Ep. 327: How to generate B2B leads with public speaking (with Mark Brownstein)

Public Speaking as a Marketing Strategy

Who should listen: If you’re curious about how simply sharing with others what you know can generate business in any profession, then this episode will point you in the right direction.

Key idea: You’ll generate leads if you stay authentic, keep it simple, and work with partners to find audiences you can educate.

Action item: Find the right local partners in your profession, and offer your value to them. Ask if you can educate their people about what you do.

Mark Brownstein, this week’s guest on Stay Paid, is a seasoned Medicare professional. He serves clients in 15 states, hosts a local, monthly radio show called Medicare with Mark, and uses public speaking to educate consumers and build his business. In his interview, he discusses his commonsense approach to public speaking as a marketing strategy, how he creates lead opportunities, and what he does to stay top of mind.

Public speaking can be like a conversation among friends

Mark’s approach to public speaking doesn’t call for grandiose gestures and literary flourishes. Instead, he focuses on being himself. He talks to 50 people like he talks to 5, and when you listen to Mark’s interview, you’ll hear just how pleasant it is to hear him speak.

Unlike Mark, speakers who try to impress their audiences at the expense of their understanding aren’t speaking for the benefit of others. When Mark speaks to a group, his goal is to explain complicated ideas (and Medicare is full of them) in easy-to-understand ways. He listens to questions, and he answers them in ways that leave his audience feeling informed.

The result is a roomful of people who now know, like, and trust Mark.

How to use the most underutilized marketing strategy

Mark uses a super-smart approach when he creates his public speaking opportunities. His genius is in talking with partners whose businesses serve the same clients as he does but with whom he doesn’t compete.

He taps into his network and identifies professionals who provide complementary services to his own—businesses with a synergistic relationship—and offers to educate their employees about Medicare. Mark’s opportunities come from working with professionals in industries such as financial services, medical services, insurance services, and eldercare. For real estate agents, those industries could be mortgage lenders, title companies, insurance companies, law firms, and accounting firms.

After many years of hosting lunch-and-learns, speaking at seminars, presenting during webinars, and more, Mark is a trusted advisor, and his partners value his expertise. Since he doesn’t compete with them, and they don’t want to become involved in what Mark already knows, they gladly accept his offers.

The result is an attendance list of names and email addresses he can now add to his contact database.

Nurturing his relationships and leads

Like all good salespeople, Mark follows up and nurtures his leads.

  • He regularly shares information with his list that is educational and therefore valuable to his sphere.
  • He makes sure to invite them to additional webinars, and he’ll do the same when it’s again safe to accommodate live presentations.
  • He sends handwritten thank-you notes to his employer-hosts.
  • He uses email drips to stay in contact, nurture his leads, and remain top of mind.

The result has been about 1,000 clients, which Mark has largely gained through speaking engagements, and each year he reaches another 2,000 people via the phone and webinars.

Listen to Mark’s interview, and take up our challenge to identify partners in your network and offer to share your knowledge and value.

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Contact Mark at EmeraldMedicare.com or 845-358-1220

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