When you’re starting out as a professional public speaker, pitching yourself to land your first paid speaking gig can feel scary. Nobody likes a pushy salesperson, and speakers often fear that by being direct, they’ll annoy the people they reach out to.
However, pitching yourself as a speaker doesn’t have to feel like you’re using aggressive sales tactics. It’s about building genuine relationships and providing real value. That’s why it’s so important for professional speakers to understand the fundamental truth behind speaker outreach: it’s fundamentally a numbers game rooted in relationship building, not aggressive sales tactics. For every offer you receive, you can expect many rejections. The key is approaching potential clients with the right mindset and strategy.
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First Things First: Identify the Decision Maker
Before you craft a single email, you need to identify who actually makes hiring decisions for speaking events. This varies dramatically across organizations. Sometimes it’s the head of HR, other times an external event planner, and occasionally it might even be the CEO or company founder.
Unfortunately, there’s rarely a title like “speaker booker” that makes this obvious. You’ll need to do some detective work, scouring company websites and platforms like LinkedIn. For smaller events, decision makers tend to be senior-level executives like executive directors or managers. Look for titles including event coordinator, marketing director, or program director. In schools, principals or assistant principals typically book assemblies.
When you’re unsure, simply ask. Email your best guess for the decision maker and say something like, “Do you mind my asking who is in charge of hiring speakers?” This approach works usually works very well, though expect many cold emails to go unanswered.
Once you identify the right person, finding their contact information is usually straightforward. Email will almost always be your best bet, but you can use whatever contact information you can find. Emails are often listed on company websites. If you can’t find one listed, you could even attempt to guess it by trying common email format variations combining their first and last names with the company domain. Most organizations follow predictable patterns that you can deduce through experimentation.
The Foundation: Relationship Building Over Selling
The biggest mistake new speakers make is “going for the kill” immediately, sending messages like “Hey, I just came across your site, and I’d love for you to book me.” This approach is equivalent to proposing on a first date. The event planner doesn’t know who you are, has no evidence of your capabilities, and has every reason to ignore you.
Remember that speaking is fundamentally a relationship business. Your goal should be building genuine connections with people, not just securing gigs. Event planners can quickly detect when someone is solely focused on getting bookings, and this approach often backfires.
The Right Mindset for Outreach
What surprises many new speakers is that your goal when emailing a decision maker for the first time shouldn’t be getting booked. Instead, your primary goal should be getting the person to respond. From there, you can build a connection and explore whether you’d be a good mutual fit. Think in terms of encouraging the person to take the next logical step, whether that’s replying to your email, visiting your website, or watching your demo video. Never rush them three steps ahead when they’re only ready for one.
Before making any ask, focus on adding value. How you should do this heavily depends on the industry you’re in and who you’re reaching out to, but it could be as simple as sending an article over with a short message explaining that you thought they would find it helpful.
Additionally, ensure your website is fully developed before reaching out. People will research you without prompting, and having everything in place creates opportunities for you. Many speakers have received speaking invitations from simple, courteous emails because recipients visited my website and liked what they found.
Crafting Effective Outreach Emails
Now that you have the foundations down, it’s time to actually start writing emails. Here are some of the most important points to keep in mind when doing this.
Keep It Short and Concise
New speakers often send lengthy emails detailing why they’re amazing and should be hired. Event planners are busy people who don’t have time for ninety-four-paragraph emails, especially from unknown contacts. Brief messages dramatically increase your chances of receiving replies.
Make Every Message Personal
Never mass email generic pitches to multiple event planners. Personalizing emails demonstrates that you’ve done your research and care about their specific event. It shows professionalism and seriousness that will impress potential clients. Send emails from a branded address like yourname@yourdomain.com, and include a professional email signature with your website link.
Ask Specific Questions
Questions compel responses when they’re short and easy to answer. Try asking “When is your next event?” or “Who are some speakers you’ve worked with before?” or “Have you started planning your next conference?” Avoid vague endings with no clear call to action. Ensure your questions aren’t answerable by simply browsing their website, as asking about information that’s prominently displayed makes you look unprepared.
The Follow-Up Strategy
Timing your follow-up correctly is crucial for success. Don’t become a “creepy stalker” by sending another email a day or two later asking why you haven’t heard back. If someone gets emails from you every day for a week straight, they’ll never want to hear your name again.
Wait two weeks before following up. When you do follow up, forward your previous email and say something like, “Hi, I sent you the below email a few weeks ago. Didn’t hear back, so I wasn’t sure if you got it. I know you’re very busy, but if you get a second I’d love to hear from you.” Make sure you reply to the initial email so they have the context of who you are.
Follow up a maximum of twice. If there’s still no response, send a an email that leaves the ball in their court. Something like this could be effective: “Hey, I’ve emailed you a few times and haven’t heard anything back. I wasn’t sure if you got my emails. I know you’re busy and I don’t want to be a bother. I’ll leave the ball in your court. If you’d like to talk more, just let me know.” Many people who were initially interested but got busy will respond apologetically and express renewed interest.
