5 Ways to Make Your 'Free' Speaking Engagements Pay Off Big

Many people dream of being sought-after, highly paid speakers. But in today's education-based marketing environment, speaking for leads and business -- and not just for cash -- can be the best approach.

Getting up in front of a highly focused, interested group of prospects, and demonstrating for 45 minutes or so that you're not only a very likable person but you also know a lot about something they need, is the most effective form of lead generation and conversion all rolled into one.

So forget the paid speaking career for now, and start speaking for leads. Let's say you sell a pretty standard $5,000 SEO package. Would you be better off charging a sponsor group $2,500 to share your brilliance, or speaking for free and walking away with 20 hot prospects that eventually convert to 5 immediate service engagements? (I'll do the math -- that's $25,000) Any business, in any industry, can benefit from this approach.

There's an art to earning trust as a speaker, and you can kill that by turning your time on the stage into a sales pitch. Since you're not getting paid to speak, however, you still need to make sure you communicate a few key messages to your audience. Here are five tips to keep in mind to make your "free" speaking career pay off big.

1. Create More Than One Win

You can create your own workshop events, but one of my favorite strategies is to approach two potential groups and offer to present great information to their clients and networks at the same time. The key here is that you have a topic that is very hot and seen as very valuable.

This is not a sales presentation, it's an education and value-add tool. Approach your two partners with the idea that you'll present a great topic; they co-host the event and offer it to their customers. One of the most attractive aspects of this approach is that both hosts get to cross-promote to each other's attendees as part of the deal. You simply get referred in as the expert. (Every time you do this you will get asked to speak at an event one of the attendees is involved with, as well.)

2. Hold Your Value

Even though you are willing to do these events for free, you should still position yourself as a highly sought-after speaker. That means waiving your fee only if the sponsor permits you to elegantly reveal that there is a way for attendees to acquire your products and services, and that you will also be offering some free stuff in exchange for the contact information of those interested in your free stuff. Make it known that you have no intention of selling, merely informing.

This approach raises the value of your presentation and gets you the lead-generation opportunity that you need. Be aware, however, that this can be a deal breaker for you or the sponsor. If you over-promote, don't expect to get asked back; if they won't allow you to acquire leads, don't accept the invitation.

3. Educate to Build Trust

Don't be afraid to give away all of your secrets. Some folks suggest you should just tell attendees what they need, but not tell them how to get it done. I don't agree. If you tell them how, some may think they can do it themselves. Yet those who really want what you have will realize through your specific details, how-tos, and examples that you do indeed possess the knowledge and tools to help them get what they want. Educate, and you won't have to sell!

4. Fill the Fishbowl

In some cases people will rush up to you after a thought-provoking presentation and ask how they can buy. But in case they don't, make sure you give attendees a valuable reason to share their contact information for you to follow up with them. You can offer them the slides to your presentation, a free resource guide related to your topic, or a more detailed report based on the topic in exchange for business cards. If you don't have this preplanned you'll find you won't get a second chance to wow these folks.

Of course, I hope it goes without saying that you should also have a follow-up process. Write a handwritten note, add them into a pre-written drip email campaign on the topic, or call them up after the event to measure their engagement.

5. Straightforward to Action

When I first started speaking in the manner I've described here, I would pour my heart out, mindful of not selling, and then come to the end -- and there would be this awkward moment when I knew people wanted to buy something, but I didn't have an offer. I quickly learned that didn't serve anyone involved very well.

If you provide great information and a clear road map to solve someone's problems, you'll often find them wanting you to reveal how they could take the next step. But here's the key: In that environment, attendees want a deal for acting right now. Not every audience or speaking engagement will present this opportunity, but I've found that in a straight free-speaking gig, where I've been given permission to introduce my products and services, the following three-step approach works well:

• Step One: Tell your audience right up front you're going to give them great information, but at the end you're also going to give them a special offer -- then just move on.

• Step Two: About halfway through, after you've built some trust, take a quick minute to reveal, for instance, a paid workshop or program you have coming up, tell them the full price, and go on.

• Step Three: At the end answer questions, make free offers, and, almost as an afterthought, agree to let them also bring a friend to the event you mentioned at the same price if they sign up today. (You've just made the event half price in their minds, turned them into recruiters, and given your potential attendees a valuable tool to offer to friends or colleagues.) So, all of a sudden, anyone considering the offer is now highly motivated by this compelling change of events. Don't hard-sell this, simply put it out there, and let people do the math. Don't risk tainting your wonderful information with a sales pitch, but don't leave those who want to buy without an option, either.

John Jantsch is a marketing consultant and author of Duct Tape Marketing and The Referral Engine and the founder of the Duct Tape Marketing Consultant Network.