What would it be like if you had an army of decision makers out there marketing for you? For most speakers, it takes decades to grow those relationships, and at Speaker Sales Systems, we’re all about shortening the learning curve. We asked: Why does it take decades to get folks promoting a speaker to their friends?
The reason it takes decades to develop that kind of organic marketing force is because folks are busy and speakers are only one of 100 decisions they have to make.
How do we get decision makers to advocate for us not just when it’s convenient for them, but when we need them?
(If you’re looking for 1:1 assistance with building an army to market your speaking business, apply by clicking here and we’ll personally walk you through what’s working and what isn’t.)
Testimonials.
Testimonials are one of the longest standing marketing tactics in any business, but especially in the speaking industry.
So how can we as speakers provide tangible value to our business by creating valuable testimonials?
Creating Valuable Video Testimonials
Robert Cialdini once said that the reason we don’t want to read our own introduction as a speaker is because no one will believe how awesome we are if it is coming out of our own mouths.
Video content is one of our premier sources decision makers -or anyone, for that matter- consume when it comes to content. To turn every decision maker we serve into an advocate for our business, speakers can create a mini reel using video footage and post-keynote interviews with those decision makers.
Notice we’re not advocating you to interview audience members. Decision makers will appreciate an audience member saying how great your talk was, but when one of their peers – another decision maker – says ‘This was awesome!’, it gets attention in a different way.
To do create these kinds of high-level commercials for what you do, find the person who hired you after you step off stage and in a quiet area, ask those decision makers for a 30-45 second interview with their name, job title, why they chose us to speak and what they’d tell another decision maker who’s thinking of hiring us.
After we have the video edited, we organize them into industry verticals so testimonials are easier for us to access when we are moving forward in the sales process with future prospects.
Decision makers want to hear from their peers so they can mitigate risk. Creating the right content with the right people and putting in the right place is the key to success.
BONUS Insight: No More YouTube
YouTube is great for a lot of things, especially cat videos. But YouTube is not the best resource for speakers to host videos they’re leveraging in sales campaigns.
By creating a parentless page for each testimonial video on our websites, we can direct any visitor with a link in an email to plenty of video testimonials, as well as a call to action on how to book with us for their next engagement… all at no risk of them being distracted by a piano-playing feline!
Do This Now:
- Head out to Amazon and purchase a small, handheld camera and begin creating your library of video testimonials. Start by recording yourself as you’re speaking on stage, then grab the camera and approach decision makers about a testimonial while their audience’s applause is still ringing in their ears.
- Don’t be afraid to approach decision makers to ask for a few minutes of their time in order to help you build your brand. People are much more willing to help you than you realize.
- Follow up with thank you cards or small gifts to the decision maker that brought you in – and provided a great testimonial for you to leverage whenever it will help in your sales system.
If you’re ready to begin building the systems that build speaking businesses, we’re offering a free speaker sales masterclass beginning soon: