How to book the best Motivational Speaker for your event

You know that you need a fabulous female keynote speaker who will take to your stage, deliver an incredible story, aligned to all of your goals and objectives, entertain and provoke thought, and leave the audience with a clear purpose of what they need to do next.

So, that’s the easy part. The hard work starts when you are faced with a daunting number of potential motivational speakers for your event. How on earth do you go about making sure your event will be the best it’s ever been by booking one of the UK’s best speakers?

Before you dive into the search for the perfect motivational speaker, it’s handy to have most of your other event plans ironed out. Something clients often don’t consider enough is the overall objective – what are you hoping your speaker will leave your audience thinking and feeling? What are you hoping your audience will change, or differently after hearing your keynote speaker? Are you looking for a female motivational speaker?

Do you have a budget for your speaker? Speaker fees can range from £500 to £50,000 and you’ll find hundreds of male and female speakers to choose from in between that. But like most things, you get what you pay for!

How far ahead should you aim to book your keynote speaker?  Sometimes you may need to book a year in advance, but the norm is 2-3 months.  The longer you allow yourself for, the better the keynote speaker you will get, and you will have much longer to prepare for your event and promote it, which in turn should result in a very successful event.

It’s a good idea to watch videos of motivational and keynote speakers. It’s a tragedy when someone looks great on paper but delivers a boring or irrelevant talk.

A great keynote speaker doesn’t just speak, though. They engage with the audience online and offline. You’ll be able to get an idea of a speaker’s social influence by following them on Instagram or Twitter and checking out their website. Look for sincere two-way interactions and recently-updated content.

The best keynote speakers are hustlers. They’re building a personal brand, too. They’ll find as much value in your audience as you do.

Showcase the benefits to your speaker. Will they be able to build their following, sell books, talk about something groundbreaking, make an announcement, or generate a well-produced speaker video?

Some good points to work through before you choose your motivational speaker are:

Why is my audience attending this event?

What are the general demographics of the audience?

Will they prefer a female speaker with an inspirational story?

Are they from one industry, or spread across different industries?

How can my keynote speaker provide the most value?

Is there a theme to the event?

Is there a topic that would work well, ie Mental Toughness, Elite Performance or World Class Thinking?

After your event, holding workshops and group sessions run by the speaker are all great ways to embed the speakers message, but follow-ups to the speech may also be in the form of emails, videos or Skype calls.

Once you have a solid understanding of your audience, this will help you to determine the essentials you’ll need the speaker to satisfy. By doing all this work beforehand you’ll increase your chances at booking the best motivational speaker for your event. Like most things, its all in the preparation and planning!

You can contact some speakers directly, but then you’ll be managing all the logistics yourself.The booking process can be more complex than it might appear on the surface. You’ll have to consider contracts, flights, hotels and what technical requirements your speaker may have.

It’s often easier to use a Speaker Bureau to book your speaker – Maria Franzoni is a great choice.  Speaker Bureaus can organise a rush visa, book the next plane or train, or in extreme scenarios , find an alternate speaker who can jump in at the very last minute. Don;’t be worried you will be paying over the odds buy using a speaker bureau – it’s the speaker that will be paying the commission to the speaker bureau – not you!

There are a daunting array of inspirational female speakers and female motivational speakers in the UK that could deliver a knockout keynote at your event. Choosing the best keynote speaker for your event comes down to what you want your audience to think and feel after they have left the stage. They will hope to be entertained, educated and provoked into some kind of change, and compelled to take action immediately.

Think hard about your objectives, your budget (like most things you get what you pay for) and whether you want to book a speaker directly or through a bureau. I recommend using a Speaker Bureau, and my favourites are Maria Franzoni Ltd, Speakers Corner, JLA, London Speaker Bureau, Inspirational Speakers.

Keynote speakers are a big investment that you’ll make on your event. Ensuring that you have a good quality experience for your delegates should be your top priority.

There are a few things you can do to maximise your spend with your keynote speaker:

See if you can get books for delegates included with your keynote cost or at a discounted rate. Ask about availability to do an interview before the event for a blog post, podcast or video post to promote your event. Check to see if they’ll share that they’re speaking at your event on Twitter and other social media channels.

Your keynote speaker is the cornerstone of your event. Finding one takes time, effort, negotiation and patience in order to amplify the value proposition of your event.