Building a successful speaking business is challenging enough in and of itself.
But trying to do so while also handling the plethora of tasks that come with building the business is nearly impossible—a catch-22 situation.
Speakers in the know put hiring a virtual assistant with knowledge of the industry (VSA) at the top of their list of strategic people to add to their team.
But what are some of the tasks that can be assigned to these professionals? Here are just a few:
Create handouts
Speakers are usually great at putting together what they want to be the content of a talk they’re giving or a workshop they are facilitating. What they often struggle with is creating visually appealing takeaway materials the audience can leave with (or download from an electronic presentation) for later review. With a few notes of direction from the speaker, a VSA can take on this task of creating handouts that attendees will refer to long after an event is over.
Work with speaker prospects
A speaker may have already identified a long list of events at which he or she would like to speak, but it’s time-consuming to research these events to determine what is needed to apply to be part of an event program. A VSA can visit websites to review the application process, gather materials to be submitted, manage deadlines, et cetera. After gathering the information and presenting it to the speaker, the VSA can then start and keep the application process for each event moving along.
Work with meeting planners and speakers bureaus
Some speakers have established relationships with one or more speaker’s bureaus, and there are various details that these professionals will oversee as a team. Even still, it can be helpful for the speaker to have a VSA who can handle some of what may considered the administrative details of booking events. Managing the speaker’s calendar, replying quickly to emails and phone calls from meeting planners, and coordinating travel preferences/arrangements can ensure that there are no delays in confirming the speaker’s appearance at an important event.
Coordinate physical logistics of a speaking engagement
Anyone who has ever attended a professional event of any kind knows that a laundry list of details was handled beforehand by a team of talented people in order to ensure a successful outcome. A VSA can oversee all the moving pieces of a speaker’s event appearance. From arranging delivery of marketing materials and products to the event site to coordinating technology preferences, a VSA can play a key role in helping a speaker focus on delivering their content to a captive audience.
Manage speaker’s products and fulfillment
Most speakers spread their unique message beyond a roomful of event or conference attendees. Many also offer books/workbooks, course materials, digital content and more for sale at their website. A VSA can set up and manage the production, inventory, and fulfillment of these products so the speaker can throw themselves into providing coaching or consulting to the clients who purchase them.
Ready to grow and scale your speaking business? Hire your own VSA today!
If you like this blog post, you’ll love our Author Toolkit on how to become a professional speaker. It includes checklists, templates, worksheets and more. Check it out!
