speaking industry Archives - Speaker Sponsor

So far, 2024 is getting off to a great start for the speaking industry. Every year several companies put out a yearly speaking industry forecast. If you’ve been working as a speaker for any length of time you probably already have a good gauge at how things are going. However, trends do still exist and change according to the economy and other disruptive issues.

Speaking industry forecast

Obviously Covid disrupted the meeting and event industry like nothing we’ve seen in a long time. But according to meeting and event professionals we are back on track to at least tie with pre-pandemic levels of face-to-face meetings. According to Knowland’s Hospitality Group and Business Performance Index we’re at close to 90%. During the pandemic many industry professionals left the business. But the good news is that more are staying and entering now. And their optimism for the future is high.

According to the American Express survey, 84% are optimistic about the future of the meeting and event industry. 81% expect their meetings to have a face-to-face component and 63% expect them to be totally face-to-face. Face-to-face meetings offer more opportunities for team building and collaboration.

Meeting and event spending

Meeting spending in general is expected to increase 4.2% in North America. Unfortunately, inflation is putting a damper on things and most don’t think the extra budget money is keeping up with inflation. Therefore they are looking into ways to cut costs across the board.

Maximizing sponsorship

With budgets being cut and inflation on the rise, more interactive sponsorship is being sought out. There have always been free speaking opportunities but during tough times you tend to get more of those. Speakers who have their own sponsors have tons of opportunities to make money by taking those free jobs and having their sponsors pay the bill. It increases the number of jobs out there and decreases the competition.

Diversity and sustainability

Almost a third of planners said they would try choosing diverse suppliers if they could. 70% said sustainability was very important to their organization. A majority want to incorporate it into meetings and events where they can.

Business and leisure travel

Another upcoming trend I happen to like is the blending of business and leisure travel and the opportunity to explore outside of the conference venue. This trend is expected to continue. Hopefully this will attract more attendees who might not think of traveling for business.

AI for meetings and events

AI is helping meeting and event planners better customize the event experience. It can analyze attendee demographics, track engagement, and monitor social media. This helps provide valuable insights to make better decisions. Strategies can be altered to maximize success and time-consuming tasks can be streamlined.

Experiential meetings

Another trend that will continue from last year is more experiential events. This includes interactive technology and immersive environments through sensory elements. As a speaker, how can you add more of this to what you offer?

Hybrid meetings

The majority of planners expect to have more face-to-face meetings, but they are still keeping hybrid on the table to attract more national and international attendees.

Almost half of planners expect to see more internal meetings and local meetings as being on the rise. As a speaker, I’ve seen this too. A lot of those meetings are still in offsite locations. I’ve noticed this too. Planners can also save money on speakers by booking ones who live close to the conference venue.

Speaking industry forecast 2024

These are some of the trends that meeting and event planners will be implementing as part of the speaking industry forecast for 2024. How can you help improve the experience for them as a speaker?

I haven’t posted a whole lot lately. Because frankly, the speaking industry in 2020 sucked! Sure, there are speakers who are still working, and even some who are making decent money right now. There were people who made a fortune during the Great Depression. But most people were just barely scraping by. Most of the best speakers I know are not working. Obviously, Covid has put a huge damper on the live event industry in general and speakers are having a hard time right now.

Speakers are having a hard time right now

Many people will tell you that everything is simply going virtual for now and in the future. But this is a simple explanation that I’ve found is not true. Many people will tell you that the speaking industry is booming and the best it’s ever been. Also, not true. After interviewing hundreds of planners and others involved in the speaking industry, I’ve discovered that there is no one reason why speakers are having a hard time right now. It’s a deeper issue. Here are some of the things they’ve told me:

Live events up in the air

With Covid still hanging over us and variants popping up, meeting planners are hesitant to book a live event. Where they used to plan 6 months to a year in advance, now committee meetings are being put on hold. That’s just to discuss the dates and locations. Attendees are hesitant to make reservations, and the meeting planners need to have a certain number of attendees just to put on the event. Some are ready to travel and go to a live event and some aren’t.

