To Speak or not to Speak?

Now is the time to find the answers to your questions that reside within your professional speaking goals.

You must take this down-time to “build bridges of resources” to get you from where you are (vs) where you need to be during times of uncertainty caused by the pandemic.  

Reckless talk about professional speaking from (unqualified people) providing misinformation is at an all time high.  These bloviators have no idea how the conference industry and booking gigs really works.  

Technology makes it possible for meeting planners to open up more avenues for speakers like Skype, Zoom, Tele-Conferences and Webinars, all adding additional revenue for speakers who have great content to deliver.

I have personally interviewed and serviced thousands of conference coordinators and meeting planners worldwide.  I have first hand knowledge and know how they think.  

In the past, when unexpected things happen like emergencies, bad weather or other UNKNOWNS like the pandemic, meeting planners rescheduled or postponed events.  No big deal, it happens! It’s part of our industry.  

Yes, some speakers are taking a hit with canceled flights and travel plans all thrown in a frenzy causing them to miss some engagements.  To a speaker who tours on a regular basis this is just a normal way of life and you have to deal with the unexpected all the time. Stay prepared, deal with it and roll with the punches.  

When you manage yourself, your speaker business and stay organized you can come out of disasters even stronger than ever.  A little experience and a lot of patience in this area helps.   

If you think for a second that they are going to let their membership dwindle to nothing and not plan in finite detail for future events and keep the marketing machine alive and well.. You are sadly mistaken.  

Take it from an insider's perspective, these meeting planners have a stressful job. They have members and conference goer’s who are very demanding and want to provide the best experience possible to keep them happy.  That being said, the show must go on!!

The conference/meeting industry has a business to protect like everyone else.  They are negotiators and drive hard bargains and must be budget conscious as well.  Here is some research I put together you may find interesting:  

According to Market Research, the self-improvement market was worth $9.9 billion in 2016 and is estimated to grow to $13.2 billion by 2022 with 5.6% average yearly gains.

There are 1.9 million meetings across one year... more than 5,200 every single day!

• Meetings and events account for $325 billion of direct spending
• The meetings industry supports $95.6 billion in salary and wages
• 42% of corporate meeting planners expect to have bigger budgets this year
• 96% of small business owners say in-person meetings yield a return on investment
• 93% of senior-level business managers believe face-to-face meetings improve their ability to close deals
• 98% of U.S. federal employees say that in-person meetings, conferences, and events are important to advancing their agency’s mission.

Speakers who deliver the most value and can provide social proof of their expertise always get the lion's share of bigger budgets.  Better marketing = Consistent bookings.  

Professional speakers who make the conference coordinators job easier by delivering the most value go to the top of the list.   The conference industry is a 24/7 non-stop machine.  There is literally a meeting somewhere in the world happening every second of the day and at the head of that meeting is a highly paid and well respected speaker.   Meeting planners have to book events out months in advance just to secure the venue and then immediately they have to start spending money to secure the talent.   

(Speakers) who can deliver key take-aways for the audience and help them achieve desired outcomes and learning objectives are always top of mind when conference coordinators make purchasing decisions.      

All the pandemic did was continue to feed the buying frenzy for event planners.  They are still buying speaker services behind the scenes like always and planning for the future, ready to make moves when all the pandemic nightmare is over with.  Like you they wake up everyday and still have a job to do.  So govern yourself accordingly!

To speak, or not to speak?  It’s time to find out whether or not you have what it takes to make it in this tough but rewarding industry. 

Now is the time to build, not retreat. So glad I responded to the calling and took the first steps over 34 years ago and got in the speaking game.  Meeting planners are ready to add you to their conference team when you help their audience achieve their dreams.