Speakers bureaus have been an effective way of identifying and retaining the right speaker for a meeting since the time of Mark Twain. Yet, many meeting professionals have still not tapped into the power of using speakers bureaus to identify the right speaker with the right topic at the right price, thereby saving a ton of work. Some of the common myths that prevail today, which have kept some meeting organizers from employing speakers bureaus, include the following:

1. There is a pervasive belief that somehow it is more costly to retain a speaker through a bureau than by trying to contract with a speaker directly. In rare instances this may be true, but among ethical speakers and ethical bureaus, which represent 95% of each industry, the fee of retaining a speaker is the same whether you contract with that speaker directly or book the speaker through a reputable speakers bureau. For example, if a speaker charges $4,000, that $4,000 is the same to you whether you pay the speaker directly or you pay the bureau. The bureau takes a percentage from the speaker, hence the speaker is paying the bureau’s fee, not you.

So, why would a speaker ever want to be booked through a bureau when ostensibly he or she could consummate bookings directly? The short answer is that many speakers do not wish to engage in marketing; they do not have the time, energy, or resources and haven’t developed a long-term client base, as a good bureau has done. The fee that the speaker pays to a bureau to be booked with you is well worth it for the speaker. He or she gets to lower overhead and spend more time on presentation skills, subject matter development, and understanding of your industry and your audience members’ needs.

2. Some meeting professionals fear that speakers bureaus will only recommend “pet speakers” -- the ones that they always recommend. This may be true to a certain extent; however, if a bureau recommends the same handful of speakers over and over again, chances are that those speakers are good. No bureau would risk its reputation on continually sending out a speaker who does not do a stellar job. Sure, in some cases bureaus owned by one spouse will continually recommend the speaker spouse. Ethical bureaus will be up front about this. In general, speakers bureaus and their respective agents do their homework to make sure they have identified whom they believe to be the right speaker for your situation. These days, with everyone having websites, you could get on a search engine, type in the word speaker, and get hundreds of hits. While it is easy to identify many, many speakers, the task of weeding out who exactly represents the right match for your needs can be a daunting task. All the more reason to turn it over to a speakers bureau.

3. Some meeting organizers fear that the speakers bureau representative can’t know enough about the industry, the audience, and the particulars to find the right person. Among the larger bureaus, however, many of the booking agents have developed specialties. Such agents can do an outstanding job of finding the right speaker based on your industry, your audience, and your particular needs. In many cases, such agents have a better grasp of the situation than you do because they have encountered similar situations on numerous past occasions. Fortunately, it only takes a few minutes to ascertain if a booking agent has sufficient background to assist you in very precise ways.

4. Some meeting professionals fear that if they book speakers through a bureau they will lose the interpersonal contact that is so crucial for assuring success. As the client, however, you largely get to dictate what kind of relationship you want with both the bureau and the speaker. For example, if you insist that the speaker call you directly on all matters related to the presentation, that the speaker stay in touch with you during the time leading up to the presentation, and that there be a full exchange of participant materials prior to the actual meeting date, all of this can be stipulated to the bureau representative.

If that bureau agent cares to retain your business long-term, he or she will certainly cooperate. In addition, because the contractual matters between you and the speaker are being handled by the bureau, you actually have an increased capacity for interpersonal connection with the speaker. You can dwell on your audience, the needs of your organization, the contents of the presentation, and so on, without having such a relationship muddled by squabbles over terms of booking. In that regard, your relationship with the speaker can remain more “pure.”

A World of Advantages

Beyond some of these common myths, some of the extreme advantages of working with a speakers bureau include the following:

Should the situation arise in which you are not happy with the speaker’s performance or any other aspect of your interaction with the speaker, you have a legitimate third party, the bureau, to handle your concerns. Once again, you are in a position of even greater leverage because it is in the bureau’s best and long-term interest to ensure that you are happy. The bureau’s loyalty is to you--you are the customer--not the speaker they assign to meet your needs. Some speakers never quite understand that, but the bureaus have a very clear understanding of who signs the checks.

In the rare event that the original speaker cannot make the appointed date, the bureau can more easily get you the right back-up speaker than if you face this task by yourself, especially at the last minute. Many bureaus require speakers to sign various pledges indicating, for example, that they will abide by certain travel expense limitations, not use offensive or off-color language, and so on. In this manner, working with the bureau affords many more protections than you might otherwise have when working with a speaker directly.

The bureau can also help enforce your policies regarding selling from the platform and engaging in other types of promotional behavior. A small percentage of speakers will flat out upset the tone of your meeting by using a portion of their time in front of your group to engage in aggressive marketing. The incidence of this happening when retaining speakers through a bureau is far less, and for the most part can be eliminated all together.

Making the Most of Your Connection

As a professional speaker, I have had the privilege of working with many outstanding bureaus. Among the many traits that excellent bureaus have in common, these seem to show up often: they return phone calls properly, keep advised as to the status of held dates, gather comprehensive background materials from the client, collect fees as originally negotiated, and have a well-developed follow-up procedure in practice.

In closing, think of using speakers bureaus in this way: You use a lot of professional services in your organization and your life, including attorneys, accountants, bankers, computer consultants, and tax advisors. The essence of any good professional is that the price you pay for his or her services is more than justified by the benefits. As it turns out, dealing with speakers bureaus works exactly the same way.

Jeff Davidson, MBA, CMC, helps organizations and individuals overcome the relentless burden of information and communication overload. Visit www.BreathingSpace.com or call 800-735-1994 for more on Jeff's keynote speeches and seminars including "Managing Information and Communication Overload" and "Prospering in a World of Rapid Change," and his books Breathing Space: Living & Working at a Comfortable Pace in a Sped-Up Society and The Sixty Second Organizer.