Book Early:

If you know who you want, book early, your chances are dramatically lower for any given speaker on short notice (less than 4-6 months). This is especially the case for better known/suddenly hot personalities, who may book dates 12-18 months ahead. You can also avoid price increases, which may happen annually for sought after talent. We recently were asked to book a hot author who raised his price at least 3 times in the last 12 months, more than doubling it.

Be Specific:

Provide enough specifics to narrow down the search. Location/date/audience description/speech format are just the start. Do you know the top 2-3 takeaways desired for your audience? What type of speaker has succeeded there previously? What are the objective preferences of your senior executives? How about the “unspoken” criteria? How will you measure success? What is the event theme and objectives? What challenges are faced by the audience/your management that the speaker could address? Who else is speaking there? Who else have you looked at (so the bureau doesn’t waste your time or make you look foolish by contacting the same person). Why do you want a famous name? Is industry experience important or will competitive appearances be a negative?

Want a motivational speaker? This is the most common type of speaker – there are tens of thousands who fit that description. See previous tips.

Know Your Budget:

Be realistic how far your budget will go. Good speakers can be found at bargain prices but it takes some looking. Proven professional speakers generally don’t discount and typically start at $7,500 - $15,000. Celebrities from media, politics, business, athletics, entertainment and the military often run $25,000 - $75,000 plus first-class airfare and other extras.

Is your event overseas? Most speakers will add 25-50% to their US rates to cover extra travel time (and lost speaking opportunities while traveling). They'll want to fly business or first class. Some speakers love global appearances – seek them out.

A Commitment is a Commitment:

Most speakers have a non-refundable cancellation policy. If you book less than 60 days to the event, be aware that client cancellations within this time typically forfeit from 50-100% of your fee.

Customization Counts:

How vital is relevant content to you? Find out the speaker’s willingness to tailor upfront. Book them at least several months beforehand, so they can interview at least one of your key executives and even some audience members, as well as doing their own primary research and absorbing your materials. The difference will stand out.

Getting to Know You:

Interview more than one candidate on the phone and/or see if you can attend their nearby appearances. Talk to their references. A demo tape and a one-sheet brochure give a limited idea of their fitness for your event. Convince your key decision makers that 20 minutes on the phone with three finalists will make them look good for many months afterwards (and minimize the chance of an "off" performance).

Booking VIP’s:

Think twice about booking sitting politicians, who may be pulled away on short notice to attend to a crisis, important vote or more lucrative fundraising opportunity. May is a big time for high-profile commencement speeches too.

Want to increase your chances of booking a big name? Contrary to intuition, sending five or six bureaus to chase one big name may irk and confuse the speaker and slow their response. Multiple bureaus are most useful when developing their own recommendations, which shouldn’t overlap too much. With few exceptions, playing them off each other on a given speaker will not lower your price. Neither will approaching the speaker directly, if  bureaus provide a good portion of their bookings.

Even if you start out pursuing a “celebrity”, be open to the strong contribution a top professional speaker can make, even if they are not a “household name”. Many celebrities are something less than polished presenters and may provide a “boilerplate” speech that is more about them than your concerns. Speaking may be relatively low on their list of priorities.

Some “celebrity” speakers are highly selective – you’ll have to make a well-thought out case to persuade them to participate– and allow more time than usual for a response.

For more tips, contact us or visit this site's archive section.