target organizations

The following is an excerpt from the CoachStart Manual.

Who would benefit from your talk and ideally would pay for it (associations, clubs, charities, corporations)?  Some will pay; some are just a training ground, testimonial builder, and a place to get individual clients!  Source them from friends, yellow pages, people in the speaking industry, Chambers of Commerce, Libraries, a local chapter of The National Speaker’s Association (NSA).  All will have a list of service groups, associations, etc… that want and need speakers.  Joining a Toastmaster group is also a great idea, and they have a speaker’s bureau which supports their members in getting speaking engagements.

Call or email your friends and colleagues and ask them which clubs they belong to which might need a speaker.

You might provide ‘lunch and learns’ at companies and organizations.  These are for free or fee, and are provided during the employees’ lunch hour.  It is a way for the company to provide self-development/educational programs and for you to get in front of decision-makers and show them what you can do. Your friends within corporations might be able to put you in touch with the right person who organises or approves these within the company.