Can’t you just go virtual?

So, if everything is so tentative, why not just go virtual? Zoom fatigue is real! Maybe in the beginning it was a necessary novelty, but not everyone wants to pay good money to watch speakers on a Zoom call. It doesn’t matter how interesting they are. Sure, conferences can charge less because it’s online, but then they also want to pay speakers less also. And, because watching speakers online is tiring, they tend to spread the conferences out for several days or even longer. I just attended a conference myself that went on every day for 2 weeks. The information was incredible. The speakers were interesting. I still couldn’t handle it for more than 15 minutes at a time. I can’t tell you the number of classes and webinars I have sitting in the que that I haven’t gotten to yet. Many people are simply Zoomed out.

So, the idea that we are only going to be speaking virtually from now on is not true. What could be true is that conferences will have other options besides just live events. They’ve been doing a combination of live and streaming for a while now. I remember several years ago speaking to a group of scientists in New York, but they wanted to have their employees in Denmark see it. So it was also live-streamed to them.

But make no doubt about it, there is a lot of pent-up demand for travel. Speakers and others who work in the live event industry do it for a reason. They are social people who like to travel and meet new people. Otherwise they would have a desk job. The speaking industry is not going to remain virtual forever.

Discontinued conference

A number of conferences are folding completely. Not all of this is due to Covid. Some have mentioned that their attendance was dwindling even before. Since this is a sponsorship site, I’ll mention that sponsorship is dependent on ears and eyeballs in the audience. The fewer people you have in the audience, the less you will be able to attract a sponsor. Or the less that sponsor will be willing to pay. At some point conferences have just decided to cancel for now. That means no jobs for speakers.

Mergers

Some conferences have decided, even before Covid, that they need to partner with their competition in order to have enough attendees to make it worthwhile. I spoke at one of those a few years ago. Several competitors just got together and had one big conference. They split the expenses and marketing. With 3 of them it was a pretty decent crowd. But, this also means they need fewer speakers. One more reason speakers are having a hard time right now.

Using industry speakers only

Part of this has to do with budget cuts, but this trend has been going on for a while now. Some conferences simply don’t hire outside speakers. And even ones that have in the past are turning to industry speakers this time around. I’ve even heard from sponsors that they want their own people to speak. Nothing you can do about that. But that doesn’t mean they are good speakers. It means they are footing the bill. And money talks. That’s why you need to find sponsors who are not looking to speak and would love to sponsor you to do that for them.

Carried over speakers from 2020

Since so many conferences were cancelled in 2020, most who had hired speakers simply rolled them over to 2021. Now if they don’t have the conference in 2021, that rolls them over to 2022. This means that fewer speakers have opportunities right now. That’s not going to last forever, and things will go back to some normalcy fairly soon.

Budget cuts

It sucks that we were finally at a point where meeting planner budgets were increasing. But, that has taken a nosedive. If you’ve been a speaker for any length of time you know that economies wax and wane all the time. I’m being told that even the budgets for big sponsors has gone down. But I’ve always made sure to line up more than one sponsor anyway. About half of all speaking jobs out there, even before Covid, are free ones. If you are able to come in with a sponsor for a free job you have a much, much better chance of getting that job and getting paid. Meeting planners need good speakers. But if they can’t pay for them, the next best thing is getting a free speaker with their own sponsor. This is how I’ve managed to make money for years as a speaker, even when the economy was bad. There are always ways to work around the free speaking thing by using sponsorship and multiple streams of speaker income. When times are tough you can prosper when everyone else is running around clucking like a chicken. This is how clever entrepreneurs became successful during the Depression. I hate to use the hack terminology of pivot, but that’s what you have to do.

Speaking industry goes in cycles

But it’s not all bad news. Everything in the speaking industry goes in cycles. Yes, speakers are having a hard time right now. But that will change.

