “association” and the various area codes in the area. Usually if you speak at an association monthly meeting, you’ll be in the running for the quarterly meetings and possibly pick upa large fee for the event.
Another resource is to attend the National Speaker’s Association meetings and collect One Sheets or business cards. They usually list their speaking events on them.
If you’d like to stand out among the crowd of speakers, create a CD business card. You would include a five minute audio excerpt from your speaking presentation. Make it easy for the event planner to know more about you and gain be confident that you will work well for them.