181 | How Meeting Planners Think with Shirley Hogsett

Shirley Hogsett

If you want to be a speaker (paid or unpaid), you want to understand how meeting planners think.  In this episode, Shirley Hogsett shares her years of experience on working with meeting planners to help you understand how to contact and engage meeting planners. Shirley operates the Destiny Speakers Bureau.

 

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Target Audience: Destiny Speakers Bureau is a comprehensive speaker management firm and provides marketing, management and product development services for a select number of Professional Speakers, Authors, Coaches, Consultants and Artist. .

The aim of Destiny Speakers Bureau is to help business owners utilize speaking to attract more business through spreading their knowledge in front of their ideal customers. Shirley shares with us the perspective of the Meeting Planner.

So what is it exactly that the Meeting Planners look for?

Specifically, they want a video of you speaking in front of an audience similar to theirs. They (meeting planners) want to see you perform. The video must convey that you have the ability to communicate and engage an audience. This contrasts greatly to “lectures.” The video should be no longer than 3-5 minutes. An intro and an outro is ok. And Shirley says testimonials simply don’t say enough.

How to engage in Effective Communication with Meeting Planners

It is imperative that you engage the conversation by HEARING what THEY are looking for. Do you have a strong grasp on their needs? It is then your responsibility to convey how you can solve that problem. Be aware that they are looking for experts. They seek authenticity. They must also get the sense that you know the audience on a deep level.

Pricing : What should speakers expect and what does the marketplace want to spend?

This depends on the person who is coming on. However, someone who is starting out should expect about $3,500- $5,000. But again, it depends on the speaker and the organization.

At the end of the day, you must know your industry and clients. It’s great to utilize a service like Shirley’s because a third party would not be emotionally charged and simply conveys data.

 

Shirley HogsettIn this episode we’ll cover:

  • What the marketplace is looking for
  • Why you MUST know your market
  • Why you must be an expert in your field
  • How to schedule your speaking gigs
  • How a third party could streamline this process

 

 

Practical and Actionable:

Decide who you want to speak to. Thoroughly research that target market. Go to local convention bureau and find out what conferences are coming. You can also conduct a google search and build your database.

Resources and Links

 

Do you have questions about today’s episode!?

Did you know that you can apply to chat with me by phone? This is a limited time offer to help anyone that is serious about refining their business as well as developing a clear & compelling strategy that will drive them forward. Complete the questions and our team will follow up with you to schedule time for your “Business Breakthrough Session”. These are limited to 30 minutes, completely free and oh, so valuable.  Apply Now!

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