156: Understanding Speaker Pitch Timeline
Pitching yourself as a speaker doesn’t always provide immediate results. If we’re being honest, you’re likely looking at a 6-12 month lead time on paid opportunities.
In today’s episode I’m breaking down a few rules you should consider when you start to pitch yourself as a speaker, along with a few disclaimers about the industry that no one’s probably told you!
If you loved this episode and it motivated you to work on more polished presentations, I’d love for you to leave a review on iTunes and tell me about your biggest takeaway. Take a screenshot of you listening on your device, post it to your Instagram Stories, and tag me @jessicarasdall.
Resources mentioned in this episode:
What is the Timeline for Pitching Myself as a Speaker?
Recently, someone sent me the following message over on instagram and I knew I had to talk about it: Okay that was way too long for that box - I feel like the time gap between beginning to pitch actual events (not just podcasts) to actually booking an event is a really long game - so many of the events I’m finding are happening so far out, for example. My mindset is kind of like, well, I start pitching now, and maybe I’ll have my first in-person event booked by the end of this year, but probably won’t have a plethora of events this year. Is this normal, is this COVID normal, or am I doing something wrong?
In today’s episode, I’m taking this really important question and explaining the timeline for all speaking events. This includes podcasts, stages, summits, retreats, and more!
Three Disclaimers About My Advice
While I may have over a decade of experience in the speaking realm, there are a few disclaimers I want to share prior to giving you advice:
Disclaimer #1: This advice is good for all speaking opportunities.
Disclaimer #2: Not everyone follows the rules I'm about to share with you.
Disclaimer #3: The rule of thumb is these opportunities are not about you.
Understanding Timelines
Now that we understand that not ever singles rule holds truth in every situation, let’s review a few things you need to understand in regards to a speaker pitch timeline:
Organizers need time to plan, invite, onboard, market, coordinate, etc.
You have to take action consistently and do so long before you ever send your pitches.
The timeline from pitch to stage IS long... like 6-12 months long.
Relationships Matter
While you’re likely going to start working on pitching for opportunities 6-12 months from now, it’s important that we highlight just how important relationships are for you in this industry. I’d like to encourage you to consistently be researching opportunities, building relationships, asking to be a part of events, preparing for the event, and delivering your presentation.
This will help you grow in your own skills, but also keep you connected and consistently booking speaking opportunities!
If you're a member of The Speaking Strategy Academy we put together a brand new resource for you that gives you a 90-day actions guide to implement this exact cycle. It gives you ONE action item to focus on each day that will help you position yourself as an in-demand speaker AND keep opportunities coming in.
Not a member yet? Head on over the thespeakingstrategyacademy.com and apply to join!
Catch the Show Notes
Today's Question (2:35)
Disclaimer #1: This advice is good for all speaking opportunities. (3:53)
Disclaimer #2: Not everyone follows the rules I'm about to share with you. (5:14)
Disclaimer #3: The rule of thumb is these opportunities are not about you. (6:55)
Understanding Timelines (7:14)
Relationships Matter (11:15)
Ask to be a Part of the Event (11:45)
If you're not already a member of the academy, we'd love to invite you to apply to join The Speaking Strategy Academy. You'll get instant access to our A-Z speaking training system with video lessons, transcripts, scripts, templates, and more.... access to our live group coaching calls, personalized 1:1 feedback on your work from me, and an opportunity to present your work live in front of our community for hot seat coaching and feedback. What are you waiting for, friend? Apply today!
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Read the Transcript from this Episode
Transcript for Episode 154:
Jessica Rasdall 0:00
Do you ever feel like it takes a long time to go from speaker pitch to speaking on the stage? If you do, you're not alone friend. And today's episode is for you. We're talking about the speaker pitch timeline, and how long it actually takes from pitching to speak to speaking on stage.
