I have a deck of I Ching cards next to my desk. Not only are they beautiful to look at but they contain many ideas that are stunning to me. If you’re not familiar with the I Ching, it’s an ancient Chinese system of prediction and wisdom based on the concepts of Yin and Yang.

Yang is a creative, expansive energy, and Yin is receptive and contracted. I’ve been thinking a lot about Yin lately as our economy tightens further and we feel more and more limited in what we can do and influence. The I Ching would tell us that everything goes through cycles of expansion and contraction, like the seasons, and that when we find ourselves on the contracted side of the cycle, there are certain steps to take.

Just looking at some of the ideas associated with a lot of Yin shows what these steps might be. These are the names of some of the I Ching ideas with lots of Yin:

* Small is Beautiful
* Keeping Still
* Darkening of the Light
* The Receptive
* Discipline
* Holding Together
* Modesty
* The Turning Point

I see friends, family and myself worrying and growing frustrated trying to use the same tactics that worked when we were in the Yang part of our economic cycle. This Yin cycle recession isn’t comfortable but it may be a once in a lifetime opportunity to learn to pay attention to the power of the small and limited.

These days when I go into restaurants, most of the time a manager comes out to check on me. Store clerks are more genuinely helpful. I return calls faster and pay keener attention to people’s needs, whether they’re clients or not. I’m more careful with my time and money. I also notice who is offering me better value and service and who isn’t. When the economy expands again, these are the people I’ll stick with. Now is the time to work on the details that make you that person in the eyes of your clients.

Question: What details has the recession made you more aware of?

Creating space in the minds of potential clients is just one of the benefits that can be gained by having an active speakers bureau in your organization. It is also a great way to gain credibility in the marketplace with clients and referral sources. A good speakers bureau focuses on speaking engagements that reach your target audiences and establishes your professionals as experts in the industry. Not everyone at your firm will want or have what it takes to become a public speaker, but those who are willing to brush up on their presentation skills and hone an area of expertise can bring in new clients and increase the firm’s exposure — with little or no cost.

Here are some best practices you can implement to make sure your speakers bureau is successful and provides a good return on investment.

• Define the market that will fit your business development goals. This includes defining the types of organizations and people you’ll target. Gain credibility in the field and be viewed as an expert by getting in front of the right people.
• Once you define your market(s), research organizations that cater to your demographic. Look at trade associations, chambers, bar associations and other groups in your niche area. Find your organizations and then determine if they have monthly meetings, brown bag lunches, conferences or tradeshows where you can speak. Make sure the people who will make up the audience at those events fit your demographic and are decision makers with buying power.
• Now that you have a list of events, determine the staff member or committee volunteer who coordinates the speakers. Typical titles of people in these positions include anything with programming or education in the title such as education or programming chair. Contact them at least nine months before each event.
• Have a well-defined list of topics on which you can speak and a brief summary of your presentation. Topics should include only areas you can speak about comfortably for 60-90 minutes. Topics need to reflect the area of business you want to promote or the niche in which you want to gain credibility. This is not a commercial for your business;topics should be knowledge and how-to based rather than company based. Brainstorm topics you can cover and then narrow down the list until you have a good base of working titles and brief descriptions for your presentations.
• Create a speaker’s bio outlining why you are qualified to speak on this topic. This is not a résumé, but a brief paragraph stating your past speaking experience and knowledge in the topic areas.

Now you are ready to start calling event and presentation coordinators. Organize your topic and contact information into a working document that you can refer to on a monthly basis. Some opportunities will be monthly; others may only be once a year such as an annual conference. Remember, it is a good strategy to start pitching ideas at least nine months before an event. You can often find speakers’ submission guidelines on the organization’s website. Some coordinators send out a request for presenters, so be sure to submit your proposal in the way requested.

Other Speakers Bureau Tips:

• Stay in front of these organizations by putting together an email or direct mail drip campaign.
• When you have a few speaking engagements under your belt, ask for testimonials.
• Include information in speaker proposals on where you will be speaking in the future and have been speaking. This adds to your credibility.
• Alert your target audience to any “hot” topics that you’ve been requested to speak about lately.
• Create a webcast or podcast of a recent presentation, so they can hear you speak. Post it to your website and send the link.

Once you start speaking at events, be sure to ask for feedback and have your audience fill out evaluations. If you have people sign in at your event or leave a business card, send them follow-up information related to your presentation to remind them of who you are and what they heard. Send a note to the coordinator of the event thanking them for the opportunity
and let them know you are available for future events. Post something extra on your website as a “bonus” to attendees in order to drive traffic there.

The value of a speakers bureau is well worth the commitment it takes to set one up, especially in the current economy with print ad revenue down and less space for submitting editorial pieces. Leverage your speaking engagements by announcing them in your newsletter, on your website or blog. You’ll also get free publicity through the organizations as they advertise their events!

If setting up a speakers bureau seems like a good idea but a little overwhelming, give me a call. Ingenuity can coordinate the details at your firm and help you land larger opportunities — like Wendy’s and Dawn’s speaking engagement last fall in Portugal!