June 27, 2012, Vol. 10, Issue 12

Dear Friends,

What’s in a speaker fee? I hope that headline got your attention!  I just completed writing a report that I’m calling “Demystifying Speaker Fees . . . and Tips on How to Get the Speaker You Really Want.”

Why am I spilling the beans on this sensitive topic? (Any discussion that has to do with money is sensitive, right?) Let’s face it, the final decision in speaker selection always comes down to budget.  I suddenly realized that there’s a lot I know about speaker fees, how they’re set, and negotiation factors, that our meeting planners don’t know — and wish they did. (Bet you didn’t know about the granny discount . . . ) Notice I’m not calling this “Secrets about Speaker Fees.”  These aren’t secrets; they’re just the way it works behind the scenes. There’s simply no reason you should not have the same information, so I can help you get what you want. In fact, the more you know about how it works, the easier my job is in working with you.

I also realized that you probably don’t know much about why speakers like working with a bureau  — or why the advantages to them translate into advantages to you.

I’m offering the report on my website to new subscribers of For Your Well Being (sign up on our home page).  If you are already a subscriber, just email me at barbara@speakwellbeing.com and write FEE REPORT in the subject line.  I’ll email it right back to you. Hot summer reading! It may not be a steamy novel  — it’s not THAT long — but I truly feel it’s the naked truth about speaker fees and is valuable information that can help you get the speaker you want at the fee that fits your budget for your next meeting.

A SNEAK PREVIEW

“Demystifying Speaker Fees”

This is an excerpt from the report.

“My goal, in this report is, first of all, to take you behind the scenes and describe how speaker fees are determined so you’ll have a better understanding of your investment. Second, I’ll give you a look at the relationship between the speaker and the speaker bureau and who pays for my services.

When you understand the benefits for both the client and the speaker, you can tap into an amazing amount of assistance to optimize your event at no cost to you. And third, I’m going to share the inside scoop on fee flexibility so you’ll know how I can (and can’t) help you get what you want.

“We’re talking about speakers who are inspiring, motivating, and educational. That implies that you, the client, are seeking to elicit some change — in behavior, in action, or maybe just in the attitude of your attendees. Perhaps most telling, you are seeking to enlarge the range of possibilities they can imagine for their own lives, opening their futures to a wider range of life- enhancing options and happiness. Concurrently you will reap a positive change in their attitude – toward acceptance and enthusiasm for your organization or if you’re the employer, in their productivity. Although those are goals that are hard to put a price tag on, you truly should have that big picture in mind as you consider investing in the services of a professional speaker.

“I realize that locating the best speaker for your event is just one small part of your job responsibility. In order to guarantee your organization that their budget is being used to present a more attractive, perhaps innovative, program than any institution in your area, you can turn to a national bureau like mine that is familiar with the best in the field from all over the country. Using our services provides that extra sophistication that can guarantee you are offering your audience the very best, whether you are in a rural area or a metropolitan center.

“My hope in sharing this information is to open up the mysterious topic of fees and their relationship to program quality and to give you insights into how you can put together an event that energizes your audience and objectives, and delights your sponsors – as well as attracting clients to your institution or inspiring the clients you already have. I hope to show you how you can create a better program for less money working with my bureau than you can on your own – and save time and anxiety in the process. My business will only thrive if you, my clients, thrive – not once but year after year. So I am sharing this information with you out of that conviction.”

If you’re already a subscriber to For Your Well Being, and would like to get this free report, simply email me barbara@speakwellbeing.com and write FEE REPORT in the subject line.

Summertime…

and the Good Livin’ is Outside

It’s the time of year to be outside — on the trail, in the woods, the garden or the boat. What you might not know is that it’s not only enjoyable to be in nature, it’s good for your brain. You can learn all about it in our speaker, Dr. Eva Selhub’s new book, Your Brain on Nature (Wiley, 2012), co-written with Alan C. Logan, ND.

I wrote about Eva Selhub and her first book, The Love Response, a couple of issues ago. You can read that story here. In Your Brain on Nature, Harvard physician Selhub and naturopath Logan explore the scientific discoveries related to the way in which nature immersion and deprivation can work for or against us in our health and well-being. They also examine the ways in which a contemporary disconnection from nature, driven in part by screen-based gadgetry technology, may be shaping broad environmental attitudes and diminishing legitimate pro-environmental efforts.

And talk about living in nature — this past weekend, I had the opportunity to visit our speaker and friend, Britt Bensen Steele‘s new YogaFarm way out in the country on the outskirts of Vernonia, Oregon.  We kept driving and driving and driving until we finally turned into the open gate under the prayer flags, crossed a stream, and drove up to their incredible new home amidst awesome trees and along a babbling stream — and where there is no cell or internet access. Britt and her husband, Larry, will hold retreats and special trainings in this sacred place.

They’ve named it Deva Daaru — it is a Sanskrit word that translates into the Divine Guardian of the Ancient Cedar Tree, and it was chosen because one of Britt’s favorite teachers saw a photo of the huge cedar tree on their land and knew it immediately. This is a photo I took Saturday of that tree looking up into the sky. It must be 500 years old. Very impressive and powerful to behold.

Britt says that if you sit in the middle of the tree — “like in her belly because it’s wide open now (after an ancient lightning strike) so that you can do that, and you can’t help but feel the inevitable connection to all that is around us, in and through us.” I have to admit I didn’t know that, and didn’t climb in this time, but I will next time I’m out there. The place is entirely magical — combining nature and humans at their very best.

And, until next time, take care of yourself,  get out and enjoy nature, for your well being and those you love.

Yours truly,

Barbara

For Your Well Being is published bi-weekly. We bring you insider speaker reports, exclusive stories about special events around the country, meeting planner tips, and fun stuff from the worlds of health and well being. Be well and be in the know!

The Speak Well Being Group is a specialized speakers bureau, focusing on speakers for hospital-sponsored community events, healthcare organizations, conferences and women’s groups. Our speakers are hand-selected. They are not only experts in their fields, they know how to connect with women and give them life-changing information served on a silver platter of joy, camaraderie, with a side of sauce (spicy, of course).

Finding the perfect keynote speaker for your special event or conference is my personal passion, not just once, but year after year. It brings me endless joy to know that your audience was delighted and moved by the speaker we selected together. I’m committed to making the process easy, pleasant and fun.