Jessica Rasdall 0:31
Welcome back to another episode of The speak to scale Podcast, where we're helping small business owners just like you grow and scale their impact by speaking on stages, podcasts, webinars, and more. I'm your host, Jessica Rasdall. And I am pumped for today's episode, because we are bringing back something I haven't done any years. Now, I don't know if anybody remembers this. Maybe you are an OG Jessica Rasdall friend, and you've been around for a while. But do you remember my Facebook Live series? Just as Jess, we used to do it like every Tuesday, three, maybe four years ago? You know, I would show up? And I'd answer your questions live each week. And well, honestly, that live stream show eventually became the speak to scale podcast that you know, and love. So for today's episode, I'm gonna be a little nostalgic.
Jessica Rasdall 1:36
I want to bring back just as Jess, and I want to share and unpack a question that I received in my Instagram, DMS, we're going to just ask Jess. So here's the message. Actually, it was in response to one of those little question boxes I popped up in my stories. I love hearing from you guys. I love knowing what you're struggling with what you're working towards. I love answering your questions like this work that I do preto producing this podcast creating our content. It's not for me, you know, it's for you. And I don't want this relationship to be one sided. I want to hear what you've got going on. And I love feeling like I'm a part of your journey, even if it's just on Instagram. So I asked a question I was I believe I was asking about what you guys want to hear on the podcast what I can support you with? And this question came in, but it was too long for the Instagram story box. So she sent me a DM. And she said I feel like the time gap between beginning to pitch to actual events, not just podcasts, to actually booking an event is a really long game. So many of the events I'm finding are happening so far out. And my mindset is if I start pitching now, maybe I'll have my first in person event booked by the end of this year, but probably won't have a plethora of events this year. Is this normal? Is this a COVID normal? Or am I doing something wrong?
Jessica Rasdall 3:06
Does anybody feel like that? Is anybody else feeling like it takes so long to go from setting a pitch to getting on a stage that when you start researching events, they're so far out in the distance. And you can't find anything that's coming up soon? Well, you're not alone friend. And I think if you have a better understanding of what the speaker pitch timeline looks like that you can approach this a little bit different, and stack the odds in your favor, so that you can have a steady flow of opportunities in the pipeline. So let me pull back the curtain put on my just ask just hat and friend, a friend tell you what this pitch timeline looks like. So the first thing I need you to know is that what we're about to talk about applies to all speaking stages, podcasts, retreats, all the things, right. Any kind of speaking, you're thinking because I don't want us to get into this place where we start categorizing in person speaking virtual speaking. No, it's speaking, period. And all speaking follows these same rules. Why? Well, you know what, I'm gonna say, you know what, I'm gonna say, don't you, I feel like you do because we talk about this all the time.
Jessica Rasdall 4:27
Because all speaking whether it's a podcast, a virtual presentation, or an in person presentation, every single one of those opportunities comes with two people, we need to serve the organizer, and the audience. And all of these events have to be set up in a way that there's enough time for that organizer to get all their ducks in a row and for you to serve them well. And then the space for them to market to and serve that second audience, the people you're actually speaking to. So don't compartment realize this, what we're talking about here applies to all speaking opportunities. The second thing I need you to know, this is more of a disclaimer, right? A little asterik. If I may, not everyone follows these rules I'm about to tell you, okay? For real, what I'm telling you, what I'm going to share with you is the like, general rule of thumb, the most case situation. But sometimes, you get that person that organizer, that host that likes to live life on the edge a little bit. And they want to ask you to participate in the summit two weeks out, like no joke, I just got that email last week. And I was voice messaging a friend back and forth.
Jessica Rasdall 5:46
Today, a client of mine, who has been getting those emails as well, there's a lot of one thing I will say is, with virtual being a much bigger player these days, the timeline is shorter for virtual, the timeline can be shorter, because you don't have to factor in travel for your attendees. And a lot of people are popping up virtual summit at the very last minute, and asking people to speak at them. Now that goes against everything Krista teaches us and summit in a box. And you can go listen to her episode here on the podcast. I'll link it in the show notes for you. But unfortunately, some people do. Maybe they just, you know, they like the adrenaline rush. They want to do it last minute. They're excited about the event. I know that if I pulled a stunt like that, my team would flip out on me. Oh, my goodness, that would never fly around here. No, everybody would be so mad at me. I would never do that. Okay, third, first. Okay, so first, or realize that we're all on the same page here. This applies to all types of speaking. Second, not every single organizer is going to follow these guidelines. And three, the rule of thumb is these opportunities are not about you. That's always my rule, though, isn't it? Right? When you are looking at speaking opportunities, it's not about you. But let me break that down.
