A media feature runs. Keynote goes well. The applause is real. And then, for a lot of small business owners, not much else happens.
The visibility was there. The follow-through wasn’t, and that, according to PR strategist Heather McElrath, is the problem.
McElrath, founder of Sandbox Communications, a boutique marketing communications agency in Virginia, co-authored “Speak Your Way to Sales: Expert Strategies to Turn Speaking into Sales, Clients, and Growth” (Eaton Press, 2026), released during Women’s History Month by a collective of 10 women specialists. Her chapter, “Stop Chasing Gigs, Start Attracting Them: The PR Playbook for Speakers,” focuses on what she sees as the most common gap in how small business owners approach speaking: investing in visibility without the systems to carry it forward.
According to a study by Edelman, 88% of business decision-makers say thought leadership is effective at enhancing their perception of an organization, but only when it’s part of a sustained, coherent strategy. A single appearance, without the infrastructure to support it, rarely moves the needle.
“A media appearance or speaking gig doesn’t do much on its own if there’s nothing in place to build on it,” McElrath writes. “The opportunity isn’t in doing more. It’s in making more of what you’re already doing.”
Her PR Playbook methodology focuses on building third-party credibility systematically: media relationships, publication features, industry recognition, and thought leadership positioning that compounds rather than fades. The goal is to become the speaker event organizers think of on their own — not the one following up on cold pitches.
McElrath’s work across fintech, non-profits, government, and agriculture, through more than 40 moves across seven states, gave her a cross-industry view of how trust gets built and lost. That experience informs a full-service approach at Sandbox Communications that treats PR, SEO, and marketing as interconnected systems rather than separate campaigns.
She brings the same thinking to the classroom as an Adjunct Lecturer at Borough of Manhattan Community College, where her PR Essentials course prepares students of all ages to build durable results rather than one-off wins.
“Speaking gets you in the room,” she says. “What you’ve built around it determines whether anything comes from being there.”
“Speak Your Way to Sales” is available now on Amazon. Details at eatonpress.com/speak-your-way-to-sales.
