Tag: public speaking

How to Talk Your Way Into Becoming a Recognized Expert, Part 2 of 2

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I speak to bar associations big and small all over the country every year, and I can’t remember ever not having attorneys seek me out after the event to ask me how I could help them. In fact, some of my biggest clients have come to me that way. So I feel confident in telling you that nearly every time you speak, if you do it right, you can generate business as well as enhance your reputation as a recognized expert in your field of practice.

Of course, doing it right means following up.  In fact, the number one reason why people who speak at events don’t get the results they are after is because of their follow up — or more precisely, their lack thereof.

public speaking expert conferencesYou must develop your follow up strategy before you speak. So what kind of follow up works? Let me give you an example of what I am talking about.

Let’s say you want to follow up your presentation with a series of emails. So you would send out email #1 within 24 hours after the seminar, thank them for attending and perhaps even offer a free gift or a free report. The free gift could be a free half hour consultation where you will give them an assessment of their case or how you could help them. Or you might offer them a free audio CD.

If you choose to follow up by telephone, this is something you yourself should not be doing. It is something to outsource to your staff, but essentially they would be doing the same thing as in the email, thanking them for coming and offering a free consultation.

If you use this kind of strategy every time you speak, you will get much better results from your presentations – building your reputation as a recognized expert and getting new clients at the same time.

Article by:

Stephen Fairley

Of:

The Rainmaker Institute

How to Talk Your Way Into Becoming a Recognized Expert, Part 1 of 2

The Rainmaker Institute mini logo (1)

 

For those of you who have done some speaking in seminars and presentations, you know that sometimes you are doing great, you have the rapt attention of the audience and it goes really well. Other times, it may feel as if you bombed, you just weren’t making a connection.

One of the reasons why that may happen is because you didn’t have the right group. If an organization asks you to speak, you need to make sure you are in front of the right people. Find out:

  • The number of people expected to attend
  • The demographic profile of the audience
  • A list of topics from previous presentations

The more you know about the group, the better you will be able to tailor your presentation, and you must avoid speaking to the wrong groups!

You should also remember that there are many different forms of speaking engagements. You could speak at a private client-only seminar where you invite a few of your clients or the clients of a referral partner. Or you could be part of a moderated panel discussion.

You can also utilize current technologies to host an online webinar or web conference where your PowerPoint presentation is what is seen on screen and you talk to your audience via a bridge conference call.

Next, your subject matter has to be educational. People do not want to hear legal jargon, they want practical, useful information without a sales pitch.  Now, I can hear most of you thinking that you don’t want to give away the store! I don’t want to give so much information that they can just go do it themselves!

Look, there MAY be some who would try to do that, but they are not your clients! You want to target the people who have the money to hire an attorney so that they don’t have to do it themselves. You don’t want the tire kickers or the do-it-yourself crowd because they will beat you up on your price anyway.

You have to make sure you are targeting the right audience. And if you give a good, educational presentation, the right people will seek you out after the seminar to ask questions, plus in most cases you will be able to get the attendees’ contact information so that you can be ready to contact them later. If it is not you who is sponsoring the presentation, ask them to capture the attendees’ email addresses whenever possible, because as you will see in tomorrow’s post, follow up is the secret ingredient.

Article by:

Stephen Fairley

Of:

The Rainmaker Institute