Jessica Rasdall 7:10
Because that might not make sense yet. So the first thing we need to know is organizers when they are planning their event, whether it's an in person event, it's a virtual summit, it's a retreat, they need time to plan. They need time to invite speakers, onboard them, prepare their marketing, coordinate a location, do all of these other logistical things before they ever announce it to their attendees. Because if I'm hosting an event, I can't just pop up a sales page and say, Hey, friends, spend $2,000 on tickets to my event. Just trust me, it will be great. No, you don't need to worry about who the speakers are. No, you don't need to worry about where I'm going to do it. Now. You don't need to worry about the timeline. Will there be food lodging? Forget it, just trust me and buy a ticket. That's not how this works right. As the organizer, they need to spend time, way ahead of the event planning and prepping. So they have all their ducks in a row. They use that information to market the event to their audience, then, okay, that's like phase one, then they need to start announcing it and selling those tickets far enough in advance that attendees have time to purchase, they have time to think about making the purchase, they have time to get off that fence and say yes, and they have time to block it in their calendar. This is especially important if it's in person. And attendees may be traveling. So the organizers got to think about their audience and making sure they've got everything prepped ahead of time, they're ready to market it. And then they're marketing it with enough time for people to not only want to buy tickets, but be able to actually attend. So yes, the timeline from pitch to stage is long, like six to 12 months long, which makes what I'm about to say, even more important.
Jessica Rasdall 9:19
Friend, you've got to keep taking action consistently. Because if you keep waiting for things to get, you know, hashtag back to normal. Before you start preparing and pitching yourself to speak, you're already going to be behind six to 12 months behind to be exact. Now we have to have a little note here about pitching. Because I'm telling you that timeline as far as from the time that you get a request to speak, or the time that you fill out that application or send the pitch. But the actual timeline should be much longer than six to 12 months because you're involved meant with an event or an organizer starts long before you ever send that pitch, it should, I should say, it should start long before you ever send that pitch. Let's see relationships matter. And if you really want to do less pitching, but booked more events, that's where I want you to center your energy, it's on those relationships, make the space to consistently be going through the cycle of booking, the cycle of booking is not just research events, pitch them speak on stages, no, grab a pen. Let me tell you about that cycle of booking friend. It starts with researching opportunities, you know, looking for podcasts, you want to speak on, looking for conferences, you want to speak at, you know, different leaders, you want to collaborate with all of that, creating a list of places that you are confident that you can show up and serve their audience well, that you are confident that you have just the thing that event needs to create an incredible experience. But the next step, and that cycle is not pitch, it's build relationships. That means that you are intentionally taking time to get to know this opportunity, you know, you're listening to that podcast, maybe you're leaving them a review, you're getting on this conferences, newsletter, you're following them on social media, you're engaging with their content, and you're really getting a feel of are these my people, like is this the group that I am called to serve?
Jessica Rasdall 11:36
That's the second step, then, after you've researched the events, you've started working on those relationships. The third part is to ask to be a part of it, I like using the phrase ask to be a part of it a whole lot more than pitch. Because I feel like when we can get in the mindset of asking, instead of pitching, we look at that conversation completely different. We then put this opportunity, really on the pedestal that it should be but in a good way, you know, we look at it through with through this lens of value of like, this is something that I like, you know, this is something that I've been following that I'm invested in, that I want to be a part of. And I'm going to ask them, if I can be a part of it. If I can show up and collaborate with them, and pour into their audience, not a let me tell them how awesome I am with a carefully crafted pitch.
