The biggest question I’ve been getting lately from clients is, “I created this great talk, now how do I find places to speak where my ideal client will be?”

If you’re newer to the game of speaking, a great way to get started is to do a self-sponsored event. This will give you an opportunity to practice your timing, build confidence, gather testimonials and build credibility for your marketing materials with images and video.

But once you’ve done one self-sponsored event, I encourage you to look for outside organizations to host you. After all, the organization will handle the marketing and fill the room for you!  Aside from putting together a fantastic speaker page on your website, the best place to start is with this question: where are your ideal clients communing? 

The answer will be different for every coach out there. Part of it will have to do with whether you want to build your practice locally, virtually or a combination of the two. Sometimes you can even start locally and expand virtually if you’re doing talks at organizations that have multiple chapters, like the eWomen Network, as an example.

To get your wheels turning, I’ve created a list of places to get started:

• Local organizations that cater to your clients, such as:
  • Networking Groups (Specific examples for someone who coaches the executive niche may include: Women in Consulting, The Executive Network of Seattle (TENS), Executive Roundtable groups, etc).
  • Chamber of Commerce
  • Business Associations
  • Established Meetups
  • BNI groups
• Corporate “Lunch and Learn” Events
• Community Centers
• The Learning Annex
• Libraries
• Local Community Colleges and Universities
• Conferences and Expos that serve your Divine Ideal Client
• Online events like Telesummits and Speaker Series

Finally, another great place to find speaking opportunities is in partnering with other professionals who serve your ideal clients but don’t directly compete with you. Most organizations and small businesses want to bring value to their existing client base, and as long as you don’t compete with them, it constitutes a triple win: a win for the other business or organization, a win for their clients and a win for you.

If you are a coach who has done some speaking, where did you find your opportunities? Were you able to create that “triple win”? I’d love to hear about your experiences.

With appreciation,

Tara Butler Floch