This is a time for you to step back and figure out where you fit in in the speaking industry. Figure out other ways to make a living at it. Figure out if you are still really committed to it. And if you are, commit to learning, growing, and being the best speaker you can be. So that when things turn around (and they will), you will be ready.

Every year American Express puts together a global meetings and events forecast. This year over 550 meeting and event specialists from 5 continents and 33 countries took part in the study. The great news for speakers is that there is optimism across the board that the meeting and event industry is still in a growth phase. The speaking industry forecast 2020 is bright!

Speaking industry forecast 2020

Spending is up in North America, Europe, Central/South America and Asia. Meetings are going to be longer, meaning more opportunities for more speakers. I’m already hearing about meetings and conferences that are looking for several keynote or general speakers. 70% of meeting and event leaders have said they are very optimistic about the future of meetings.

Face to face meetings are still one of the best ROI for businesses. Virtual meetings will be up slightly as well, but nothing beats face to face meetings for serious networking.

Good news for those speakers who have their own sponsors is that there will be more people attending meetings and conferences in 2020. The bigger the audience, the more money you can get from your sponsors.

More money for speakers

Spending is also up across the board, but that doesn’t always translate into more money for speakers, since the costs of everything they have to pay for is also going up and they have to factor that into their budgets. So event planners may still be dealing with having to do more with less, which is still fine if you have you own sponsors.

Since prices will be going up and demand will exceed supply, planners will probably start planning events further in advance.

Just like last year, interactive technology is playing a bigger role. Over half of planners want their attendees to have a great experience and are devoting more time to making that happen. Engagement is going to continue to be a huge part of events, both during the event and afterwards through polling, etc.

Most planners also agree that this is the year to have fully integrated technology at events, as long as it’s integrated successfully. Are you a technology speaker who can address this issue?

Wellness will play an important role in meetings in 2020. Are you a wellness or work life balance speaker who can help?

And events will also become more and more personalized, with feedback from attendees.

The good news for speakers is that the meeting and event industry will continue to be strong in 2020. Figure out how you fit into the picture and how you can help planners shine.

Some of your best speaker leads can come from referrals. Most of mine have. But all referrals may not be the same. I grew up in the entertainment industry, where about 80% of all jobs come from referrals. There is a good reason for that.

Hollywood

Hollywood is a transient place that’s full of con artists, beginners, flakes, bad actors, and people who are looking for a quick buck. I’ve been in it my whole life and it never changes. I’ve also been on all sides. From being an actor who has to beg for a job, to a casting director, who does the hiring, to the distributor, who puts up the money to distribute a final product.

There are WAY more people at the bottom that are looking for jobs than there are the ones at the top who do the hiring and buying. I must say it was such a difference to go from holding my hand out to beg for a job, to pulling out a checkbook with a huge bank account attached. And I must say that I was more likely to use weak ties myself, or someone a friend recommended.

Speaker leads

But one thing always seemed to be true. You will usually get your best speaker leads, acting leads, etc. from your weak links. I was much more likely to get a job from someone my hairdresser knew or my doctor knew, than from the person themselves. It always seemed to be from someone who wasn’t in the industry but had a close connection to the decision maker.

Weak ties

Sociologist Mark Granovetter wrote a paper in the 1970’s called “The Strength of Weak Ties”. Basically it talked about how your most valuable information will come from outside your usual network of contacts. People are far more likely to get a job from a weak contact than through a friend or relative.

He refers to strong ties as friends and weak ties as acquaintances. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have both, because you should. They compliment each other.

In my conversations with meeting planners lately I’ve found that many times they get referrals for speakers from people in their audience. That would be a weak speaker lead contact.

So, instead of always trying to go in through the front door, you might try using your weak contacts. As much as Hollywood hates taking chances on newbies, they also love the idea of finding a great, new talent that no one has ever heard of. Same with the speaking industry.

