As a Speaker, How Can You Work Most Effectively with Speakers Bureaus?

The 5 most important ways this can be accomplished are as follows:


1) First of all, as a speaker, you must develop a niche. This should be an area that is unique to you in which a bureau would have a strong desire to market you and you only. As they say, it is more important to "go really deep than to go a mile wide".



There are two ways in which you can develop a niche. The first way is to base it on an experience that you have had. For example, there are a number of mountain climbers who are excellent speakers, and they have built their careers strictly on their climbing experiences.



Secondly, you develop yourself or your speaker brand based on a concept you create. Many speakers have increased their level of success by moving from "good business speaker" to "expert" in a particular area. Becoming the "branding guru" or the "innovation guy" can help you to reinvent your speaking career and make you irresistable to a bureau.



2) The next way in which you can have a more effective relationship with speakers bureaus is by learning how the bureau in question operates, and then working with them in that fashion. What do I mean by that? Believe it or not, speakers bureaus have personalities and tendancies of their own (just like people). Some bureaus are very focused on customer service and quick customer response, some are very strict with their business processes, some are more focused on the speakers they represent, and some are more focused on the organizations in which they book the speakers.



Therefore, if you try to focus on being excellent with the bureaus in ways that are most important to them, they will take special notice and be more likely to promote you. For example, at Executive Speakers Bureau responding quickly to our clients is one of our top priorities, and as a result, we pay special attention to those speakers who respond quickly to our requests.



3) The third way in which you can be a valuable bureau partner is to be prepared with a complete set of materials before you contact the speakers bureau. These materials must include the following items: DVD of you presenting, link to your website, fee schedule, topic descriptions, photos, and reference letters from clients. The items that are of most importance are the video and the website. We as a speakers bureau absolutely must have these two tools to actively and effectively market you.



4) In addition, there is a 4th way in which you can begin your bureau relationship on a positive note. Providing the bureau with high quality speaking references is a must when you first start working with them. These references need to include Fortune 500 companies, well known associations, and/or highly respected large non-profit organizations. The reason for having these type of organizations on your reference list is because the bureau must immediately see that you are a speaker of great value. The quickest and easiest way to see this is by hearing from the biggest and best organizations that you are great.



5) Finally, in order to work effectively with speakers bureaus, you need to understand about bureaus in general and the industry as a whole. Very often prospective speakers approach our bureau without an understanding of what bureaus do, how speakers should work with speakers bureaus, and what is truly involved in becoming a speaker. It is absolutely crucial to have atleast a basic understanding of all of these things before you approach the speakers bureau. You may be asking, how do you get this information? All areas of the country have local chapters of NSA (National Speakers Association), and this would be a great place to start.



In summary, before you pick up the phone to call the speakers bureau, remember that they will love you more and want to work with you more, if you just come a little prepared with the above five items!