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Talk Ain’t Cheap (But It Doesn’t Have to Bust the Budget)

How to secure a speaker for your event with as little fiscal pain as possible.

By Robert P. Farmer

 
Everybody’s talking about the economic meltdown, but who is actually speaking during these gloomy days? Turns out, quite a few people, and they’re still being rewarded quite handsomely for it in some cases. Finding great speakers is always a challenge. And when their expertise is in higher demand, speakers can find themselves in the catbird seat.

For planners, the art becomes how to contain speaker costs. Indeed, there are methods in which savvy planners can manage the cost of their keynotes, while also delivering a program about which their clients will surely be talking. The trick is to work with speakers and their agents to ensure both parties get what they need from the deal.

“What I’m seeing in this economic climate is that planners are increasingly hesitant to lock in terms that will impact their budgets,” said Sam Silverstein, president of the National Speakers Association. “That, of course, includes the speaker’s contract. A speaker recently told me that he had a gig with a longtime client canceled. This was a regular gig, [but the cancellation] is not an isolated incident. So we’re seeing planners book everything, from hotel space to speakers, much later, and it’s impacting how speakers are working with planners.”

Negotiate Value Not Price
One of the ways in which speakers are exhibiting flexibility is within program content. Rather than reducing their fees, speakers today are showing a willingness to do more for these fees.

“Since the start of this year, more speakers are cutting their fees,” said Shawn Ellis, founder and president of The Speakers Group, a Tennessee-based speakers bureau and management firm. “A lot of these offers are done on a limited-time basis. But just as often as speakers are cutting fees, there are plenty holding firm—and in some cases fees have risen when the particular area of expertise is in high demand.

“But I think the value-added element is what’s really occurring these days, and there is a wide range of ways in which that can play out. Speakers are offering everything from follow-up webinars along with their keynotes to doing breakout sessions and offering more in terms of takeaways.”

These accommodations, according to Ellis, help planers with their budgets. For instance, rather than showing a large single sum as a line item for the speaker’s fee, it might be broken up into separate parts of the overall budget. The planner is able to better allocate overall funds, while speakers can maintain their total fees. Additionally, speakers who provide enhanced value for their fees can help the planning budget in seemingly unrelated ways.

“We’ve seen speakers who have said, ‘Instead of doing one program, I’ll do two,’” Silverstein said. “Well, for some groups, an offer like this might suddenly eliminate the need for additional airfare or hotel room nights and other travel expenses that could be associated with bringing in two speakers for a multiday program.”

Reasonable Offers Accepted
In some cases, planners may still have particular speakers in mind—speakers, perhaps, who clients specifically request, or who are ideal fits for the goals of their groups. In these instances, if the fee is outside the budget, it is worth making an offer. This is a practice that in previous years would typically be rebuffed with extreme prejudice.

“The key for planners right now is that, if they are given a budget that is, say, US$5,000 or $10,000 less than the normal budget for the same event that they are used to, they must realize the value for what they have to work with,” said Marc Reede, president of Los Angeles-based speakers bureau Nationwide Speakers Inc. “So if a planner comes to me and says a certain speaker fits his or her agenda perfectly, I say ‘Tell me who you like and let’s make them an offer.’ Let’s put together a wish list, and if No. 1 won’t cut it, let’s go to No. 2. Planners may be gun shy because they don’t have money for a certain speaker. But you know what? They just might.”

Even as planners are working within tighter budget constraints and striving to enhance ROI from within those restraints, speakers on the national circuit are similarly adapting to the shifting business landscape. Many speakers are reinventing themselves to address the new needs of planners. Instead of resting on the laurels of reputation, they are enhancing their content to deliver viability in a competitive marketplace. Planners are poised to take advantage of this amplified ROI.

“There is definitely a trend toward higher-level content,” Ellis said. “We’re seeing a shift away from the sports star celebrity-type speakers who would be brought in just for name recognition toward those who have content to deliver high-impact relevance with the ultimate goal of increasing business performance—whoever can help that particular focus and get a measurable result for that business.”

Keynotes Still Key
Most planners agree that a dazzling keynote address is still one of the best ways to motivate attendees. Even as budgets are cut, it remains important not to shuffle the speaker out of the mix entirely. This is part of the overriding issue of the value of meetings in general. While companies look for alternatives to meetings to save costs, planners are in a position to assert their value.

“You need to be more competitive in this marketplace,” Silverstein said. “Businesses have to close a higher percentage of sales or whatever their goals are—this cannot be done in a vacuum. It’s hard to say that a meeting has value then go out and book a speaker that is mostly for star power. The program has to have value.”

While negotiation is a practical matter in good times and bad, it’s more critical now than ever. Cooperation among planners and speakers remains the key to success on both ends.

“Companies are now looking for content that addresses a specific issue,” Silverstein said. “And speakers are answering by delivering more value rather than lowering fees. So planners may not be directly negotiating fees, but they are negotiating budget. Ultimately, we are not trying to compete for a bigger share of the pie—we are trying to work together to build a bigger pie.”

ROBERT FARMER is a San Francisco-based freelance writer.