For Speakers: Ten Tips on How to Increase Your Fees


One of the most important tools speakers use is their FEESCHEDULE. Here are ten tips to help you increase yourattractiveness and income, while communicating exactly whatyou offer and clarify your fees for your programs, products,and services.

1. Change the title. Previously referred as a FEE SCHEDULE.These two words have gathered a quiet negative energy overthe years. In order to make your fees more attractive,change the name. This energizes your attractiveness andshows how you are different. Here are a few nounsubstitutes to spark your brainstorming. Schedule: Menu,catalog, list. Example Fee Menu, Fee Catalog, Fee List.Fee: Compensation, cost, rate. Examples: CompensationMenu, compensation catalog, compensation list, cost menu,cost catalog, cost list, rate menu, rate catalog, rate list.

2. Include your photo at the top of your schedule

3. At the top also include an expiration line: Example:"These fees are good for programs booked before _____date(or expire on ____)." Expire your schedule frequently toallow for increases. Ninety days is the normal expirationperiod.

4. We have found that selling time is the easiest way for independent professionals to offer their services. People understand this way of thinking because many jobs pay by the hour. You don't want to get involved with tracking minutes and seconds. You can do this by quoting your hourly rate in this manner: Up to 1 hour $____. Up to 2 hours $____. Up to 3 hours (or 1/2 day) $____. Up to 6 hours (or full day) $____.

5. Be sure to list all your time or product packages. Listany additional or possible programs for the same events.Examples: Managers Meetings, Spouse Program, additionalbreakouts, vendor education for trade shows at the event.List any document customization fees and recording rights.

6. If you work with meeting planners and bureaus, enlisttheir experience and suggestions. Let them review andprovide you with feedback on your schedule. They know themarket and continually compare speakers' schedules.

7. Create a PDF file for e-mailing your schedule. Or createa complete marketing package that includes your fee scheduleand turn into a pdf file.

8. When presenting your services to a meeting planner,visualize that person looking at a giant chart on the wallwhich lists all the different times and programs planned attheir event, but that are not yet scheduled. Ask the meetingplanner if he or she has any unfilled time slots availableon the day you are scheduled. Then suggest a second programfor managers or the sales team. This helps them because theyhave to book less speakers, cuts their planning timeconsiderably, and usually saves money on travel expenses andhotel rooms.

9. Meeting planners discourage back-of-the-room salesbecause they do not want you to use "paid" time to pushthose materials. Instead, sell them separately through theireducational materials budget. Add your educationalmaterials to your schedule (books, workbooks, audioprograms, subscriptions) with any quantity discounts(10-15%). Include special "program only" packageopportunities as well. Place these in the center of yourschedule. List shipping separately in a footnote.

10. Speakers are now asking for a flat fee for their travelexpenses. This provides flexibility for the speaker andsaves the meeting planner time.

Catherine Franz, a Certified Professional Marketing &Writing Coach, specializes in product development, Internetwriting and marketing, nonfiction, training. Newslettersand articles available at: http://www.abundancecenter.comblog: http://abundance.blogs.com