The 5 “Ps” of Profitable Speaking: Turn Your Expertise Into Impact
Let me introduce you to Sarah. She’s a 34-year-old business operations consultant who recently branched out on her own as a solo entrepreneur. She has a background in optimizing processes for Fortune 500 companies and is using that as leverage to pitch herself as a speaker at upcoming industry conferences. She’s managed to land a few speaking slots the old-fashioned way by reaching out to event organizers and customizing each pitch. Unfortunately, the time and energy it takes just to secure a handful of gigs is taking away from the time and energy she needs to focus on building her new business.
Sound familiar? The reality is, like Sarah, many qualified professionals spin their wheels trying to get “in the door” for speaking opportunities... but struggle to build the momentum and cash flow that’s needed to drive their business forward. In fact, most experts we talk with approach speaking backward. They create a talk, hope to get booked, and wonder why it’s not growing their business.
The National Speakers Association 2023 Survey tells us new speakers typically earn $2,500 to $5,000 per speaking engagement. Not bad, but without a strategic game plan to funnel attendees into a business workflow that brings residual income, a handful of scattered engagements are unlikely to transform your bottom line.
In most cases, newer speakers tend to focus on sharing knowledge or inspiration without a strategic conversion path for attendees. If you find yourself in this camp, you’re not alone! Honestly, that’s why we are here. Over the past ten years, we’ve put in the time, energy, and research to help entrepreneurs and businesses just like you source stage opportunities, develop aligned offer suites, and amplify their message through proven speaking strategies.
Here's one tip to get you started: While your presentation should establish your credibility, provide valuable teaching points, and inspire your audience, the average conversion rate from unstructured talks is 2-3%. On the contrary, structured talks that incorporate a clear conversion strategy have much more desirable conversion rates of 15-30%.
Here at Rhetorik, we work with speakers of all levels in developing a solid Speaking Strategy, creating structured Transformational Talks, and building a Growth System that keeps the momentum going after you step off that stage. Curious to see how it all works? Well, you’re in the right place!
One of the ways we help is through the 5 “P” Framework of Profitable Speaking. This strategic approach to speaking drives real business results, turning your expertise into impact. Here’s how:
Purpose
Most experts create talks based on what they know rather than what actually drives business. Yes, you should lean into your expertise and be well-informed in the material you present. That’s a given. But if there is no connection between the content you share on stage and the business offerings you provide, that’s a problem. This can lead to misaligned audiences and opportunities. While the audience may appreciate the information you share, if they don’t need the business solutions or ongoing support you can provide, the potential for conversion is extremely low.
Every speaker needs a clear PURPOSE for their presentation. This comes from the following:
Starting with clear business objectives.
Setting measurable growth targets.
Align speaking with revenue goals.
Establish success metrics.
Your presentation needs to tie in with your business objectives and goals in order to be successful and have a lasting impact.
For example, a leadership coach could align her talk topics with her group coaching program. By showcasing her expertise within her speaking topic, sharing winning strategies that work for those within her group coaching program, and guiding attendees to learn more through her group coaching program, she has a solid chance of increasing the group program enrollment by 40% as a result of the engagement. That’s something worth celebrating!
What PURPOSE drives your current talks? It may be time to step back and re-evaluate a more effective approach.
Pathways
Here’s the thing. The speaking industry has a dirty little secret: speakers are leaving money on the table by forcing every opportunity through the same tired formula. A one-size-fits-all approach to speaking where you perfect your signature talk and drive it into a single conversion funnel is outdated and ineffective.
Instead, speakers need to understand PATHWAYS to maximize revenue opportunities from multiple entry points.
Pathways to revenue streams may include:
Direct service inquiries
Product purchases
Book sales
Program enrollment
Partnership opportunities
Media requests
Advisory roles
Training contracts
When creating your speaking ecosystem, you need to clearly identify and incorporate the pathways that make the most sense for your business and speaking alignment.
When you do this, you …
Meet your audience where they are.
