Professional Speaker Showcases
Filed under: Become a Motivational Speaker, Become a Speaker, My Speaking Career
I hear from many new Professional Speakers about the difficulty they are having in getting signed by speakers bureaus. I’ll be posting some secret tips on getting signed with bureaus in a special report any day now.
One place to start getting a foot in the door is to sign up for a speakers showcase that is hosted by a bureau. These are incredible venues for you to get some great exposure for not only that specific speakers bureau but also for the meeting planners who attend.
I’ve been a Motivational Speaker for many years but this year was the first time I had spoken at a Motivational Speaker Showcase. I spoke at the Capitol City Speakers bureau hosted a showcase which was a full day event allowing each speaker the chance to speak twice. From that one event alone I have 14 bookings confirmed and 6 more “holds” in my speaking calendar.
The bureaus who host showcases still have some basic requirements in order to be accepted into the showcase. One is that you must have a DVD or video on your website that displays your speaking ability. I recommend the video be editing to display some key moments from your speech. You’ll want to show humor and the audience laughing on your video. This is a big deal to the bureaus because they realize that this is the entertainment business and making people laugh is part of being a great keynote speaker. Next you’ll want some footage of your signature story that shows the audience being engaged in your telling of the story. Be aggressive in contacting the bureaus but when you send them an email or a package with your materials be sure to make it easy for them. Label everything clearly and be very gracious and thankful to them for considering you. Now more than ever people are trying to enter the speaking industry which means bureaus get more requests than ever. You want to be make sure what you send them doesn’t get lost in the stack but also that when they find your material is will be easy to read and understand. Be relentless and aggressive in getting on the showcase program but also respectful and not pushy. It is a hard balance but appreciation and respect go a long way with everyone. Something as simple as writing a personal card with a $5 Starbucks gift card inside could make all the difference in getting you on the program of the next Motivational Speakers showcase.