Public speaking is, by its nature, a tool to convey information on a particular issue.  Successful public speakers are revered by their audience for their knowledge base, broad appeal, and professional stature.  Any CEO at a podium before an audience with clout is going to have instant credibility.  What better platform is there to promote a product or service?  You have a room full of people listening to your every word, ready to participate, and willing to act.  The best speakers will engage the audience with an interesting personal anecdote and demonstrate a clear mastery of their topic.  The speaker will utilize the platform to talk about their corporation or individual products and service offerings.  Of course, public speaking is the perfect opportunity to ensure the ongoing success of your corporation to the masses! Whether it is on the spot or it is the next time the audience member sees the product online or in a store; you now have a consumer that has a connection to you and most importantly, these individuals are invested in your brand.

The recommendation is not that you begin speaking to local high schools (great for community service, but not for brand enhancement—unless your Facebook or My Space), it is however, that you turn your attention to trade shows in your industry.  If you are a CEO speaking to a group of sales people from various companies that can all be potential distributors/resellers of your product, then your dream scenario is staring you in the face. You cannot create a “softer” sales environment.  A captivated audience of decisions makers who can immediately purchase mass quantities of your product is the ideal situation.  If that doesn’t get you excited; and if you can’t generate sales from that, then perhaps its time to think of another career.

Many times, CEOs will allow fear to stop them from speaking.  President Franklin D. Roosevelt once said, “There is nothing to fear, but fear itself.”  In the business world, fear will give your competition a distinct advantage over you.  So, I ask: how bad do you want it?  Personally, I use to hate public speaking, and at Ascendant Strategy, we have several clients that had to make the adjustment.  But, I am a witness that it can be done and when you think about the new revenue channel it creates while drastically decreasing your marketing expenses, your willingness to speak will receive a jolt, as well.  That is right, speaking equals lower overhead on marketing and more sales leads, more revenue, and ultimately it is one of the building blocks to develop a brand.

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So, how do you build brand equity and increase revenue from speaking?  Here are some specific steps:

Step one:

Research potential organizations, conferences, and other events that would provide you with more exposure to the most potential customers for your business, then develop a contact database for them that includes mailing address, phone numbers, and key contacts.  You should pay particular attention to trade shows.  For most industries these are gold mines for the speaker.  Additionally, professional associations such as the American Marketing Association and the Society for Human Resources can be invaluable by providing direct or second hand contacts to buyers.  Finally, do not underestimate the relevance of the college circuit.

Step two:

Develop two speaking topics that relate to the service industry you are in and one additional topic that may be more outside your service industry, but you are passionate about and have experience with.  For instance, the CEO of a company in the financial services industry may select topics such as “Investment Strategies That Work in Any Economy,” “The 7 Secrets to Financial Freedom,” and “Leading During Crisis.”  Your titles should be interesting and you should have a brief blurb describing each topic.

Step three:

Next, develop your personal bio and make sure it highlights your brand “tag line,” and speaks to your background.  You must also ensure that your bio is relevant to your speaking subject matter.  You should also include media, accomplishments, and personality traits that differentiate you from others.

Step four:

Create marketing materials!  At Ascendant Strategy (www.ascendantstrategy.net) we have a division of our company in house for all our graphics and web design work.    In this internet era, it is also essential for you to develop a website.  While you can choose to carve out a section of your corporate website to drive people to, a personal website is extremely important.  Never use templates, but rather find designers that are high-end designers that know code well and can customize your site to fit all aspects of who you are.

Step five: 

Develop your marketing plan and execute it.  This may seem very cliché, but it is critical.  After all, consistent marketing efforts yield results.  Keep sending the hardcopy mailings and you may also consider visiting organizations where you could potentially speak.  The face to face interaction will give you a strategic advantage.

Step Six:

Maintain your database with copious notes on every conversation.  At Ascendant Strategy (www.ascendantstrategy.net) we use ACT, www.act.com as our database software. ACT has some excellent features that allow you to be able to take detailed notes on every call, rank opportunities, and create a sales process.  ACT is an excellent tool and can be used online by multiple users.  It can be a bit cumbersome in the amount of CPU memory it takes, but if you have a high performance computer it is worth it!

If you follow these six steps. you will launch your speaking career–the revenue from speaking should be a great addition to your business or you can keep the money for yourself.  Additionally, you will be introduced to a new world of customers and direct sales.  Finally, these customers will spread the word about you, which will likely lead to more speaking engagements and more revenue.

One of our clients wanted to expand his real estate development practice, so we successfully created a tour where he spoke for private investors, city officials, and community activists.  The engagements with private investors led to interest in the company and local projects, city officials proposed projects and opportunities for our client to build and rehab real estate developments at pennies on the dollar, and speaking to the community activists led to support for all local initiatives.  This is CEO branding and this is what a speaking career can generate!  As a result of speaking, our client has generated millions of dollars in new business.  In fact, nearly half of my firm’s new business has come as a result of speaking.  Do you still have your doubts?  If all of this sounds intimidating, you can always seek professional help, our firm specializes in CEO branding.

Kim Reed is a Partner at Ascendant Strategy (www.ascendantstrategy.net) a world leader in CEO branding, the new corporate branding.  Ms. Reed can be contacted at info@ascendantstrategy.net or 1.800.838.8152.  Ms. Reed will be happy to answer your questions about the new corporate branding technique.

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It’s widely recognised that one of the most important aspects of any brand is its website. People spend more time and (sometimes) money online than ever before. The Internet is often the first port of call for consumers looking to fulfil any need or desire.

