Do you need to find and book a speaker, but you may not have the funds? Would you like to hire a speaker within a limited budget?  Do you know how much speakers charge? Do you require a talented speaker bureau representative familiar with the public speaking industry with strong relationships with speakers to negotiate the fee on your behalf?

Speakers all assess their fees differently and are generally mostly negotiable with their rates. They will all be considering events proposed to them, however, it depends on the speaker, their schedules, how popular they are, organization and event logistics. Generally, speakers will not accept events if they are under 50% of their established rate for each audience size or organization type. Speakers Canada and our talented agents have years of experience in fundraising and event planning, and we are providing some strategies to increase the speaker budget to access a top Canadian speaker.

WHEN PLANNING A CONFERENCE, ISN’T THE SPEAKER’S FEE A GOOD PLACE TO KEEP COSTS LOW?

No. The quality of your speakers will either break or make your event. The cost of a professional speaker is a small fraction of your total expense of putting on a conference or event and is the most important part of the attendees’ experience. Event participants may often only remember the event by the speaker, as a good motivational speaker will create a memorable experience for the audience inspiring them to make a change in their lives. Not investing in a professional speaker or a qualified expert that will engage attendees at the event can be a costly mistake and leave a negative impression on the audience to attend a future event.

COLLABORATION

Collaborating between departments and organizations is another way to save money when planning an event since you can impact more people and combine budgets or share the investment into the speaker, venue, meals etc.… It is important to involve leadership teams in the planning so that they can understand if the budget is short to achieve what they have set out to inform, educate and motivate the employees to a shared goal. Different departments will also usually benefit from the same messaging, so any leader, manager or supervisor will have an interest in supporting you in your planning, selecting the speaker and collaborating with you for the event.

SPONSORSHIP

Seeking out a sponsor is not an easy task, but it is one of the best ways to save funds and keep costs down for events. If you don’t ask, you don’t receive, and if the event requires more funding or if your organization is limited on funds, finding a corporate sponsor can create a win win situation, since they can participate in the event and be involved in supporting your initiatives. Sponsors can pay directly for the speaker, a meal or a specific session at the event, and will become a stakeholder in the event or conference. They can be resourceful, will usually have expert knowledge and will be able to have a presence with the attendees by introducing a speaker or by having their logo within the program or gift bag. You can also apply the funds directly to a motivational speakers session or opening/closing keynote speakers fee.

APPLY FOR A GOVERNMENT GRANT, SUBSIDY AND HIRE SPEAKERS THAT YOU CAN APPLY ACCREDITATION FOR THEIR SESSION

We know not always available to each organization; however, some speaking topics or employee development can be covered by provincial or federal grants and subsidies. There are always new grant applications for different areas such as stimulating economic growth or educating organizations on diversity and inclusion. Certain industries also have a governing body that may apply funding if the speakers session will apply accreditation for the leaning outcomes in the speakers session. It is important the organizations assign a representative to continue to explore different funding and grant opportunities and to keep up to date with them. Filling out the application forms are free, and Speakers Canada and our speakers can work with you to submit topic descriptions that will assist in getting the grant or accreditation approved.

FINDING INTERNAL SPEAKER TO PRESENT TO YOUR GROUP OR TO HOST THE EVENT

Have you checked your employees and your working partners to know if any of them speak or have invested into becoming an expert on a specific topic? Perhaps you would like one of the leaders to discuss the business operations and the company goals?

Searching your database for potential internal speakers is a great way to save costs since they will often present for free or request a small compensation. Even if you hire an external speaker, internal speakers are a great way to fill the program, make your employees or leaders champions and have them share the internal perspective they have on a topic for the organization. In most cases the internal speaker will receive a lot of praise from their team members, and it will give internal outcomes specific to the organization since they know the workplace and people so well.

HIRING A LOCAL SPEAKER OR VIRTUAL SPEAKER FOR A HYBRID PRESENTATION

Searching for a speaker “near me” or searching for a speaker in a specific city, province or region will tell you which speakers are from a specific location. Local speakers offer discounted local rates for organizations or conferences in their area and are often negotiable with their rates for local events. You can also save costs by having your attendees in person and finding a virtual speaker to create a hybrid event, which will maximize your investment in case you have virtual attendees for an online event with a room filled with attendees in person. By holding a hybrid event, you will access the virtual speakers discounted rate and you can save money on travel expenses for delegates and the speaker. By hiring a local speaker, you can take any extra funds and apply them to another speaker or cover any other costs associated in delivering the event.

NEGOTIATING SPEAKER FEES

We have a strong relationship with many of Canada’s top motivational speakers, and we know each speaker’s negotiation points as well as their schedules which helps us negotiate their fees on behalf of our clients. Negotiating fees can be difficult, as some speakers are hesitant to offer a discounted rate. Here are some of the major negotiation points and what speakers consider when organizations or a speaker bureau requests a discounted rate. Each speaker is unique and will lower their rates based on the following criteria depending on the speaker:

• Location of the event
• Speakers schedule and previous commitments
• Non-profit vs Corporate?
• Virtual event or in person?
• How many days they will be away from other commitments to attend the event
• What the speaker charges for a similar organization in the past
• What the speaker fee has been for events with similar number of attendees in the past
• Are you videotaping, recording, or sending out a live broadcast to virtual attendees?
• Duration and format of the session
• How much research required to customize the topic and meet the desired learning outcomes of the presentation
• The organization that is seeking to book them – non-profit, association, corporation
• Who will be in the audience and potential for leads to potential future bookings?

WORK WITH SPEAKERS BUREAU OF CANADA TO HELP YOU FIND THE PERFECT SPEAKER TO SAVE YOU TIME AND REDUCE THE SPEAKER FEE FROM ONE OF OUR SPEAKERS

When working with a talented Canadian speakers bureau agent, we often can use different negotiation points for each speaker as we book them multiple times over the course of each year, which usually enables us to approach them with reasonable budgets for event opportunities to try to get them to accept.

If you require a reduced fee, it is important that we learn any budget information if available to you and the speakers you are most interested in obtaining. It is great to have two or three speaker options in case one speaker is not available or is hesitant to lower their fees. Once we have this information, we can approach each speaker to check their availability and work to negotiate their rate for your event.