Ten Proven Ways to Reduce Speaker Costs by Mike Taubleb - Promenade Speakers Bureau:

1. Commit to book talent for more than one engagement. If you are at a trade show or major conference, team up with non-competitive exhibitors for multiple bookings. Each of you may attain a better price.

2. Some speakers will keynote for free or a small upcharge when booked for a full day at their regular fee. Others can provide free workshops when you book a keynote. One versatile speaker can cover the spots of two, saving you multiple fees and travel expenses.

3. Find a speaker whose book or other product is launching near your meeting date. Offer to buy their books in quantity as giveaways (or to be resold). Speakers may waive or lower their fees in this case.

4. Some popular speakers charge more when the venue is relatively far from their home. Find out when and where they are appearing near your venue – they may be able to piggyback your event with theirs. Suddenly a long roundtrip is a short stopover on the way.

5. Book as far ahead as possible. As calendars fill up or simply on an annual basis, speakers may raise their prices. If a speaker’s topic enjoys an unexpected spike in news coverage, their prices may rise quickly.

6. Consider innovative ways to recoup speaker costs at your event. For example, offer senior level one-on-one consultations for a fee. Many executive attendees are willing to pay for this onsite service to discuss their concerns discretely and in more depth than a typical Q & A session can provide.

7. If you love their approach but can’t afford them, ask about their lower priced associates. They may partner with excellent speakers or trainers in their topic, who are merely less well known.

8. Sponsorships: If the speaker can address several audiences the same day, you or the speaker may find a sponsor who is eager to cover one of them and a good part of the total.

9. Provide them free/featured advertising in your corporate communications (intranet, web, newsletter) or to arrange high-profile media publicity for them.

10. Offer access to your senior decision makers during the selection process. When a speaker/bureau truly understands your needs and potential, they may be more flexible.