Professional speakers must learn how to market themselves. It’s not enough just being able speak in front of an audience or lead a seminar. To survive in a tough business you need to know how to sell yourself to meeting planners and conference organizers. This means you’ll need a message that must stand out from the other pro speakers (or Rise Above the Noise as Joel at Hyde Park Associates says). Your message must have an element of intrigue, the emotional appeal to grab the meeting planners interest (even if you present to the pocket-protector and short-sleeved-shirt triple-e crowd) and, finally, you must state up-front the benefits you bring as a speaker.

This was the focus of Saturday’s July meeting of the NSA/NC Pro-Track class. Those of us who made it to class (there was a smaller crowd than usual– some were still celebrating Italy’s World Cup win, others were celebrating summer) were given a grand tour of business branding and marketing — from typography to television shows, business cards to blogs.

The core of the day was a review of the single page brochures we’d created to advertise our businesses – commonly called “One Sheets”. It was a sobering experience seeing our original effort torn to pieces and re-cast. My own before and after versions show some of the results – a greater focus on benefits that answer the questions every person who reads it will have at the back of their mind (“Why should I hire this guy?” “What’s in it for me?” “So what?”).

People don’t want to know your name until they know what you have to offer. As with any good marketing, the content should not be about YOU as much as the effect your presentation will have on the audience – what they’ll do differently after they hear you speak.

This deconstruction was ably initiated by graphics designer extraordinaire:

Nancy Webb

Nancy (a graduate of last years Pro-Track) is a graphics designer who teaches small businesspeople how to improve the quality of their own visual communications materials. She is expert on ways to create a Visual Business Identity that carries into the consistent, professional design of the businesses “paper handshake” – letterhead, business cards, mailing labels – in terms of color, typeface, font and paper. One that is appropriate to the market and industry yet unique enough to stand out.

Some important rules:

The results Nancy’s clients have produced – often on their own, following her one-day seminar – are astounding. Stellar examples include Lee Glickstein’s Speaking Circles and Dane Parente’s Image Development and Management (see her IDMI logo). Note that Nancy does not do web sites – the printed matter from these companies is far more impressive than the websites alone.

Nancy was joined by:

Nan Andrews Amish

in a strategic and design review of our One Sheets. As mentioned, this was effective in taking often self-centered content and re-casting as customer-centric benefits. Simply put, state what the clients pain is, state how they will gain from hiring you and say what qualifies you to be able to claim to offer a solution.

The day closed with our host and senior NSA member:

Michael Lee

reviewing effective marketing. Requirement: a clear defining statement

I work with _____________ who want to ___________ and ____________.

I came up with a couple of versions. In general terms:

I work with successful businesspeople who want to embrace opportunities for overseas expansion.

More specifically (for certain clients)

I work with Australian companies who want to do business in Silicon Valley and need to craft a presentation to VC’s.

Or:

I work with middle managers who want to effectively manage overseas teams and need to motivate staff from different cultural backgrounds.

Other tips include:

This Friday I’m traveling to the NSA Orlando Convention where I’ll be “live blogging” from the convention floor on the presentations, seminars and workshops being given by some of the world’s top professional speakers. Should be an interesting four days.