Speaking engagements showcase your expertise and connect you with prospective clients and industry leaders.
But if you don’t know how to follow-up with the connections you make, your efforts will fail to contribute to the success of your law firm.
Following up with participants after a speaking engagement is a critical step in growing your brand and reaching a larger audience.
The Value of Connections at Speaking Engagements
Speaking at an event places you in front of people who can benefit from the legal services you provide.
As a legal expert, you and your practice can deliver the resources that people need to address important legal concerns.
A speaking engagement demonstrates your standing within your industry. It builds credibility and trust among your existing and future clients.
These events are a great way to connect face-to-face with clients, prospects, and industry professionals. They enhance your visibility and make attendees more likely to contact you when they need services like yours.
Making Connections at Speaking Engagements
There are many ways to connect and follow up with attendees at your speaking engagement. You may be able to access a list of participants and discover potential opportunities for creating new relationships.
Reach out to key individuals and schedule times to meet before or after your presentation. You’ll be able to learn more about attendees prior to the event, which makes it easy to build rapport with them when you meet them in person.
Creating Follow-Up Opportunities
Following up with prospects and connections after a speaking engagement requires a carefully developed strategy.
1. Answer Questions
Your presentation should include an opportunity for you to answer questions from your audience. This gives them a chance to engage with you and increases the likelihood that they’ll want to meet you.
The questions that attendees ask create deeper discussions around topics related to your services. You can ask attendees to meet with you after your presentation if they want to continue these conversations.
2. Give Attendees a Way to Connect With You
Offer different ways for attendees to connect with you. You can direct participants to your website, blog, or social media pages.
Provide a personal email or phone number at the end of your presentation so that your audience can contact you directly. You’ll reduce the steps required to connect with you and improves the results you achieve from your speaking engagement.
3. Ask for a Connection
You can’t assume that attendees will reach out to you. So be sure to ask for their business card and contact information. You can send a quick email after the event or reach out attendees by phone.
Make notes on business cards so that you remember the context in which you made a connection. This makes it easy to remind them of who you are, where you met, and what you discussed.
Your follow-up messages will be more personalized, leading to better results over time.
4. Give Useful and Relevant Information After the Event
If you have resources that may be useful to the connections you’ve made, include them in follow-up messages. This allows your message to provide immediate value while demonstrating your willingness to help others achieve their goals.
Send a transcript of your presentation or your slides to attendees after the event. This is one of the easiest ways to follow-up with attendees while giving them something to take away from having attended your presentation.
What strategies do you use when following up with new connections? Are there any challenges that you still face when speaking at an industry event? Let us know in the comments below.
Following up with prospects and connections after a speaking engagement can help you and your law firm achieve a new level of success. It grows your network and increases the visibility of your brand.
