The Secret to Finding Your Speaking Audience

Are you a public speaker who thinks it’s hard to find speaking audiences? Or are you a relatively new speaker or wannabe who finds it hard to get started? Perhaps you are in a services business and want to add speaking to your marketing to grow your business. Speaking is THE best way to market so people experience you and start to know, like and trust you. Perhaps you are looking to add another revenue stream.

Don’t let finding your speaking audience be an obstacle that keeps you from sharing your message.

Imagine walking into a room filled with your target market. There is a secret that will help you reach more people so they can hear you and hire you. And the good news is, the same key ingredient is also the secret to your all your marketing.

THE SECRET HAS TWO PARTS: You need to know your WHO and your WHAT. First, get clear on your target market audience, or your WHO. This is who you serve. Second, determine the outcomes you deliver, or your WHAT. This is what you do for this population of people. Most important is choosing a specific audience and describing in concrete, observable, tangible terms the outcomes you deliver.

Sounds pretty simple, right? And yet I’m one of hundreds or thousands who resisted narrowing my target audience and services for a long time; years. I didn’t want to exclude anyone and, as a new business owner, I didn’t want to turn people away and I would happily work with anyone to start making money!

Do these ways of thinking sound familiar?

The surprise, which might seem counter-intuitive, is that choosing a narrow market and specialty is THE best step to market your business, get invited to speak, to receive referrals and make more money. Step into the minds of your buyers and you'll discover that if you declare a "specialty" in what you do and name a population to which they belong, they automatically perceive you have an expertise and that you "get" them!

WHO YOU SERVE. Think of a population of people who you enjoy being around, care about, and whose problems you are familiar with. Consider who you have an affinity for (they will likely have an affinity for you, too) and the problems they typically have that you enjoy solving. Think in terms of their demographics; age, gender, profession, level of education, location, interests.

Examples: women dentists, mid-life women, divorced fathers, first-time home buyers, single professional women, young male lawyers in their first 2 years of practice. Your population might be defined instead by a shared problem or complaint like being a new manager, having a chronic illness, being a Baby Boomer job seeker, etc.

WHAT YOU DO FOR THEM. Now that you have identified a sub-group of people, it is time to think in terms of outcomes. What results do people have after they’ve worked with you for 3 to 6 months? What problems do you solve? What is noticeably, tangibly different in their lives. Besides probably being happier, what measurable results did you deliver?

EXAMPLES: Going back to our sample target markets above, you might help women dentists get more clients or help mid-life women build a first-time business or plan for their retirement, or help a first-time home buyer overcome fear and understand the process in easy to follow steps.

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT? Generally, in terms of marketing, once you can identify a sub-population of people, you can figure out where they "hang out." As a speaker, this also helps you find your speaking audience! Does an association exist for these people? Is there a specialty sub-group in the Chamber of Commerce for this population? Perhaps they read the same publications and hear speakers in an organized setting. This is a great avenue for you to publish articles they might read and to get invited to speak at their meetings.

Knowing WHAT you do for your audience also helps you prepare to speak by handing you your topic! By knowing the minds of the people in your speaking audience, you also know the problems they have in common and can provide them with answers, resources and a taste of what it’s like to work with you.

TAKE THE NEXT STEP.  It’s time for you to get in action to find your speaking audience. Ask yourself the questions above to see who you have the strongest desire to work with. You can also make a quick review of your past and current clients, find your favorites, and then observe all their identifying characteristics, both demographic and by personality and behavior. Notice any patterns?Look at what you typically teach your clients and you have the makings of your speaking topic.

Make a choice and claim your target market so you can find your speaking audience. Your audience is waiting to find you, hear you and hire you!