Back in September, I wrote about When Celebrity Speakers Fail to Deliver. This post generated interest and was re-posted as an article on the The International Association of Franchisees and Dealers' website.
UK-based Business Growth Specialist Andy Gwynn commented that he liked my article and referenced his own list - The Top Things to Consider When Booking Your Keynote Speaker. I think this is an excellent list, so I'm sharing it with you.
How do you know that you have got the right speaker for the job?
1. What experience do they have on the subject that you want them to speak on?
2. Have you seen video testimonials of clients or attendees that have seen and heard them speak?
3. How detailed is their fact find of you when you speak with them?
- Do they ask you about your audience and what message /content/value you want them to deliver in their keynote?
4. Do they send you a comprehensive “speaker booking form” to help them help you get the very best value from booking them?
5. Do they ask about your organization's culture and the overall message or theme of your event?
6. What physical “takeaways” do they offer to give your audience, such as documents, downloads, books, cd’s, DVD’s, etc?
7. How focused on you and your audience are they compared to focusing on their needs, fees, expenses etc?
8. Can you speak with previous clients of theirs?
9. Do they ask you about your event and offer suggestions that might help?
- Like timings, sound and AV specifications, marketing.
10. Do they offer to stay behind after their presentation to interact with your audience or are they just going to “grab their money and run?
11. Do they offer any sort of follow up / contact or support for you or your audience?
12. How confident are you that they will “under promise and over deliver”?