Making Sure You and the Client are a Good Mutual Fit
You’re on a potential client’s short list of speakers, and the client would like to set up a pre-booking call with
you prior to making a decision. So you’ve done all your homework, (see my prior post: How to Master Pre-Booking Calls: Pt 1 – Doing Your Homework) and everyone has dialed in (of course, you dialed in 2 minutes earlier than everyone else, right?). Now what do you say?? A good rule of thumb is, if you’re doing most of the talking on a pre-booking call, you’re not doing it right. This is not the time to sell yourself! Don’t drone on and on about your background, your topics, and why you’re the best in your field. If they hadn’t already decided you were a top candidate, you never would’ve gotten this far! Trust me, they’ve already reviewed all of your information and videos. The chief purpose of a pre-booking call is to make sure you and the client are a good mutual fit for each other and their meeting objectives. The last thing you want to do is exaggerate or lie. No speaker wants to bomb (and obviously that’s not why clients pay you), so set yourself up for success by being open and honest about your strengths and weaknesses.
Most likely, the client will start out by introducing the call participants and telling you about what they have in mind for their event. Make sure you take notes! And write down any questions as they come to you. (More on this later.) Then they might ask you a question to the effect of – “Our theme is __ /we’re struggling with __ and we’re wondering what your approach might be on that?” This is a good time to share some short bullet points on one of your programs that would be a good fit. You might also mention their theme is similar to something else you have done for a client in the past (if it is). If you’re the type of speaker who does a lot of background research and homework on each company and industry, explain your process (as succinctly as possible). If you’re not really going to do everything you say you will though, don’t bring it up. Whatever you say on the call, the client will hold you to it – even if you don’t remember saying it afterward! This is also a good time to share some of those notes you jotted down in advance of the call and show them you did your homework, as long as it’s relevant to the discussion. Although I’ve compared a pre-booking call to a job interview, once you get to this phase, treat it more like a conversation to get to know each other better. There is such a thing as “trying too hard” and you want to make sure the client is a good fit for you, too.
Towards the end of the call, the client will usually give you an opportunity to ask questions. Don’t say you don’t have any! Remember those notes you took? Now you can refer back to them and ask the questions that came to mind. (The other reason to take notes is because, if they choose you, they may not want to schedule a second call closer to the event, but those notes will be crucial in helping you prepare.) At the very least, here are two good questions to ask if you can’t think of anything else:
1. How do you want the attendees to feel when I’m done and how will we know we’ve succeeded in meeting your objectives?
2. My goal after this call is to make sure you’re completely confident with your decision, regardless of which speaker you choose. Are there any concerns we should address about why I might not be the best fit for your meeting?
The fact that you’re even willing to go there, while most speakers are trying to “convince” clients why they should hire them, will set you apart! Again, remember, this is supposed to be an open and honest discussion about why you and the client might (or might not) be a good mutual fit.
So now you’ve finished the call and everyone has thanked each other for their time. You’ve decided you can help this client and it’s a great mutual fit. Within the next 12-24 hours, send each call participant a thank you email or, at the very least, the person who organized the call. It doesn’t need to be long, something to the effect of:
“Thank you for giving me an opportunity to learn more about your meeting. I appreciate you all scheduling time to chat with me, no small feat I’m sure to coordinate everyone’s schedules. I’m excited about the possibility of speaking on __ for you. If you think of any additional questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact me. I look forward to hearing back about your team’s decision.”
Of course, if after the call you decide you’re not a good fit for what they’re looking for, now is the time to say so. You should still send a thank you note – keep the first two sentences and end with something like “After giving this some careful thought, I don’t think I’m the best fit for what you’re looking for, but I appreciate you considering me. Best wishes in your speaker search and I hope your meeting is a huge success.”
Congratulations, you’re done! And if you have followed the steps above, you can rest assured the committee will make the right decision, regardless of whether or not you are chosen. The more you develop a routine to prepare like this for every pre-booking call, the faster and easier it will become. Not only will you improve your chances of being chosen, the committee will be more likely to remember you and recommend you to their colleagues.
Best wishes and let us know how this formula works for you!
Michele started her career in 1999 at a speakers bureau in Northern California and joined SpeakersOffice, Inc. as Director of Client Relations in 2005. She has served on the board of directors for the San Diego Chapter of MPI and San Diego chapter of ASTD, and received several awards for her volunteer leadership. She can be reached at moc.eciffosrekaeps@elehcim.
