subject: Hiring A Professional Speaker And Getting The Best Deal - Understand What They Want [print this page] Sure, u wnt th bt bl speaker fr whtvr ur budget mght be. A dynamic r informative speaker generally stellar investment n th success f ur meeting. But, mtm ur budget nt nugh fr th speaker u want. What's th solution? Hire l expensive speaker--squeeze th speaker u wnt fr bttr price--think bnd conventional wisdom?
Thinking bnd conventional wisdom mght lk like, limiting th number f speakers t ur meeting. It lw l expensive t hv single speaker d vrl sessions thn t hv vrl speakers present single session each. Nt tht vr speaker capable f presenting multiple sessions, hwvr bu f th multiple travel nd hotel rooms cost, mtm t vn cheaper t hire speaker t deliver multiple programs thn t hv vrl non-paid speakers participate n ur meeting. Evn f th unpaid speakers drive in, thrb eliminating thr airline travel expense, th wll tll wnt free hotel room fr th conference nd free registration. Prh th wr gng t m anyway? Yu wuld hv thn received thr conference registration dollars. Smtm th true cost f non-paid speakers staggeringly hidden. led outfitters
Let's explore th difference btwn professional speaker presenting th m program multiple times vs. presenting multiple programs. Th big difference fr th speaker preparation time--including: research, handout development nd PowerPoint preparation. Unfortunately, fw meeting planners tk th key time issue nt consideration. Speakers r selling bth thr knowledge nd thr time. Th lttr finite, th mr u consume, th mr u huld expect t pay. In paying fr speaker's time, u hv t ndr presentation time, travel time nd preparation time. Unl f ur u wnt canned speech, thn th preparation time nt n issue. Bfr u jump n th cost savings f canned speech, remember tht today, fw attendees wll tolerate canned speech.
This idea f single speaker presenting multiple presentations fr single fee growing n th world f professional speakers but counter t standard operating procedures fr mt speaker bureaus. If u lk th idea, u mght hv t abandon th ease n speaker selection tht u hv enjoyed whn working wth bureaus.
The Bureau Conundrum
Speaker Bureaus provide valuable outsource service fr meeting planners tht r time squeezed. A planner n contact bureau, give thr budget nd th bureau wll tk t frm there. Fr planners tht hv t fill large number f conference session slots nd d nt hv sufficient staff--bureaus n b thr solution. Yet, thr r mn mr speakers tht r undr r non-represented b speakers' bureaus, thn thr r speakers tht th recommend. Mt bureaus nl hv small corral f speakers tht th n easily sell nd thrfr wll generally recommend thm first. Mn f th underrepresented speakers r qut good nd r tremendous value. led outfitters
Another component t ndr tht m bureaus serve tw masters. Wht I mn n b illustrated b rnt conversation I hd wth planner frm vr large biotechnology manufacturer t meeting industry trends summit. W wr chatting t th event's evening cocktail party nd th planner w bemoaning but request fr speaker tht h submitted t vr large East Coast speaker bureau. Th planner wnt n t tll m tht th information sheets fr th speakers tht th rtulr bureau nt her, hd n relationship t hr submitted speaker request. Th planner w upset tht th bureau didn't pay heed t wht h requested. I explained t th planner but tht rtulr bureau specialized n speaker exclusives--meaning tht th bureau w th nl place thrugh whh rtulr speaker uld b booked. A such, th bureau wuld recommend thr exclusive speakers first, nd f nn wr selected, wuld thn recommend thr speakers--even whn non-exclusive speaker wuld hv bn bttr fit. Unfortunately, th trend spreading thrugh th speaker bureau industry.
For mt speakers, speaker bureaus r but n f th mn channels b whh th g t market. Speaker bureaus nd t b viewed n wuld view n distributor r sales agency. If two-step distribution serves ur needs, nd thr r number f reasons tht t might, thn b ll means select tht method.
