|

Author:
Yvon Douran

There are many advantages to working with an experienced booking agent. First and foremost, working with a good agent can save you a lot of time and legwork. Most agents already have a cache of speakers they know and work with on a regular basis. They are familiar with these speakers expertise and how relevant their topics would be to your audience. If your agent has done their homework well they would have already viewed promotional videos and have a good idea of each speakers presentation style on the platform. They can also negotiate on your behalf and simplify the booking process.

Furthermore, a good agent is one who:

- will be available to answer your questions and gives you honest unbiased answers.

- is one who, when asked, can give you good solid advice that helps you in your planning process.

- will always act with your best interests in mind and want to make you look like a hero.

- will be able to offer valuable insight and fresh ideas that contribute to the success of your event.

- is one that always follows through. Responds to messages or emails and is an effective communicator.

- will contact you after your meeting or event to make sure that everything went as planned.

Develop a relationship with an agent you feel comfortable with and make them part of your event planning “team”. You will be glad that you did.

Written by Yvon Douran, President of Keynote Resource, your preferred bureau and partner for keynote speakers, motivational speakers and corporate entertainment at http://www.keynoteresource.com

| Article Keywords: Professional Speaker

A Quick Note From The Publisher... If you like the article above, you may be interested in the following article which is also related to Professional Speaker... Money Talks: How to Build Your Visibility Through Public Speaking “I started off speaking because I had always heard that it was a good way to build your reputation. In the beginning I would speak to anyone who would invite me. In a way that was good, because it gave me the chance to hone my speaking skills, which weren’t that great in the beginning. Toastmasters and a personal coach help me gain the confidence I needed. After a while I started to develop a reputation as someone who could deliver an interesting talk and the offers started to multiply. This was somewhat of a mixed blessing. While I enjoyed the audience attention, I began to realize that there were precious few people in the audience who could potentially become clients. Eventually I realized that I started to focus on trade associations that served my targeted group of clients. These groups were a much more productive use of my time. Speaking to these audiences both enhanced my reputation as an expert in my field and also led directly to some new accounts.” Michael Schonefield, Electronics Distribution. A key component for building your reputation for expertise is public speaking.It’s important not only for building your success in rainmaking, but also for gaining visibility with the senior management in your company. One of the most effective ways to build your organizational visibility is through making presentations, so you've got to learn the basics. Where can you go to learn? Lots of places. Your company may have an internal presentation skills program that they offer. If they do make sure you sign up to take the class. There are also a lot of outside resources available. Perhaps the best known is Toastmasters, and it is excellent. You learn how to structure a speech and present it before an extremely supportive group of audience members. Aside from...