This article is not a case for hiring keynote speakers. It is already established they are a special breed of speakers, people who can single-handedly manage to inspire thousands of guests at once.
Instead, we are addressing those event planners who are already crafting a corporate event checklist.
If you are experiencing a bit of a struggle with picking a perfect keynote speaker, the following lines should make the whole process smoother.
The ‘Before’ Stage
Just like surgery could not be carried out without little preparation of tools, procedures, and research, hiring a keynote speaker implies you craft a thorough plan.
The first aspect you should consider before proceeding to assemble your corporate event checklist is that keynote speakers are in high demand. Everyone wants to have a piece of their wisdom and energy at their events, so you have always got to be ready to pick up the phone to book them in advance.
What we mean by ‘in advance’ is 6 to 12 months.
Pro tip: since it may be difficult for you to keep track of keynote speakers’ availability, the best you can do is get in touch with a corporate entertainment booking agency. They will be able to tell you exactly who’s available on the date you are planning for. From our experience with various Speakers Bureaus, we can guarantee that keeping in touch with an agency is the best move you can make to ace that corporate event checklist.
Start Preparations Early
When you want to get a keynote speaker at your corporate meeting, you need to present them a clear overview of what they are going to take part in.
This takes a great deal of preparation on your part, so make sure the corporate event checklist zeros in on:
- the overall objective of the event
- meeting logistics and scheduling
- audience profiling
- Expectations you have from the speakers.
As long as you make sure all these are dealt with, the speaker will also be very clear on what they have to come up with. In other words, they will be aligned with your event strategy.
Getting There
Once you established a framework and found the keynote speaker fitting the needs of the event, there’s one obstacle to be surmounted. It is called the negotiation stage.
It is essential you get to this stage with the complete understanding of the fees the speaker is going to claim. Take the time to understand the market and also be aware that a professional keynote presentation from a published author or an experienced professional is a highest-quality kind of act.
The key here is to know exactly who your sponsors are, how many guests you are aiming for and which is the ROI (Return On Investment) you should get from the whole event.
The fees keynote speakers claim are relative to the greater scheme of your event, so make sure you approach event budgeting with this in mind.
The Corporate Event Checklist -Your Key to Quality Brand Building
When we talk about choosing keynote speakers, we should always understand they are fundamental to how your brand builds trust and authority – both in your niche/industry and within a community/target audience.
