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Getting the Most Out of Your Speaker's Bureau
By:
Brooks
My best clients have gotten a lot out of me: last minute bookings, discounts on sports speakers, help with publicity, funding and PR ideas, and so on. On the other hand, lots of businesses come to us wanting to book great business speakers or entertainer for an event, yet they make it almost impossible for us to help them out.
I'm forced to wonder if some planners either don't know the right way to work with us, or just don't care. A good relationship with a bureau can last for years or even decades. Lots of our clients are like old friends, and we'll bend over backwards to get them the best that we can for them every time. All it takes is a little bit of their time and attention. Here are some ideas to help us to help you:
Details are important. The more information you can give about what kind of event you're planning, and what sort of event speakers you'd like, the better. I'm always shocked at the number of organizations who will ask me to come up with some suggestions for their event without the benefit of a date, budget or any other useful information.
Be realistic. There isn't a day that passes when someone doesn't ask for an A-list celebrity endorsement to speak at an event for less than the price of a first class airline ticket. Worse, it's usually with a couple of week's notice. While I can definitely sympathize and relate to them wanting to get the most out of their budget, Joe or Jane movie star isn't going to come for peanuts.
Getting clients to work with speakers that are realistically within their budgets is a major challenge for bureaus everywhere. There are a number of fantastic personalities that don't cost huge dollars. You can save a lot of time by being upfront with what you can budget and working with speakers that will come within that range.
Take our advice. I know that planners see a lot of speakers, both in tape and in person. But I see more. Trust me on this. It's not uncommon for me to see dozens of new speakers every week. Not only that, but I work with groups of people who see dozens more as well. Even more, I read dozens of industry magazines. The point is that it's my job to know which speakers are good, and who might be the best fit for an event.
In the end, you have to decide who is the best person for your event, and you should be comfortable with anyone that you book. Just keep in mind that my goal is to find the best entertainment speakers within your budget so that you'll be blown away and want to work with me again.
Use common courtesy. Probably the easiest way to sour your relationship with a public speakers bureau is to ignore the simple business courtesies that you would show to anyone else that you work with. The most common difficulty is a lack of communication. This usually begins with a call from a client to inquire about a specific speaker's availability, or to gather some suggestions for an upcoming event. After getting the information that they need, weeks or months pass with no word at all. Eventually, they call back to try to book the speaker at the last minute, or never bother to follow up at all.
Part of the problem, I think, is that they worry that I'm going to be upset if they've chosen someone else. After all, they reason, I didn't get the sale, so they'd avoid me. In reality, I derive my business from a very large pool of clients, and know that I'm not going to be able to book every event every time.
What does drive me nuts, however, is having to try to manage my relationships with speakers and clients in the midst of unreturned phone calls, holds that haven't been released and so on. A simple phone call or e-mail is all that it takes to let me know that I can move on to the next project.
With a small amount of time and effort, you can make it much easier for your speakers bureau to get you the best speakers or entertainers for your event-time and time again.
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