So whether you do it for the fees or for the contacts or both, you really can't lose. Another bonus is that speaking professionally often takes us out of the comfort zone into the zone of learning new and very valuable skills such as building a rapport with the audience, ad-libbing, and speaking with confidence.

The first step on the road to addressing large groups of people is to get training. Speaking well requires constant training to keep you ahead of the game. Start with Toastmaster's and offer your services as a speaker free to non-profit or community groups, simply to build up the experience you need. Professional one-on-one coaching is also available to take your career to another level.

Make sure you get testimonials from audience members to use later in your promotional material. (This, of course, requires their permission).

Now that you have some expertise, you know exactly what you want to say, use the contacts you've already built up to find your audience. With a demographic profile of your target audience, determine what associations they belong to, what magazines they read, what clubs they're members of, etc. (Don't be shy about asking your clients or customers for referrals to their associations.)

Ask your local librarian for the latest copy of the book that lists contact information for all the Associations.

When calling a Conference Organizer, ask what the theme of their upcoming conference is and whether they've got their speakers lined up. Large conferences usually plan a year in advance. Let them know what you have to offer. Often the response will be to send them your material and they'll keep it on file.

The trick here is to find ways to keep your name in front of them. You can do this with periodic phone calls or brief mailing updates. A little of this goes a long way - you don't want to alienate the organizer.

Approach many different organizations at the same time so you keep the momentum going.

Because professional speaking is such a rapidly growing field, you're competing with people who do this full time and very professionally so you'll have to take exactly the same approach by developing promotional materials that are very high quality.

Your promo kit should contain a brief but well written biographical sketch of you and your accomplishments and qualifications. On another page, list three topics that you speak about. Use catchy titles that will reflect the dynamic nature of your keynotes and a paragraph-long description.

When you describe your keynotes, make a short list of the benefits to audience members. What will they gain from hearing you speak?

The third page should contain short testimonials from clients and/or customers along with a list of clients.

Now that you're all set with training, a promo kit and contact information for your target audience, go for it!

About the Author:
Cathleen Fillmore, Cathleen Fillmore is a marketing coach for professional speakers, co-author of Going for Gold! A Complete Marketing Strategy for Speakers and publisher of Speakers Gold, an online marketing ezine. For a free subscription to Speakers Gold, contact Cathleen with Subscribe as the Subject Heading.