Make Marketing Suck Less

The Nuts & Bolts of Becoming a Sought-After Speaker

If you’ve read last week’s post, you’ve taken the first step of becoming a sought-after speaker by proclaiming:

I AM A SPEAKER. (say it loud and proud).

You’ve started to make decisions like a speaker, writing a signature talk (or refining your talk) like a speaker, and knowing your conditions so that you’re successful on stage as a speaker.

And now there’s a gap. There’s a gap between where you are right now with your new identity as a speaker and accomplishing your goal of being a sought-after speaker.

Let’s start closing that gap by first defining what sought-after looks like.

What does it mean to be a sought-after speaker?

I posed this question in The Rebel Speaker Facebook group, and some of the same themes emerged:

• Speaking opportunities land in your inbox (and you don’t have to pitch for them all the time)
• Your schedule is booked with gigs
• You’re the speaker that they want when they think of your topic
• You’re paid (and paid well) for every speaking opportunity
• You’re asked to speak at prestigious gigs (think TED)

Sought-after is a quest and none of us start with this status. You have a choice right now at this moment to take the first step OR to stay at home eating Oreos.

While Oreos are delicious, what’s even more delectable is getting your message into the heads and the hearts of the people who need it most.

So ditch the Oreos, and let’s start this quest to close the gap.

Decide on your message

This step should be a quick stop on your path, but for some of you, it’s one giant roadblock that is holding you back on this path.

I’ve talked many aspiring speakers who tell me “I want to work with you when I’ve got my message figured out.”

If you’ve got a general topic area, guess what? You are ready to work with me AND you’ve decided on your message.

Your core message is a simple message. It’s obvious. Don’t over complicate it. It’s typically one or two words that describe the area of expertise that you already have!

My core message is speaking

Danielle LaPorte’s is desire.

Elizabeth Gilbert’s is creativity.

Brene Brown’s is vulnerability and shame.

What’s yours?

(A note to my multi-passionate, multi-potentialité friends whom I adore.: pick an area that you most want to focus on. Yes, you can have multiple interests, but to get momentum speaking it’s important to pick one area. You can add more later. Right now, let’s keep moving).

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Write a signature talk focused around your core message

A speaker without a signature talk is like a cyclist with no bike. You can’t be a cyclist without a bicycle, and you’re not a speaker without a speech.

Let’s get you a speech. This is the part of the journey where people hesitate the most. Writing this signature massage is where your identity as a speaker fully develops.

I’m not going to focus on the how-to’s of writing that talk (that’s what the Rebel Speaker Bootcamp is for), but you need to have one to create a sought-after speaking career. Instead, let’s focus on what is it like once you have this talk?

You’re always prepared to speak. Outside of a few customizations for each gig, you’ll save loads to time preparing and you’re always ready to step on stage and speak.

Your confidence skyrockets. You’ll know what parts the audience will laugh at, cheer for or give you a giant aww over. Ultimately, you know your audience will love the speech and they get results from your speech.

Speaking gigs come your way.  When I gave my signature talk a few weeks ago, the organizer of the event said “Who do you want to be introduced to? Other chapters need to hear your message!”

You’ll love your speech. Your signature talk must be a joy for you to give and an expression of who you are and what you want to be known for. When you love your talk and know that audiences love your talk, even more, you’ll  be ready to take action and make the next step happen.

It’s time for hustle with heart

Why most people want to be a sought-after speaker is so that they don’t have to hustle so hard for each speaking gig. All the pitching, all the proposal writing, and speaker applications are a ton of hard work.

I’d love to tell you that you can skip this step on your quest to sought-after. However, in the beginning, we all have to hustle with heart because the dirty truth about speaking is:

The best way to land speaking gigs is by speaking.

You’ve got this! What makes the hustle worth it and what makes you confident pitching your speech is when you know you’ve got a signature talk that rocks.

You believe in your talk. You believe in you. You’re a speaker no matter what.

So get out there and hustle. Pitch your talk. Tell everyone you know that you are a speaker who speaks on X. Don’t be shy.

When you’ve got a message and a talk you love, you’re days of pitching are numbered.

I promise.

Want to make the leap from speaking to being the in-demand, go-to speaker in your field? It all begins with the Get the Speech – Get the Gig Challenge. 5 days, 5 actions to propel your speak journey forward so you too can be sought-after.