The speaking industry is similar to Hollywood. Actors either audition or send in their videos and a group of people, the casting director, director, and producer, all have to come to a mutual decision about who they cast in a film, TV show or theater production. I’ve been on both sides of the process, and I must say that being on the casting end is much less stressful. A lot of variables go into the decision, and most of them are totally out of your control. So never take it personally. That’s easy to say, but when you think you’re perfect for a speaking job it can become baffling.

Why speakers don’t get the job

Here are some of the reasons why speakers don’t get the job:

Committee voted on another speaker

A committee can be anywhere from a few people to a couple of dozen. Most speaker decisions are made by committee these days, which means a lot of people have to like you and think you’re the right person for the job. If you don’t get the majority of the vote, you probably won’t get the job. If your topic doesn’t fit in with the conference theme and the theme is already set in stone, you probably won’t get the job. And, If there really isn’t a theme, but they like your topic, they could pick you and create the rest of the conference to fit around you.

Went with another topic

If some other speaker knocked their socks off, they could take the conference in a different direction to fit that speaker. The only thing to do about this one is to be the speaker that knocks their socks off. Have a unique topic that only you can provide, and have a great angle on it.

Already used your topic or similar speaker

If they used your topic for their last conference, they probably won’t be using it again, which means having to wait until that topic and theme comes around again. They like to keep things fresh for their members or clients.

Decision maker used someone they knew

This would happen all the time when we were casting films. We would go through the casting process, and in the end, the producer decided to hire someone’s girlfriend, boyfriend, cousin, etc. This is another thing you have no control over. Even when we would find the best talent for the part, if the director, producer or financier said they wanted their mistress in the lead role, there was nothing we could do.

Not ready for primetime

If you’re planning to speak to a small, local library for free, the bar will be much lower than for a bigger paid job. Anyone who is going to be writing you a large check has to make sure you’re ready to play in the big leagues. The only way to get over this one is by constantly working and proving yourself. People need to know who you are and that you’re good and reliable. This is why Hollywood and the speaking industry can both feel like a closed club until you are able to make your way in. You can’t buy your way in or bribe your way in. You simply have to be incredibly good at your craft, be responsible, easy to work with, and prove that you are worthy of their trust.

They decided not to use speakers

Sometimes conference meeting planners like to shake things up and not always put on the same conference. They may decide to have panel discussions or no speakers at all.

They want industry only

Some conferences don’t use outside speakers at all. So unless you’re actively working in their industry, they won’t be looking for outside speakers.

The speaking industry is about the long game. There are many reasons why speakers don’t get the job, just like there are many reasons actors don’t get the job. You simply have to keep getting better and keep working. Along the way you will lose a LOT of jobs. It’s just the nature of the business. So, like I said, don’t take it personally. Eventually that perfect opportunity will come along and you will be just the right speaker for it.

All industries change as the world around them changes. The speaking industry is no different. The topics meeting planners requested 5 years ago or 10 years ago have changed. With a booming economy, companies are now more interested in recruiting and retaining employees than they were 5 years ago.

Current speaker topics companies are looking for

Lately I’ve been getting requests from meeting planners for topics related to the workplace, such as generational issues, managing a new generation, and recruitment and retention. With a tight job market they are suddenly interested in motivating employees and attracting the best talent.

As a business speaker, can you help companies recruit and retain the best employees? Have you gone through the same issues as a business owner and have tips that can help them find new talent? Have you been on the hiring end and have tips from human resources that will help them?

Can you motivate employees?

As a motivational speaker, are you able to help companies motivate their employees? Recent studies show that money and benefits are actually not at the top of things that excite new employees. Peer motivation and recognition and encouragement are at the top. Employees will be spending most of their day at the office, so a fun environment is key to many people. A dull, stressful, high-paying job that sucks the life out of you will burn employees out quickly. Can you help them find ways to keep their employees happy and motivated?

