We discussed the following:

Here is the link to the past event information.

Meeting Planners

• Melissa Jurcan, International Special Events Society (ISES)- Western Region Vice President
• Audrey Fan, eVeunes, Event Producer
• Paula Quinn, Association of Washington School Principals (AWSP) -Director of Elementary Programs &
  Professional Development

Do’s and Dont’s from Jolene Jang

Here are beautiful notes from Ron Rael

Questions Answered:

How can a speaker be “found”?

Today the speaker needs

• A niche that stands out.
• A personality that stands out.
• Be or do something memorable.

How do you like to be approached by a speaker?

• Referral, first and foremost
• An E-mail that is customized and personable – no phone calls
• Be seen at an industry meeting or event such as MPI
• A handwritten note
• Follow-up after a personal meeting
• Via referrals from multiple sources

How can a speaker create visibility to meeting planners (i.e. get in your radar)?

• Speak for free at events held by MPI, ISES, Washington Executives, SHRM, PCMA, local chamber of commerce events
• Reach out to your local contacts in a particular industry or have a connection such as via a hotel’s event planner

How can a speaker jump-start your referral process?

• Follow up a personal meeting with a note
• Use Linked-in referrals
• Through a request for a testimonial

Tip - Send the meeting or event planner a recent self-evaluation of a conference (if the client did not provide one their own)

How can a speaker make use of social networking?

• Tweeting information
• Have a fan page on Facebook and Twitter
• Ask people to comment what they like about me
• Get targeted meeting planners to follow me
• Follow or fan key meeting planners
• Publish testimonials or ask audience members to comment on fan page or choose “I like” or “I recommend” on Facebook or Linked-in

Tip – Capture a flip video of a fan’s positive comments and put it on my website or send it to a meeting planner

What does a good speaker website have?

• The Speaker’s website and meeting planner materials need to be audience-focused (not me-focused)

Tip – A meeting planner never conducts a Google search on a blanket topic but the planner will search about the speaker after he/she has been considered or recommended as a presenter

When you visit a speaker’s website what sorts of things help you decide?

• Topics that are specific and titles that are creative
• Specific deliverables or outcomes that the speaker will deliver
• A biography including clients and conferences spoken at
• A sample video of 3 to 5 minutes; provide several clips of highlights that demonstrate audience reaction with high quality audio
• Speakers is using social networking
• Industry membership

Tip – Meeting planners see who follows the speaker and reads any testimonials and speaker’s blog

What are the major steps of the meeting planner when planning an event (I.e. where does hiring the speaker fit in)?

1. Secure the date
2. Secure the location
3. Secure the Speaker

An exception to 3): If the event is with a business with mandatory attendance, hiring the speaker is usually later in their process.

Keys to Working with Meeting Planners

1. How the audience interacts with me is crucial. There is more emphasis on this and less on the topic or point or message. I.e. A meeting planner’s worst fear is a boring or blasé speaker.

2. I must identify the specific deliverables that I can deliver.

3. A meeting planner wants to know how the audience feels once they had the experience of my session.  How did they react?

4. Find a way to touch the audience members long after the session is over. This is an excellent way to home in on the deliverable and use as testimonial feedback.

5. My personality needs to shine through everything that I do, say, and write. I.e. My personality should be visible via the website and video clips and materials.

6. In a public forum it is okay to help make others aware of the conference, usually using social media.

7. Please communicate up front all of my expectations such as requirements and conditions. Meeting planners hate surprises or to be asked for things as after the speaker has been hired.

8. In the conference setting is extremely difficult for the planner to sell extreme customization.

9. All associations have national, regional, and local meeting or conferences and almost all of them require many speaker each year.

10. Try marketing in my own backyard or all the major cities on the West Coast.

11. Check out the Washington Sate Convention Center’s website for its 2012 scheduled events. Look at specific associations for their conferences located in their calendar of events for 2012.

12. The current hot topics revolve around “messages of hope.”

13. Invite a local meeting planner to observe me at a local program or at a city that I am targeting.

14. Social Networking

• Lots of people use it as their news source.
• Many ISES use this there as their sole source for news.
• A speaker can friend anything he/she wants to stay current about such as in the industry event or specific association or prospective client.

15. Create a fan page on Facebook

• On Linked-in a speaker can ask anyone to connect to their page. On Facebook, you must obtain the approval of the person.

 16. Meeting planners do not discuss fees among themselves and generally don’t care about the amount of fees that other organizations are charged.

17. Meeting planners prefer to work directly with the Speaker rather go through of bureau.