Have you ever wanted to be quoted by trade press and invited to speak without paying at key association meetings ?

Part of the equation is perception:  Is your company – and its visible expert – perceived by the industry as a vendor, or a strategic partner, for its customers and for transformation within the industry? And if not, how do you get from here to there?

This is not a simple equation, or even a short term fix. There are, however, a few commitments that  keep your company heading in the right direction:

1. Develop client success first. The top factor in getting noticed by conferences is having clients who are successful. You can start with a few case studies at the ready that your company or your clients can share. You can’t skip this step. Even paid presentations often require at least one case study.

2. Look for a “proof of concept” client in an area breaking new ground, with revenue impact. One example is the ground breaking service SpokenLayer provides, turning newspapers into audible editions and podcasts. Their  first newspaper client, SF Chronicle, spoke with them on stage at the 2018 Mega Conference. They could also have used one of their other big name online-one clients such as Huffington Post or Salon, but the first big client in the newspaper vertical goes a long way to convincing others to follow.

3. Attach your story to a mega trend. It helps to have the key statistics from a credible research source. In the case of SpokenLayer, they could show how smart speakers have the fastest growing product sales in history, already passing the growth rate of the Apple phone in its early days. They added statistic on the rise of off-screen listening.

4. Always use a case study: Challenge, strategy, results, roadmap ahead, in addition to the overview of the opportunity.

5. Have metrics ready for prospects that want concrete numbers to see if it will work in their market.

6. Let your client co-present. It is typically easier to work in pairs, in which you discuss the mega trend, opportunity and metrics, while the client walks through their experience.

Even if your company is never invited to speak, customers often will speak on your behalf if the platform is a key game-changer, perceived as a partner.

7. Find and develop your visible expert. Sometimes the visible expert is the CEO, sometimes it is a different VP who is a good speaker. We’ve talked to conference promoters, and their biggest fear in inviting technology partners to speak is that it will turn into a sales pitch or otherwise not provide the valuable information key executives are paying in time and money to hear.

A great way to practice is to take advantage of purchased speaking opportunities, but look for ones that allow you to present a case study rather than simply ´making an introduction.’  If your pitch is remarkable you will be invited back.

If you are interested in working on a visible expert strategy, please contact us below.