Jessica Rasdall 12:34
Totally different energy. And if I can challenge you to do one thing today, it's to shift from pitching to asking, you're doing the same thing, right? But you're coming at it from a different place, because you've spent the time to research those opportunities, and build those relationships before you ask to take it to the next level. Once you've been booked, and they're like, yes, of course we want you to speak, then you need the space to prepare for the event and deliver your presentation. If you can make that cycle a routine, where you are consistently every single week, searching for new opportunities, building those relationship, asking to be a part of events, preparing for them and delivering them. If you make that a routine that you do consistently, you will always have opportunities in your pipeline. But well most of us do. I'm guilty of this too. So I am not calling you out, maybe call myself out a little bit. What most of us do is we stay head down in our work, we stay really busy serving our clients well, working with our students developing new content, you know, up leveling our curriculum, I'm obsessed with making the Speaking Strategy Academy like the best program out there. I have no shame in that. I am obsessed with that. But sometimes that results in me staying in my little hole in my office, head down working on stuff for our students. We've got to start treating ourselves like our own client, and putting time on our calendar, where we can create this habit.
Jessica Rasdall 14:15
And we can invest in this cycle of research, relationships, asking, preparing and delivering. When we do that consistently, it's like this machine for us. It creates, you know, a supply of endless opportunities and lead sources. Now I've got a secret. If you're a member of the speaking strategy Academy, like yes, I just said I'm obsessed with making it the best thing for you but we just added a new resource for you. That gives you a 90 day action guide to implement this exact cycle. It gives you just one simple action to take each day that you can focus on that's going to help you position yourself as an in demand speaker and keep those opportunities coming. Did I create that resource for myself or for you? Well, that's a secret I'm not going to tell. But it is in there for you. And if you're not a member yet, I'd love to have you join us, you can head on over to our show notes, or go to the speaking strategy academy.com and apply to join, we're always looking for new, amazing members who are committed to showing up leaving their audience better than they found them delivering true value from the stage and growing and scaling our businesses with our messages. But if you're like, Jess, this timeline seems ridiculous. Six to 12 months, I can't wait that long for an event. I'm going to challenge you and say, today is the perfect time for you to get started. You're not waiting six to 12 months for the opportunity. Because if you can spend some time today, researching events, building relationships, asking to be a part, preparing and delivering, you are setting the stage and your future self is going to thank you.
Jessica Rasdall 16:12
That's kind of been my like, my new thing I've taken on lately of I'm enneagram seven, you probably know that. And we are very likely to put things off to bow out of things, you know, maybe a little non committal. But as somebody who's 156 episodes deep in this podcast, like it's clear, we can commit to things. But the thing that I've been really focusing on lately is like how can I get to a place where I'm always thinking my past self?
Jessica Rasdall 16:46
Like how can I do things for my future self? Little things? Like, you know, I set up the coffee pot the night before, every morning, I'm like, Oh, thank you. Last night, Jessica. When I get that thing done ahead of time, I'm like, Oh, thank you pass, Jessica.
Jessica Rasdall 17:03
Right when I prep that extra meal for the fridge when I meal plan for the week, like those things, I thank myself for later. And I know that if you and I together can get into this routine of doing this right now, when it's not sexy, when there's not as many events going on, when nobody's watching, when we can just commit to making that cycle a routine that we will be thanking ourselves later. And so will our audience. When we are on that stage, pouring into them, leaving our audience better than than we found them. Our audience will be thanking our past selves. And we will be thinking our past selves. So yes, friend, if you're wondering, is there something wrong with me? Or is the timeline really this long? Yes, the timeline really is this long. But that doesn't mean you should wait to get started.
Jessica Rasdall 18:01
Thank you so much for tuning in to today's episode of The speak to scale podcast. It would mean the world to us if you could just take a second and head on over to iTunes and leave us a review. Your support of this show allows us to continue creating this content for you each and every week. And we appreciate your reviews and you sharing about the show more than you know. As always, I will be over here cheering you on friend. I'll see you next week for another episode of The speak to scale podcast.
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