There’s one powerful asset you can use to grow your business, book more gigs, and become even more valuable in the eyes of your event organizers. Every speaker has access to this profitable resource, but many don’t realize just how valuable it is.

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What is this powerful asset? Your fellow speakers.

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You’ve met them at events across the country and at HEROIC’s training programs, but how do you turn those relationships into more income, increased sustainability, and new opportunities for your speaking business?

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In the speaking industry, your fellow speakers can become one of your most beneficial resources for booking new gigs. But turning these connections into a well-oiled machine takes intentional effort and consistent commitment.

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Start by creating a referral ring. This secret weapon is like an ace up your sleeve; it can become one of your most valuable assets as a speaker. This small but powerful network of speakers can help you book more gigs, earn passive income, and maintain valuable event-organizer relationships.

Full Transcript

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What Is a Referral Ring?

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A referral ring is simply a small network of speakers with you at the center. Think of it as a target with four concentric rings. You’re the bull’s-eye, and in the smallest ring closest to you, you have your first-tier speakers.

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These first-tier speakers are typically your closest speaker friends. They’re the most similar to you in terms of speech topic, fee range, and experience. They’re the speakers you have the most contact with; you’re confident in their speaking abilities and have no reservations referring them to event organizers.

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Most of the referrals you’ll get come from this first tier of speakers. In tiers two, three, and four, you have speakers who are outside your topic domain and typical fee range, speakers you’ve seen speak at events, and speakers you don’t know as well.

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While you might not know the speakers in the other tiers of your referral ring as well as your closest speaker friends, you can still recommend them for events. Just make sure you’ve seen them speak (even if it’s just a recorded video of their full speech or in a virtual event).

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In GRAD | Speaking Business Mastery, we show you how to build your referral rings, gather up your referral assets, and connect with fellow speakers so they can start referring you for gigs. That’s a lot to go into in this article, so for now we’ll stick to the fundamentals you need to know to start your referral ring.

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During HEROIC’s training programs, speakers master the craft of speech writing, stage performance, and building a sustainable speaking business. But they also tap into one of the most valuable assets in the speaking world: fellow speakers who become lifelong friends, allies, and speaking-business partners.

How to Decide Who to Include in Your Referral Ring

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When you refer a speaker to an event planner, you're putting your reputation on the line.

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If the speaker you refer is unreliable, hard to work with, or unprofessional, that will reflect negatively on you and your speaking business. However, if the speaker you refer crafts an incredible experience for the audience and event organizer, both their value and your value will increase in the eyes of your event organizer.

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While it’s true that you’re referring a speaker, technically speaking, you’re actually referring a specific speech of theirs: a speech that aligns with the meeting planner’s unique needs and challenges.

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That’s why being intentional about who you include in your referral ring and who you refer is essential. Make sure the people in your referral ring are:

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Speakers you’ve seen speak. First and foremost, you need to have witnessed the speaker onstage (or on screen) delivering the specific speech you’re endorsing. You must be confident in their speaking abilities and able to recommend them as a highly competent, referable speaker.
Speakers who are professionally aligned with you. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you both speak in the same fractal or niche, but it’s helpful to have speakers who have similar audiences, event types, and fee ranges as you. This means they can share gigs they can’t do with you, and vice versa.
Speakers who are reliable and organized. Fill your referral ring with speakers who follow through on their commitments, protect your reputation, and make a wonderful first impression.

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That’s one of the reasons why HEROIC’s training programs are so tremendously valuable. The cutting-edge curriculum, the world-class faculty, and the process of mastering speaking and performance skills is obviously important and beneficial. But the people you meet and the relationships you develop are truly priceless.

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hesitate to reach out to fellow speakers. Many are also looking for partners and friends who can help them connect with more event organizers and earn more gigs.

take into account the types of referral requests you usually get from clients. Look for speakers who match that criteria (fee range, topic, audience) to add to your referral ring.

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“We have a mastermind group with four or five speakers. We probably all chat about once a month, but we make an effort to all meet in person each year so we can hang out. It’s great because we’re constantly referring each other. I’ve definitely noticed an increase in gigs since we started doing this!”

