THE PRACTITIONER

Your name is Roy Williams and you coach the 2009 National Basketball Championship team, the University of North Carolina Tar Heels. How hard would it be to find Coach Williams a slot to speak at a national basketball conference? It wouldn’t be that difficult given his resume as a Division I coach.

As you seek to identify the right conference, virtual conference, or meeting of an industry association, company, or civic organization for you to speak, many factors come into play, as the competition is fierce in the big leagues. This is where a professional can help you develop a proactive program to get you and others in your company a position at the podium.

If you are the Roy Williams of your company, you certainly don’t have the time to weed through the thousands of conferences and meetings out there. Coach Williams has a member of his staff who identifies recruits for the team, but you can bet it’s Coach Williams who shows up to meet the top recruits’ parents. Leave it to the professionals who have already established the relationships with conference directors and are skilled at mining for opportunities that meet your marketing and sales goals. They can better manage the leg work needed to qualify leads and determine what is available for you.

A professional can uncover the horizontal and vertical opportunities in your industry and identify the platform to reach the demographic of your current and prospective customers. As a recruiting coach identifies the future player for his program, we identify the right venue to market your product or service.

The Tarheels staff has spent the time to develop the team’s philosophy and understands they carry the school’s reputation with each game, so too should the professional leading your proactive speaker placement program. Your speaking engagement “headhunter” should be well-armed with insight into your company’s marketing strategy, key messages and industry position to secure a place on the stage at the right event.

Working in partnership with a professional can ensure a championship season is in your near future.