7 reasons why I don't speak for free at (large) conferences and events: 1. Can I ask you to work today for 20% of your normal fee? 2. I invest a lot of time and money in being a 'professional’ public speaker 3. Don’t compare a top-speaker with an extra coffee-break 4. My added value is worth thousands of euros / participant 5. You don't pay me just for one hour of speaking 6. Your audience isn't necessary an interesting audience for me. 7. The route from an enthusiast participant to a paid customer is complex and long.

1. 7 reasons why I don’t work for free
as a professional speaker (or for a very low budget)
@CyrielKortleven

2. With this slideshare -and you can read a longer blogpost- I want to
give a bit more background-information to event-organisers that
I’m saying ‘no’ to free (or badly paid) assignments.
Even if there are great ‘opportunities’
for future assignments from the
audience. But I can’t pay my
bills with a lot of ‘exposure’.
The yellow squares provide a bit
more background information or
reflect my personal experience.

3. Two examples
"Hello, thank you for your proposal to deliver your presentation
for our employees. We are and organisation with 50 members
who would love to hear your story. It's a pity but we have very
limited budgets. But our network is very interesting and chances
are big that you can get a lot of future assignments via our
organisation. We can pay for your travel costs and give you a
nice present. Hope that we can collaborate. Organisation X"
"Hi, we have got your mail via ... In October we are organising
an event for our clients. It's a very good opportunity to network
and our clients are working in influential larger organisations. We
have a policy that we never pay for speakers but you can be
part of this great experience. Would you be willing (and are you
available) to deliver a presentation for our clients? Thanks a lot,
Organisation Y"

4. 1. Would you
work today if
you only
received 20% of
your normal
fee?
Try to book a hotel room or an airplane ticket at 50% of the
normal fee explaining the hotel manager or bookings agent that
you will make a lot of promotion for his service to your network.
Chances are small that you will get your room or ticket.

5. 2. I invest a
lot of time
and money to
be a top-professional
I invest around € 25.000/year to attend world-class conferences and getting
coached by top-experts; spend 10 hours a week exploring blogs and articles and
sharing this via social media; invest 6-8 weeks a year writing on a new book.

6. www.flickr.com/photos/wandering_angel/2280759746
85% of spendings on events is going to travel, hotel and food&beverage.
15% is left for business services technology and… speakers.
3. Don’t
compare a
top-speaker
with an extra
coffee-break

7. 4. If the audience applies only 10%
of my tips and tricks, they can
save thousands of dollars.
It’s very hard to calculate the value of a good speaker but if participants
only apply 1 good tip that saves time, energy or money, that’s already
worth a lot of money. And then I’m even not talking about the inspiration
and motivation or supporting them to go for a breakthrough idea.

8. 5. You don’t
pay me just for
one hour of
speaking but
for more than
thousand
hours on
stage.
During my 15 years of
experience, I have
probably spend 5.000
hours in front of a group
(of which at least 1.000
hours on stage for a
larger audience). Every
new presentation profits
from that experience.

9. One of the big advantages of my
job is the variety of my audiences.
But 95% of the audiences aren’t
going to hire me (even if they
really appreciate the
presentation).
6. I love your audience
but sometimes, your
audience isn’t that
interesting for me if it
comes down to future
assignments.

10. 7. The road
between an
enthusiast
participant
and a paid
customer
is complex and long.
In my experience, the conversion rate from an enthusiastic
participant to a paying customer is around 1/500. And when it goes
fast, it takes around a year before that new presentation will happen
(because organisations don’t organise a bigger event every week).

11. All pictures are
bought on
iStockphoto.com
or found on flickr.com
(then I’ve added the link)
or are my own
pictures.

12. Want more?
69 Amazing
Creativity
Quotes
A real
inspiration
boost
(Access to 7 great youtube
movies, PDF with ideakillers,
a 9-week inspiration boost or
become a wild goose)
Read the full
blogpost

13. Cyriel Kortleven is an international
speaker & author of 4 books.
More inspiration on his website.