Neen James

Keynote Speaker, Luxury Client Experience Expert

Three Essentials to Making Your Referral Ring Successful and Profitable

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Keeping in touch with fellow speakers and building a speaker referral network is a smart move for your speaking business.

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To keep your referral-ring engine running smoothly, make sure you master these three essentials for maximizing your profit and speaking success.

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#1 Refer the Speech, Not the Speaker

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Referring other speakers to event organizers helps you continue to nourish your client relationship, even after the gig is over. Since it’s unlikely you’ll speak at the same event two years in a row, suggesting a speaker you know is beneficial to the other speaker, the event organizer, and you.

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Event organizers LOVE getting referrals from speakers. Why? Because you, the speaker, know their audience, their unique challenges, and their budget. The speech you suggest will be aligned with their needs and expectations.

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Event organizers are primarily interested in the speech topic, how it fits with their overall theme, and whether it addresses or solves a challenge or pain point. When you’re referring speakers to an event organizer, you want to make sure your fellow speaker’s speech is of value to them. Is it uniquely focused on their audience and their specific needs?

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You might say something like this: “I remember you mentioned that your leadership team is struggling with X challenge. I know a speaker whose message specifically addresses X. And I’ve personally witnessed the impact it has on audiences facing that exact issue.”

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As a speaker who wants to get referrals, your goal is to make it as easy as possible for the speakers in your referral ring to sell how you solve the challenge for the audience. You can do this by clearly sharing the pain points and challenges that audiences face that you address with your referral ring speakers.

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At HEROIC Homecoming this summer, Alumni shared their referral line: how they help audiences through the problem they solve. That way, fellow Alumni can recommend speakers whose solution aligns with an event organizer’s challenge.

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just refer a speaker to an event organizer because they’re your friend or even because they’re a fantastic speaker. (Make sure you’ve seen them speak and feel that their speech is a great fit.)

focus on the organization or the event organizer’s specific challenges and needs.

#2 Stay in Touch, Stay Up to Date

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As speakers, we’re almost constantly developing and testing new material and crafting or refining our signature speech. That’s why it’s so important to connect with your referral ring frequently. Let them know when you launch a new speech or have an upcoming event nearby.

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Make sure you're allowing time and opportunity to see each other speak. It’s a great way to stay in touch (and it’s always nice to see a friendly face in the front row).

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Keynote speaker, author, and HEROIC Business Faculty Kris Kelso and I have been part of a speaker study group since 2020. We’ve met every Tuesday and Thursday for the last five years to give feedback and work together on our TEDx talks, keynotes, and workshops.

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Today, we consistently refer each other for events, because we are very familiar with each other’s work and trust in the reliability and value of our speeches. We don’t speak on the same topic, but we both speak to similar audiences: executives, leadership teams, and corporate audiences. This makes our referral relationship profitable for both of us.

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#3 Have Your Referral Materials Ready

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For your referral ring to work like a well-oiled machine, you need to make the referral process as easy as possible for your fellow speakers.

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To do this, you need to have the following materials ready and updated:

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A short, focused introduction paragraph
Your speech’s session description
Fee information (your referrer won’t share your fee with the event organizer, but it’s important for them to make sure your fee is within their price range)
A video of your entire speech (yes, the whole thing)

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You’ll send these materials to the speakers in your referral ring, and they’ll send their materials to you. That way, you can easily and efficiently send each other’s information to event planners when the time is right.

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Make sure you keep your referral materials up to date so your referral ring speakers can send accurate information to event organizers when they make the introduction.

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In GRAD | Speaking Business Mastery, we show you exactly how to create and gather the referral assets you need to send to your referral ring speakers and when (and how) to follow up with event planners to refer speakers. There’s even a simple and ultra-effective email template you can use to reach out to your past clients and recommend speakers for upcoming events.

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A Virtuous Cycle of Collaborative Success

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When I moved to Phoenix, I met Ana Melikian, a fellow HEROIC Alumni and Business Faculty, keynote speaker, and top 1% podcaster. She introduced me to Meeting Professionals International (MPI), and I went to a few of their events and wrote about them on LinkedIn.

