Brian Tracy says the single most powerful action a speaker can take is confidently asking for the work. He built his speaking career on free talks to gain credibility, then collected testimonials because 85% or more of speakers get hired through recommendations. Direct outreach beats broad advertising.
More than 30 years.
85% or more.
July 5, 2016.
The future belongs to people who confidently ask for what they want. Hi, I'm Brian Tracy, and today I want to talk with you about how to book speaking engagements. I've been a professional speaker working in this field for more than 30 years. Professional speakers have one central focus. It's how many bookings they have on their schedule. How many speeches do they have planned and paid for. We're always thinking in terms of how to get more speaking engagements. That's our central focus. That's our business. Now, the most powerful word in getting speaking engagements is the word ask. The future belongs to the askers. The future belongs to people who confidently ask for what they want. And especially to speak to a company or organization. You can call them up and explain that you specialize in this subject and that you love to speak to their organization. Ask them for the opportunity. Ask them for more information about what they do. Ask them if they use speakers and when they will next be using the speaker again. The more you ask, the more answers you get. When I began my speaking career, I advertised my seminars in every possible way. Radio, television, newspapers, and even billboards, if you can imagine, and direct mail by the thousands of pieces to various businesses. And I did that until I was broke. I used to joke that when I started off in professional speaking, I learned how to sell again. I sold my house, I sold my car, I sold my furniture. I sold nearly everything trying to buy business with public advertising. What I learned is that you cannot get speaking engagements or even seminar attendees by simply advertising. Finally, when I had no more money, I picked up the telephone and got a hold of decision makers and made appointments. Then I went out and made presentations and sold people into hiring me by asking them to come to my seminars that started to transform my speaking career. So when you ask, be sure that you have an offering in terms of your message that people want and need and are willing to pay for. The most important reason why people attend a seminar is for personal and professional improvement. To be able to do something at a far higher and better level than before that justifies the time and money that they spend on the seminar. Some people want to talk on a particular subject, but it's not important to others because it doesn't lead to immediate and substantial improvement. I found at a very early age that the most powerful subject that I could speak on was selling. Since I had many years of experience in selling and I had read 20 or 30 books on the subject, I combined everything I had learned and put together seminar programs and audio programs that became the Best selling books and programs on selling in the world. It was because that's what people wanted, needed and were willing to pay for. When I started, I would often ask them if I could speak for free or at minimum cost to get experience and credibility. Sometimes if they don't know you and you don't have a reputation, you have to kiss a lot of horny toads before you meet the handsome prince. You have to give a lot of free talks before you can get paid talks. Now, 85% or more of all speakers are hired because someone else recommended them. Someone who heard them speak said, this is a great speaker. When we began, it was before the Internet and we would use a full sheet of paper full of positive comments. We would contact 20 or 30 people who had been to the seminar and ask them to say something nice about Brian. Now we get audio, quotes and even better video testimonials which we run on our website. The more people who can say that you did a great job when you spoke somewhere else, the faster and easier it is for them to hire you and for other people to hire you as well. Remember that giving a great talk or a seminar is the best advertising. There is nothing that ultimately replaces what is on the plate. I used to work for a restaurant chain and they said that the key to success was what's on the plate. It's not the surroundings or the advertising, but the food on the plate that determines whether people come back to the restaurant. The food on your plate is a really great, high content talk delivered with warmth and energy that causes people to say, boy, this is a great talk. The first questions that a prospective client asks are, who else has heard you speak and what do they say about you? Be sure that you've got a good answer for this question. When you're given a speech or a talk, stay around and offer to speak again to others, maybe even on different subjects. It's amazing how much business comes when you stay around and have coffee and talk to people. Sometimes this will cause people to ask you to come and speak to their organizations. Many speakers have developed this to the point that they get two bookings from every talk they give. In the course of their talk, they'll say, by the way, I give variations of this talk to different organizations in different industries with different problems. People will come up to them afterwards and tell them about their business and ask if their talk would be helpful to them. These are all things you can do to get bookings as a professional speaker. Before we wrap up, I have a thought for you to share with your friends and followers, it is that the future belongs to people who confidently ask for what they want. Now. I'd love to hear from you. So my question today is what tips do you have that may help others to book speaking engagements? Leave a comment below and I'll be sure to catch up with you. Thanks for watching. And remember, if you want to change your future, take action. And take action now. For more information on how to book speaking engagements, Download my free PDF 8 tips to get your name out there as a public speaker by clicking the link on the screen or in the description.