Transitioning to Phone Conversations
Pick up the phone when email exchanges would require extensive back-and-forth. If someone replies showing interest and asks about your availability, fees, or speaking topics, call them immediately or set up a call if they’re unavailable. This demonstrates seriousness and provides exceptional customer service that can set you apart from other speakers.
Calling can feel intimidating, but you can usually sell yourself much better over the phone than through email. For keynotes or significant paid opportunities, calling after their initial response is essential. But how do you sell yourself effectively over the phone?
Mastering the Initial Sales Call
When someone expresses interest in booking you, how quickly you make that first phone call can determine success or failure. If they reach out and don’t hear from you for a week, they’ll assume you’re not serious or too busy, neither of which appeals to most clients.
Do Your Homework First
Research when their event occurs, past speakers they’ve hired, and information about your contact person. Learn their title, role, company mission, and anything else that helps you understand their context. This information is invaluable in a sales call.
Respect Their Time
When they answer, ask “Did I catch you at a good time? Do you have a few minutes to chat?” Get their permission and establish how much time they have available. Never overstay your welcome and be incredibly sensitive of their time and busy schedule. Event planners massively appreciate this kind of professionalism.
Build Rapport Naturally
Ask questions like “How is the year going for you?” or “How long have you been in this role?” Listen to their responses and engage with them in a friendly way. Focus on questions you couldn’t research beforehand to maximize your time together and avoid seeming unprepared.
Gather More Information About the Event
Transition with “So tell me about your event.” At this point in the call, your job is to listen and ask follow-up questions, not to sell yourself. Ask about the conference history, past speakers, challenges they’ve encountered, and their ideal audience member. Take detailed notes so you can reference their specific needs later.
Address Their Needs and Concerns Directly
When responding to what they’ve shared, use their information in your replies. If they mention previous speakers were difficult to work with, emphasize your customer service approach. If they had technical issues with slides, mention that you don’t rely heavily on slides. This demonstrates you heard them and will prevent similar problems.
Handling the Three Key Questions
Every potential client will ask three main questions:
What do you speak about?
Don’t say “Well, what do you want me to talk about?” or “I can talk about anything.” Trying to appeal to everyone is appealing to no one. Instead, walk through your presentation menu, connecting each option to their specific needs. If they mention customer service challenges, explain how your particular presentation addresses those issues and how you can customize it for their audience.
Are you available on that date?
As your speaking business grows and you book more gigs, make sure to keep a calendar of availability so you can answer this question immediately.
What are your fees?
Respond by saying you have different options depending on their needs, then ask “Do you mind my asking what kind of budget you’re trying to stay within?” This puts the ball in their court and gives you information before discussing numbers. After they share their budget, walk them through your fee structure and packages.
When you quote your fee, shut up. This is where many new speakers fail, talking themselves down from their full fee before the client even responds. They might say “My fee is usually $3,000, but if that’s too much we can work something out.” Don’t negotiate with yourself. State your fee confidently and wait for their response.
After the Call
Don’t expect immediate decisions. Most contacts need to meet with boards, committees, or supervisors before hiring speakers. Ask about their next steps: “So what’s your next step in the process?” or “Do you know when you will be making a decision?” Get a timeframe for follow-up purposes, then ask permission to follow up at that time.
Following up within their specified timeframe provides a huge competitive advantage. Many speakers drop the ball here, but consistent follow-up keeps you top-of-mind and often results in bookings, not because you’re the best speaker, but because you stayed organized and proactive.
Within a day or two of the call, send an email with four key items: your presentation list, the fee structure you discussed, relevant testimonials (especially from similar events), and a thank you message for their time and consideration.
Get The #1 Marketing Asset To Book More Paid Speaking Gigs Join us for the Booked & Paid Bootcamp — our NEW 2-day virtual event designed to help you start booking more paid gigs FAST. Over two 5+ hour days of live training and Q&A, our team of 6 and 7 figure speakers will give you the proven playbook you need to become a successful paid speaker.
Conclusion
After that, the ball is in their court. It won’t always be a “yes,” but by following this respectful and professional process, you’re setting yourself up for success more often than not. The most effective speaker pitching doesn’t feel like selling at all. It feels like consulting. You’re genuinely trying to understand their challenges, assess whether you can help, and determine if there’s mutual fit.
When you pitch this way, you remove pressure from both sides, focus on the client’s needs rather than your agenda, build trust and rapport that will be useful whether you get the gig or not, and establishes you as a true expert and professional.
The speaking industry rewards authenticity, professionalism, and genuine value creation. Master these fundamentals, stay organized with your follow-up, and start filling out that speaking calendar!
