The Secret to High-Booking Success

Discover how to be an event organizer’s first pick. Michael Port shows you what meeting planners value most and how to deliver just that.?

Before you crafted your speech, you probably studied, analyzed, and observed your target audience. After all, it’s essential to know who your audience is and what problems they face to be able to offer them a new, effective solution that transforms their lives.?

But do you?really,?truly,?genuinely?know your meeting planners and event organizers??

Perhaps you think meeting planners always go for those shining stars—you know, the speakers with an impeccable sizzle reel, lots of testimonials, and that “wow” factor.?

Or maybe you assume event organizers only hire big names that are well known in the industry they’re planning the event for.?

Now, of course surprising and delighting your audience and your meeting planner is important—and delivering a transformative, visionary speech is essential. And yes, having a high level of worldly, domain, or fractal fame certainly helps your case.?

But there’s something event planners value even?more?than fame and fireworks in your speech trailer video.?

Be Their First Pick—Every Time?

You see, event planners are often contractors hired by corporations. The corporations want to ensure their event is a huge success. The event planners do too, because they want to ensure they get rehired every year. And often what determines whether a meeting planner will be rehired or not is their selection of speakers for the event.?

Really, it’s a lot like playing pick-up baseball as a kid. The event planners are the team captains who want to put together a winning group that can take home the victory. Speakers of all different experience levels and backgrounds stand before them, anxiously hoping to be chosen.?

Who do they?choose? Who would?you?choose??

Someone who never strikes out and consistently hits home runs…

Or someone who’s hit or miss…

A smart first pick would be someone who hits home runs—every time.?

Those are the speakers they look for. Event planners want home-run speakers who will?make sure?they?look good.?That’s right, they want the?safe?bet.?

They won’t risk their career on a speaker who wings their performance. While it could work, it’s just as likely not to. It’s unreliable and risky—and it could cost them next year’s contract.?

If event planners can lock down speakers who delight their audience and make the event a success, they’ll be in good standing with their bosses. And everyone—event planner, speaker, corporation, and audience—wins.?

Now,?providing safety for meeting planners is not about avoiding taking creative risks.?It's not about staying within the limits on stage or avoiding content, frameworks, or performance techniques that challenge the status quo. Speakers that are hyper-safe in their creative and leadership choices likely aren’t provocative enough to transform their audiences.?

When you have organized and thorough processes and procedures in place that show your professionalism and efficiency as a highly booked speaker, you can take creative risks and share contrarian ideas?while?ensuring your event organizers feel safe.

Two Things That Could Destroy Your Chances of Getting Booked

If you’re not famous, being a highly bookable speaker who commands high fees?isn’t?about your importance or impressive testimonials. It’s about providing?safety and comfort?to meeting planners through a clear, process-oriented, and responsive approach. By focusing on these elements, you can build trust and reliability—making you the first pick for meeting planners.

Many speakers have a lot of talent, but they don’t have a detailed and efficient sales process. Without a structured, reliable, and repeatable approach for managing inquiries and leads—and turning them into booked speaking engagements—it’s difficult to show event planners you’re the safe choice (and it’s tough for you to book more gigs).?

The first steps of the sales process are your first impression with your event planner. But often, before speakers even have a chance to show event planners what they have to offer, they make two big mistakes.?

Mistake #1: Relying on Email?

Many speakers rely too heavily on email for initial communication. When a message from an event organizer arrives in their inbox, or they get a form request from their website, they respond by email.?

Even if your email is enthusiastic, it’s likely still not as effective as a quick phone call. You could spend days sending emails back and forth, without gaining much ground. Instead of making this mistake,?you should aim to get on the phone with the meeting planner as soon as possible.?

Respond immediately to all leads, saying something like, “Let’s get on the phone right now; I’ve got five minutes.“?

Making this one change in your sales process can set you up for success every time an inquiry comes in. It’s also a good idea to set up notifications—so that any time you receive a form request from your website, it shows up on your phone.?

Mistake #2: Delaying Your Response?

Another common mistake, especially among inexperienced speakers, is waiting too long to respond.?

