(FOCUS) PODIUM
WENDI MOORE-BUYSSE,
CEO & FOUNDER, THE WENDI
MOORE AGENCY, LLC
Take the Hassle Out of
Booking the Right Speaker
Speakers are always trying to get a meeting
planner’s attention. They call, they send
e-mails, they send marketing materials
and they join associations as suppliers for
that face-to-face contact. From a speaker’s
point of view, they are sales people; they
must sell themselves to get the booking.
From a meeting planner’s point of view,
the whole process can be a hassle.
Booking the right speaker is easier than
you might think. It does take time and
research, however if you are willing to put
forth the effort, it can make you look like
an industry expert. Most speakers follow
certain criteria to get engagements, which
makes your search easier.
First and foremost, every speaker
should have a professional-looking speaker packet. The packet includes marketing
materials, a list of topics, a bio, a list of
organizations where he or she has spoken,
testimonials with names and companies
and a business card. It should be nicely
presented and make you feel confident
in the speaker as a candidate.
Once you have looked through the
speaker packet, watch any available DVDs
or online videos of the speaker’s performance. Most professional speakers have
Web sites and many have online videos
available to watch. (If they do not have
a Web site, consider that a red flag.)
Watching the speaker in action will give
you a good idea as to whether this is the
type of performance you are looking
for or not. Is the audience awake and
involved? Is the presentation exciting and
engaging or is it dull and dry? Speakers
who don’t tell stories, who don’t interact
with the audience, or who aren’t entertaining are typically considered “
information only” speakers and will put your
audience to sleep. A well-rested audience
is not always a good thing.
A more seasoned speaker will have a
contract. The content of the contract
should at least outline the fees for the
engagement, any other expenses that will
be covered (such as travel expenses), and
presentation content. It should also cover
copyright restrictions such as whether the
meeting planner may copy the speaker’s
presentation or not and who has the rights
to sell it if it is copied.
You might want to find out if the speaker
intends to promote any products for sale
from the platform. For some meetings,
this might be appropriate and for others
it might not. Be sure that this is specifically
discussed and added to any contracts. You
don’t want to surprise your audience with
an infomercial from the platform. (How
many times have you heard “But wait!
There’s more!” all while planning your
escape route?)
Speaking of products, sometimes you
might be able to negotiate the fee in
exchange for the purchase of product.
Speakers often reduce the fee dramatically
if the organization purchases books or CDs
for every member of the audience. You
might be able to get the product at a discount if it’s purchased in mass quantities.
The speaker may also negotiate the fee
in exchange for publicity, a list of audience
members, any referrals, extra nights of
hotel accommodations, multiple bookings,
spouse or family travel expenses, or a vid-eotaped copy of the presentation. It never
hurts to ask or even make an offer.
Many speakers offer discounts, especially to non-profit organizations or professional associations. The reason they do
this is to get in front of the members of
these organizations. It can be very good
publicity for them.
Are the speaker’s topics right for your
audience? This, of course, can make or
break a meeting for a planner. How many
times have you been to a meeting yourself
and been shocked at the material that
was covered? We all have horror stories
of going to a motivational meeting only
to hear about making memories with
pictures or feng shui. Yes, those are important subjects, but they are not a good fit
for all meetings.
After determining whether the speaker’s
topic is right for your audience, find out
about the speaker’s reputation. Ask for
referrals, ask your peers and look on the
Internet to find out what others’ experiences have been. Find out if the speaker
has ever worked with a speaker’s bureau
and contact them. They may be able to give
you some good information.
Finally, you want to know what you are
getting. Is this person truly an industry
expert or has the information been copied
from somebody else? Read any books or
articles to discover if the programming is
in fact unique.
Finding the right speaker for your meeting or event can be an easy process. There
are multiple resources out there to help
you start the search, such as speaker’s
bureaus, speaker marketing agencies and
professional associations. With a little
patience and a little effort, you can come
up with the perfect fit. m
n Wendi Moore-Buysse provides a select portfolio
of premium professional speakers to meeting and
event planners through the Wendi Moore Agency,
LLC. She was a teacher, professional speaker and
author for 10 years before starting her agency.
The agency’s mission is to educate the world one
speaker at a time.
