Scaling With People
Tired of spinning your startup wheels but never gaining traction? Buckle up, founders and CEOs, because this podcast is your rocket fuel to profitability! Every week, we ignite explosive conversations with bold-faced founders, brainy experts, and even a few out-of-this-world vendors. Get ready to crack the code on growth, master employee engagement, and blast through your scaling goals. We’re talking real-world strategies, actionable tips, and perspectives that’ll make your business do a cosmic dance. So, strap in and prepare for lift-off!
Scaling With People
Find Your Voice, Build Your Brand: Leveraging Speaking for Growth
Tired of pouring money into digital ads with questionable returns? Imagine commanding a room of your ideal clients for 30-45 minutes, positioning yourself as the trusted expert they need. That's the power of strategic speaking for brand building, and it's a game-changer for founders and business leaders.
In this illuminating conversation with Blair Bryant Nichols, owner of BBN Creative Management, we unlock the secrets to leveraging speaking opportunities as your most potent marketing tool. Blair reveals why the traditional conference booth approach pales in comparison to securing a speaking slot, where you gain undivided audience attention and accelerate the know-like-trust curve that converts prospects into clients.
One of the most surprising insights? Stop speaking at industry events dominated by your peers and competitors. Instead, identify where your ideal clients gather and position yourself as the singular expert voice in that room. "If you're in HR tech, don't just go to HR tech conferences—go to finance events and be the one HR tech speaker," Blair advises, sharing how this strategic positioning dramatically increases your stand-out factor and conversion potential.
For those hesitant to step onto stage, Blair offers practical wisdom for overcoming stage fright and building your speaking platform, even without prior experience. Learn how authentic storytelling creates emotional connections that drive business relationships, and discover specific techniques to make your message memorable long after your presentation ends. From crafting compelling narratives to understanding audience psychology, this episode provides a roadmap for transforming speaking engagements into a powerful brand-building engine.
Ready to amplify your voice and authority? Connect with Blair on Instagram or LinkedIn at Blair Bryant Nichols for a free 30-minute strategy call about your speaking journey. Speaking begets more speaking—start your journey now and watch your brand and business grow.
Welcome everyone to today's Scaling with People podcast. I'm Guinevere Crary, your host and founder and CEO to Guide to HR. Today, we're going to be talking about how to build your own personal brand through speaking, and I'm excited to have Blair Nichols on the call with us and he's going to be talking about how to use speaking as a way to grow your brand. Blair, introduce yourself and welcome to the podcast.
Speaker 2:Hello, thank you so much for having me. Yes, I'm Blair Bryant-Nichols, owner of BBN Creative Management, and I coach and manage a wide array of speakers who are also business owners, entrepreneurs and all kind of, in different areas and fields and at different levels of both their speaking and professional lives.
Speaker 1:So how did you get into this? You love speaking. Are you just a natural, like enthusiast love to be on the stage and speaking to people, or how did you?
Speaker 2:come about coming into this space.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know, it was not an industry that I even knew existed before I ended up in it, because I don't think most of us grow up thinking about, you know, the paid speaking world or what our parents might be doing when they go to these work conferences, and I don't even know how much they thought about it.
Speaker 2:But I set my sights on publishing and my first job was at the Harper Collins Speakers Bureau.
Speaker 2:So it was this hybrid of working within the publishing industry and within a publishing house, but our function was to get speaking engagements for the authors as a way to extend the life of the book and the publicity and obviously sell more books, but also as a service to the authors and some revenue, you know, back to the company too. So that was the beginning and from there, you know, I was starting in New York and I worked for some big agencies while I was there, and then I moved to LA 12 years ago to work with Keith Ferrazzi, and so I've I've been on different sides of this industry and worked in different capacities of it, but kept coming back to it and kept kind of pursuing the thing that I really wanted to do, which was to have my own management firm and to work with the people that I really was excited to work with and without anyone else telling me who I should spend my time working with or how I should spend my time, and you know, that's what's led me here.
Speaker 1:So, as a founder, ceo, a startup business or any of our other listeners out there, why should they think about this as a way to grow their brand and, ultimately, their business?
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, I mean, if you are a solopreneur, even if you're not any type of leader, you know time is your most precious resource, so how you spend it, what you're doing and you know what you're spending on other resources, including money to promote your business, should really be scrutinized about how effective they are and what kind of return that you're getting. Now, when you are looking at different options to get out in front of your ideal clients, depending on your business, a lot of them can be found in events, conferences, different organizations where they gather, or different types of platforms, and speaking directly to them is the most efficient and effective way to turn them into customers. So I'll break that down a little bit more. So, if you're looking to reach your ideal customer, I think a lot of people think about digital ads, and you can really pour a lot of money into digital ads, and then you know probably how many customers come out of it and how much that costs to get each one of those customers. Now, if you're looking at conferences and if you are already looking at, how much does it cost to have a booth and how much does it cost to you know, be a sponsor, be an exhibitor, do the different things that might allow you to get in front of these again potential clients or customers. You're going to invest a fair amount, maybe as much as digital ads, maybe, maybe less, maybe more, but you know you're going to invest a fair amount, maybe as much as digital ads, maybe less, maybe more, but you're going to then be able to quantify how many people ultimately come out of that event, how many people turn into customers, and what that looks like.
