Speaking engagements can be a great way for agency owners to connect with their sweet spot prospects and be immediately perceived as a subject matter expert. Wanting to book speaking gigs and being successful at making that happen are two very different things. Even if you have some speaking engagements under your belt, getting chosen by a conference planner is another challenge to navigate.

Even seasoned pros must keep their eyes on the prize. I have always used speaking as one of my primary biz dev strategies (for both my agency and AMI) but I learned early on that it’s easy to get discouraged, distracted, or dismissed if you don’t have a smart strategy in place.

How do you build a speaking strategy that serves your agency business development objectives?
In episode #192, I talk with Steve Markman, who offers some hard-earned, straightforward advice on preparing a speaker proposal and getting it noticed by decision-makers. We also talk about how to determine whether a particular speaking opportunity is the right strategic move. We even tackle the age-old question of “should I speak for free?”

We’ll dig into all the nitty-gritty details of how to take full advantage of the right speaking platforms and when to stay home.

Steve Markman started Markman Speaker Management, LLC in 1994. It’s a speaker’s bureau with access to an international network of speakers in all fields and industries. He also coaches business owners and professionals on how to best speak for the right reasons to the right audiences.

Steve has over 30 years of experience in the conference, event, and speaker business, working with groups like the Conference Board and Society of Professional Consultants. Having been a conference producer working with some of the world’s largest events, Steve understands the importance of quality speaking engagements from both the speaker and conference planner perspectives.

What You Will Learn in this Episode:

The key components of a speaker proposal
How to respond to a call for speakers
How to ensure the audience is your target market
How to establish a connection with the conference organizer
The difference between formal and informal speaker submissions
Best practices for organizing your conference presentation
How to measure the value of presenting, even if need to pay your own expenses
How many speaking engagements is too many

Ways to Contact Steve Markman:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stevemarkman/
Email: smarkman@markmanspeaker.com
Get More Speaking Engagements: https://www.markmanspeaker.com/staff-training.html
Website: https://www.markmanspeaker.com/

EP 192: Speaking engagements for agency biz dev with Steve Markman

Build a Better Agency Podcast