Making the Most of Fitness Publicity

Three Public Speaking Tips for Fitness Publicity

Public speaking is not only a great way to prospect for new clients; it also builds your credibility as an expert. Whether or not you speak in public already, these three tips will help you land more talks.

Tip #1 - It’s super easy to get speaking “gigs”

I’m often asked by Fitness Professionals how they should go about getting booked for talks. When I tell them to pick up the phone and call people they nearly pass out at the very thought of having to make a “cold call.” When they come back to their senses I gently explain most of these groups meet weekly and they need a speaker at each meeting. That means they need someone willing to come in and speak for free in a bad way! Believe me; they are dying to hear from you.

And they are super easy to find as well. If you belong to a networking group of some sort I can almost guarantee you they’d love to have you speak. Ask people such as your clients what groups they belong to and whether or not they have speakers. All sorts of religious organizations have meetings with speakers. Search the internet. It’s simple!

When you call them just ask for the person who books speakers. They’ll gladly tell you who it is and how to get in touch with them. What do you say when you get them on the phone? “Hi, I understand you’re looking for speakers for your meetings. Is that correct?” I’m confident you can handle it.

They’ll then ask you what you talk about. I think every single time I’ve ever told someone my talk is on fitness they’ll all responded with the same answer: “We could all use that!”

Tip #2 - Have a bio and description of your talk handy

When you make the initial contact there’s a very good chance they’ll want to see your bio and the description of what you plan on talking about. It doesn’t need to be a big production to start. Just have two separate documents. The bio just needs to give a brief background on your experience and credentials. Your talk description is simply the title of your talk and bullet points on what you will cover.

Tip #3 - Have a really cool introduction

You really want to bond with your audience right away so come up with something that shows you are an expert, but also human. Here’s one I’ve used in the past to get the audience laughing before we even started:

“While at the University of Delaware, Jim Labadie managed to be a Dean's List student by incorporating a steady diet of study, volunteer work, Jack Daniel's and Taco Bell. It was this strict lifestyle that allowed him to graduate not only with a degree in Fitness Management, but also 40 pounds fatter than you see him today.

A reformed party-animal and fast-food junkie, Coach Jim is a passionate fitness entrepreneur, speaker, coach and consultant. He has appeared in Redbook, Men’s Fitness, Self and if you watch local news on Fox, NBC or CBS you’ve probably seen him there, too.”

Typically, the person who booked you will be the one who is going to introduce you. Make sure they know to read word for word the introduction you have created. If you don’t specifically hand this to them right before you go and request it they very well may resort to just reading straight from your bio. Boring! It’s happened to me so be sure they introduce you the right way to set the tone for a great talk.

Jim Labadie is a fitness entrepreneur, sales expert and speaker. You can download a FREE copy of his new e-book “63 Must-Have Sales Tips for Personal Trainers” at: http://www.ptsalestips.com