What type of fees should event planners expect to budget for a professional speaker? Is there a way you could help categorize fee ranges to expect for various types of speakers?
Good question. Fees range from a few thousand dollars to over a hundred thousand dollars. The speakers set their fees and there are no specific criteria or standards for how they do that.
Let’s break down the 3 types of speakers: professional, expert and celebrity.
Professional speakers are those that have chosen to speak for a living. There are thousands of these types of speakers in the marketplace. I like to think that they base their fees on their experience, knowledge and speaking skills, but often it is what they perceive their value to be.
Expert speakers are those who speak as a result of their expertise in a given area. It is not their primary vocation. And celebrities are just that. Often times you will pay a lot of money just to have a celebrity on the platform. The planner has to determine the value of that!
Are fees for a speakers bureau included in the speakers fee? Should an event planner expect to budget additional fees? If so, under what circumstance(s)?
Generally the speaker pays the bureau a commission. They do this because the bureau has secured the engagement for them and assumes all the logistical and contractual obligations. There are exceptions, as in any business, and there might be times when a bureau may charge their own fees when providing services such as extensive research or strategic planning for companies or organizations.
Plenty of situations can occur that may require a speaker to cancel an engagement. What steps can an event planner take to address this situation when contracting a speaker?
This is where a bureau/speaker relationship can truly makes a world of difference, as we can “rally” speakers to help us out in emergency situations.
Hopefully, a cancellation occurs with enough time to find a comparable replacement. But time is typically not on our side when cancellations happen.
So, when a planner learns about a cancellation, they should immediately call their bureau for a “back up” plan – even if it is hours before the speech. If it is a large event with more than one speaker, we may be able to ask one of our speakers already at the event to do “double-duty.” Or, if we know another speaker is geographically nearby, we may ask him or her to make a detour to our event and “save the day.”
There are always solutions; hopefully you are working with a bureau that knows speakers well enough to overcome these frustrating challenges.
Such a scenario is probably one of the most important times to work with a speakers bureau. Can you share an example of how you secured someone else at the last minute?
We were on-site managing the speakers for a major insurance client that was holding an incentive meeting. At about 5 a.m. one Sunday morning, my staff person got a panicked call from the client. The one speaker that they booked without our assistance didn’t show up. Apparently there was some problem with the speaker’s transportation, but no one really knew what happened.
The client now was left with a gaping hole in their agenda where the opening keynoter belonged! So, we got to work right away to brainstorm replacement ideas.
We knew this client and their audience well, and determined we had the perfect candidate within driving distance. We called his office, cell phone, home and his wife! When we found him, we explained the situation, and he agreed to come immediately to the meeting. Once he arrived, we had a brief meeting with the client and talked about objectives, and with no further ado the speaker took the stage.
Upon completion, the speaker received a standing ovation from the audience! As it turns out, he probably was a better choice for the opening keynote than the person who wound up a no-show.
Relationships do indeed matter!
Diane Goodman is president of The Goodman Speakers Bureau, based in Windsor, CT, and may be reached at 800-875-2893.
