From time to time as SmallBizLady, I conduct interviews with experts that could benefit my audience. This is excerpts from my #smallbizchat interview on Twitter with professional speaker Marquesa Pettway @speakertalk. Marquesa speaks in approximately 10 cities or states per month elevating and transforming audiences. Marquesa is a leader in Toastmasters, Iota Phi Lambda, and the National Speaker Association which gives her opportunities to help other speakers. If you are interested in building a career as a professional speaking her coaching website is www.NationalCenterSpeakerTraining.com. She also hosts a popular radio show http://www.blogtalkradio.com/speakertalk. I even worked with Marquesa years ago when I first started speaking professionally. She is an excellent resource.
SmallBizLady: Why is public speaking a great way to attract clients?
Marquesa Pettway: Public speaking allows you to reach a lot of potential clients at one time and build instant rapport.
SmallBizLady: What are the key attributes for being a successful speaker?
Marquesa Pettway: Understanding storytelling, if you can learn to be persuasive and be authentic, the audience will love you
SmallBizLady: What is the speaker platform?
Marquesa Pettway: The speaker platform is any opportunity you have to speak publicly about your expertise. If you have a speaking platform you are adding professional speaking to your business model. You are marketing yourself as a paid speaker.
SmallBizLady: Do I need to have a specific expertise to be successful speaker?
Marquesa Pettway: It’s important to be perceived as an n expert for the topic you choose to speak on, people buy from experts. Know everything you can about your expertise.
SmallBizLady: If speaking terrifies me, what should I do?
Marquesa Pettway: practice, practice, practice, start with toastmasters for support
SmallBizLady: Is it important to practice before attempting to do a presentation?
Marquesa Pettway: Absolutely you need to practice. Speaking is a real skill. You need to practice speaking in clear thoughts that people can grasp. Toastmasters is a great resource and doing free speeches is another good way to practice.
SmallBizLady: How often should I speak and should I charge?
Marquesa Pettway: Speak as often as you like, the more you speak, the better you become, the more you can charge.
SmallBizLady: What if I’m not getting paid, is it worth it?
Marquesa Pettway: Yes, you can get paid in other ways, quality recordings that can be used as demos, introductions to decision makers, back of the room sales, consulting and coaching opportunities, etc.
SmallBizLady: Is it ok to sell products or services from the platform? If so, how?
Marquesa Pettway: Yes, keep it short and make your sales pitch very simple, but remember you must deliver tons of value for free and do not oversell, it will turn the audience off. Make an irresistible offer that is only good for that presentation; sense of urgency and make it easy for audience participants to sign up.
SmallBizLady: Are there any systems I need to set up for success as a speaker?
Marquesa Pettway: Yes, a one page sign up form. A one page form for evaluation and referrals in one. Offer a prize to get the email address of all audience participants. Have help and keep it moving.
SmallBizLady: What are the basic marketing materials I need to get speaking engagements?
Marquesa Pettway: To book speaking engagements you need to prepare a speaker one sheet, your signature speaking topics, a basic website, and have a positive attitude.
SmallBizLady: How do I prepare for questions that my audience may throw at me?
Marquesa Pettway: Anticipate the questions in advance by preparing at least 10 questions.
SmallBizLady: How do I follow up once I speak?
Marquesa Pettway: Contact people from the evaluation/referral forms
If you found this interview helpful, join me on Wednesdays 8-9pm ET for @SmallBizChat on Twitter.
For more tips on starting or growing your small business subscribe to Melinda Emerson’s blog at http://www.succeedasyourownboss.com
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