One inexpensive but effective marketing tactic that many consultants and service providers use is speaking in front of target audiences. They find that speaking engagements help them to build awareness of their business. Speaking has a lot of benefits:
- Opportunity to talk to a group of potential referrals and future clients
- Helps to establish you as an expert for your topic or field of interest
- More effective than just attending a meeting and networking
How do you get those speaking engagements? One way is by using a speaker sheet, which can be compared to a sell sheet or spec sheet for a product. A speaker sheet is also called a Speaker Fact Sheet or “One-Sheet“.
They are designed for meeting planners to quickly review information needed for booking the speaker. The speaker sheet should show how you are an expert in a certain area. It’s a sales tool to aid in getting speaking engagements.
I’ve included links to some examples of speaker sheets:
Commercial Embroidery Insurance Expert speaker sheet
Marketing Keynote and Workshop speaker sheet
Customer Service speaker sheet
Overcoming Adversity speaker sheet
Just like a product sell sheet, the speaker sheet has a number of components. Speaker sheets typically include:
1) your photo
2) your contact info - phone, address, website, email etc
3) your speaking topics or workshop titles
4) testimonials from past speaking engagements
5) partial list of clients
6) books you’ve written
Are you creating your speaker sheet? Need help creating this marketing tool? Let me know. If you have a speaker sheet already, do you have the pdf link to your speaker sheet posted on your website?
Chris,
This is a great post! You and I talked about this two years ago, and I still haven’t done it. Thanks for the reminder, and thanks for the wonderful blog. Keep the great information flowing!
Rachel
Rachel:
Thanks so much for the comment. Yes, it takes a little while to pull together the information for creating a speaker sheet, but as you can imagine, it’s a very effective tool for marketing your speaking topics.
Chris
thanks Chris for a great post. I already have one but based on what I see here it needs some work
Ron
chris, I need this, I plan on doing some speaking engagements to help with revenue growth. I have a verbal for one in June and then will try for more. Thanks for the good infro
Ron:
No matter where you are in the “cycle” I guess there is already room for improvement. From what I can tell by your speeches, if your speaker sheet is 1/2 as good, it’s great!
Chris
Jim:
Best of luck to you with your speaking engagement in June. It’s always a little nerve racking getting ready for those things, but the more you do , the more you do… right?
Thanks for your comment!
Chris
Chris, this is great, and the first I have seen of it online. thank you.I do have my speaker sheet and businsess card on my website.
Thank you,
Robert Ward
Chris,
This is great info. One question though… how would you put one of these for some one just getting started, without a list of past presentations and prepared speeches?
Thanks,
Carl.
Carl:
This is a good question — everyone starts somewhere. Most people do a few speeches without having a speaker sheet. A local chamber of commerce, a guest speaker at a college course, a speaker at a toastmasters meeting — each one of these opportunities allows you to craft a speech, develop the opening, the title, the ending and of course your main points. It requires you create an introduction for your speech to be read by the person who introduces you.
While this seems simple to an experienced speaker, when you are just starting out, this can become the foundation of your speaking program.
A new speaker should list their speech title, a statement about their speech, what the audience should expect to learn, discover, consider and a a short bio of the speaker. Of course the contact information and any other credibility building information like white papers, articles, books or publications they have written.
A speaker sheet — just like any marketing materials — grows, changes and evolves over time. Hope that helps!
Chris
Branding & Marketing
Nice idea,
but for shy people like me it is a difficult way even to speak infront of someone….
but yes good idea to prepare a sheet.
how do you get people to book you if you have not been published yet.
Thanks for your advice. I will kickstart my speaking career in 2011
I have been looking everywhere for this information! Thank you so much!
Tony:
Glad to help.
Chris
This is so helpful! I listened to a teleconference with an “expert” who said you have to have a 4-page brochure. I like this idea much better. Thanks for simplifying the process!
I hope to meet you at one of Norma’s events eventually!
Thanks,
Tammy
Chris,
Hello, if you would could you command on my website for me/
Do you know anything about keywords too?
Thank you,
Robert Ward
This is really awesome and inspiring. Im writing mine right NOW! Im an expert professional speaker in the area of purpose discovery and delivery, leadership, relationship, business/money making. This sheet idea will be of immense help to me. TNX A MILLION!
Robert - I’m not sure what you mean by “command on my website” Did you want to link your speaker sheet to a keyword on your website? Please explain a little more, thanks! Chris
Glad that this is helpful.
Your short “video” did well with my internet connection. How did you do it? Many of the others go in fits and jerks every three seconds or so. I will call but only on the video did I find your number.
DJH
This is a great idea. I have been looking for ways to get more speaking engagements. Thanks for the idea.
Hi Chris:
I love your speaker sheets. I would love one made. How do I go about getting your help to make one? Thanks.
Rosa Robinson