Do you ever feel overwhelmed by the work required to book paid speaking gigs?
You’re not the only one. Dan Irvin describes himself as a systems-oriented person who finds structure to be extremely helpful when it comes to booking gigs. This week, he sat down with Grant Baldwin on The Speaker Lab Podcast to discuss his process, how he books gigs and share other important tips for speakers. Here are the top 3 takeaways from their conversation:
Start Small
Although Dan considers systems to be incredibly important, he emphasizes that it’s important to start small. Don’t create the process first; create the process as you have clients to go through them. Get feedback from your customers as you go and don’t overcomplicate things with unnecessarily complex systems. Then you can develop your systems further as you adapt to a larger number of clients.
Treat Discovery Calls as Auditions
Another tip Dan has for booking gigs is to treat your discovery call with clients as an audition. It’s for this reason that he suggests doing discovery calls exclusively by video. That way, potential clients have the opportunity to see the product you’re selling them.
Before his discovery calls, Dan researches his customers and the event and adapts to the situation. Things such as dressing like you would for the gig and carrying yourself with the same energetic personality you present on stage can go a long way to increase a client’s confidence.
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Be Selective About Which Gigs You Accept
Dan also emphasizes the importance of choosing your gigs wisely. Public speaking is a business, and if you’re providing value to a client, you should be getting value in return. Dan suggests asking the event planner about it early on. Often, event planners become very creative with how they can provide value.
While the criteria can vary depending on the situation, Dan highlights the importance of speaking in front of your ideal audience. Making sure travel is paid for is another factor, but there are other things of value you can get from an event, such as professional photographs or video. In any case, you should make sure you’re only taking gigs which are advantageous to your current situation and future goals.
To hear more practical advice from Dan, including his 6 step system to book more paid gigs, listen to Episode 454 of The Speaker Lab podcast here.
