Let’s talk about money … and you. Often, I hear this from speakers:
“I’m uncomfortable talking about myself”.
“I’m uncomfortable talking about money.”
My reply? In the first instance, that’s okay. You really shouldn’t be talking about yourself. You should be talking about your prospects or clients. Don’t misunderstand, you will have to make your case to your client, but if you’re talking too much about yourself, you’re making a big mistake. Talk about the value of your program, the transformation you offer, your answers to their problems, and why you are uniquely qualified to help them.
Second instance – you’re uncomfortable talking about money. My advice – get over it. If you want to make money, get comfortable talking about money. As speakers, consultants, trainers, or experts, we’re in the intellectual property business. We get paid to deliver our expertise. One of the most difficult tasks you have in an IP business is to assign a price to it. One thing I know. If you aren’t willing to do it, prospects will do it for you. And they will undervalue you at every turn.
I can’t tell you what your fee should be in a blog post. It depends on what you talk about, how deep your expertise is, what markets you work in, and more. When I work one on one with clients, I do offer my advice after I know these things. Do not overvalue! It’s much better to be able to get experience speaking if your fee is reasonable early in your career. Further, you can raise your fee at any time. It will hurt you to have to lower it.
That decided, I suggest a two-tier fee schedule. I think it gives you a little room to negotiate. An example would be:
One hour to half day (3 hours) $7,500
Half day to full day (6 hours) $10,000
Make sure you have a sentence under your fees that says, “All fees are plus travel expenses”, or if you have an “all inclusive” fee, state that. I think it’s a good idea to spell out what you consider travel expenses in your agreement. For example, I list hotel, airfare, meals, ground transportation, airport parking. You may have something else you could add.
See chapter 15 in my book “Book More Business: MAKE MONEY SPEAKING”
When you quote your fee you’ll hear one of the following responses:
- “Yes.”
- “No, you’re not a fit.”
- “We don’t know the budget yet.”
If they say “Yes”, you’re in!
If they say, “Don’t know”, ask “When will you know?”
If they say “No”, ask “What kind of budget numbers are you working with?” If you’re close, let’s say they want to spend $6,000, use my phrase that pays and say, “If I could do that, what else of value might you be able to offer me?”
See chapter 24 in my book “Book More Business: MAKE MONEY SPEAKING”
If you have a book, take it up after the decision is made to hire you. Ask another one of my phrases that pays:
“Do you think it would make sense to have every attendee be able to walk away with the companion book to my program? If so, I can give you a generous discount!”
Or say:
“Do you think it would make sense for each attendee to walk away with a reminder of my visit and the importance you paid to bring me in today?”
It’s hard to say no to either of those questions! (You want it to be hard.)
Offer a discount based on how many are being purchased and what your cost per book is. Further, you may want to include some books in with your fee.
The fabulous Phil Jones suggests including 50 books for every engagement. Find out how many attendees there will be and offer to provide one for each attendee at a discount. If they say they aren’t interested in books, tell them you’ll still give them the 50 – they may auction them off or give them away. It’s marketing folks!
Note: If you are writing a book, it may be a great idea to title it and your most requested speech the same.
That’s it! A little “money talk” Book More Business style! I hope it works well for you!
Copyright 2022, Lois Creamer, Book More Business. Lois Creamer works with professional speakers who want to book more business, make more money and monetize their message! She can be reached in the following ways:
Lois@BookMoreBusiness.com
Twitter: @loiscreamer
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