Offer appropriate next steps. Which in turn allows you to…
Scale your revenue opportunities and…
Build sustainable growth for your organization.
Relying on one topic and one conversion funnel doesn’t merely diminish your impact; it effectively has you walking away from revenue streams that could transform your business. No, thank you!
How would this play out in a real-life scenario? Let’s say you provide both group program enrollment AND corporate consulting support. Consider how you can use speaking to drive sales through BOTH pathways. This allows you to meet your audience’s needs in multiple ways.
What PATHWAYS represent the low-hanging fruit for your specific audience? Select your top two pathways and create an action plan for maximizing revenue opportunities through both entry points.
People
“My message is for everyone!” Heard that one before? While altruistic, speaking to the masses through broad, generic topics seldom reaps the benefits you’re looking for. Sure, you can recycle the same talk at multiple events, and you don’t have to spend as much time researching and updating your presentation for industry-specific gatherings, but the reality is that generic content rarely creates the deep audience connection that drives conversions.
The truth is, by not “excluding” anyone, you miss seeing the PEOPLE who are actually there in your audience. And I know you want to make a REAL IMPACT. You wouldn’t be reading this if you didn’t.
Narrowing your focus and speaking your audience’s language, addressing the unique challenges they are actually facing, and providing targeted solutions—well, generic presentations simply can’t compete with that. *AND BONUS: This expertise commands higher fees and generates more referrals within an industry network!
As you work to align your expertise into an impactful talk, you’ll want to consider these key audience questions:
What keeps your audience up at night?
What have they already tried?
What do they actually want—rather than what they think they want?
Why haven’t they solved this yet?
Behavioral Analysis is a key factor our team at Rhetorik takes into consideration when working with speakers to refine their presentation. It’s one of the things that sets our agency apart from others.
When reviewing those audience questions, we look to identify specific triggers and understand the audience’s motivation points. This allows us to map a decision journey that connects with their core needs.
In other words, when you understand what motivates and brings your audience to action, you can prepare a message that resonates at a deeper level. This connection transforms your talk from a presentation into a conversation that feels personally crafted for each person in the room—and makes a huge difference in your conversion rate.
Consider the PEOPLE who will be attending your next speaking gig. In what ways can you customize your presentation to meet their needs and drive conversion to the products or services you provide that you know will help them?
Portfolio
As we addressed in the previous section, relying on one standard talk is a clear recipe for missing different audience needs and limits conversion opportunities. In fact, there are several Strategic Talk Types that should be included in your speaking PORTFOLIO. If you haven’t yet branched out into these different talk types, you should!
The Signature Keynote: The purpose of the signature keynote is to provide you visibility and credibility. Keynotes are typically 45-60 minutes in length and rely on an inspirational and high-level presentation style. An example of a signature keynote speaker might include “The Future of Leadership,” “Breaking the Scale Ceiling: Growing Past the Founder’s Capacity,” or “Building High-Performance Remote Teams.”
A signature keynote is often delivered to larger audiences and focuses on big-picture concepts and paradigm shifts.
Workshop Style: A workshop-style presentation drives lead generation. It is typically 90-120 minutes in length and has an interactive and practical format. An example of this might be a “Strategic Planning Intensive.”
A workshop emphasizes practical application and skill-building in which participants leave with concrete tools or action plans.
Breakout Session: The purpose of a breakout session is to drive direct conversation. It is typically 45-60 minutes in length and has a focused and actionable format. An example of a breakout session might be “5 Steps to Implementation.”
The more intimate setting of breakout sessions allows for group discussion, teaching, and collaborative problem-solving.
Each of these formats has its place in your speaking portfolio, serving different audience needs and business objectives. While your keynote might inspire change, your workshop helps implement it, and your breakout session solves specific challenges along the way.
Consider your “go-to” talk content. How can you adjust your presentation PORTFOLIO to suit these three different speaking styles? Does one of these styles align more closely with your business goals?
