FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

In return, we provide the speaker with marketing and promotion services, customer service, take care of financing and contracting, arrange scheduling, satisfy special event needs and distribution of marketing materials. All Speakers Platform services are included in the speaker's set honorarium.

Q: How much do keynote speakers generally cost?
Speaker fees vary widely depending on the speaker's popularity, his or her availability and the event requirements. Generally, fees for keynote speeches begin around $3,000, with the average national keynote fee being $7,500 (source: NSA, MPI). For celebrity speakers and top business experts, fees can range from $20,000 to $40,000 and up. For well-known personality names fees are usually over $60,000. And people such as Bill Cosby, motivational speaker Tony Robbins and Bill Clinton are over $100,000. In most cases, travel and lodging expenses are in addition to the speaker honorarium, including coach/business or first-class travel, accommodations and limited out-of-pocket expenses.

Q: What is the difference between "exclusive" versus "non-exclusive" representation of speakers?
"Exclusive" representation signifies that a speaker is represented by only one lecture agency. The agency acts as an "out-sourced" office and single contact for the exclusive speaker and handles all calendar questions, event set up questions, special speaker needs, etc.

Many bureaus with exclusive speakers are committed to bringing their small group of exclusively represented speakers a certain number of engagements and income per year. A bureau with exclusive speakers might promote one of their exclusive speakers over any of the other thousands of speaker choices - even if it means there might be a better speaker choice outside their bureau.

Speakers Platform is contacted weekly by speakers interested in having us represent them exclusively. But we decline any exclusive ties in order to provide unbiased speaker recommendations to our clients. By nurturing equal relationships with all our speakers, we are free to recommend the best choice for your particular event and needs.

Q: Can I book a speaker who is exclusive with another agency through you?
Even though we have no exclusive speaker ties, Speakers Platform still has full access to any exclusive speaker that might fit your event. We frequently partner with the exclusive agencies to locate the best speakers for our client events.

These agencies give us a commission from their speaker fees just like a non-exclusive speaker, so there are no extra fees to you. You will enjoy the same access to exclusive speaker calendars, fee schedules, technical requirements, special needs and other pertinent information to help you plan your event in the most efficient manner possible.

We respect many of our speaker bureau peers who maintain exclusive speaker relationships, but when it comes to client's customized needs, we feel a non-exclusive bureau such as Speakers Platform can provide better, unbiased service without exclusive speaker obligations since we can fully focus our serivces and loyalty on you.

Q: What type of speakers does Speakers Platform represent?
As one of the nation's leading speakers bureaus, we offer top-rated keynote speakers and trainers on a variety of topics, including: sales, motivation, leadership, team building, communication, change management, innovation and a variety of other popular and specialized topics.

As mentioned above, Speakers Platform gives you full access to almost any speaker in the United States, Canada and throughout the world (whether exclusive or non-exclusive). Speakers we work with include: politicians, celebrities, compelling authors, management gurus, top motivational speakers, media personalities, sports heros and other leading authorities.

Q: What does Speakers Platform do for its clients?
We are a full service speakers bureau, providing corporations, associations and universities with professional keynote speakers, professors and corporate trainers who deliver the results required by diverse audiences. Our bureau team includes seasoned agents, professional administration support and contracting services to ensure you will receive top customer service.

Blake Joerger and Wendy Krueger manage our speaker relations and have extensive experience locating, evaluating and securing speakers. Each of our agents consistently receives the highest marks for friendly, helpful customer service; insight and expertise; quick response and overall account management (click here to read what some of our satisfied clients say).

--- Our services in greater detail ---

During the review and research process, we provide you one-stop access to thousands of the world's best speakers. If you already know who you want, we can locate, negotiate fees, check availability, gather marketing information and contract any personality you are interested in. If you would like suggestions, we can research the thousands of options available and provide you with a short list to review.

We have already pre-qualified over 2,000 speakers we work with (and have access to an astounding database of over 5,000 more), so you can feel confident knowing that you are getting high quality speakers who have the presentation skills and expertise to captivate your audience. We have built close relationships with our speakers and can set up conference calls, provide you with review materials (information kits, videos, books, etc.) and check availability quickly.

You can expect quick responses to your questions and needs via email, phone, fax, postal mail and FedEx. We respond to your requests quickly and are easy to reach. Most speakers travel a lot, have no staff and are difficult to reach. We are easy to reach and will continually track speakers so that we can get answers to your questions fast. And, since we work with so many speakers, we can help find replacement talent at the last minute if needed and negotiate special pricing.

We make the booking process smooth since we do all the negotiating, contract stipulations / travel expenses, scheduling and accounting with the speaker. We stand behind our contracts and all stipulations and have an impeccable 14 year reputation in the industry. Speakers Platform is like insurance - we will partner with you to make your event a huge success.

To learn more about our bureau, see: speaking.com/aboutsp.html.

Q: Does Speakers Platform handle international events?
Yes, we have many international clients. Speakers Platform is committed to the growing business education needs of the expanding global marketplace. Several of our account executives specialize in planning events with foreign companies and for American companies in international venues, from Europe to South America to Asia.

Q: How can I learn about a speaker before making my decision?
Speakers Platform maintains a full-time marketing department to provide you with full biographies on each speaker, photographs, recent articles and press coverage, video segments, books and letters of recommendation from previous speaking engagements.

Q: Will I have the opportunity to make contact with the speaker prior to the engagement?
Yes. Most of our speakers are happy to talk with organizations prior to an engagement as their schedules allow. Ask your Speakers Platform representative about the possibility of setting up a conference call to discuss your event needs. This gives you the opportunity to clarify the expectations of your audience and get to know the speaker on a more personalized basis.

Q: Can a book signing be arranged in conjunction with the event?
The majority of our authors enjoy doing book signings at lecture engagements. Check with your Speakers Platform account executive prior to arrange a signing. We can also provide a book purchasing rider which places you in direct contact with publishers to buy books at special discounted rates.

Q: Is it possible to video or audio tape the speaker?
Written permission must be obtained by the speaker prior to your event. Usually, speakers will agree to taping for internal organizational use only. This is to safeguard the speakers' right to their intellectual property.