Hiring a professional speaker can ad spice to your next event, motivate your employees to move to the next level, or inspire your conference attendees. Whatever your requirements, there is a professional speaker who will meet your needs.
How Do I Hire a Professional Speaker?
The right professional speaker for you depends on a variety of factors. Primarily, the focus of your event is the first need, the second might be your industry, and your audience might be a third factor. The event you are having will dictate what kind of speaker you will focus on getting.
If you know the name of the speaker or the company from which you want a speaker, the first step is to visit their web site (for example, www.davepelzer.com). Usually, on a professional speaker’s web site, there are directions for how to book that speaker. This probably entails emailing the nature and dates of your event, how long the person would speak, what the topic is, and who creates the presentation (you or the speaker?). When you email them, you need to ask such details as, what the speakers rates are, how they arrange their travel and who usually pays for it, etc.
If you do not have a speaker in mind, you can search the web for an “industry expert” in that area. By doing this, you are in danger of just picking at random and getting a speaker that is more interested in selling his or her own products than giving a content-rich presentation. So instead, you may want to go online and find a trade association for your particular industry. Then call the association and ask them to suggest some speakers. By doing this, you are likely to get a speaker who is knowledgeable, and who is not pushing his or her own agenda.
Typical Rates for a Speech
Most professional speakers require travel and entertainment costs for the event and then a speaker’s fee for the engagement. This can range from several hundred dollars to several hundred thousand dollars depending on the celebrity and demand of the particular speaker.
Professional authors typically charge between $5,000 and $10,000 for a speaking engagement. Dr. Bob Nelson, author of 1001 Ways to Reward Employees, costs $10,000 to book for a speaking engagement.
Inexpensive Speakers
There are creative ways to find speakers for little to no cost for your meeting or convention. One popular way to find a speaker is to contact authors and have them discuss topics from their book. Authors are always looking for ways to promote their books and conventions are a quick way to sell a lot of copies. For example, Jeremy Reis, author of Creative Romance, was contacted by an authors’ association to discuss web promotion, print on demand, and self-publishing. “The annual convention was a great opportunity to discuss new publishing technologies and how authors can take advantage of the Internet for marketing,” Jeremy explained. “Plus, it gave me an opportunity to escape to Florida in January for a couple days.”
Another creative way to find a speaker is to find a webmaster of a popular website. Website developers love to promote their websites and will often speak for little or no fees.
Whatever your needs, you can find the right speaker for your next event!
