Yesterday we answered some of the most common questions about speaker fees. One question we didn’t address, however, was about negotiations: Are speakers open to negotiating their fees?
While every speaker is different and will have his or her own ideas about negotiations, for the most part professional speakers do not negotiate their fees. Professional speakers generally have evaluated what they are worth and have set fixed rates for their services.
But negotiations don’t have to be just about money. They can also be about value. Take Inspiring Speakers Bureau’s Brad Montgomery, for example. Brad describes himself as a motivational speaker and corporate humorist, strategist and funny-ist. (You can check out his teleseminar recording on “How to Generate Big Laughs by Interacting With Audience Members Without Embarrassing Them – Or You” in our Speaker Resource Centre – scroll down to the eighth teleseminar on the page.)
Brad writes on his website:
“In my case, my fees are more or less set. But again, it never hurts to ask. Occasionally speakers – including me – will give a discount for:
- booking more than one program at the same meeting;
- booking multiple programs with the same client;
- clients who support my pet charities;
- clients who will be flexible with their times, allowing me to work two programs in the same day;
- clients who will ‘trade out’ goods or services (or a portion of them);
- clients who purchase a significant number of my products; and
- clients who are working in a fun place (read that: resort!) and will provide a few extra days at the hotel and fly my wife and maybe even my kids out.”
“Who knows?” Brad continues. “It never hurts my feelings and sometimes we are able to come up with a creative idea that makes sense to us both that can save money for your budget.”
So consider what you have to offer that may be of value to a potential speaker – and consider what they have to offer that may be valuable to you.
Can you book the same speaker to both present the keynote speech at your event and run a workshop or seminar? Or perhaps your keynote speaker is also able to emcee your event’s evening reception or gala? If you hire one person to do take on two roles at your conference or event, he or she may offer you a discounted fee, saving you money on your overall budget. Plus, you’ll save even more money by having to pay the travel expenses of only one person instead of two.
Do you have anything to barter? For instance, a professional speaker may lower their fee if you offer them advertising in your organization’s newsletter, magazine or other publication. Or perhaps you can provide your speaker with goods or services from one of your event’s sponsors. Another option, as Brad mentioned above, is travel or vacation perks. If your event is being held at an interesting destination, your speaker may be willing to discount his fee if you invite his family along and extend their stay.
A speaker may also lower their rate if you allow them to sell their products at your event – or if you purchase their products in bulk quantity ahead of time to be handed out to your event’s audience members.
With a little bit of creativity you’ll soon figure out how to get the most value from your speaker and for your money.
How do you negotiate value? Share your strategies with us here or on our Facebook page. Have a great weekend!