Pipeline
Imagine this: You’re a leader in your industry and were just invited to speak at an industry conference, amplifying your reach and broadening your platform. The connections you make at the event show promise, and you’re eager to build momentum as a speaker as a result. Six months later, the leads for new speaking gigs dry up, and no new clients or opportunities are on the horizon. You wonder if your “big break” is just that, broken.
As amazing as it would be for one speaking opportunity to catapult you into overnight speaking success, unfortunately, that’s rarely how success stories go.
Here’s the Challenge: Many speakers fall into the trap of a “hope and hustle” strategy. They pursue random opportunities without a systematic approach to bookings, which means starting from scratch each time rather than building momentum. Poor follow-up, or NO follow-up, with warm leads, means missed opportunities to nurture meaningful connections. Without leveraging each speaking opportunity to create and capture new opportunities, the cycle continues.
So, how do you build an actual speaking PIPELINE that brings in consistent speaking opportunities, drives your revenue goals, and builds a platform you can be proud of?
Over the years, we’ve worked with speakers to set monthly goals, make the most of opportunities, and design and implement follow-up systems that bring about consistent success. If you were to work with us, here are a few of the elements we would walk through with you:
Monthly Goals: We recommend aiming for 2-4 speaking opportunities each month. Focus on a mix of formats and audiences as you find your strategic balance between paid and strategic talks. Our experience with sourcing stage opportunities sure comes in handy when you’re ready to say “Go” and start filling your calendar!
Opportunity Sources: There’s no one-size-fits-all model when it comes to the speaking industry. In fact, there is a wide range of sources where you can speak, drum up new business, and network. Industry associations, conferences, corporate training, podcasts, and virtual summits are all viable options to build relationships.
Follow-Up System: When putting together a follow-up system for your speaking engagements, consider your pre-event preparation, day-of engagement, post-event connection, and nurture sequence, including email follow-ups and personal phone calls when appropriate. If the idea of creating this system leaves you dizzy, don’t worry; we’re here to do the heavy lifting!
When you review your current processes, are there areas within your PIPELINE that need to be shored up? Identify any gaps within your process that you’d appreciate support and guidance on.
Key Takeaways:
Whether you’re looking for ways to break into the speaking industry or you’re a veteran looking to stay relevant in a changing marketplace, you’ll need a solid speaking strategy, a transformational talk, and a growth system that works both on and off the stage.
The 5 “P” Framework of Profitable Speaking is the number one way to cover all the bases in turning your expertise into tactical impact and tangible results. Just remember, PURPOSE, PATHWAYS, PEOPLE, PORTFOLIO, and PIPELINE.
Here are a few Key Takeaways to keep you moving forward:
Identify the PURPOSE behind your platform with clear goals and metrics to ensure your goals are met.
Consider all the ways your audience interacts with you and tailor your revenue drivers to work within those PATHWAYS.
Get to know the PEOPLE in your audience. What are they looking to achieve, and how can you help them get there?
Test out different strategic talk types, find the one(s) that work best for you and your audience, and add them to your PORTFOLIO.
Finally, build a PIPELINE that sets you up for success from initial booking through the event and on into follow-up correspondence.
Action Steps:
If all this sounds like a lot of work, well, it is! But you don’t have to do it alone. Sometimes you just need an outside perspective–and someone who knows the business–to help you create the scalable speaking model that works for you.
Here at Rhetorik, we’re dedicated to elevating your voice and expanding your influence, and one of the ways we do this is through our CLARITY TO SCALE INTENSIVE. Through virtual consulting sessions and 30-days of implementation support, we help you:
Align your speaking with clear business goals and revenue targets.
Map your expertise to specific audience needs and motivations.
Create a portfolio of 2-3 strategic talks.
And develop your custom opportunity-generation plan.
Just imagine–in 30 days you can have complete clarity on your entire speaking strategy … and a game plan for turning that strategy and vision into measurable business growth. Impossible? No way!
Learn more about the Clarity to Scale Intensive by filling out the brief submission form on our contact page HERE … and we’ll get the ball rolling. We believe that YOU can become the GO-TO SPEAKER in your field–and we’re here to help you get there!