The conventional marketing message espoused m mt bureaus tht fr speaker X, you'll pay th m price thrugh u u wuld booking speaker X direct. Tht nice ideal tht frequently m b true. Yet, n supply chain whr distributor r manufacturer's representative sales agency receives 25 t 30 percent, th reality generally nt qut th ideal. Thr w reason bhnd Sam Walton championing th idea f Wal-Mart working drtl wth manufacturers, thrb eliminating th distributors. Th w nr strategy n order fr hm t continually deliver lw prices t h Wal-Mart customers.
Go Direct?
If u huld select t work drtl wth speaker, th price u wll assuredly pay time. Time bth n ur search nd selection process wll time working wth th speaker n meeting logistics. If th route bt fr you, thr r number f advantages tht uld mk ur time investment profitable one. Sm f th benefits t u uld be, n lost communication thrugh n intermediary, bttr negotiation possibilities (the Sam Walton dynamic) nd th speaker offering programming ideas nd insight tht mt lkl wuld hv nvr bn transmitted thrugh thrd party.
Searching fr speaker drtl h nvr bn easier. T start, thr r number f Internet search engines tht wll d magnificent job n searching fr speaker b topic r keyword. Remember t lk t th frt search page bu tht mt lkl whr u r gng t find th speaker bargains. A great source t aid ur search th Web Site f th National Speakers Association (NSA).
National Speakers Association
NSA n alternative method fr finding speakers. NSA h n open online search capability tht nn n access t http://www.nsaspeaker.org. It true tht nl members f NSA r listed, whh d limit ur possibilities ut bit, but nnthl u wll find tht th NSA Web Site valuable source n ur search fr th rght speaker. NSA offers t members certification called Certified Speaking Professional (CSP). Whl th CSP designation d nt guarantee speaker's success t ur meeting, th process thrugh whh speaker g t receive CSP designation nt n easy one. Th CSP good indicator tht th speaker trul professional.
Approaching th Speaker
Never approach speaker, ut f th gate, b kng f th negotiate thr fees! Wht th speaker hears is, "I'm calling t k u fr discount nd offer nthng n return." That's turn-off n anybody's book. Besides, vrthng n life negotiation--just assume tht th will. A bttr approach t frt talk wth th speaker but wht u want--engage thm n conversation. Aftr th hv affirmed tht th n deliver wht u want, thn move nt th "we hv budget issue" phase. D th b frt suggesting m f th thng ur organization n d fr th speaker t create extra vlu fr them. Al k th speaker wht creates vlu n thr life. Prh u hv vlu t offer speaker tht u hd nvr realized?
Keynote Vs. Breakout
Believe t r not, mr speakers wll b wllng t talk t u but ur budget challenges whn u r talking general session (meaning tht thr n thr session competing t th m time) vs. breakout r concurrent sessions. Th reason fr th exposure nd product selling capability. If speaker gng t fly r th country t speak t meeting, whh d u thnk mr valuable t th speaker--speaking t 40 people, r 400? Naturally, t th 400. Mr people tht uld potentially recommend th speaker fr future events nd mr product wll surely b sold t 400 people thn t 40--but, rarely d planners thnk but this.
In making ur decision but hw t acquire ur nxt speaker, I hope th bv h stimulated ur thinking bnd conventional wisdom. Pl fell free t access number f resources vlbl t u at: www.rigsbee.com/downloadaccess.htm.
Ed Rigsbee, CSP, fr vr tw decades h frequently bn referred t th Renaissance Man. H helps business individuals nd organizations f ll sizes t grow thr market thrugh smart alliance relationships. H th founder nd executive director f non-profit public charity. H frequently publishes articles nd blogs n personal relationship development. H administers Facebook group; Relationship Glue nd Linkedin group; Member ROI fr Associations & Societies.
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Ed h served adjunct professor fr tw California universities nd th author f Developing Strategic Alliances, PartnerShift-How t Profit frm th Partnering Trend, nd Th Art f Partnering. H h vr 1,500 hard-copy published articles t h credit nd regular keynote speaker t corporate nd trade association conferences teaching North America hw t access thr Collaborative Advantage.
He shares h proprietary Member Vlu Process globally wth trade associations nd professional societies-the corner stone fr grass roots member recruitment nd retention campaigns.
