Speakers Bureaus

Fresh – and Effective – Strategies for Today’s Speakers: David Newman of Do It! Marketing Interviews Shawn Ellis

by Shawn · 0 comments

Looking for some fresh ideas on how to get “in” with speakers bureaus? Trying to figure out what meeting planners really value in their speakers these days? (And speaking of meeting planners, are they really your target audience?)

These are just a few of the questions and topics that David Newman, founder of Do It! Marketing, and Shawn Ellis, founder of The Speakers Group and creator of Succeed Speaking, address during this 68-minute interview.

Head over to the Do It! Marketing blog to download the full interview and get some rock solid ideas to help you take your speaking business to the next level.

Youth Speaker University Interview with Shawn Ellis

by Shawn · 8 comments

Have you ever been frustrated by speakers bureaus?

Have you been struggling to keep up with all the changes in the speaking industry?

Are you ready to increase your fee, but you just don’t know how?

Are you looking for some fresh ideas on how to stir up new business?

These are just a few of the topics I discussed during my recent interview with Brooks Gibbs from Youth Speaker University, and you can listen to the full audio here:

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And if you haven’t seen it yet, I highly recommend reading the recent Inc. magazine feature on “The Art and Business of Motivational Speaking” which centers around Brooks and YSU’s founder, Josh Shipp. (Josh is one of the nation’s top youth speakers and was named one of Inc.’s “30 Under 30” in 2009.)

These guys are doing some exciting things, and as a matter of fact, if you’re either an established or an up-and-coming youth speaker, go register for Josh’s FREE webinar on how to become a paid youth speaker. (Available for a limited time.)

Leave a comment below and let me know what you learned from the interview — and I’d especially be interested in your feedback on our talk about what “Speakers Bureau 2.0″ and/or a 360-degree speaker support firm might look like. Would you be interested in this kind of partnership?

Enjoy!

Monetary Incentives for Bureau Agents?

by Shawn · 0 comments

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Creative Commons License photo credit: Steve Snodgrass

John, a reader of the Succeed Speaking newsletter, asked the following question this week:

Is it appropriate to offer a speakers bureau a larger commission than is customary or an additional monetary incentive to secure a booking in this economy where there are so many qualified speakers ready and available to work?

My response:

Hi John,

I suggested something like this early in my speakers bureau career and it caused quite an uproar among speakers, so I’m a little scared to tackle this topic again! :-) All I know is this: (1) It’s been going on as long as I’ve been in the business, and (2) We’re all trying to put food on our table, and it takes money to do that, so if a speaker offers a little extra money — via extra commission or a flat bonus — I’m going to pay attention. And that’s really what it’s all about: attention.

Ultimately, a financial incentive isn’t going to have a huge impact on whether I book or don’t book a speaker… and that’s largely because the final decision is the client’s. What a monetary incentive does is cause me to take a closer look at a speaker. From there, it comes down to the qualifications of that speaker and his or her ability to meet my clients’ needs. If I’m looking at a few speakers who are equally appropriate for a client event, then certainly I would put the speaker offering a monetary incentive in the proposal. If the speaker isn’t qualified, then the incentive doesn’t matter, because I’m not going to risk my reputation for any amount of money!

All that said, I suggest considering an alternative to a booking bonus or extra commission: have a contest! I’ve seen a few speakers do this very successfully in recent years. For example: You could have a “scavenger hunt” through your web site and/or marketing materials… then have a quiz based on the exercise… either have one quiz with a few questions, or give one assignment each week for four weeks and ask a question each week… everyone who answers all the questions correctly is entered into a drawing… then you can either have one winner, or a grand prize winner and a runner-up or two. The prize(s) could be cash, or it could be a little trip, or it could be the latest gadget — iPad, anyone?!

Your goal is for bureau agents to know who you are, know your capabilities, and have you in mind as they make client proposals. I think a contest might be a more engaging campaign than pure monetary incentives.

Hope that helps! Thanks for reading!

– Shawn E.

Does Bureau-Friendly Matter?

by Shawn · 1 comment

When answering questions on a recent call with speakers, I shared some tips on how speakers could better position themselves as a partner to speakers bureaus and one of my tips was to offer bureau-friendly — or better yet, bureau-specific — promotional materials. In response, one speaker said, “‘Bureau-friendly’ is a 90s concept to me — anyone can now find anyone directly, any time… The first question i ask when a potential client calls me is, ‘Where did you get my name?’” True, and great, but…

What if that person says, “Someone on our committee emailed me with a link to your web site”? (Not unheard of when dealing with committees and association events.) There are often several people involved in the speaker selection process and if a PDF one-sheet with your direct contact information starts getting passed around, it only takes one or two forwards of an email before the person calling you has no idea that a speakers bureau has anything to do with bringing you to the table.

There are plenty of other scenarios where a bureau could very easily be left out of the mix, but one is enough. We really need to look at the bigger picture, anyway. The bottom line is, bureau-friendly means friendly to bureaus.

