Questions to Ask Yourself About Your Audience Part 3

There Are 4 Key Questions You Must Ask Yourself Before You Settle On a Niche For Your Speaking.

In the last blog article we asked are the people in your niche willing to spend money on your topic?

This week, the third key question to ask yourself before you settle on a niche is….

Can You Easily Access Them?

This is a key factor in whether it will be easy or difficult to grow your speaking business.  Speaking is generally a face to face business so it makes sense that groups who already gather together are the easiest to access.

Here’s an example:

Easy To Access:

• Meet regularly
• Meet locally
• Meet in groups bigger than 30
• Have regular speakers

Difficult To Access

• Don’t meet face to face
• Meet virtually, if at all
• Are mixed in among other types of people in large groups

Once you start thinking along these lines, it’s a no-brainer to think of groups you can easily access.  Here are some examples of easy to access groups:

• Business owners at Chambers of Commerce
• Women entrepreneurs at networking breakfasts
• Singles at speed-dating
• Health conscious types at expos
• Young couples at home renovations expos
• Real estate investors at investment clubs

You get the idea?

Easy to identify, but difficult to get together groups include:

• Mothers (limited time)
• Teachers (have to get through gate-keepers)
• CEO’s (limited time and hard to get through gatekeepers)
• Agoraphobics (obvious reasons!!!)

What If They Can’t Get Together?

One of my clients runs a speaking business called www.SecretsOfASuperMum.com.  She’s a great speaker but does most of her speaking on teleseminars rather than live because it’s difficult for her to get her clients away from their children for any length of time.  So remember to be flexible.

2 final questions to ask yourself if your niche is easy to identify and market to:

1. Does someone already have a list of them (think of potential JV’s)
2. Does someone have these clients before me?

So get clear on how easy this niche are to access.  If it’s easy- they have lots of votes in their favour!

Finding good training venues that don’t cost you an arm and a leg can be tough; but with a little focus and clarity about what you’re after you should be able to find a good one and keep the cost low.

Some Tips to Remember When Finding Good Training Venues

1.    Get Clear on the Outcome of Your Training.  The clearer you are on what impression you want to make at your training, the number of people who are coming, and the ideal location, the easier your search will be. 

2.    Think about the Location of Your Training Venue.  Think about things like:

• Who are your target market?
• How mobile are they?
• Are they driving or catching public transport?
• What impression do you need to give?

If a lot of people are flying in, it is a good idea to have your training venue at or near an airport.

3.    Think About What Your Training Venue Says About Your Company.  Every part of the training experience, right down to how easy it is to find parking says something about you and the brand of your company.  Be aware of this when making your selection.

4.    Think About Your Budget For Your Training Venue.  Be realistic about the cost of training but always be ready to negotiate. It is not uncommon to be able to get a venue down to 75% of an original quote if you negotiate well.

Remember to cast your net wide when looking for venues that suit your training requirements, and give yourself plenty of time.  Don’t be afraid to play venues off against one another for your custom!