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Seven Tips For Selecting Speakers in Troubled Economic Times

By Lori Turec, SVP Business Development & Event Management FIVE STAR Speakers & Trainers (http://www.fivestarspeakers.com/)

With all the details that go into planning and executing a professional event, booking keynote and break-out speakers can seem like just another headache … plus with budgets tighter than ever before, is the motivational speaker (http://www.fivestarspeakers.com/international-speakers-trainers-bureau/national-speakers-bureau-glossary/motivational-speaker-defined.htm) worth the investment?

In the spirit of full disclosure, let me say that I work for a speakers bureau so I am not an unbiased party. However, the reason I came to work at a bureau was because I’ve been to so many events in my career where the keynote speaker (http://www.fivestarspeakers.com/international-speakers-trainers-bureau/national-speakers-bureau-glossary/keynote-defined.htm) really helped make the entire event a much more memorable and valuable experience. So, if you find the right person for your group the return on the investment can be measurable.

Here’s 7 tips for how to get the most out of your keynote speaker selection:

1. Listen to Your Audience BUT really HEAR them …

2. Trust Your Gut

3. Video Is Only Part of the Process

4. Have an Open Mind

5. Verify, Verify, Verify

6. Get More Value for Your Money

7. Reduce Risk

1. Listen to your audience, but really hear them. If you ask your internal or external client what he/she is looking for, they may answer in the moment. “We need a sports star … we want someone funny … we need to make people accountable … we need to reward our best performers and have fun”. Problem is that this is not enough information. You need to know more to make sure the match is right. Ask the why questions. Ask how the speaker’s words will make a difference to the bottom line … ask the age-old consultant question – what will success look like for you a month after the event? You will be shocked at how few people will have thought about this expectation even though it is mission critical to long-term results.

2. Trust Your Gut. If you think you’ve found a good speaker but something seems little off, listen to that inner voice. Too many leadership speakers say yes when they should say no. It is not that they are liars, they are very eager to please and get the job. They really think that they can do it, but depending on the request and the motivational speaker current workload and skill set they may be biting off more than they can chew. Your audience may not even realize that there was a disconnect but you will know. Trust your gut if you feel that you are not getting exactly what you were promised.

3. Video is great. But it is not everything. I’ve heard of professional speakers being de-selected because the message was too consumer based simply because the video was to a consumer sales organization. I’ve seen great speakers not selected because of poor quality video. The truth is that video is a tool. But just as you don’t build a house using only a hammer, don’t select a speaker based only on the video. Ask for references, talk to people who have worked with the speaker before – a bureau is helpful in this way because references are always going to be skewed positive but someone who is neutral may have different experiences to share.

4. Have an Open Mind. Just as you should Trust Your Gut, it is also important to have an open mind. I often include a “wild card” selection on the web proposals that I prepare because even though people tell me that they only want X, invariably they decide they really love Y. By keeping an open mind, you may learn about more great options that will be a better fit. If not for this event, then for another event.

5. Verify, Verify, Verify! What that means is be sure to think about everything that you want at your event and verify that the keynote speaker is willing and able to provide that service. For example – when you book an athlete, don’t assume that you can ask for autographs. Don’t assume that they speaker can stay for a meet and greet, don’t assume they will get there hours before they speak or that you can video tape that speaker without permission. There are several standard things to consider and some special requests. Get what you need documented in the Agreement so there are no surprises later. Also, don’t forget to make sure the speaker signs the Agreement! You’d be surprised how often this detail is missed.

6. Get More Value for Your Money – Yes, in troubled economic times you may be able to get a speaker to negotiate fee. BUT sometimes that leaves you with a speaker who is not eager or motivated to do his or her best work. Most speakers know that an organization is not likely to re-book the same person 5 to 10 times in a year. However, a bureau does have that leverage with speakers and can use it on your behalf — at no extra cost to you. Also, work with your bureau partner to get more for the money – ask for free or reduced prices on books, ask to only see speakers who are in the same city as your venue to save on Travel and Expenses, ask for a half-day and get consulting or a VIP meet and greet … whatever makes sense. Some speakers simply will not negotiate on fees. They take one best offer and either say yes or no. They don’t play a game. BUT they will add value and that is a win/win.

