Speaking in the community is one of the most effective ways of connecting with homeowners in your area and generating leads. No matter how much you spend on advertising and marketing, how many pieces of direct mail you send out, and how awesome the content on your website is, there's nothing like speaking to a group of people face to face. Particularly if you can speak to a large group of people, right in your neighborhood.
And, let's remember, home energy pros are uniquely situated among small business owners to make compelling presentations. You're an expert in a field that few people know about, but that directly relates to their physical and financial well-being. You have something to say, and it's something that people need to know about.
What Do You Need to Get Started?
The question then is just how to get started. Here are a few things you'll need:
- A good presentation
- A page on your site about your speaking capabilities
- A short video of you speaking that shows you're not boring
- An outreach program to build awareness of your availability.
Where to Find Speaking Engagements:
Energy efficiency contractors across the country have had success driving business and raising awareness of the industry with speaking gigs. Here are just a few of the places that we've heard of home energy pros finding opportunities:
- Rotary Clubs
- Sustainability Committees
- Community Centers
- Transition Town Groups
- Environmental & Community Groups
- Churches
- Library Speaker series
- Homeowners Associations
- Condo Associations
- Business networking groups
- Chambers of Commerce
- Kiwanis Clubs
- Optimist Clubs
- Junior Leagues
- High school classes (e.g. Physics)
- Stores - hardware stores, "green" stores, etc.
- Workshops at home shows
What to Talk About?
A few topics that have worked:
- Does your house perform?
- DIY weatherization training (using foam, etc)
- Climate change and the U.S. housing stock
- Peak oil and the U.S. housing stock
- Energy security and the U.S. housing stock
- Building science basics
- Is your house a Hummer or a Prius?
All thoughts welcome, and be sure to let us know if you've had success with any other topics/venues in driving your home performance business.
Image: Devon Hartman of Home Performance Matters uses speaking engagements to drive awareness of the industry.
Comments
Hey Bradley -- I don't think it's a necessity by any means, but more of an outside-the-box marketing tactic that could work for certain businesses. Personality type, regional demographics, quality of the presentation, etc, are all factors that would affect how successful a particular talk would be in terms of generating leads. But, I do think it's worth experimenting and seeing what works.
Posted by Will on Aug 27, 2012 4:47pm