As a motivational speaker, you have a valuable skill that can inspire and transform your audience. But how can you make sure you get paid what you deserve and generate more business from your speaking gigs? In this article, you'll learn some practical tips on how to negotiate higher fees and secure more referrals as a speaker.
The first step to negotiating higher fees is to know your worth as a speaker. You need to do some research on the market rates, the value you bring to the event, and the results you can deliver. Don't sell yourself short or accept low offers without trying to negotiate. You can also leverage your testimonials, credentials, and media exposure to showcase your credibility and authority.
The second step to negotiating higher fees is to be flexible and creative with your terms and conditions. You don't have to stick to a fixed fee for every event. You can offer different packages, add-ons, or bonuses that can increase your value and income. For example, you can include coaching, consulting, or training sessions, books, products, or online courses, or a percentage of ticket sales or sponsorships. You can also adjust your fee based on the length, location, and format of the event.
The third step to negotiating higher fees is to ask for referrals from your clients and audience. Referrals are one of the best ways to grow your speaking business and diversify your income streams. You can ask your clients for introductions, testimonials, or recommendations to other potential events or organizations. You can also ask your audience to share their feedback, contact details, or social media posts with you. You can then follow up with them and offer them more value or invite them to your next event.
The fourth step to negotiating higher fees is to build relationships with your clients and audience. You want to create a lasting impression and a loyal fan base that will support you and your message. You can do this by delivering an engaging and memorable speech, providing excellent customer service, and staying in touch with them after the event. You can also offer them additional resources, discounts, or incentives to keep them interested and motivated.
One of the most important relationships a speaker can forge is with bureau agents. We are usually aware of many opportunities, as opposed to a meeting planner who may know people in her organization, or who may refer you to some others. While those are also precious, to speak to multiple industries to find out where you have a natural fit, it's critical to build positive ongoing relationships with bureaus.
The fifth step to negotiating higher fees is to showcase your results as a speaker. You want to demonstrate the impact and value you have created for your clients and audience. You can do this by collecting and sharing data, feedback, testimonials, case studies, or stories that show how you have helped them achieve their goals, solve their problems, or improve their situations. You can also use social media, blogs, podcasts, or videos to showcase your results and reach a wider audience.
The sixth and final step to negotiating higher fees is to invest in yourself as a speaker. You want to keep improving your skills, knowledge, and reputation in your field. You can do this by attending training, coaching, or mentoring programs, joining professional associations or networks, reading books or articles, or listening to podcasts or audiobooks. You can also seek feedback, reviews, or evaluations from your clients, audience, or peers and use them to enhance your performance and delivery.
To increase or justify my speaker fee, I try to increase the value to the client in two ways. My Change Management Books: I ask the client to buy my books and offer to sign them so they can be an audience takeaway. This is a win-win for everyone involved. Audience Pre-event Survey/Assessment: I offer to send the audience a change history assessment? (CHA?) before the event and share the results during my keynote. The insights from the CHA? provide comparisons of how the audience compares to other organisational change implementations on elements such as sponsorship, people involvement, communications, perceived future success, etc.
I've trained almost 10,000 speakers (in groups or individually) since 1995, and I've seen that the ones who get a book deal with a traditional publisher (and then leverage the opportunities extant in that process) and who get media (usually because of the book) find it much easier to raise their fees. I tell my author-speaker clients to raise their fees by 50% the day I sell their books, and then 100% once it comes out. For example: a $5,000 entry-level speaker would jump to $7,500 (with a warning to pending deals) on the day I sell the book and then $10,000 upon its release. This plus some good publicity support = long term foundation for success.
In my experience of training and speaking in the private and public sectors, I've found it helpful, to keep the following in mind. Start from where your audience is, not from where you are. Do your homework on your topic as it relates to your audience. I've taught business building, marketing, sales, and motivation in the private sector, and Law Enforcement in an Academy setting, teaching and training new recruits, from start to finish. In closing, appropriately keep it light, I told the acadedy students, if your relaxed you'll learn more, just keep yourself engaged, and pay attention.