Are you an expert in helping companies create a dynamic company culture? Companies that don’t have a defined culture and mission statement tend to have disorganized chaos. Once a company has a defined culture they can then hire people that fit into the culture. But they first need to know what it is. Are you that speaker who can help them define their culture? This is valuable to a company that wants to retain the best talent.

Are you a leader?

Many speakers speak on the topic of leadership. Have you actually been a leader yourself? Do you have valuable and unique information you can give to companies on how to groom talent for leadership positions? Have you been on the other side as an employee in a company who can give inside information on what employees want out of management and how to nurture their talent for leadership positions?

Or maybe you’re an expert on the topic of generational issues in the workplace. Can you help companies figure out how to deal with a workforce of different generations? Can you help them navigate through issues like different communication styles, technical issues, and different styles of collaborating?

As a speaker you’re constantly having to adjust to changes in the speaking industry. If you can use your background to help companies through the changes they’re facing, you open up more possibilities as a speaker. It gives you more chances at having current speaker topics companies are looking for right now.

No matter where I go these days I’m constantly running into someone who says they are a speaker. At the grocery store today there was one person in front of me and one behind me who got into a conversation about speaking. In L.A. you expect to run into someone who is an actor, writer, director, or all of the above on every corner. But speaker? Hmm, what’s going on?

This is interesting because, according to studies, glossophobia, or the fear of public speaking is the number one phobia Americans have. You would think more people would shy away from it, but I get calls every day from people who say they’ve just become a speaker or they want to become a speaker.

Since I’ve been working in the entertainment industry in some form or another since I was a teenager, I look at the speaking industry as being very similar to the entertainment industry. For example, you have a handful of actors who are on the A list, who make millions of dollars, a lot of actors who make a living some or most of the time, and a lot of wanna-be actors who never make any money from acting, who eventually give up and do other things, maybe acting from time to time as a hobby.

This is because the entertainment industry is full of supply, but not enough demand for all of that supply. It’s the same in the speaking industry. Most actors want to be on the A list, making the big bucks, waiting for someone to write a check so they can focus on their craft and showcase their talent. Most speakers want the same thing. I admit, I’d love nothing better than to just show up and get a big, fat check to be a rock star. Who wouldn’t? But the speaking industry, like the entertainment industry has far more supply than demand. It’s a seller’s market. Far more sellers than buyers.

So, that’s the bad news. The good news is that there has never been a better time in history to be a speaker or entertainer. But, just like the entertainment industry, it’s an incredibly difficult path if you’re simply standing in line with everyone else. Personally, I don’t have the patience to wait in that line. For the past 20 years I’ve been writing, producing and staring in my own productions, either with angel investors, my own money, or with small business sponsorship.

When you go the self-funded or sponsorship route, supply and demand doesn’t matter. You find the demand first, then supply the talent. That means finding niches that need what you have to offer and then finding a way to get paid for it.

A good example of this is historical keynote speaker Lord Scott, who bears an uncanny resemblance to George Washington. He not only looks like him, but is the right size and age to portray Washington. Scott has used this to his advantage, booking educational presentations at schools, 4th of July celebrations, corporate events, and churches.

He has also started his own non-profit “We Make History”, putting on historical events on both the east and west coasts. His team now includes over 200 actors, and continues to expand. Scott has found his niche as a public speaker and performer by thinking outside the box and creating his own speaking career.

As a professional speaker how can you create your own career and bypass the supply and demand problem of the speaking industry?

The speaking industry is global, which expands a speaker’s opportunities beyond their own country. International speaking can be quite lucrative, and at some point in your career you might want to think about taking that leap. But every country has their own culture, and written or unwritten rules every public speaker needs to know about.

