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Getting paid for speaking |
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By Cathleen Fillmore » As a bureau owner, I’m often asked what it takes to get well paid for speaking. Here’s the answer.
There are speakers out there reaching large audiences and getting well paid for their efforts. There are many others with a great message and delivery skills who are struggling financially simply because they don’t understand the marketplace. In many cases, they don’t understand how valuable their skills are.
There’s the key word: VALUABLE. The question is not ‘How much should I ask for?”. The question is ‘How much value do I provide for my client or audience?’
If your message provides lasting life-changing value for your audiences, then you should be able to charge a lot for it.
Hold on, though. First you need to provide great marketing materials along with some testimonials from happy clients. We all think we’re great; you’re going to need to prove it.
Let’s take a step back and ask another question. What does it take to be great on the platform?
The first rule for being a successful speaker is to be authentic. Take some training if you need it and learn to project your voice. Go to hear the best speakers whenever you can. This is a field where constant learning and stretching is required. That, I think, is part of the appeal.
Having a great message is one part of the equation. Having great delivery skills is the other part.
Now it’s time to take your passion and your brilliance and find a fit in the marketplace.
Here are the possible venues for paid speaking engagements:
- Government
- Non profits
- Education
- Health Care
- Associations
- Corporations
- Small Businesses
- Financial Services
- Women’s Organizations
- Travel/tourism industry
- IT industry
Some of these venues will give you better returns than others. Bill Cates, author of Get More Referrals Now, had a background in printing so it was logical for him to get speaking gigs in the printing industry when he started out. And that’s the one thing he would change if he were starting out today. The margins in the printing industry are low and Bill had to fight for his fee. When he switched to the financial services field, he got less fee resistance and he’s now doing very well. I’m not sure Bill would have had credibility in the financial services area when he started so he may have done the right thing after all.
The meeting and convention planning industry is a multi-million dollar industry.
A lot of companies have big budgets. And if you’re starting out, the company you’re targeting may well have blown their budget on a big name speaker to kick off the conference. So if you offer to lead a break-out session during the conference at a very reasonable fee, you’ll have a good chance to test your material, get great testimonials and make some excellent contacts. You’ll also
have another client to add to your client list – a client who may well have divisions in other parts of the world.
What should you charge? That depends. But here’s the first rule. Don’t charge by the hour or by the numbers in the audience. Charge for the keynote or seminar. And charge a reasonable fee. It’s taken you years to develop the expertise you bring to the platform, don’t undervalue it. And don’t allow your client to undervalue it.
Some speakers charge $3,500 for a speech in their community and $5,000 outside. Some speakers start out charging somewhere in the one to two thousand dollar range.
My recommendation is to start out by creating a business plan and strategy for yourself. Find a compelling title for your topic, list the benefits your speech will provide for the audience, add your bio and a client list and testimonials if you have them, along with your photo.
If you haven’t given this speech before, test it in front of an audience before you begin charging for it. If the audience gives you great feedback, then go out there and charge a decent fee for it. Why not? Why take the slow laborious route and inch your way along, incrementally increasing your fees a little year after year?
If you’re good and your message has value, then you can only get better.
But you’re already good.
Derrick Sweet, of the organization Healthy Wealthy and Wise, has a background in financial planning. When he began speaking, he charged whatever he felt the market would bear and did a few free speeches for Chambers of Commerce. Then he set his fee at $3,500 for about six months to a year. Then he bumped it up to $5,000 and had no problem getting his fee.
• If you have any questions about getting paid for speaking, call 416-532-9886 or email
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