Please read this carefully... before you start looking for an agent to find you speaking engagements.
If you are a new speaker or one who has
been receiving no speaking fee or who is starting to earn
better than tiny honoraria, you should be starting to
consider how you can utilize resources that exist to help
you earn better fees. In my 13 plus years of managing and
representing niche speakers I've learned that many
speakers, including those with experience, have some
mistaken ideas about how speaker agents and speaker bureaus
operate. Many speakers think they are the same - they're
not - and often to refer to agencies as
bureaus.
These 12 truths
will help you make better
choices in your speaking career.... and increase your
profits.
1. An
AGENCY works for the interests
of the speaker. An
agency's client is you, the speaker: the one who is selling
a service. An agent has an incentive to get you as high a
fee as possible because the more she gets for
you, the more she gets. The agent is eager to cultivate a
relationship with a small
number of professional
speakers.
2. A
BUREAU works for the interests
of the hiring organization. A bureau's client is the group or
audience: the one who is looking to buy your service. While
a bureau does get a percentage of the contract, the bureau
wants to keep its client happy by keeping costs in line
with its budget. That client, if happy, will return to the
bureau to hire many more speakers - not necessarily you -
in the future. The bureau is eager to cultivate a
relationship with a large
number of
organizations.
3.
Agencies and bureaus don't seek speaking engagements for
speakers. (Read that sentence
again.) That's just
not what they do. That's where publicists and
PERSONAL MARKETING
CONSULTANTS/FIRMS come in. They make their clients so
visible and credible that speakers don't have to go
"knocking on doors" for work. And publicists and PR
firms get paid upfront for their services... that is,
they do not work on commission. Agents and bureaus
passively list speakers on their Web sites and
brochures. They may actively promote their firm,
but they do not actively
market/promote individual speakers.
4. An AGENT works to get you more money and better
treatment. That's an
agent's primary responsibility: to speak on your behalf
(advocate) where it's uncomfortable for you to ask for what
you deserve or get better terms than you have been offered.
Some speakers would rather avoid discussing money at all
costs, even if it means not getting as much as they
deserve. An agent loves to handle what speakers prefer to
avoid.
5.
AGENTS don't initiate "pitches" to organizations for
speakers. (Read that sentence
again.) With speakers
who have never spoken or been paid to speak
there just
is no incentive for agents to do the work of publicists for
free. It is in your
best interest to hand over speaking invitations you receive
to your agent. Example: Let's say you are offered $1000 for
a speech. If your agent can get you $2000 and takes a 25%
commission ($500), you're now getting $500 more than you
would have on your own.
Many new speakers are so fearful of paying an agent a small
percentage out of their fee, they refuse to allow an agent
to get double or triple the original fee for them. I urge
you to
part with a little to gain a lot. Here's an example of a poor business
decision:
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Recently an author called me and asked me
to handle negotiations for the sale of his back-of-the-room
(BOR) books at a conference. He was offered an amount for
his presentation plus travel expenses to another country.
(That country was one I had lived in and had a great deal
of experience.) However, he refused to allow me to
negotiate a better speaking fee for him as well. I knew two
things he didn't.
a. I had certain
knowledge about the organization so that I knew I could get
at least 5 times the speaking fee he was
offered.
b. And I knew a way to
negotiate so that getting that size fee for him was not
going to preclude a large quantity sale of his books. I
don't take a commission on book sales, so my only reward
for advocating for him would be a commission from his
speaking fee. He was so unwilling to let me have any
commission that he deprived himself of an additional
$3,250! (I declined the assignment.)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
6. Agents and bureaus are usually very happy to work
together. If a bureau
is in a position to hire a speaker which an agent
represents, the bureau will ask to split the commission. It
costs you nothing more than the bureau's standard
commission, but you still have the benefit of your agent's
greater interest in what you receive and how you are
treated.
7. Exclusivity is a two-way street. If you don't want your agent to represent
any other speakers in your niche - bureaus will list other
speakers on your topic because it's in their clients'
interests - then you must not work with
other agents or bureaus. To do so is unethical and will cause
your agent to drop you.
8. Exclusivity can work in your favor. Build a relationship with just one
agent over time and it becomes a partnership built on
loyalty and trust. A good agent can help you build a great
speaking career and reputation. (It was a speaker agent who
worked with Deepak Chopra and built his speaking career
from obscurity to a multi-million dollar empire by
advocating for him.)
9. Not all agents and bureaus have commissions of 25-30%,
although this is the standard rate. Some of us work on a sliding scale or
have different rates for speakers at different fee levels.
I happen to work on a 15% commission to clients
I market who take advantage
of my negotiation services.
10. Speakers need to have a track record before an agency
or bureau will accept them and place them on their roster. If you've
given only free speeches or spoken only at book signings
those don't count. You need at least 12 paid engagements in
12 months with proof of fees of at least
$2,500.
11. Speakers defeat the purpose of having a speaker agent
if they don't use their agent's contract negotiation
skills. Why go to the
trouble of securing an agent if you don't have your agent
work her magic to get you significantly more money and many
benefits you would not have thought to ask
for?
12. Speakers can negotiate the commission
percentage. Not one
speaker in 13-14 years has ever asked me to reduce the
commission I charge. In some cases I would have been
agreeable to do so. If you continually hand over high
paying speaking requests to an agent you're in a good
position to ask for a lower commission
rate.
Six ways you can benefit from my experience
and wisdom.
1. Buy and read any publications I have compiled.
For example I offer
handbooks for unrepresented speakers on
promotional materials, fee-setting and amenities
speakers deserve; these are useful for speakers who
choose to negotiate their own
contracts.
2. Hire me for a 30 minute consult for advice
on how to promote
yourself, how to build your portfolio, or better
negotiate your own contracts. It could make the
difference between a $1,000 contract and a $5,000
one.
3. Be willing to pay a
reasonable fee for visibility on my speaker directory site. My Web stats show meeting planners go
to the directory of speakers page first, including
journalists who want to interview speakers. Other sites
charge speakers as much as $1000 a year for a
listing.
4. Take an online class
taught by me to become
more informed about marketing yourself.
- Contrarian Principles for Boosting Your Expertise to
Celebrity Status
- Brilliant Speaking Contracts for Un-represented
Speakers
5. Join a
discussion group for speakers
that focuses on marketing
techniques.
6. Have the agent
represent/advocate for you by negotiating your speaking fees
and contract
terms.
7. Have the
agent critique your speaking contract
for errors, omissions, and
creative suggestions before you sign it for a specific
event. You don't want to leave money on the table or
give away for free what the other speakers are getting
paid to provide.
You may not be in a position today to have an agency or
bureau put you on its roster, but a good agent will be able
to provide you with any of the 7 preceding forms of
assistance to help you get there sooner.
~ ~ ~ ~
Andrea Reynolds has been a professional
speaker since 1977 and a speaker agent/advocate since 1990.
She is the author of Secrets for Setting and Quoting Your Speaking
Fees,
The Speaker's Promotion
Kit, and
33 Amenities Speakers
Deserve.