7. Reduce Risk – OK, this one is a shameless plug, but given the state of the airline industry today it is getting to be a bigger and bigger issue. In the event that something happens and your motivational speaker cannot get to your event … if you book direct what are your options? You probably already have paid a deposit to your keynote speaker, which will take time to get back and more importantly what are you going to do with that big 90 minute gap in the agenda? Reduce your risk by working with a trusted partner who has access to thousands of options and can help fill that slot with an approved speaker with very little notice – sometimes less than 24 hours. You take out many types of insurance to make sure you are covered for your event emergencies. Consider this partner as a free insurance against the loss of a speaker!

Overall, we still like meeting together. It is a human element. We are energized by each other’s ideas and by the fresh perspective we gain away from the daily routine. That’s a good thing for all of us. Technology is growing and will continue to change and enhance how we do business but hearing from those who can motivate, inspire and teach us … reminds us all why we got into this business in the first place.

You have probably seen Sylvia Browne do a psychic reading at some point if you have ever watched television. She is a famous psychic who has appeared on many talk shows and regularly appears on the Montel Williams show. She has written several books about her psychic gift. Some people may not believe in her abilities as a psychic but others fully believe she is able to communicate with dead people.

Sylvia Browne is what is known as a psychic medium, which means that she can get in touch with those who have already passed. This is greatly intriguing to some people who may desire to send a message to their dead loved ones. Audiences often ask Sylvia to speak to their dead relatives in order to find answers to questions about their deaths.

Sylvia Browne has been all over the world giving free psychic readings to her audiences. She has been doing this for most of her life. She states that she has been seeing and hearing the dead since the age of three. She said that she inherited her talent as a psychic medium from her grandmother.

During cruises and workshops that she has led or attended, she often talks to different people about relatives or loved ones who have died. It’s common for most people to get very choked up or experience strong emotions when they listen to her information. They may often discover facts that are uncomfortable or taboo during a Sylvia Browne psychic reading.

Delving into the past and into dead people’s lives is a dangerous and touching experience. While it can be refreshing to learn of information you wouldn’t otherwise have known, it can also be hurtful and evoke a series of unwanted emotion. People searching for answers need to be aware of the potential pain they may be inviting into their lives.

Are the abilities of psychic’s like Sylvia Browne real or something less palatable? People everywhere search for the answer to that question. Her psychic abilities have been attested to by the numerous people who have sought her advice and become fans and supporters. The amazing psychic world should be respected, as should psychics and their skills. But what do you believe? Going to a free psychic reading may help you decide.

I’d like to say something about “associating.” Sometimes we think of this word in terms of our personal associations, the building of our relationships; but there is another way of associating. It is associating with your mind. Learn from others; study those who are successful. If you have the opportunity to attend a seminar or a lecture, that is a wonderful way of associating because you can learn the principles and concepts that the speakers and attendees use to become successful.

You need to fill your minds with the biographies of successful people, whether those people have become successful in wealth, politics, inventing, or whatever.

Study whatever you want to become good at.

I suggest you buy a bunch of biographical videos for $20 each. When I first caught on to this principle, I bought $4,000 worth of biography videos: everything from Ray Kroc and his success with McDonald’s, to Thomas Edison; and I thought “Wow!” I have watched the videos multiple times. What I get from them permeates, penetrates, and fills the space in my mind.

Now I want to talk about another way to associate. It’s called “virtual association.” I went bankrupt 33 years ago. I lost $2 million of other people’s money in one day (I have since paid it all back). My life had been turned upside down; things were not going well. But I had been reading books. I said, “Now wait a second, I have access to these wonderful minds!” I had what we now call a virtual mastermind: I had Napoleon Hill, Andrew Carnegie, and Walt Disney guarding and guiding me. I grew up loving them. I also admired John Kennedy because he said, “Let’s land a man on the moon.” I had the greatest speaker at the time, Dr. Martin Luther King. I felt as though I actually had conversations with them.

My clients would say, “Well, we need this, this, and this.” And I would think of my virtual masterminds and inquire, “What would you say to them?”

You can get access to the best minds in the world if you study them, if you do your homework.

I had the opportunity one summer of taking care of some orchards for a recluse, a brilliant man who was on the school board in our district. I would go see him inside the house from time to time, and he would teach me. One day he asked, “Roice, where are you going to go for your university?” I fired off the names of two or three Ivy League universities; I wanted to impress him. He looked at me and said, “Why are you going there?” I said, “I want to learn, and I want to have that name behind me.” He thought for a minute and then said, “Roice, I would advise you to do this: Find the university that has the finest teachers in the field that you want to be in and then suck their brains out.”

In other words, make the emphasis on the learning, the association.