Here is how to get speaking engagements for Christians: 10 specific step by step strategies to move from zero opportunities to building momentum speaking every month.

 1. Define your identity, how you serve and deliver specific strategies for success. The way you build expertise and your brand is by providing solutions.  Take the time to develop one to three messages that offer very clear strategies and the results.  The truth is if you don’t take the time to write out this speech and practice it, you really are not serious about doing the work to get opportunities. God honors FAITH coupled with ACTION, most of the time people leave out the action part:). Need help honing your skills? Join a local Toastmasters club.

2. When you have your one to three messages together, put together a free teleconference EVERY MONTH and begin to advertise it on social media outlets like Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and through your contacts.  You can sign up for that here and they will even develop a professional sounding message for your participants to hear when they arrive for your call. Free.  Make sure to have a strong call to action when you are finished so that you can close business from your call. It takes time to build a trustworthy reputation and you must be consistent with the way you serve. Don’t sabotage yourself and your brand with sporadic service. People don’t trust what isn’t consistent.

3. Private email and message your best contacts sharing with them what you are doing and ask them to share your FREE “invitation” only call you put together on their platforms, even if your contact list is small. When people go to buy a service they do two things. They search on line for what they are looking for and then they ask a friend. A referral from a friend is HUGE and not to be discounted. You don’t need to have access to celebrities. You need to just start connecting where you are.

4. Shoot video of every small group speaking or event you do. Invest in a Flip Camera or something similar that is  small, inexpensive and easily uploaded to You Tube.   Even if you are speaking to a small group, take someone with you to record.  Hopefully you will say something brilliant, everyone will laugh or shout out and you will appear amazing:) and you have it on video. When you are done, get one or two testimonials of your audience sharing their favorite take away. Then hire someone to edit this for a speaking demo for your website. Here are some alternatives to the Flip if you need them.

5. Make a speakers page for your website so you can refer gatekeepers and prospects to it. A speaking video should be short with clips from different places and speeches. It can be the transition you need into a large conference or business event you would have never otherwise gotten into.  It can also be the difference between you getting paid 300.00 and 3,000.00. You will place this on your website and also email it to potential clients. Many times a meeting planner won’t even look at you without this. You can connect with phillip_ardele1 on Fiverr.com for $25.00 who will do this for you.

6.  Think about where large numbers (literally 10 and up) of your ideal clients can be found. Contact the gatekeepers and if you offer to serve them, God may open the door for you to do just that. One of the things I always suggest is to have copy with good headlines and the bullet points of your presentation in addition to an Mp3 audio or video. People like varying mediums and it comes across more professional if you have options for them to choose from. Learn how to pray the word of God in such a way that you declare where you are going. My favorite affirmation book for those who want to grow their “businistries”, John Eckhardt’s book>Prayers That Rout Demons and Break Curses. I have bought this book for literally 50 of my clients.

7.  Serve in associations, organizations and groups that your clients are connected into. This is one of the ways you begin to just step out in faith in an intentional way. It is not going to net you speaking immediately but as your reputation grows and your service is consistent, you will build trust in the community and be invited to speak by the members. You have to plant seeds ahead of where your going.

8. Write a letter describing your desire to speak and the topics and send it out to everyone on your contact list. Tell them you would like to serve at no cost to them and you will be following up with a call. And then call. Include your church and your Pastor and don’t forget to ask him if he can share it with the congregation or let you put up a flyer. Have professional graphics made inexpensively again on Fiverr.

9. Contact all the churches in your area and see if they have support groups that your clients might be part of. Offer to go and speak at no charge. For instance I had a client last year that was a Resume coach. She had a heart to serve college kids and those who were out of work. I shared this idea with her, told her to contact all the local churches in the area that had need of career counseling, transition groups (fifties and up) and job fair groups functioning in their congregations. She developed a workshop of 3 hours and Viola’ had so much business, her business took off. Start off speaking for free and as you gain testimonials begin to charge money.

10.  Let people know right from the podium that you would love to come speak for them. Have a document with your speeches and card attached to and give it out. Let people know that you would love to come speak for a minimal fee and that you love to give referral fee’s for business it brings to you. Carry $5.00 Starbucks cards and share that if anyone has a name for you to get in front of, you would love to buy them a cup of coffee. Cheezy but it works:). That goes for me! I would love to BOLD activate your audience>Here’s my speaking page!

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