Finding corporate gigs and dealing with gatekeepers
Dave – I’ve taken your comedy class in Cleveland. It was a wonderful experience. Our class had a blast and taking the stage up at the Improv was exhilarating. Okay, now that I’ve saved you the time of promoting your class, I did have a question. You recently wrote about using humor to gain corporate gigs. How does one go about finding these speaking opportunities? What is the point of contact? Event planners? Human resources or some other person at the corporate office? Who is the gatekeeper and how should one approach that gatekeeper? – Brett T: Creative Ninja, Writer, Trainer
Hey Brett – Come on… You know me. Just because you plugged my workshop (thank you btw) doesn’t mean I’m not gonna plug it again. It’s called promoting – which is what you also have to do if you’re interested in booking corporate gigs.
That’s true whether you’re a comedian, humorous speaker – or any type of presenter or entertainer. No one will hire you unless they know you’re out there and available for work.
Now, the article you’re referring to was about using humor during your program at corporate events. It’s still posted for May 28th if anyone wants to scroll down for a reminder. But your question has given it a different spin:
How would you use humor to gain corporate gigs? Here’s my take on it…
But first of all – I’d like to throw this question out to anyone who works in the corporate market. What is your best advice on how to find corporate gigs? If you’d like to share, send to dave@thecomedybook.com and I’ll share them in an upcoming newsletter.
I go through phases, but guess I could admit to being a big cold caller. It sounds miserable (think telemarketer) and was at first. I dreaded those work-related calls. But then I came up with an idea of making them semi-humorous.
In the corporate market you really can’t be a one-liner, class clown type of jokester when first contacting a “gatekeeper” (we’ll get to that term in a moment) by phone. You’ll either get the Rodney Dangerfield treatment (no respect) or treated to an entire symphony of Musak when they put you on hold.
It’s a business call and you have to treat it that way. BUT there’s no reason why you can’t have some type of fun(ny) opening “Hello” line that can be a conversation starter. Here’s an example that I’ve used (and it’s worked – no BS):
———————————————————————————
Sign up now for Dave’s free weekly newsletter and
receive 25% off the Amazon.com list price!
———————————————————————————
“Hello, this is (your name) and I’m calling from “beautiful” or “hot and humid” or “snowy and cold” (name the city closest to you that you know they’ve heard of).
THEN WAIT.
More times than not, the person answering the phone will have a comment about the city. They’ve been there; have relatives there; know something about it (good or bad – doesn’t matter); or have at least heard of it.
BINGO!!! Conversation starter. Let them talk and all you have to do is work off of what they’ve just given you. Get it? To continue this random example, they might mention the city’s sports teams (I’ve gotten that one a lot). Since I’m from Cleveland, you can bet I’ll have something to say. Then once we have a (hopefully friendly and/or funny) conversation going I ease into my sales pitch.
“I have a program that would be great for your company’s next event. Let me tell you about it…”
And here’s another secret. If my opener is greeted by silence or a negative reaction I don’t waste a lot of time on the call. Since I deal with humor, this is obviously not a good fit for what I do. I’ll move onto the next one.
Once again, I’m sure we’d all be interested in YOUR tips. Send to dave@thecomedybook.com
How do you find speaking opportunities?
Cold calling is just one way (and everyone’s least favorite). The best is always by networking. I’ve talked about this a lot in past newsletters and call it the open-mic circuit for the corporate market. In a nutshell, every community has business organizations – like Rotary, Kiwanis, etc… They are all looking for presenters for their regular meetings (breakfast, lunch, dinner, awards, retirement, holiday, etc…).
Play detective and find who schedules these meetings and volunteer to speak – for FREE. This is a major source for contacts. Not only can you showcase your program (usually about 20 minutes) but they’ll probably feed you for FREE. At the end do a meet and greet and liberally hand out your business cards while trying to collect as many as you can.
They might have an event coming up and are interested in hiring you based on your FREE showcase or talk about possibilities in the future. In either case, ask what’s the best way for you to follow-up – and do it.
I’ve booked quite a few paying gigs this way – and gained a few pounds at the same time.
What is the point of contact? Event planners, human resources…?
You’ll need to play detective again to find out that info for individual corporate events. I’ve learned firsthand it can be just about anyone – from an assistant to the head honcho of the company. Go online and learn what you can about the company before calling. You can also ask the gatekeeper…
Who??
The gatekeeper is the person that answers the phone (cold calling) who considers it their personal duty to keep you from talking to the decision maker (person who can book you). You need to convince the gatekeeper that you and (especially) your program are worthy of this personal contact.
The above humor-using example (be creative) can sometimes be the needed ice-breaker. Other times it’s a longer process. This would involve sending (snail or email) info about yourself and what you can offer to make their event successful – whether it’s entertainment, a keynote or training. Then you need to follow-up without being a pain in the you-know-what.
How do you do that? It’s in my book How To Be A Working Comic (another plug!) and involves a timely use of postcards, emails and calls. There are no guarantees, but gatekeepers, event planners, humor resources, assistants and head honchos will never know you’re even out there and available unless you present yourself.
It’s called promoting. And in my opinion, an element of humor can help you stand out from the competition.
And speaking of networking and promoting – and generally kick-starting conversations, (this is another plug) are you subscribing to my once a month newsletter? It’s called Talking For Success and geared toward the corporate market. You can sign up through THIS LINK and (until August 31st) get 25% off the list price of How To Be A Working Comic: Revisited, Revised & Revamped 2013 through Amazon.com.
——————————————————————————-
Dave Schwensen is the author of How To Be A Working Comic: An Insider’s Business Guide To A Career In Stand-Up Comedy, Comedy FAQs And Answers: How The Stand-Up Biz Really Works, and Comedy Workshop: Creating & Writing Comedy Material for Comedians & Humorous Speakers.
For information about these books, comedy workshops at The Cleveland Improv, and private coaching for comedians and speakers in person, by phone or via Skype visit www.TheComedyBook.com
Copyright 2013 – North Shore Publishing
[contact-form]
