From Informed Decisions : Conversations and Q&A with Randall Craig and Ronja Francoeur

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From Informed Decisions : Conversations and Q&A with Randall Craig and Ronja Francoeur

Back to Topic Library.

Explore this topic in a real conversation. We'd love to meet you: book a call.

Hiring a Business Growth Speaker: 10 Good Questions to Ask

Hiring a Business Growth Speaker:
10 Good Questions to Ask

About this episode:

Today we are talking about how to properly source and vet the right-fit quality speaker for your conferences and events.

There is certainly no shortage of people who are willing to speak, and no shortage of people who claim to be experts in any given field. So how do you choose the best one for your convention, or your corporate retreat, or your professional development seminar?

The best way is to ask some questions. We have The 10 Questions for choosing a business growth speaker up at www.RandallCraig.com, but today we will go deeper and wider and talk about hiring an expert speaker in any field.

Part 1

Part 2

Topics Discussed (with timestamps)

• What do people need to know about finding the right-fit speaker for their events? And where are they going wrong in their selection process? (01:17)

• I’ve been tasked to source one or more speakers for our event. What should I be doing first? And what should I not be doing? (05:09)

• Is “hiring a speaker” the same as hiring any other contractor or vendor, or is there really nuance to it? Are there steps that a novice would miss? (06:40)

• Who in the organization should I be tasking to hire the speaker? Frankly, who in any given org chart has the experience to do it well? Is this something that should be outsourced to a speaker’s bureau? Or to an event planner? (12:12)

• We find often that people don’t really understand what a truly skilled speaker does to the audience, and for the organization? Is it like acquiring a taste, like for wine or scotch – you have to learn how to compare quality? (17:41)

• Do you think the people setting the budget for their keynote speaker understand what they may or may not get for any given price bracket? And what should the budget be to get a quality speaker? (25:09)

• How “crowded” is the professional speaker market? If I want a speaker on any given topic, how big is the pool of potential good fit speakers that I need to sift through? (00:29)

• If all speakers are getting the same training at CAPS and NSA, and they are learning the same tips and tricks and best practices to follow, does the client get a more or less similar experience when they work a speaker? Or do we see a range of applications of the learning and best practices? (08:18)

• What are some interesting or alternative pricing negotiations to put on the table when working with a speaker? (12:35)

• What do conference and retreat organizers and planning committees who hire speakers need to know to help their selected speakers be successful? What might they not be aware of? (19:42)

• Many keynote selection committees have been helped by the insights of your 10 Questions for Choosing a Business Growth Speaker – Do you want to speak to these selection criteria? (24:25)

• Help us learn by example: What is it like working with Randall Craig as keynote? (29:03)

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From Informed Decisions : Conversations and Q&A with Randall Craig and Ronja Francoeur

From Informed Decisions : Conversations and Q&A with Randall Craig and Ronja Francoeur

Hiring a Business Growth Speaker: 10 Good Questions to Ask

Hiring a Business Growth Speaker:
10 Good Questions to Ask

About this episode:

Today we are talking about how to properly source and vet the right-fit quality speaker for your conferences and events.

There is certainly no shortage of people who are willing to speak, and no shortage of people who claim to be experts in any given field. So how do you choose the best one for your convention, or your corporate retreat, or your professional development seminar?

The best way is to ask some questions. We have The 10 Questions for choosing a business growth speaker up at www.RandallCraig.com, but today we will go deeper and wider and talk about hiring an expert speaker in any field.

Part 1

Part 2

Topics Discussed (with timestamps)

• What do people need to know about finding the right-fit speaker for their events? And where are they going wrong in their selection process? (01:17)

• I’ve been tasked to source one or more speakers for our event. What should I be doing first? And what should I not be doing? (05:09)

• Is “hiring a speaker” the same as hiring any other contractor or vendor, or is there really nuance to it? Are there steps that a novice would miss? (06:40)

• Who in the organization should I be tasking to hire the speaker? Frankly, who in any given org chart has the experience to do it well? Is this something that should be outsourced to a speaker’s bureau? Or to an event planner? (12:12)

• We find often that people don’t really understand what a truly skilled speaker does to the audience, and for the organization? Is it like acquiring a taste, like for wine or scotch – you have to learn how to compare quality? (17:41)

• Do you think the people setting the budget for their keynote speaker understand what they may or may not get for any given price bracket? And what should the budget be to get a quality speaker? (25:09)

• How “crowded” is the professional speaker market? If I want a speaker on any given topic, how big is the pool of potential good fit speakers that I need to sift through? (00:29)

• What are some interesting or alternative pricing negotiations to put on the table when working with a speaker? (12:35)

• What do conference and retreat organizers and planning committees who hire speakers need to know to help their selected speakers be successful? What might they not be aware of? (19:42)

• Many keynote selection committees have been helped by the insights of your 10 Questions for Choosing a Business Growth Speaker – Do you want to speak to these selection criteria? (24:25)

• Help us learn by example: What is it like working with Randall Craig as keynote? (29:03)