Anthony “Ant” Williams has a unique perspective on the speaking industry, as both a speaker and a speaker bureau owner. If you think being a public speaker is scary and competitive, read on to see how Ant got his start:

Can you give us some info on your background?
I fell in to speaking as a way to support my fascination with extreme sports. Each year I would travel the globe competing in World Championship events in the sport of freediving, a sport where the sole purpose is to see who can reach the greatest depth in the ocean on a single breath of air. But doing a dangerous sport can be expensive. I trained up as a speaker to create a new source of income that would fit around the training and travel.
Where I sympathise the most with other speakers, is with our over-reliance on traditional speaking bureaux to find us speaking work. This is fraught with problems. How do you build a business as a speaker if you don’t build your relationships with event planners directly?

How is the speaking industry different in Australia than the U.S.?
There are two main differences. First, we seem to pay our speakers less in Australia. Our largest booking category is $3,000 – $5,000 and very few bookings come in over the $10,000 mark. In the U.S. top speakers would typically earn more per keynote. Second, we don’t have the same prevalence of speaker’s agents who source the work for speakers. Australian speakers tend to list with as many speakers’ bureaux as possible, create a website, and then wait for the work to come in.

Are there any cultural differences?
Australian audiences love U.S. speakers. We love your accent. We presume people who speak with an accent must be highly intelligent. But we Australians are a modest bunch. A quick way to alienate an Australian audience is to over-state your credentials or come across too flamboyant.

How do you suggest approaching speaker’s bureaus?
We aren’t currently supporting any offshore speakers. Hopefully, in the near future.

What should speakers know about working with a speaker bureau?
Speaker bureaus want to find you work, but you make it difficult! Rather than asking a bureau to find you more work, get busy and write a blog that the bureau can share. Do something interesting and share it on social media with links to your profile on the bureau website so people can find and book you. Content is king. If you want to get noticed by people who book speakers then start creating interesting content that people will share.

Who is your perfect client?
We have a guy on the other side of Australia who books a new speaker with us every month. From the comfort of his desk he selects a speaker for each event, then books them through our automated system. We have an Audience Response System that collects audience ratings and feedback for each speaker. He simply compares speaker feedback and choses the best speaker for his event, at the best price each time.

What is your favorite book on speaking?
That would still have to be “Speak and Grow Rich” by Walters & Walters. It’s an old book now but still has some of the best ever advice in it for a career in keynote speaking. What it lacks, because of its age, is the importance of building a social media presence.

Thanks to Ant for taking time to share his insights with Speaker Sponsor. You can check out his speaker bureau at www.speakerbook.com.au or check out his amazing free diving background at www.antwilliams.com.

Are there two different sides of the speaking industry? If you ask two different people to give you the definition of a professional speaker you may get two different answers. I always assumed it was someone who gets paid to speak. But the answer is a little more complicated than that. So I asked two professionals in different areas of the speaking industry for their thoughts on it.

Cathleen Fillmore runs the speaker bureau Speakers Gold and has been in the speaking industry for many years. Here is her answer to that question:

“As a bureau owner, I’ve had great experience with all aspects of the speaking industry. One of my speakers, new to Canada, was often asked to speak free of charge until he said ‘No!’. He had young children to support and he knew if he kept accepting unpaid engagements, he would never get paid. So he said ‘No thanks’ and held his breath and soon he was getting full fee. Once he established his boundaries and insisted on the respect he was due, he got it. Full fee. There are times to accept unpaid engagements – for your favorite charity or to get in front of decision makers – but mainly it’s a trap that can damage your branding. After all, if you speak for one organization free of charge, others won’t want to pay you. Or they won’t want to pay your full fee. The decision is yours – don’t make it until you’ve explored the implications and the possible cost to you for accepting a free speaking engagement.”
Cathleen Fillmore, Bureau Owner and Marketing Consultant to Speakers
www.speakersgold.com
www.marketingmasteryforspeakers.com
cathleen@speakersgold.com
416-532-9886

Bryan Caplovitz is the founder of Speaker Match, an online speaker directory that connects speakers with paid and free speaking engagements. Here’s what Bryan had to say:

“The National Speakers Association, which is known for having professional speakers, has many speakers from an older generation who adhere to the notion that pros don’t pitch from the stage. There shouldn’t be any selling. You should deliver great, commercial-free content and a message that affects the audience. A lot of newer speakers do feel the need to sell from the stage, and encourage the audience to buy products or services. They like passing out evaluation forms with their contact info and lean heavily on their books and coaching.