Speaker 2:Now imagine if you were a speaker at that event.
Speaker 2:So, rather than waiting for people to come by the booth or just trying to shake as many hands as possible, you are actually now an expert talking about something of value to this audience and you happen to be, of course, you know, ceo whatever of company that has a booth or that is available to talk to, and you have their undivided attention, hopefully for 30, 45 minutes of time, if you can do like a full keynote, but any amount of time where you can tell a story and connect with them, share something valuable and then leave them with something a little bit more.
Speaker 2:You know opens up a, you know, a much faster path to turning them into clients because they now are faster along. That know like and trust curve, they're far more likely to want to pursue you, especially if you've got a high touch business or if you're coaching or consulting or you're in the professional services realm or whatever it may be. This is a way where you now have elevated yourself and we can get into the strategies of all that, or you know that, just to get your interest going, a way to set yourself apart and to make something like a conference so much more powerful for you and make it work for you, than just to try to scattershot and get as many hopefully, leads as you can from some other efforts that are the more traditional paths of marketing that everyone else is doing.
Speaker 1:I love that, and so my first question my brain's going with a lot of questions here for you, but I try to keep this simple for everyone. Listening Like, what does that first step look like? Because I know people who are speakers, I know people who are trying to break into it and that they want, in order for them to even consider you, how do you break into that as a newbie in regards to building your repertoire and showing you are the subject matter expert and that you are, like what you have to present and talk about is worth them bringing you on, whether they're paying you or not.
Speaker 2:Yeah, great question. And you know there's a lot of competition out there right now. So you do need to stand out if you want to be chosen for one of these conference events, whether it's within your field or whatever that looks like for you, there's always going to be other speakers who are competing for those same spots. So you have to look at what the other speakers are doing, to stand out and even if you haven't done any paid speaking or very much paid speaking, or even all of that, or even any paid speaking or any sort of speaking, you can still build out the assets that other speakers have to promote yourself as a speaker. Now I would recommend that you get out there and you do as many pro bono talks and you volunteer to speak and you get as much practice as possible. But a lot of people worry that they can't really market themselves as a speaker until they have this event in three months, and that's when I'll get good video and that's when I'll be able to market myself. No, you need to get going sooner rather than later.
Speaker 2:With what you have, you can always create video. You can shoot, you know, snippets of your keynote in front of you know, just in front of a screen. You don't need to be. It doesn't all have to be perfect for you to start. You know you can build those assets and get a website together, but if you don't have those things, yeah, you're going to look less professional, you're going to look more amateurish. If you don't have the right things that they're looking to review, then you can't be surprised if you're not considered for some of those spots. And maybe you need to start with. You know, breakout sessions or panel things, or just, you know, reapply when you've got some more of those assets.
Speaker 1:And do you need a book? I mean, I know you were talking about how a lot of speakers were authors first, but do you find that there are people who don't have a book or some kind of content that they've published and can still become a successful speaker?
Speaker 2:Oh, definitely. I mean, I did start off in the publishing world, so it seemed like a pretty natural pipeline from publishing a book, or publishing many books, into speaking. But it's not for everyone. Not every book, you know, there's a paid speaking audience for, and vice versa. So I don't think that it's a prerequisite anymore. I do think that it's just another way to grow your platform. I do think it's a great tool to get more speaking and it's a great tool if you want to extend, you know, your impact beyond speaking. For people who just see you speak, now they can go deeper with your book and that maybe can turn into. You know, I'm really passionate about people leveraging their speaking opportunities for ongoing B2B opportunities or ongoing B2C opportunities. So a book is a great vehicle to extend that conversation, get people hooked a little bit more and then possibly, you know, convert that also into more work with them or more resources for them to participate in, et cetera.
Speaker 1:I love that, and so when they're thinking about, okay, I want to, I want to do this speaking thing, this sounds like a good avenue to build my own brand, get my voice out there, get my company brand and voice out there. What are some of the key things on what to think about? Because, like you said, there is a ton of conferences out there, all different industries and functions, and I mean you could literally probably go to a conference, two or three conferences a day for the rest of your life and not even hit them all up right. So what's kind of like the strategy one should think about in regards to how to evaluate what could be the right conference for them to start trying to get to and be able to speak at?
