This is part two of this blog post. Working with speaker bureaus was part one. The next question we will address is:
Should I hire someone and pay them a percentage of my fee? I hear this so often! A speaker will want a part time or full time employee to sell and pay them a percentage. Whenever anyone brings this up I always say … forget it!
Speakers who pay commission only will not have a very long relationship with their employee. Lead times in the industry are shorter now, but consider this. If they started selling you right now, it could be months before they get a booking. Why would anyone want to sell speaking services for you based on the promise of a percentage coming months down the road? Also, this arrangement can lead to misunderstanding. Don’t ask the employee to do other duties, administrative stuff, if they are not going to be paid for it. An employee hired and paid a percentage will not last long. By the time you train and they learn your business, they will be gone.
The best scenario for a staffer? Pay an hourly fee to honor the other duties they do for you as well as a percentage based on your fee. If you want an employee to really stick around, offer a year end bonus consisting of a percentage of what the business net profits are for the year. Doing this creates a staffer who is just as concerned with what is going out as what is coming in! You will have a real partner in your business.
Pay for Play. That’s what I call the solicitations we all see from companies wanting you to pay a monthly fee in return for leads. My best advice? Forget it. Most of these types of businesses are in the business of collecting fees, not speaking engagements or leads! Will you get some leads? Yes. Will they be quality leads? Maybe …. but. I have heard too many examples where they send the same leads to anyone and everyone who sends them a monthly fee. This results in some poor soul getting hundreds of calls from speakers asking about a meeting. (A meeting that may or may not even exist.) Are all companies that do this the same? No. I just have yet to hear about one that is worth your monthly fee. Next time you get a solicitation like this, ask them to take their fee out of the bookings they procure for you. You’ll hear a lot of silence.
Remember, you are responsible for your own business growth. Don’t abdicate that responsibility to anyone else you don’t know and trust!
Copyright 2011, Lois Creamer. Lois Creamer works with professional speakers who want to book more business, make more money and avoid costly mistakes! She can be reached in the following ways:
Lois@BookMoreBusiness.com
Twitter: @loiscreamer
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LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/loiscreamer
For more information on Lois’ business check out http://www.bookmorebusiness.com as well as http://www.bookmorebusiness.tv!
