How You Can Leverage the Most Powerful Marketing Tool on the Planet

Speaking is the most powerful marketing tool on the planet, but many entrepreneurs largely ignore this opportunity. On today’s show Ashley Kirkwood of Speak Your Way to Cash teaches you how to build your brand and revenue through public speaking.

3:20 – Introductions

4:04 – Why is speaking the most powerful marketing tool on the planet? 

Ashley said that movements are created with words. Any large movement was created by oration – when someone speaks with power, the listeners get engaged, excited, and motivated. Things start to change. 

5:28 – Did Ashely learn how to deliver powerful speeches in law school? 

While every trial lawyer is not flashy, Ashley knew that to win over her jury from the first moment. So she also knew it was important to provide powerful evidence, and to do some powerful persuasion. The goal was to not only get the jury’s vote, but to turn them into advocates for her side. The same thing applies to speaking on behalf of your business. 

7:26 – What are the benefits of being a speaker as an entrepreneur?
Ashley says that every business owner is a speaker, whether they know it or not. The question is: Are you persuading and motivating when you are sharing your business? 

8:57 – Should people who are afraid to speak in public go down the speaking path?

Ashley doesn’t have a good fix for people who are afraid to speak and sell in person. Instead, she encourages people to use the skills they have to persuade, which might include writing or video. Utilize storytelling in whatever way that works for you. 

10:44 – How to get started 

Ashley has a framework called the PAID methodology. 

P - Presentation and position. You need third-party verification that you are who you say you are, and you know your stuff. Whether that looks like LinkedIn articles or getting press, you need to start building your Google background. 

Positioning is also about showcasing your attitude, what you value, and how you get paid. 

A - Assemble your offer. Don’t create a new session a hundred times for a hundred different sessions – have some preset packages of talks, consulting, maybe a book, and then be willing to customize those sessions for your clients. But don’t reinvent the wheel every time. 

I - Inviting. (also known as sales) Decide your target, and go to where they are – then you can invite them to work with you in a variety of different ways, whether that’s in their space, or in one that you set up. 

Ashley notes that sales is not just putting out a post announcing what you do. You need to be asking people to take action, getting yourself into the right place to connect with your future client. You need a sales engine, not just passive sales. 

D - Delivery. There’s a double-edged sword here: You don’t want to sell better than you deliver – but you also don’t want to deliver better than you sell. 

You want to give the customer a fantastic experience, from the first sales call through the delivery, and to the last customer service interaction. 

18:16 – How much to charge when you’re just starting out

The average speaker in 2022 was charging around $8000. The highest speaking fee that was reported was $32,000. So that’s your base information. 

Ashley recommends that her clients start at $15,000, which gives them room to negotiate both up and down. You offer should also be structured so that when the client wants a lower price, they also receive less service – so you’re not still doing all the work for a lesser dollar amount.  

22:43 – More about Ashley’s program

Ashley has created a stair step system for meeting new speakers where they’re at. 

The first stair is free resources to learn the basics of speaking – free online courses, challenges, reading the book, or listening to the podcast. 

The next stair is a live event, where the team goes deeper into framework and community building. Ashley says that most of the audience wouldn’t consider themselves keynote speakers – they would consider themselves trainers. This is where all of those trainers meet each other. 

The next stair is masterminds. This tier is for people who are all-in on speaking. They’re not just exploring, they are ready to grow and sell their services at a high level. 

26:08 – Is there an advantage to being an animated speaker, or can the more quiet personalities make it as a speaker too? 

Ashley says that you should work within your personal style, as long as you’re considering the audience and what will help them. 

Ashley also notes that she performs more on stage not because she likes to perform, but because she knows it will keep her audience awake and engaged. She’s even starting improv classes in March, so she can continue improving. 

Whatever your style of speaking, she says the common threads are storytelling, humor, and consideration for how to best engage the audience. 

29:07 – One lesson Ashley wishes she’d learned earlier as an entrepreneur

Your team is not there to make you money – you’re there to work for your team. Ashley says her team is part of her greater calling and mission. The team is everything to the business; she wants to encourage them and help them grow, and if she’d known this, she would’ve hired earlier and started reading personal development books earlier so she could serve her team better. 

Learn more about our guest: 

• Check out her book, Speak Your Way to Cash®: How to Start at the Top of the Speaking Market Instead of Working Your Way Up from the Bottom! 
• Listen to her podcast, Speak Your Way to Cash
• Learn more about her programs and community