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Later, I had the opportunity to be the keynote speaker at their conference in 2024. In our conversations in preparation for the event, they mentioned that one of the topics they usually cover is burnout. Ana immediately came to mind because she speaks about burnout in a very unique and creative way. I told them I knew a fantastic speaker who actually leverages AI to help audiences tackle burnout.

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They already had a speaker for that year, but after the conference, I mentioned Ana again and introduced her to the event organizer who had hired me. Long story short, Ana will be the keynote speaker for this year’s EduCon event.

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That’s just one example of the virtuous cycle of referrals that you can create by introducing and referring your fellow speakers. Its effect compounds your reach and earns you valuable speaking opportunities. Ana made the initial introduction, which led to my delivering a keynote, then recommending her speech, which led to Ana delivering the following year’s keynote.

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Building and maintaining a referral ring gives you a significant competitive advantage as a speaker.

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Just think about it: event organizers are constantly bombarded with speaker pitches, marketing emails, and cold outreach. When a speaker they know, trust, and value recommends someone for their event, that referral jumps to the front of the line.

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Whether you’re the speaker who’s referring a fellow speaker to event organizers or the one who’s being referred, you are a valuable asset to event planners. As you create and nurture your referral ring and strengthen your relationships with fellow speakers, you’ll be able to earn more speaking opportunities and solidify relationships with meeting planners. Referring other speakers will become a virtuous cycle of collaboration.

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What Is a Referral Ring?

‍

Dont

How to Decide Who to Include in Your Referral Ring

‍

When you refer a speaker to an event planner, you're putting your reputation on the line.

‍

That’s why being intentional about who you include in your referral ring and who you refer is essential. Make sure the people in your referral ring are:

‍

Speakers you’ve seen speak. First and foremost, you need to have witnessed the speaker onstage (or on screen) delivering the specific speech you’re endorsing. You must be confident in their speaking abilities and able to recommend them as a highly competent, referable speaker.
Speakers who are professionally aligned with you. This doesn’t necessarily mean that you both speak in the same fractal or niche, but it’s helpful to have speakers who have similar audiences, event types, and fee ranges as you. This means they can share gigs they can’t do with you, and vice versa.
Speakers who are reliable and organized. Fill your referral ring with speakers who follow through on their commitments, protect your reputation, and make a wonderful first impression.

‍

Don't

hesitate to reach out to fellow speakers. Many are also looking for partners and friends who can help them connect with more event organizers and earn more gigs.

take into account the types of referral requests you usually get from clients. Look for speakers who match that criteria (fee range, topic, audience) to add to your referral ring.

Neen James

Keynote Speaker, Luxury Client Experience Expert

Three Essentials to Making Your Referral Ring Successful and Profitable

‍

Keeping in touch with fellow speakers and building a speaker referral network is a smart move for your speaking business.

‍

To keep your referral-ring engine running smoothly, make sure you master these three essentials for maximizing your profit and speaking success.

‍

#1 Refer the Speech, Not the Speaker

‍

Don't

just refer a speaker to an event organizer because they’re your friend or even because they’re a fantastic speaker. (Make sure you’ve seen them speak and feel that their speech is a great fit.)

focus on the organization or the event organizer’s specific challenges and needs.

#2 Stay in Touch, Stay Up to Date

‍

Make sure you're allowing time and opportunity to see each other speak. It’s a great way to stay in touch (and it’s always nice to see a friendly face in the front row).

‍

#3 Have Your Referral Materials Ready

‍

For your referral ring to work like a well-oiled machine, you need to make the referral process as easy as possible for your fellow speakers.

‍

To do this, you need to have the following materials ready and updated:

‍

A short, focused introduction paragraph
Your speech’s session description
Fee information (your referrer won’t share your fee with the event organizer, but it’s important for them to make sure your fee is within their price range)
A video of your entire speech (yes, the whole thing)

‍

Make sure you keep your referral materials up to date so your referral ring speakers can send accurate information to event organizers when they make the introduction.

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