Some speakers believe that if they respond too quickly, it makes them appear desperate. Perhaps subconsciously they think, “I’ll respond in a little bit, so it looks like I’m busy at a gig or doing something important.”

However, the reality is most meeting planners usually send inquiries to multiple speakers simultaneously. Then they typically choose from the first few responses they receive. Promptness is crucial—if you’re not among the first to respond, you may miss out on the opportunity entirely.?

Being quick to respond shows professionalism and increases your chances of booking the gig.

Don't?play hard to get. This isn’t dating in the ninth grade.

Do?increase your chances of booking the gig by being the first to respond.

Provide Safety and Comfort—From Start to Finish

For event organizers,?safety is paramount.?And to be a safe choice for your meeting planners, you need a tested and proven sales process you stick to that shows your professionalism and reliability.?

From the initial booking to the actual event and then to post-event, there are little things you can do to wow your event organizer and show them that you’re the safe choice. Here are just a few examples:?

During the initial contact and first call:?

• Ensure your website clearly outlines your processes, including how you work with meeting planners, your engagement process, and post-event activities.
• Use a simple contact form to gather?only essential information?(name, email, phone, event name, location, and date).
• Set up notifications for form requests and respond immediately to move the conversation to a phone call.
• During the first call, aim to get a date on hold and demonstrate a process-oriented approach. Show flexibility to fit into their process.?

During the follow-up and second meeting:?

• Send a video after the first call to reiterate key points, show understanding of their needs, explain how your solution supports their goals, and express enthusiasm.
• Schedule a second meeting with additional key people from the organization to move toward booking.

During the pre-event preparation:

• Detail your engagement process for the event day and any pre-event requirements.
• Ensure all logistics and expectations are clearly outlined and agreed upon.

And to follow up after the event:?

• Have a defined process for gathering feedback and discussing future opportunities.
• Send thank you notes to the meeting planner, AV crew, and other key personnel associated with the event.

Now, these are just a few elements of the speaker’s sales process. Highly booked speakers use additional steps and processes to make the booking process as smooth and effortless as possible for their event organizers.?

The point is this: if a meeting planner realizes you have extensive processes for every step of your relationship and journey together, they’ll see you as a professional, they’ll feel comfortable and safe, and they’ll likely recommend you to other meeting planners as well.?

It’s Simple: Be Easy to Work With

One of the biggest challenges event organizers face when working with keynote speakers involves communication. In the?2024 Speaking Industry Benchmark Report , meeting planners expressed that problems arose when speakers failed to communicate clearly or in a timely manner.?

When you have a thorough, detailed, and event-planner-focused sales process, these communication problems disappear. As you understand the organizer’s planning process and strive to provide?safety?in every step, you’ll start to develop long-lasting relationships with your meeting planners. And that’s not just the start of a sustainable speaking business; it's what fuels a long-lasting speaking career.?

In that same?report , surveyors asked event planners what they valued most when working with speakers bureaus. While speakers bureaus and individual professional speakers are different and work with event organizers in different ways, this survey can give you an inside look into an event planner’s thought process.?

And what they want most isn’t too surprising. After ensuring that the speakers represented are well priced and worth their fees,?what they most value is a speakers bureau that’s easy to work with.?And if that’s what they value from a speakers bureau, it’s very likely it correlates with what they want from individual speakers as well.?

So be easy to work with. Be the safe bet—someone who is responsive, communicative, and professional. That’s the secret to high-booking success.?

When event planners ask you to participate in a meet and greet with attendees, or help with pre-event publicity, say yes, and do it with a smile.?Go above and beyond—send a short video to help them promote the event on social media, offer to do a book signing during the event, and always ask them if you can do anything else to help.?

When your event organizers succeed, you succeed. So don’t just make them look good, make them shine. As you do, you’ll start to develop relationships that fuel your speaking business, enrich your speaking career, and allow you to spread your message further, faster.?

There’s a step-by-step guide to building, nurturing, and maintaining relationships with event organizers. Many speakers have already used it to book more gigs, more often (at higher fees). All the details are right here .