Written by: Jasmin Haley, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Negotiations can be intimidating even for experienced speakers and business leaders. Whatever feelings negotiations trigger in you, they are crucial to building a thriving speaking business. Fortunately, they are a skill set you can master through practice. Behind the scenes, professional speaking requires a massive amount of preparation and research before you step on stage. This energy and time need to be built into your speaking fees so that you can support yourself, your team, and your work!
Research and Conquer
The first tenant of negotiating with power is doing your research.
You never want to step into a negotiation without preparing!
Before discussing your fee with organizers, you will want to determine who your audience is, learn the average pay for speakers at your experience level, and find out the event budget. You should also consider the time you will take away from your family and business for an event.
This research lays the groundwork for you to ask for higher speaking fees and ensures that you are not at a disadvantage during price discussions.
Build Up Your Base
As speakers, we want to be able to step on stage focused on sharing our message, not worrying about how to cover event expenses or earn enough revenue to support our work.
This is why you should build your expenses into your base fee.
You will want to know your tax rate, your team’s salary, and the yearly income you need to live comfortably to determine your rate.
Speakers' fees vary widely depending on their experience and popularity. Novices in any field might earn $1500 for an event, while established speakers with a large following can command $100k or more!
Ultimately your fee is unique to your experience, your perceived value, and field of expertise.
Bump Up The Revenue
You must build a rapport with event organizers to command higher fees.
Asking questions and listening carefully allows you to deliver a presentation that results in audience satisfaction and secures future referrals. Knowing and understanding what event planners are looking for will allow you to negotiate a higher fee confidently.
You also want to ensure your skills are easily accessible through well-positioned press materials like your speaker branding reel and speaker website.
Every marketing asset that supports your authority in your field can move negotiations in your favor.
Start The Negotiations
During price conversations, there are times when you need to stand firm in your pricing, and there are times when you need to be flexible.
No matter what, you should be able to pay your team and yourself well with what you earn, not barely cover your expenses and be left with nothing.
That isn’t a sustainable or healthy business model.
Nothing is worse than not charging for the real value of your work and then ending up burnt out & unhappy.
You didn’t get into business to suffer.
Listening to your intuition and checking whether you feel aligned with the fee offer is essential to negotiations. You should feel happy with your speaking fee, not resentful or upset at the end of the day.
If you notice that something feels off, this signals that you are not earning enough for your work.
Remember that your message could allow audiences and organizers to get powerful benefits that could benefit their businesses or lives exponentially.
Never be afraid to walk away if you don’t think the offer is fair!
Negotiate With Power
Delivering presentations that impact lives doesn’t mean you need to act like a nonprofit.
Speaking is a business with huge revenue potential once you master the art of negotiating.
Go out there with integrity, courage, and power to stand in your price & speak with excellence.
"Expertise is the only valid basis for differentiating ourselves from the competition…When the client has few alternatives to our expertise, then we can dictate pricing, we can set the terms of the engagement, and we can take control." ‒ Blair Enns
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Jasmin Haley, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
As seen in Time and NextAdvisor, nationally awarded speaker and workshop facilitator Jasmin Haley, MS, is the CEO of a consulting firm that creates transformative speakers, strengthens presentation skills & designs speaker assets.
Jasmin has been featured or spoken for in national media outlets such as Crest, Colgate, CE Zoom, Con Edison, The University of Maryland School of Medicine, the American Dental Hygienists’ Association, and RDH Magazine.
She has traveled the country as a sought-after speaker on overcoming burnout, diversity & inclusion for healthcare providers, and how to create presentations that reach the HEARTs of audiences.
