Can Your Peeps Count on You?

Even before I check my Facebook page, I know who’s most likely to show up in my feed. The same goes for LinkedIn. I also know which days of the week I can expect an email from certain people. That’s consistency.

Being one of those people who creates posts and sends emails to their peeps, I understand that just because I share something with all of them, that doesn’t mean they’re all going to read every single one of my posts or open all of my emails. So why do I keep making the effort? Why should any of us put in the work?

According to a speaker at a workshop I recently attended, even though our peeps might not read our posts or open our emails, we still stay top of mind because they see our name routinely in their inbox. The fact that they haven’t un-followed us or unsubscribed from our list is a good thing. Consistency isn’t about interacting with every one of our peeps every single time. That’s virtually impossible. Consistency is one of the ways we get to remind people that the door to us having a one-to-one conversation with them is always open.

Networking events, whether in-person or virtual, are opportunities for consistency too. I enjoy the consistency of knowing I’m going to see certain folks at certain events. It means I can think about who’s going to be there ahead of time, and decide if there’s someone specific I want to connect with. The reverse works too. When I’m consistent about showing up, my fellow networkers know they can connect with me.

Every way we show up, reminds our peeps that we’re here for them. How does this relate to public speaking?

1. Consistency leads to people gaining trust and respect for us, our expertise, and our brand.
2. Trying to find every speaking opportunity that would be perfect for us is way too much pressure to put on ourselves. (I’m not even sure it’s possible!) Consistency helps us build a network of people who get to know and like us, both as an expert in our topic, and as a speaker, which means they’ll be more likely to bring up our name in a relevant conversation.
3. The more our peeps know about us, what we do, what our speaker topics are, and that we’d love to speak more, the more likely they are to mention us when someone says those magic words: “I’m looking for a speaker….”

Consistency is vital for any speaker who wants to grow their brand and expand their reach. It works too. I can say this from firsthand experience, because one of the results of my commitment to consistently showing up for you, is being asked to speak more… which leads to more opportunities to connect and consistently show up for more people… which results in being invited to speak more… and so on and so on…

I have a friend who says build gradually, which makes sense. So, if you’re already confidently and consistently showing up for your peeps now, maybe it’s the right time to consider adding another way for people to find you and what you have to offer.

One last quick reminder. As important as consistency is, so is making sure people know where and how to find you. Do your peeps know how to reach you? Do you have your services listed somewhere so people can find ways to work with you? If not, this is one of the easiest fixes. What are you waiting for?

‘Til we speak again,
Beth