Speaker 2:Yeah, great, great question Number one thing is who is your ideal client? You really want to go speak to who your ideal client is. I think a lot of people you know say they're in HR tech. They all go to the HR tech conference. Well, great, now you're with all your competitors. Now you're with a bunch of people who really know. You know your space. For the most part.
Speaker 2:You're not really driving a ton of new innovation or value or creating a lot of new thought leadership, most likely for them because you're in a space with peers and with people who are, again, pretty familiar with what you talk about. So you need to go to the space where your clients are and the customers and where you're also going to stand out. So maybe you are, you know again, an HR tech and there's, you know, an HR tech for finance. No, you want to just go to the finance event and be the one HR tech speaker. Find the associations that support or the events or conferences that support your ideal client but also aren't just filled with content that's going to be the same as yours, and it's also about what content you're going to deliver.
Speaker 2:It's not. You're not there to give a sales pitch, so you have to think about what your unique point of view and proposition and you know what you're even going to talk about in the first place to make it relevant to that event, that that makes you stand out, and that is what you want. To then figure out how you bring that to that audience because it should address a problem for them. You know you're again, you're not there to put your own language in that you know up front and just kind of position yourself to an audience that should already know what you're talking about. Now, if you're looking for the ideal client and you're just trying to solve their problem, you want to really position your talk and your in yourself as that is something, as a solution to that. So figuring out how to craft that, you know, I think, is a big part of it.
Speaker 1:And so one of the things that I thoroughly enjoy when I go to conferences and I'm listening to speakers is people who are really authentic. And you nailed it. It's not about you going and standing up there and selling yourself or your business or whatever it is that you're trying to make money off of. It's really you're up there to be the citizen matter expert to share insight, share ideas, thoughts, tools, ways to run XYZ, business or function to help your target audience grow and be able to technically walk off without needing you.
Speaker 1:The reality is, we all know you can hand the cookbook to everybody, but most of them are going to still go into the restaurant and have the chef cook the meal right. Like, yeah, probably if we all could cook the meal right. Like, yeah, probably if we all could uh, alone limited funds be able to do that. So, um, what like? What other things should we be thinking about as potential speakers that would draw an audience, in that we can show up authentically and and be able to really boost our brand and our voice and ultimately ideally, obviously then there'll be potential ROI, where someone would want to work with you. But how do you show up really authentically from that perspective? What's? What's some of the strategies you you've given to some of your customers and clients.
Speaker 2:Yeah, well, I'm again. I'm glad you asked this because I think this is the most important element of speakers nowadays and what remember, what people feel comfortable with and what people want is that authenticity. And I think we get that when the speaker is a good storyteller. So I'm sure any of you all of you could talk all day and night about your services, your products, your you know, hopefully you know honing in on the valuable messages and some of the differentiators and something you know, you can hone in on your content and the things that maybe you've written articles about, et cetera.
Speaker 2:But figuring out the right stories to tell can be trickier because you know you're trying to both open up and relate to this audience.
Speaker 2:So you want to open your beginning of your talk maybe with something that's vulnerable, but you do want to connect to that audience, so they're going to go with you on this journey, and at the end you want to bring it back and tie it up with a nice neat bow to the beginning, because then that's what will give people closure and people remember the whole of your talk. People remember the beginning and they remember the end the most. We know that. But then once the two are tied together, then you have a more lasting memory and if you can make an emotional connection to them in the beginning and the end, then that's how they'll even further remember you and want to work with you, et cetera, because we make decisions often about buying and all of that emotionally. So it's really about understanding, kind of like, those tools and the effectiveness of that and honing that and maybe even just starting to jot down stories, you know, and just start making a list of different stories that you think might be interesting and start to workshop those you know.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Those are things that you have to practice. They don't just. No one just becomes like a great storyteller overnight, like you. You like comics that work out their material. You're going to work out better ways to tell the story and whatnot, but figure out the emotions first, you know, and then work back from there when you're putting your talks together.
Speaker 1:I love that and one of the things that I got from a speaker last year at an event I was at. She closed it up where she actually had about five minutes where the audience engaged with each other and talked about their one key takeaway and what action they're going to do about that, and I thought that was so powerful because I can clearly remember her speaking and the topic and my takeaway from it and what I did with it, more than any other conference I've been to today or any other. You know webinars I've been on, so I think that's really a great way to kind of get people to remember you, remember the content better and actually take action because, like any other conference or event someone's attending, the attention span is short. They're going to be listening to other things, learning about other things, so how do you really help them be able to take something away from what you're saying and being succinct about that too- Totally.
Speaker 2:I mean, it's all about being memorable and standing out.
