Take to the stage: how public speaking can take your agency that one step further
John Scarrott discusses the reasons why agency owners need to step up and take to the stage...
I spend a lot of time listening. I listen to people running agencies talk about their challenges. A topic that gets mentioned over and over, which never gets old, is how to start conversations that lead to new business. The repeated comments are 'there are fewer briefs out there' and 'we tend to get work by word of mouth or referral.'
Do you recognise either of these situations in your world?
When you think about them, is it obvious to you which is a problem and which is an opportunity? When I talk to agencies, it seems that the answer is not entirely clear. In each situation there seem to be both problems and opportunities.
'There are fewer briefs out there' This is could be viewed as a problem, in the sense that it means there is less work out there. Or it could be an opportunity for agencies to shape the brief and avoid a highly competitive pitch process.
'We tend to get work word of mouth' This could be seen as a benefit, in the sense of a potentially lower ‘cost of sale’. Or it could be a problem, in the sense that the work secured is not always the work an agency wants to be doing.
On the other hand, if an agency has a public speaking strategy and the skills to deliver it, they are in a great position to start a conversation and have doors opened for them. And they are in a better position to manage their word of mouth to get the referrals they want.
Here are the 3 key reasons why public speaking works to break the above cycle of push-pull. If you are already using public speaking then I have added a further reason around why it is important to set some goals to chart your progress.
Puts you in front of an ‘open’ audience
When you speak you have been invited into a room where your audience have positively decided to put themselves. They have pushed on the door of the event because they on some level they believe that some aspect of the event will be useful to them. This means that they have opted in and are open and receptive to learning something new.
Puts you in front of a prequalified audience
Provided the event is well organised and promoted and the themes are well researched, the attendees will come along with a specific idea in mind of what they want to hear about. And behind that idea lurks an issue that they are trying to tackle that is connected to the rest of their business. They may also be looking to network a little with their peers. Make some new connections. Start some new relationships.
Builds trust
Speaker slots are a scarce commodity. And the conference organiser needs to make the right choice when selecting their speakers. Therefore if a speaking strategy is successful, and you are chosen to speak, you are having trust conferred upon you. Your expertise is being implicitly endorsed by the organiser of the event.
Reaching for the next rung
If you’re already speaking, are you on an upward trajectory? What is your next step? Speaking should be about growth and development, not about repeating the same stuff to the same audience in the same way. You’ll get bored and so will they. So once you’ve got your first engagement done and dusted, come up with a plan that escalates in some way. It might go from domestic to European to international. It might go from 50 to 100 to 500 people in the room. It might go from 30 minutes to an hour to a 90-minute interactive workshop. It might go from lecturn and slides to a free standing TED type lecture.
Next month I’ll be speaking at the Drum Network Chapter event in London and Bristol 'Clients Who Don't Pay The Bills & How Public Speaking Can Raise Your Agency's Profile' on the subject of taking the stage and why having a strategy for public speaking could be useful for an agency, when it comes to winning work.
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