We live in a time where every ounce of motivation, inspiration, and wisdom is needed. Fast-paced, unpredictable, and ever-growing, this world is only made better by those trying to make sense of it and share their message. We believe keynote speakers in any industry hold a crucial role in furthering their field and helping people and teams grow. So, how does your message fit into the vast array of keynote speakers?
As a bureau that works with all types of clients from event planners to CEOs and domestic partners to international conglomerates, we have a bird’s eye view of the industry and we see an opportunity to help all fresh voices find their stage. We represent a multitude of keynote speakers across areas of expertise with budgets ranging from $3,000 to millions of dollars — and we believe each voice holds a priceless value. We want you to be heard and we want to help spread your message. However, we are constantly fielding an onslaught of speakers seeking representation coming out to around 10,000 requests a year. Here are some tips from the team at Executive Speakers Bureau for becoming a keynote speaker, getting your talents noticed, and finding representation through a bureau.
As we mentioned, our inbox is flooded daily with hundreds of prospective speakers hoping to catch our attention. But, no surprises here, an email will never do the trick. In this over-saturated market, you need to think outside of the box.
Perhaps you’re local or you see that our agents will be in your area for an upcoming event; you could plan a speaker mixer where you invite the top talent in your neck of the woods and the bureaus you hope to work with. This offers the bureau agent incentive to attend by maximizing their time and treating them to a fun evening. Trust us, nobody ever turns down a good time.
Unfortunately, the days of cold emailing are long gone and you’ll have to get creative to get attention.
When you reach out to a speakers bureau for representation, you’re asking them to enter into a partnership with you. You want them to think of your name first when a client asks for an expert in your field. A great way to show good faith and demonstrate this will be a mutual partnership is to initially approach the bureau with a client who is ready to book.
If you come to a bureau and ask for representation on a deal you found, you’ll not only be handing off the hard work of coordinating an event, but you’ll also be proving to the bureau that you draw in client interest and you’re worth working with. After you solidify a partnership with this mutually beneficial arrangement (and, of course, the event goes swimmingly), the bureau will work hard to make sure you’re at the top of their roster.
If you’re making headlines for a new book, a big idea, a cutting-edge product, or whatever it may be, now is the time to approach a bureau. Ask the bureau if they want to be listed as your representation on any press releases or media requests. This not only helps to get the bureau’s name — your source of representation — out to the public, but it will also save you from managing the inevitable avalanche of speaking and media requests — and the coordination that follows.
In the past, we used to place a lot of value on a recommendation from a keynote speaker we work with. However, in recent years we’ve received so many new speaker recommendations from existing speakers the weight of a speaker-to-speaker recommendation has lessened.
Instead of reaching out to your friend or colleague who is a keynote speaker, ask a client to put in a good word for you. A speaker recommendation from a client shows us you are already excelling in the industry, as well as indicating to us that your professionalism is as impressive as your keynote content. Bonus points if we’ve worked with that client in the past and trust their opinion.
We encourage keynote speakers to visit our website to see what kind of information we’re looking for when we list and market a speaker. Check out a bio page of a speaker in your area of expertise and make sure you have the same materials they list on their page, like a short bio, speech topics, key identifiers, a list of books you’ve written, and a short sizzle reel or video of you speaking.
Package these up in a PDF form so we can easily send them out to clients. These are things we’ll ask for when we choose to represent someone and onboard them to our website.
We truly believe the more people in this world sharing messages of inspiration and motivation, as well as educating others from an expert’s lens, the better off the world will be. If you believe you’re ready to be listed as a keynote speaker, we hope these tips will help you take that next step.
