We use Google Sitemaps to inform
Google's crawler about all your
pages and to help people discover
more of your web pages.
SkyVault Web Site Services

Top 10 Reasons Why Corporate
Speakers Bureaus Don’t Work
By Vickie Sullivan

Why have a Corporate Speakers Bureau?To get your message out to your community and target markets.

Yet many company speakers bureaus don't succeed – in fact, they do nothing but suck up staff time and increase administrative costs.After examining a wide variety of corporate speakers bureau operations, I have found the 10 most common reasons why so many don't work. Most fail because of failed process:

1. Build it and they will come – This attitude arises after a few speeches. A couple of VP's get invitations to speak and the seed is planted.“If we get calls just out of the blue, then what would happen if we had a corporate speakers bureau?” The PR department is assigned the project, which then sets it up or (more often) hires an agency to do it. The agency does its job, sends out a press releaseand leaves. Then . . . nothing happens. The phone rings a few times, just like it did before, but now you have a bureaucracy that deals with it.Result:No increase in speaking engagements, and higher administration costs for invitations that would come in anyway.
   
2. If you say so, then it must be true – This is the opposite of building a bureaucracy. Some organizations act like they have a bureau – they have a web page, buried deep in their company site with one link in and out, saying something like “Ta da!We have a bureau!We'll talk anywhere on anything!” Someone sends out a press release; they may even have a live human being willing to answer the phone.That's not enough. Effective bureaus are more than a contact point to receive calls. You must have a step-by-step approach to getting more speaking engagements, and then a path to leverage those opportunities into specific results. It's a set of processes, all working together.
   
3. Focus is too narrow – Many bureaus focus on the warm and fuzzy, such as “exposure,” or even “extending our brand.”Yes, speaking is great for getting more widely known – but visibility in a vacuum leaves too much money on the table. (Being wasteful in a great economy is silly but tolerable, but it's downright stupid when the economy slows.) Many bureaus focus on incoming calls and invitations, but neglect how the speaking engagements can bring more tangible results.
   
4. Measuring the wrong things – This one is related to the focus problem.If you are focused on responding, then you'll use the number of incoming calls and invitations to justify the continued existence of the bureau. The truth:Bureau functions can work better if decentralized – so departments get their own calls and handle the invitations themselves.If you broaden your outlook to include what happens as a result of stronger relationships with a community or current clients, or measure the leads the bureau generates for sales, then it's a whole new ball game.Tie the bureau's results to sales, and watch the attention the bureau gets.
   
5. No proactive plan for getting speaking engagements – Because bureaus are focused on the intangibles, sufficient resources don't get assigned to the real task at hand. So staff gets stretched thin and only focuses on responding to incoming calls rather than increasing speaking engagements. At best, someone prepares a list of goals (such as “50 speeches within the first year”) with no process for achieving them. Staff gets to the real stuff in their spare time.
   
6. Getting speaking engagements the hard way – This is worse than not having a plan at all. Bureaus in PR departments and agencies assume that the process of getting speaking engagements is just like getting media coverage – research the source, call the contact to pitch to, and keep at it until someone says yes or dies.The reality: This is the worst possible way to get speaking engagements. Professional speakers are now dropping their telemarketing efforts because they know that such prospecting doesn't work.And when staff keeps doing something that doesn't work, what happens?They stop doing it, putting the unpleasant task of cold calling and “fishing expedition” RFP's at the bottom of the to-do list.
   
7. No structure for leverage – Getting the speaking engagement and confirming the speakers are just the first steps. Following through to get the benefits from the audience allows for specific results to be attributed to the bureau – which helps at budget time.Again, many bureaus don't know how to leverage the opportunity, so no structure or process is in place. Opportunities slip between the cracks while everyone is counting incoming calls.
   
8. Wrong skill set for staff – Many bureaus are operated by administrative staff, who do what they do best – respond to calls, send out information, and schedule speakers. Yes, it is important to be detail-oriented, but many don't have knowledge beyond logistical issues, nor any selling skills.These skill sets are polar opposites, and given a tight labor market, might be difficult to find in one person. (Ever meet a sales professional who relishes paperwork?) Idea:Have two people join forces on this project – front office that is sales-oriented and back office that is detail-oriented. It's next to impossible to get such resources so long as the measurement is on the warm and fuzzy intangibles (see #4 above).
   
9. Message not customized – I was program chair for an international conference when a proposal came in from a PR firm representing a Fortune 100 company.I immediately rejected it. Why?Because the content was not even close to being relative to our audience and their environment. The PR firm was shocked, thinking the name alone would get the invitation. This is what happens when the material gets generalized in the name of consistency. Many organizations spend big bucks for the “message,” but don't build a process for flexibility and customizing. Result:Most speaking proposals go into that big round file.
   
10. Weak internal support – Support for a speakers' bureau is highest in the beginning, during the big rollout. The powers-that-be are on board intellectually, because everyone knows the benefits of visibility and exposure. But that support can quickly disappear once budgets get cut. Some bureaus link media coverage to their efforts, which is a great talking point. When leveraging systems are in place, the bureau can be linked to “dollars in the door,” creating stronger champions for the bureau.

Bottom Line: Corporate speakers bureaus are like any other tool – how well they work depends on how you work them. Success comes when you use a successful process.

Since 1987, Vickie K. Sullivan, President of Sullivan Speaker Services, has generated millions of dollars in speaking fees, book advances and ancilliary income for her clients. Sign up for her free market intelligence at http://www.SullivanSpeaker.com

More Articles