Grab your coffee my friend because today we’re doing math.
Specifically, speaker math.
I’m going to save you a lot of money on lattes by the time we’re done.
The Coffee Chat Math Nobody Wants to Do
Let’s run the numbers on something most service-based business owners are quietly doing every single week: the referral coffee.
If you take two referral coffees a week (you know the ones, where someone “wants to learn more about what you do”) in a year, you’ve talked to 100 people. You’ve also probably gained 12 pounds from all the lattes. (No judgment. I’ve been there.)
Here’s the part that should make you pause: You’ve spent roughly 100 hours of your life saying “so tell me about your business” to strangers who may or may not ever hire you. That’s two and a half work weeks. Gone. Poof. Just oat milk and good vibes.
OR …
You could give one talk. Thirty minutes. Reach those same 100 people in half an hour instead of a full year. Same audience size, way less caffeine, and—plot twist—infinitely better margins on your time.
This is why I tell every service-based business owner I work with that speaking is the #1 way to grow your business. The onesie-twosie referral hustle, as lovely as it is, will keep you stuck in a loop of espresso and small talk.
Here are the four reasons why.
1. The One-to-Many Math
A referral conversation puts you in front of one person. A talk puts you in front of 20, 50, 200 prospects all at the same time.
These aren’t strangers you cornered at a networking event. These are people who showed up. They self-selected. They chose to be there. They’re already leaning in.
You can build a year’s worth of pipeline from one 30-minute talk, while your referral-loving friends are still scheduling their next “quick 15 minutes.”
2. Speaking Compresses the Know-Like-Trust Timeline
You know how referrals work. Someone has to meet you, like you, trust you, remember you exist three weeks later, and then hopefully hire you.
I’m tired just typing that sentence.
When you speak, you collapse all of that into 30 minutes. The audience sees your expertise, your point of view, and you doing your thing in real time. By the time you’re finished, they don’t feel like they’re hiring a stranger; they’re already much further down the sales funnel with you.
Sometimes there’s barely a sales conversation at all. Sometimes people walk up after a talk and ask, “How do I hire you?”
Music. To. My. Ears!
3. You’re the Only Authority in the Room
This one is sneaky-powerful.
When you have a referral meeting, that prospect might be talking to three other experts too. They’re comparing you. Checking you out. Maybe even Googling you mid-conversation.
But on a stage? You are the expert the host chose to bring in. You’re already vetted. The credibility and authority are baked into the moment you step up to that mic.
You’re no longer being evaluated. You’re being chosen.
That authority, my friends, pays the bills.
4. Every Talk Is a Renewable Asset
Here’s the part most people miss.
A coffee chat equals one possible client and a slightly elevated heart rate from caffeine. That’s it.
One talk equals the room you’re in PLUS the recording, the clips, the testimonials, the email signups, the host introducing you to their next event, and that one person in the audience who books you on their podcast and puts you in front of a whole new audience.
Referrals give you addition. Speaking gives you compounding.
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Your Challenge This Week
Stop booking coffee chats. Start booking stages.
It doesn’t have to be a TEDx Talk. (That comes later.) Start with a webinar. A podcast guest spot. A workshop. A 20-minute lunch-and-learn at someone else’s company. That’s how I started.
Just get in front of more than one person at a time.
The fastest path to a fully booked business isn’t in your inbox; it’s in front of a room.
Go book the stage, ditch the coffee circuit, and let me know how it goes.