If you want bureaus to book you, it makes sense that you should be friendly to them, right? You don’t want a bureau rep to have one ounce of hesitation about sending out your materials. You want to say — by providing bureau-friendly materials — that “I’m going to make it as easy as possible for you to recommend me and win bookings with your clients.”

How much extra energy does it take to create a bureau-friendly version of your PDF brochure? Probably about 30 seconds. If you worked with a professional designer, it will be no more than a few extra dollars — if anything — to get this extra copy of your document. Bureau-friendly web sites are a little more involved, obviously, but even that is not too difficult if you just get your designer to create a “mirror” image of your current site without your contact info.

Speaking of bureau-friendly web sites: www.yourname.com/bureau — when www.yourname.com is your main site — does not count as bureau-friendly. If for no other reason than curiosity, a client is sure to wonder, “What is at this site if I remove the ‘bureau’ tag from the end?” And aside from that, by providing the dotcom-slash-bureau address, it just looks like we’re trying to hide something from the client. I would rather send a client to a speaker’s home page than send them to a “bureau-friendly” sub-page. If you’re going to create a bureau-friendly web site, make it a real web site — like yournamespeaks.com, which looks exactly like yourname.com, except without your contact info.

To wrap this up, am I telling you that you’re not going to work with speakers bureaus if you don’t create bureau-friendly materials? No. But this all started with me offering advice on how to be a better partner to speakers bureaus, and I can promise you that bureau-friendly is better than non-bureau-friendly.

If you’re still on the fence, here’s another way to look at it: Do you feel so strongly against creating bureau-friendly materials that you would be willing to lose a booking over it? Because that’s potentially what’s at stake if even one bureau rep chooses not to send your materials because they include your direct contact info.

It’s an easy decision if you ask me. Do you want to do more work with speakers bureaus? If so, bureau-friendly is the way to go.

Your thoughts?

Want to Succeed Speaking? Listen First!

by Shawn · 0 comments

This will be a quick and seemingly ultra-basic message… but it may also be the most powerful sales lesson I can offer:

If you want to be a successful speaker, if you want to get more business, if you want speakers bureaus to notice you… close your mouth every now and then. Yes, you are paid to speak, but listen first.

Too harsh? Just remember that I write this blog to help you, and after yet another phone call with a speaker where I was barely able to fit a word in edge-wise, I want to make sure this point comes through loud and clear.

Whether it’s the speaker who just won’t let me start talking — why didn’t you just send me a recording? — or the speaker who lets me start, but then finishes my sentence — like buzzing in after the first word of a Jeopardy answer — and quickly turns the conversation back to him- or herself, it happens far too often. And while it’s a nuisance for me, what I can’t help but think is, Do you do this when you’re speaking to prospective clients, too?

I understand that you feel pressure to get your “pitch” out there.

I understand that you’re afraid this call could end at any moment, so you better talk while you can.

I understand that you need the business.

But just relax.

The only reason you should call me — or any speakers bureau agent, or any prospective client — is if you can make my business better. The only way you can make my business better is if you listen to what I have to say. Learn what my mission is. Learn what my concerns are. Learn what my needs are. You’ll find out all of those things and more if you just ask the right questions and listen. Then, speak… to me, not at me.

Then, instead of being inspired to write this blog post, I’ll be thinking about how much I want to find a way for us to work together. And isn’t that your goal in the first place?

How NOT to Work with Speakers Bureaus

by Shawn · 0 comments

A few days ago, I spoke at a workshop for new/aspiring speakers on the subject of “Working with Speakers Bureaus.” In addition to talking about why speakers bureaus shouldn’t be high on a speaker’s priority list when it comes to business building, I also shared some do’s and don’ts for when speakers do work with speakers bureaus.

#1 on my don’t list was “Don’t send mass emails.” In other words, don’t send emails like this one I received today (names removed):

http://speakerwebsitelink

Hello, I am writing on behalf of Mr. Speaker.  Please review his profile at your earliest convenience and let me how we may begin to match Mr. Speaker with your clients’ needs for a dynamic speaker.  I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely,
XXXX

Do you see any problems with that email? I’ll spotlight two:

  1. Just Hello? At least take the time to find someone‘s name at the speakers bureau you’re contacting.
  2. “Please review his profile at your earliest convenience…” Sure. I have nothing better to do. Why would I want to do this? What’s in it for me? What’s the benefit for me? (One of the most basic lessons of sales.)

Please don’t approach speakers bureaus like this, and by all means, don’t approach end clients like this. Rather than blast hundreds or thousands at once with such a meaningless message, invest more time and send a personalized message to a few highly desirable prospects. By personalize, I mean (1) find someone’s name and (2) find out what matters to them — What are their challenges? What are their needs? — so you can highlight how knowing you provides solutions for their needs.

Speakers bureaus are a hard nut to crack, but with an email like the one above, you don’t have a chance.