Speaker 2:So doing that and engaging people. People learn by movements of getting you moving. Talking people, you know, commit to things when they're more likely to follow through if they tell them to someone else or if they speak them out loud. So the speaker was using a lot of psychology just even in doing that. That I want because, you know, again, the speakers, especially the ones that are generally the most successful and drive a lot of demand and impact, are the ones who are looking to create that impact and might want to go beyond just speaking, want to work with that organization or have additional product services, et cetera, and so I talked to them very specifically about, yeah, even those elements of how do we make it stickier, you know.
Speaker 2:So sometimes upfront, you might want to start with these are the three things that you're going to learn today, or that I'm. My goal is to teach you these three things. So putting it on the speaker, you know, or today we are going to, you know, explore these three things and at the end go over them again, like just say so, now you know you've got a definition for this and you've understood, kind of where you fall on this scale and finally, you've got to take away. You've got to think, you know, you've got, you know a new thing that you can try with your team, blah, blah, blah. So it can be three different things, three different, you know, but just kind of again reminding people of what they just experienced, cementing it and, you know, making that next commitment to what they can do.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so okay, we know why we should do this. We have a concept of like researching where our ICPs are For those that don't know. That's your ideal customer client profile. We kind of figure out content. You know three bullet points or less, remind them what it is, have them, have a takeaway, okay. But now I got to say stage fright is a real thing. Like, how does one get past stage fright and live and breathe and be so content and energetic inside that spotlight?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I'm glad it's probably a very big, like you know, probably four hours, four day.
Speaker 2:question no and I get asked it a lot and you know again, it's not my area of expertise.
Speaker 2:I'm more like the business creative strategist, but people do ask and when I've had clients who've had stage fright and it's common, I think it's normal. And I think it's natural and I think that if you don't have stage fright, then maybe you're not doing something right. So I think you should have some adrenaline going. But what I like to remind people is that they're there to give a gift. You're not going out, it's not a performance, you're not walking out on stage to play a solo or you know, do these things, that kind of people, equate maybe with stage and freight and everything else? And I try to recenter them on the like, the bigger mission of why they're there, the bigger purpose. So I think, as a leader, as an entrepreneur, as a business owner, whatever it may be, maybe it's not just why you're there to speak to that audience, maybe it is to get paid, but also to get connected and to keep growing your audience. But, like, what's the mission behind your company? Then, like, you can back it up into your mission and your vision and your values, and I think one of like what accompanies this and it's, you know, something that we talk about in life all the time now is imposter syndrome.
Speaker 2:So on one side, people assume, oh no, people are going to find out I'm a fraud, I'm going to get out there and everyone's going to say, oh, so what? Like I knew that or like this, this guy's a phony. That doesn't happen, because on the other side and what we so often overlook is that you know a lot more about your subject than most people do, especially if you're not going to the conference. That's all about what you do, and with all your peers and colleagues you're really in. You might have to rethink even how you talk about your topics and bring it back to basics, because that's where people are at. You're not. You're further along the road, that's where you're supposed to be. So if that's what you're doing, then hopefully you can get that sense of value and that purpose and and you know align that with what you're doing there in the first place. And if you practice, like anything, it gets easier, you know. So that's that's my advice.
Speaker 1:Yeah, practicing is really important and you know, practice in front of your family and friends, like you know, they're here to support you and encourage you and they might not like like, they might not know your topic, they might not even be interested in your topic, but I'm pretty sure they'd be willing to sit and listen to you and hear you out and tell you where they got lost, because if they're getting lost somewhere, most likely you're going to lose your audience if you're not going to your subject matter expert kind of type conference. Right, great advice, I love that. Well, as we wrap up today, any last thoughts or tips or tricks, blair, that we could share with the audience?
Speaker 2:Yeah well, I often like to say you know, speaking begets more speaking. So get out there. You know, wherever you may be, you never know what an opportunity may bring, if not immediately further down the road. These things have a long tail. I've heard a lot of times like my boss saw her speak three years ago, or you know, these things can really continue to grow and compound for you. So I would say put some time and effort into it, because it will keep returning for you.
Speaker 1:Thanks, Blair. It was nice to have you on the podcast.
Speaker 2:I hope it turns out for you. Thanks, blair, it was nice to have you on the podcast.
Speaker 1:I hope. I hope it turns out for you and get some more. You know branding and your voices continue to be spread out to the world.
Speaker 2:Yeah, you can find me on Instagram or LinkedIn Blair, brian Nichols and BBN creative management and my website BBN creative managementcom, and you can get a free 30 minute call with me just to talk about your speaking, maybe what your next step is, and I'm happy to answer all your questions there too.
Speaker 1:Awesome. Well, that is very generous of you, blair. We appreciate it and we hope everyone takes you up on that opportunity, because that's a lot of fun in speaking and getting your voice heard out in the world. So take them up on that opportunity and until the next podcast podcast, have a great one everyone.
