Economic changes have had a large impact on speaker negotiations; planners should be creative to insure a win/win relationship

As a meeting planner working with professional speakers is part of day to day life. During the current economic situation the steps during the initial communication and negotiation process have changed in many ways. For many corporations, the goals for their events have also changed. Many are not going after the big name celebrities for keynotes or huge musical acts for their receptions; planners are choosing speakers that fit in with a particular message that the company is trying to relay to their employees. Shawn Ellis, founder and president of The Speakers Group during an interview with MPI One Magazine discusses that “There is definitely a trend toward higher-level content”.  Depending on the speaker and the demand for a particular topic, some speakers are lowering their rates where as others that discuss topics in high demand such as Recession based topics and ROI are raising their rates.

Throughout these changes here are some things to keep in mind during negotiations with speakers.

- A speaker’s time is money, so expect time of travel and number of days at the event to still affect the speaker’s fees a great deal.

- Many times speakers are more open to changes in their amount of work rather than reducing their fees. Ask if they would be willing take over a breakout session or be filmed for a webinar to be used later.

- Keep in mind that if a speaker has lowered their fees recently, many of them are doing so on a limited time basis and are looking for the economy to turn around before they raise them back up.

- Try offering to sell tapes, books, or any other merchandise a speaker might have in trade for an extra session or reduced rates. Remember that compromise is of the upmost importance.

Big time keynote speakers are still the best way to excite employees and build morale.

Even in this economic climate hiring big time, content driven speakers is still one of the best ways to capture your audience’s attention. Do not shy away from well known keynote speakers, instead try and focus on finding the best speaker to deliver the goal of your particular meeting or event. Overall communication is key during speaker negotiations. Go into negotiations with a set of goals and make sure that you both come out with what you really need.