Building Speaker Referral Rings to Increase Your Number of Gigs

"Rings of power."

This phrase might trigger images of hobbits, dwarfs, and elves à la Lord of the Rings…

Or, rings that grant the wearers incredible powers like the Green Lantern…

Or, maybe you think of saving the Earth from pollution with Captain Planet.

My point?

Rings of power sound pretty awesome!

That’s why I want to introduce you to a new “ring of power”… a Referral Ring!

As a speaker, your Referral Rings are your secret weapon to impress event organizers and actually increase the number of referrals you receive from other speakers.

But What ARE Referral Rings?

Basically, you’re creating a small network of speakers with you at the center. Think of it like a target with concentric rings that go out in four levels.

You’ll place speakers in your Referral Rings based on how well you know them and how closely they align with your existing type of gig. In other words…

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Referral Rings gauge your fellow speaker’s referability by domain proximity, speech quality, and fee.

I speak about marketing a lot so the speakers in my first tier Referral Ring are other marketing speakers. They are an easy referral to give because I’m often at events where event organizers want similar speakers as me in terms of topic.

The speakers I refer the most often are also close to my own fee and can reliably deliver a transformational experience. Because of these factors, I know they are most likely to close the gigs with my event organizers, so I refer these folks over and over again.

And, they refer ME to their event organizers over and over again.

So, if the Referral Rings are like a target, the ones closest to the center are the ones you refer the most often. The ones towards the outside are the ones most unlike you who you refer the least often.

Still, each tier is valuable for a different reason. (That’s our topic for tomorrow!)

Today, let’s focus on “why” it’s so important to have your Referral Rings ready for when the right moment strikes…

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If you’re feeling unsure why we’re talking about the power of Referral Rings, be sure to look back to our previous posts about the three common types of speaker-to-speaker referrals and how referring others can grow your business.

Always Be Ready to Wield Your Rings of Power

Turns out, you never know exactly when an event organizer is going to ask for a great referral. If you’re not ready with your Referral Rings, it’s hard to respond.

You might have to say:

“I don’t have anyone in mind. I’ll get back to you next week.”

Then, “next week” comes around and you’re busy with other tasks. Before you know it, those referrals fall by the wayside…

And this business-building, goodwill-growing opportunity is lost.

Instead, you need to quickly and easily suggest excellent speakers for your event organizers regardless of their budget, topic, or event type. The best way to do this is to map your Referral Rings in advance.

Here are three keys to success when it comes to Referral Rings…