Use Speaking to Close Bigger Clients, Faster

A Tale of Two Entrepreneurial Speakers 

‍

To show you just how big of a difference The Audience Hierarchy of Needs really makes, let me tell you about two entrepreneurial speakers. 

‍

The first is a combination of many different speakers, business owners, and entrepreneurs and their experiences trying to grow their business through speaking. I’ve heard so many of them express the same concerns. Let’s call this hybrid Jackson. 

‍

Meet Jackson 

‍

Jackson is a successful marketing consultant who started speaking to find more clients to serve. Since he’s an expert in his field, he crafted a speech full of tips and tricks and called it “Seven Steps to Maximize Your ROI with Email Campaigns." He practiced, rehearsed, and prepared to step on stage. 

‍

And when he did, the speech went splendidly. People in the audience took notes and eagerly listened as Jackson shared his expertise. After the event, a few people came up to Jackson and thanked him for his practical advice and useful insights. 

‍

One of those audience members was Elliot. He was eager to get back to work and try the seven steps Jackson shared. He quickly put into practice what he learned from the speech, spending the next couple of months testing it out and trying new things. The email campaigns he was in charge of started to improve, and he was thrilled.  

‍

Elliot knew what he learned could benefit the entire organization. So he decided to tell his boss about Jackson and his services. 

‍

Of course, Elliot’s boss is a busy man. Elliot spent another week and a half trying to schedule a meeting with him. When the day finally came, he told his boss about Jackson and suggested hiring his services for the company. His boss listened and told him he needed a proposal to show to the board of directors. 

‍

A week later, Elliot sent the proposal, and a month later, he heard back from his boss. He had mentioned it to the board of directors and planned to reach out to Jackson next week. 

‍

Meanwhile, about nine months after giving his speech, Jackson gets a phone call from Elliot’s boss. Since Elliot’s boss didn’t actually hear Jackson speak, the only thing he knows about him is what Elliot told him (and what he remembers from a brief look at his website). 

‍

Jackson and his team now have to convince Elliot’s boss they’re worth what they charge, because in this decision maker’s mind, Jackson is just another subject-matter expert that one of his employees recommended. 

‍

Luckily, after a long negotiation and a significant price reduction, Elliot’s boss finally signs the contract (and Jackson sends a well-deserved Michael Scott champagne gif in the sales chat). 

‍

Although Jackson is a fictional character, this story represents many thought leaders we meet on their entrepreneurial journey. When you give a speech that earns you compliments and praise, but not more business, it can be hard to know what went wrong. 

‍

However, when you craft your speech with the Audience Hierarchy of Needs in mind, you’ll be able to connect with everyone in your audience—and get fast-closing, high-quality leads. 

‍

Now, meet Andrew Davis (he knows about the Audience Hierarchy of Needs—in fact, he came up with it).

‍

Andrew Davis isn’t just a marketing guru, he’s also a close friend and Partner here at HEROIC. His visionary ideas about the business side of speaking have helped thousands of speakers transform their businesses and achieve success faster. 

‍

Andrew knows the speaking world because he’s neck deep in it. He’s one of the most in-demand speakers working today. He shares his groundbreaking messages on stages across the world. 

‍

He co-founded, built, and sold a digital marketing agency. And he also co-authored the book The Referable Speaker with Michael Port, in which they developed the Audience Hierarchy of Needs matrix. 

‍

You see, years before, when Andrew wanted to find new clients for his digital marketing agency, he used speaking to grow his business. But instead of crafting a how-to speech directed only at practitioners, he decided to add specific content in his speech for each type of audience member. 

‍

He still shared some tips and tricks, but he also challenged conventional wisdom and inspired his audience members to change the way they think about digital marketing. He rehearsed, practiced, and prepared a how-to-think speech and he gave it at different organizations and events. 

‍

And it worked. Every time he finished his speech, CEOs and company leaders would come up to him and ask for more. 

‍

They would say things like: “That was amazing! Can you actually do this for our firm? Let’s chat more on Monday. Here’s my phone number, give me a call.” And when Andrew would follow up, he would close deals much faster and at higher dollar amounts than Jackson. (And he got to send a lot more celebratory gifs, too.) 

‍

Speak, but speak to the right people.

‍

Public speaking can help you grow your business. It can build brand awareness, establish your expertise, and put you in a place to connect with new people. 

‍

But if you do it right, it can do much more. When you craft a message that speaks to everyone in your audience and shares new information that challenges how people think, you’ll get fast-closing, high-quality leads more often. 

‍

Finding these high-quality leads can make the entire sales process easier for your team to manage and more enjoyable for everyone. 

‍

Speak to the people who control the purse strings. Show them you have a better, faster, or more effective way of doing things. Tell them about your visionary approach to solving a problem. Help them understand that your new way will truly transform their organization. 

‍

When you do, they’ll happily inquire about your services—and make it to the signed-contract stage faster. 

‍

Spend your time speaking to the right audience members and you’ll spend more time in the contract-signing phase of the sales process. Oh, and more time celebrating, too (you’ll probably even have to find more celebratory gifs to send in the sales chat).