Mastering Conference Speaking Submissions

Industry events are everywhere and they cover just about every conceivable topic in the industrialized world. Everything from FinTech to Fasteners, exhibiting, and speaking at these conferences is big business for both the event organizers and sponsoring companies.

Having been on both sides of the Speaker/Conference circuit, both as a PR & Marketing professional submitting Executives to speak, and as Director of Content for a large FinTech conference, I know the challenges on both sides.

For PR & Marketing teams trying to secure a coveted speaking spot, particularly when speaking is not tied to sponsoring, you must understand how a particular event’s Content Team plans out its year to maximize your chances of having your speaker and topic selected.

Let’s take a look at an event and walk through typical planning for the event’s Content Team. For this scenario, let’s assume the event happens towards the end of the year during the fall rush. For a spring event in May, simply back up ten months and work forwards.

Conference Planning – January through early February: Strategy & Planning

This is the planning season for the event’s Content Team, and it should be yours too. As an organization submitting speakers, you should be working with your internal SMEs and Executives to determine which events you want to target, and what you want to talk about.

On the conference side, during this time, the Content Team is working with industry thought-leaders, analysts, and other media, and doing its own deep research to try and predict what will be “HOT” ten months from now. The conference probably isn’t accepting inbound submissions yet because typically those are very granular and they just aren’t ready for that level of detail yet. But, it is a good time to reach out and suggest thematic topics, presumably based on interesting things your company is working on. However, it needs to have some meat to it.

For instance, if you’re in the Payments industry, simply suggesting “the blockchain” is a no-brainer and doesn’t bring any value. But, suggesting something deeper like, “blockchain-based cryptocurrency acceptance via mobile payments,” is both relevant and interesting. Just also remember, that unless you’re historically a good-sized sponsor or a leader in the industry, you may send something in and not hear from anyone immediately. Don’t take it personally. The Content Team is looking at a lot of different ideas right now.

Conference Planning – Late February – Early May: Crunch Time!

By late February to early March, the high-level Agenda is out and the speaker submission portal is open. Here is where it gets tricky. Conference Content Teams have their own mix, or Tier system, of companies and speakers they want, and no matter how great a topic or speaker you propose, if you’re not in the top Tier, you are unlikely to secure a spot immediately. Let’s look at the Tiers:

Tier 1 – “I’m a household name.” This is the low-hanging fruit. These companies and speakers are big enough and important enough that Content Teams feel confident that just about any Executive they secure to speak, will help draw an audience. Also in this Tier are previous speakers that the Content Team is comfortable with both as a speaker and as a company relevant to the industry. These spots will be the first ones the Content Team tries to secure and market.

Tier 2 – The “3 M’s”; mid-sized companies, moderators & media. This is the sweet spot for most companies submitting speakers. This is also the most competitive Tier and therefore requires a deft hand at both crafting a compelling speaking submission and at keeping in touch with the Content Team without being too touchy (that’s you PR firms). The majority of these spots will begin to fill up by early May.

Tier 3 – Niche players and newcomers. Most conferences have some content or programs to address “different” things going on in the industry. Maybe it’s experimental for future events, or maybe it’s just to address something that could get traction in the industry later, so it’s worth devoting a little time to now. Again using “Payments” as an example, while a Content Team may not want to devote an entire Track of content to “changes in the mortgage space,” they might consider a few speakers from disruptor/challenger companies talking about what they are doing to shake up their space. These will usually be some of the last spots filled because from a Content Team’s perspective, you can always fill the last spot on a panel with someone from IBM if you can’t find anyone else, so there’s no harm in holding out and not confirming “unknown company X” until you’re sure they are the best ones to invite. Again here, it’s very important that the speaking submission be both relevant to the Conference, and also include an interesting “spin” on what others are doing so as to set yourself apart.

Conference Planning – June – August: The Dog Days of Conference Content Planning

By now the Agenda is at about 95% baked, the topics are developed, most speaking spots are filled, and the Content Team is just plugging holes. Maybe there are a few open spots on panels, or the rare stand-alone presentation late in the afternoon, but as a rule, submitting cold now is unlikely to garner a spot. However, smart PR & Marketing teams are watching the online agenda to see where the holes are, and when they find one that their speaker fits, they reach out to the Content Team to plead their case. Does it work? Sometimes. From February to August is a long time and lots of things happen to speakers and session topics during that time. So it’s possible that a rejected speaker and/or topic submitted previously, now has some value. And there’s no harm in reaching out to the Content Team and raising your hand. Just don’t be pushy. If you don’t get a response after two tries, let it go.

Conference Planning – September – Forward: Drop / Adds

At this point, the Agenda is firm. The Content Team will tell you there are no more spots left and there aren’t. But, inevitably, someone won’t be able to come due to some previously unforeseen or unplanned reason (babies, hiring/firing, something unsavory happening to the company at the time, etc.). But these are rare and when they do happen, the Content Team has to make quick decisions because late Agenda changes have a domino effect on the marketing of the event. As a Communications professional, always know who from your company will be attending the event and what they can talk about if called upon. Even delaying a day, if the Conference reaches out to you at the last minute, can mean the difference between securing a(nother) speaking spot for your company, or potentially having only a booth presence.

Now you have a handle on the speaker planning and confirmation cycle of a conference. Next up, crafting your speaker pitch! Stay tuned.