For more traditional businesses, a website is a hugely powerful marketing tool. For e-commerce companies, their website is their business. That’s why getting your website right is so important – successful ones can generate huge amounts of profit and propel your brand to new heights. On the other hand, a poorly considered website that adds no value to your brand can quickly cause your business to fail. ‘Waste of time.

A lot of people see the process as having two key strands - website design and website (technical) development. Web design involves the look and feel of the website, creating something that is visually appealing to the user and that is easy to navigate. Website development is the technical build, creating a functional website that does everything it is supposed to. At onebestway we’ve won awards in these two areas – around 50, actually – for over 10 years.

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There are thousands of web companies who can create a nicely designed, technically sound website. But the reason that many of these websites fail is because there are, in fact, three strands to a truly successful website, not two.

The third, and most important, is your brand. Onebestway know this and that’s why a onebestway website is better than those developed by the competition. Our competitors miss one third of the entire project out – completely.

After all, most websites look good and function smoothly these days – consumers have come to expect the highest standards of web design and development. So how do you get them to choose you over one of your competitors?

That’s where your brand comes in. Your brand is what makes your business unique, what makes you special, and what makes it obvious to your customers why you are their only choice. Everything about your website must revolve around your brand. It has to communicate your unique message with every single pixel. If your website does not communicate your brand correctly then you are in fact wasting your time. You will never maximise potential.

At onebestway, the brand is at the heart of every website we create. It is the most important strand of a successful website. If the brand is missing, your website simply won’t be good enough.

Branding a fleet of vehicles is one of the most important things a business can do. For those who have vehicles out on the road on a regular basis, having a cohesive brand in line is all but necessary. Unfortunately, most people don’t know where to start when it comes to branding their vehicles, which is often the main reason why it just simply does not get done. The fact is, however, branding a fleet doesn’t have to be difficult, so long as you have an idea of what you are doing. The more you can learn before diving into the process, the more smoothly things will go.

Here are a few crucial tips to take into consideration when branding a fleet of vehicles –

1.) Choose Cohesive Designs

When you brand a fleet, you’re essentially trying to ensure that each vehicle stands out from others on the road; this is the definition of building a brand, and isn’t as easy as it sounds. One of the biggest mistakes people make when designing vehicle wraps is that they give each vehicle a different design. While it may be tempting to do this, the fact is that you want each vehicle to look virtually the same, as this will convey a professional image. Choose designs that are cohesive across the board for the most professional look possible.

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2.) Don’t Deviate from your Branding

One of the most important things a company can do when wrapping a fleet of vehicles is to stick with the branding they use on all of their other materials. Those who deviate from their branding often experience a disconnect with customers and clients, as branding a company with one logo and its vehicles with another is nothing short of confusing. Always ensure that your branding is consistent across the board.

3.) Stick to Clean Designs

Designing a vehicle wrap can be a fun process; however, many people get carried away with it. A clean design is an effective design, which is why it is crucially important to avoid overcrowding a design with images and text. The less crowded the design, the more legible it will be for people who either walk or drive by. Remember that “less is more” in design, and this holds especially true for vehicle wraps and other similar design jobs.

Now that you know how to make the most of your trade show graphics, learn more about printing your custom graphics at http://www.cliffdigital.com

Why should branded events matter to you? They can help get your company’s name out there, that’s why you should make them a part of your marketing plan. Branded events allow your guests to learn about your company through a non-conventional and exciting way. These days, it isn’t enough to simply advertise and send out direct mail. Neither is launching an internet marketing campaign, unless you have some kind of an event to support it.

What exactly goes on during a branded event? A branded event can be anything you make it – it can be a basketball game, a charity ball, or a new product launching. Promoting your business isn’t all about placing your products on counters so that people can browse around and look at what you have to offer. If you’ve ever watched the Super Bowl or the Final Four series, you’ve most likely noticed the banners around the arena and the television ads that promote the events’ sponsors. These are examples of branded events – they don’t call for much planning, but they do require an investment.

Every business has a marketing budget, which may have allocations for traditional advertising, online marketing, sponsorships, conferences, and so on. There are several ways to market one’s business, and you have to determine which you can and which you cannot afford. You have to evaluate what works and what doesn’t in your marketing plan, so you can get rid of the ineffective and replace it with something else that is more effective. This is how you can free up part of your budget to host or participate in a branded event.

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Your budget will also direct your planning. Obviously, its size will mean the difference between the expensive catering and the more affordable option; it will determine if you can hire the 0 per hour DJ or the one who charges 0 per hour. There are alternatives to everything, so you can cut corners if necessary in order to fund the areas of your event that are really important.

The work begins from the very moment the thought of hosting a branded event enters your mind. For your idea to become a reality, you will have to organize everything, from the venue and the catering to the music and the decor. Of course, you also have to decide how you’re going to display your product.

As for guest speakers, do you want to have celebrity guests? If so, you need to come up with an itinerary first so your celebrity guests will know what they will be committing to. Since they are busy people, you should have everything already prepared before you invite them.

To make your branded event a success, be sure to ask yourself these questions:

Who are my customers?
What are their main characteristics?
What sets them apart from other people?
What do they want and need?
Why do they buy?
What do they want my product to do for them?
How do they perceive my brand?

Once these questions have been answered, you will be able to plan your event better. If you don’t know some of the answers, you can look for existing market research on the internet or better yet, ask your customers yourself. Conduct polls to find out what they really think. From there, you can plan your event or sponsor one. The latter needs less planning and may be more economically feasible for your business, but both are great ways for your company to gain more exposure.

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