There’s a third category that doesn’t care if they get paid or not. They deliver great content and the audience isn’t pitched to. Many Toastmasters and cause speakers fall into that category. They simply want to touch an audience with their words.

Then there is the big pitch speaker. The audience knows they’re being pitched to and it’s transparent upfront. These are the free presentations that are meant to sell very high ticket programs. They are great pitch people who get the audience members into a non-defensive mindset. They show the value of all of the many different pieces you need and build it up.”

And then of course there are speakers who focus on great content, but have sponsors footing the bill. I’ve come to realize that the speaking industry is very inclusive and isn’t just about one type of speaking. The speaking industry has changed a lot over the past few years and may still be changing. Who knows what the next business model will be? What do you think?

The speaking industry has similarities and differences in every country. Here is another great speakers bureau interview with J.J. Jackson of Performing Artistes, located in London:

1. Can you give us some info on your background and how Performing Artistes got started?
We started in 1992, initially putting on sporting dinners (where people buy tables and there are former sportsmen and women giving speeches after dinner). We quickly got asked to supply people for their own events, often non sport, and it went from there. That original experience of having put on events ourselves is incredibly useful when dealing with planners. We can honestly say we’ve been there!
2. How is the speaking industry different in Europe than the U.S.?
Bureaux in the States seems to be much more talent led. They are set up to push talent exclusive to them, while the European model is client/organiser led – most of us have a few exclusives, but the majority of our business is booking people independent of the bureau. We are answerable to the clients.
3. When should a speaker start approaching speakers bureaus and how would you like to be approached?
In theory, as soon as they like, however unless they have a TV profile they really need to have done a good few speeches (20 plus) to be taken seriously. Decent video footage of them speaking is also a must – it doesn’t need to be a full production, but more than a hand held camera at the back of a church hall.
4. What is the one thing you wish speakers knew about working with a speakers bureau?
That our job is to come up with ideas for speakers in the first place. Rarely do clients ring up asking for a specific person, they normally ask for a list of people who would be appropriate and take it from there, so by the time they end up booking the speaker we’ve already done a lot of work getting them to that stage. Same goes for agents, they often say “why did the company not come to us directly” to which the response is of course “because they didn’t know they wanted you until we explained why you/your client was ideal”.
5. Who is your perfect speaker client?
In terms of the talent, someone who engages with the client beforehand on a briefing call, turns up on time and is modest in their demands re staging, transport etc (accepting they want to deliver a good presentation and do require certain things). In terms of bookers/planners, someone you can develop a relationship with and starts to trust you…occasionally taking a leftfield choice because they know you haven’t let them down in the past. I always say I have never knowingly supplied a bad speaker, although that’s not to say we haven’t had to odd issue over the years!
6. Is there one book you would recommend all speakers read?
Now there is a question! It’s been around a while, but one of the original business books, How to Win Friends and Influence People takes some beating!
7. What do you see changing for speakers, meeting planners and speakers bureaus and how would you use innovation to improve the speaking industry?
The level of interactivity of audiences. The days of the passive audience are long gone, now a days the audience will be tweeting about the speech as it is happening, asking questions in real time etc. In terms of improving the industry, transparency is key. If a speaker has had a number of enquiries from rival bureaux for the same job, they should say; similarly meeting planners shouldn’t try and play us off against each other. By all means compare costs, but once you’ve decided which bureau to use, stick with them.

JJ Jackson
Performing Artistes – London

www.performingartistes.co.uk
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/PerfArtistes