Most business owners are calculating the value of speaking opportunities all wrong.
They ask:
“How much will they pay me to speak?”
It’s a fair question.
But if you’re a coach, consultant, expert, or service-based business owner, the speaking fee may be only ONE part of what that opportunity is actually worth.
Because the speaking fee may be just ONE part of what a speaking opportunity is actually worth.
Let’s do some speaking math…
Let’s say you have a $2,000 coaching program.
You speak in front of the RIGHT audience and 5 people decide they want to continue working with you.
5 clients × $2,000 = $10,000
Now imagine you were also paid $3,000 to speak.
That one speaking opportunity could potentially represent $13,000 in revenue.
And that’s before you consider what else could come from being in that room.
A referral.
An introduction.
A collaboration.
Another speaking invitation.
A relationship that turns into an opportunity months from now.
That’s why I encourage business owners to think beyond the speaking fee.
You don’t need 100 stages.
This is another misconception I see all the time.
People assume that if they want speaking to become a meaningful revenue-generating strategy, they need to become a full-time professional speaker.
They picture constantly traveling, living out of a suitcase, and spending half their lives in airports.
That’s not the only way to do it.
What if you strategically spoke just once or twice a month?
Not on every stage that will have you.
On the RIGHT stages.
In front of audiences filled with people who need what you do.
For coaches, consultants, and other service-based business owners, that’s an entirely different speaking strategy.
You’re not building a business as a speaker. You’re using speaking to build the business you already have.
And THAT’S where the equation gets really interesting.
But getting into the right room isn’t enough.
I want to be very clear about this.
I’m not suggesting that every time you speak, 5 people will become clients or someone will hand you a $3,000 speaking fee.
There are several pieces that need to come together.
Your message matters.
Your delivery matters.
Your ability to connect with your audience matters.
Your offer matters.
And your strategy matters.
You can get booked in front of the perfect audience and completely miss the opportunity if your presentation doesn’t connect.
And you can deliver an extraordinary presentation to an audience that was never right for your business in the first place.
You need both.
You need to know how to magnetize and monetize the audience when you’re in the room AND how to get yourself into more of the right rooms.
That’s why I’m showing you what’s possible when you stop thinking of speaking as simply giving a presentation and start using it strategically to grow your business.
Start asking a different question.
The next time you’re considering a speaking opportunity, don’t only ask:
“How much will they pay me to speak?”
Ask:
“Who will be in the room?”
“Is this an audience I genuinely want to serve?”
“What could this room potentially lead to?”
“How does this opportunity fit into my bigger business strategy?”
That’s when speaking stops being simply something you do.
It becomes a strategic business-growth tool.
And you may discover that you don’t need MORE stages.
You simply need the RIGHT ones.
