Practice Tip - Awaken The Speaker In You

Almost every therapist would like to spend less time in the counseling room and more time speaking on various counseling subjects.

How do you make that leap? How do you move from therapist to a therapist/speaker?

Obviously, you have to get speaking engagements, and to get speaking engagements you need to let people know that you're available to speak.

Here's how it’s done:

Print up an attractive one-page bio with your picture.
As part of that bio, list the titles of a few of your signature speeches. Inspirational titles work the best.
Gather a list of all the support groups, small church groups, clubs and organizations in your area and send them your bio.
Follow-up IMMEDIATELY with a phone call to the program chairman offering to present your information at no charge.
You can make your presentation profitable in one of two ways.

First, sell product. If you have a CD series or a book that you have written, be sure to have those products available for sale at the end of your speaking session.

Second, offer the attendees the opportunity to come in for care at a discounted rate. Do that in two ways.

First, give them the opportunity to sign up at the discounted rate while they're at your speaking engagement. This may or may not work however depending on your topic. While people may be willing to walk to the front of the room and sign up for a session regarding their strong-willed child, they may be hesitant to walk to the front of the room and sign up for marriage counseling.
As a result, have a second way that they can contact you. Hand out gift certificates that they can use by calling you at a later time to set up an appointment, and still receive the discounted fee.

Of the five steps listed above, the most important step is to follow-up immediately with a phone call. Once a brochure has been discarded, the chance of them wanting you as a speaker goes down precipitously. Be sure to follow-up within two days for best results.

Once you book a speaking engagement, be sure to try to re-book that same engagement in six months to a year. It's easy to become an annual speaker at various support groups and other organizations.

Once you have received an invitation to one group you can parlay that by mentioning it to other groups that have a similar interest.

Setting up a speaking program takes some time, but once it’s established, speaking has a good return on investment.

- Dr. David Kats, D.C.