"We are looking for a guest speaker, but we have no budget"

In our series with networking tips for event organizers, this time I will talk about hiring guest speakers for your event. A good and skilled guest speaker with an interesting topic will absolutely make your event successful and attendees will remember your event with very positive thoughts.

A professional speaker is an entrepreneur or trainer with presentations and workshops as an important part of their commercial activities. When you hire a professional speaker you can expect an excellent presentation with usable and practical content, which will deliver value to your attendees. If you want to hire a professional speaker for your event, make sure you can pay for his or her services.

I'm writing this article from my own experience as a guestspeaker at networking events. Almost 14 years I'm on stage with presentations containing practical networking tips. Whenever I'm booked by a local businessclub, they get a lower price for my services. For me there is a big difference between a small businessclub which organizes an event for its own members, compared to a large congress where lots of attendees pay a high priced entrance ticket.

But even despite this "lower fee", sometimes it happens that a small businessclub wants to hire me but they tell me they can't pay my fee. In that case we try to find a solution which works for both parties. A few of those solutions are listed at the end of this article.

Why can't I do it for free ?

For a professional speaker it's impossible to do a free (or almost free) presentation. It wouldn't be right to expect a guestspeaker to invest in your event.

Sometimes event-organizers tell me it's a very important event which will give me a lot of "exposure". But when you already remembered my name and called me for this gig, I think my name is well known already. And at the end of the day, "exposure" won't buy me bread or gas for my car.

How do I see the cost of my presentation ? All my presentations are packed with valuable tips, stories and examples which I gathered throughout the years while I was networking in businessclubs local and even abroad. The day before my presentation I look at my slides and select or update what needs to be done. I often add new material and discard old material. I think on average I spend a few hours of practical preparation for each presentation. Most bookings are for evening-events, so I need to leave early to reach my destination on time through the peak-hour traffic. Due to the heavy traffic on these moments, most of my trips take three to four hours in total (round trip). Of course I always stay at least an hour after my presentation, to answer questions of attendees. The total work-time spend on each booking is more or less a full workday, even if I'm only on stage for 15 or 30 minutes, bringing you an inspirational presentation.

Often these events take place in very expensive venues and they also make sure there is very fancy catering for their guests. Too bad they don't have any budget left for the speaker, who's name and topic needs to attract the audience. Doesn't sound right, does it ?

What if you really have no budget ?

If the organizer is stuck between a rock and a hard place, we always try to find a solution.

I'll list a few of the possibilities :

• Maybe it's not really necessary to book a speaker for each and every event of your club. There are lots of interesting networking concepts you can use for your event. When you limit your events with a guestspeaker to e.g. two events each year, you will also have a larger budget to spend on your speakers.
• If you don't have enough budget for a professional speaker, you can always ask a CEO of a larger company to speak at your event. These people have a large monthly paycheck and representing and promoting their company is part of their job. They love to tell you the story of their company. Do keep in mind that their story will be more commercial, because in the first place they are representing their company and brand.
• Some professional speakers have published books. They will often agree to speak at your event for a lower fee, when a certain amount of books will also be bought. Just to be clear, we are not talking about an opportunity to sell books at your event, but an official order of an agreed amount of books.
• Are you looking for a professional speaker for a presentation at your school or university ? I often speak at schools for a minimal cost to cover my time and gas, because for me it's also important to spread my message to the next generations of entrepreneurs. Lots of professional speakers have a warm heart for education and are happy to deliver this service.