Professional speakers are always trying to justify their fees. Admittedly, it can be a substantial investment for a one-hour keynote.
With that being said, for larger events, the cost of breakfast is often times more than the cost of the speech.
While that may be true, some professional speakers have the crazy idea that it is acceptable to point out that fact to the meeting planner.
Really?!
If your intention is to create the impression that your fee is small relative to other costs, don’t compare yourself to a bagel!
Instead, discuss the overall investment. How much are they spending on airfare? Hotels? Salaries? This is certainly more (and more important) than croissants and jelly.
Even more critical is the fact that getting hundreds or thousands of employees/executives together is a great opportunity. What if my message can massively increase the innovation ROI of each person? What’s the opportunity cost of not doing that? A relevant, content-rich keynote can easily pay for itself many times over by the value it creates.
If you are providing value, people can have a full belly AND a full mind.
Shahla says:
Interesting post Stephen. And very timely. I’m stuck in a similar conundrum at the moment. Do you have any articles where you share your first time as a speaker story. My area is similar to yours, it includes design thinking and Im very interested to know how you got your start as a speaker. Looking at some of your videos, I get the feeling you’ve been in the industry for several years and the current market is changed but still. Some stories are classic. Would ove to hear from you.
Thanks
sshapiro says:
Hi Shahla, thanks for your comment. I am not sure which articles you might be referring to. But one related to the “bagel” story is this one: https://stephenshapiro.com/customers-dont-value-think/. It was my first time I was asked my speaking fee. Hope that helps!