Should you put your speaking fees on your website?
This question has come up a few times for me recently from speakers and it’s an interesting topic. The speakers that put fees on their websites are in the minority. Are they right or wrong to do so?
Should you or shouldn’t you?
The answer is, yes and no. I have advised some speakers to do so, whereas I’ve suggested that others don’t. It is very much an individual case and depends on your business model and strategy.
When I ran my speaker bureau, I had many a disagreement with my partners at London Speaker Bureau who were in favour of not having fees on the website, I instead, had fees on my bureau site. Here’s both sides. Take the side that works for you:
The argument for putting fees on your site:
- The client will likely have a budget in mind and can either include you or eliminate you immediately as your fees are on the site.
- Anyone enquiring has automatically pre-qualified themselves.
- You are showing clients that you know your value and that you are consistent with your pricing.
The argument against:
- If your fee range is large, it might not be a good idea. For example, if you charge 5K in your home country but charge 20K in the US, (difference being due to the different market rates, time out, and value placed on your topic by each market). You can see how a client booking you for the US might want to start negotiating on seeing a rate so much lower on your site.
- You want to be flexible. You don’t want to lose any business. By not putting a fee on the site, if the client doesn't have sufficient budget, you can decide if there is a possibility to negotiate, offer them your expertise in a different format or say no.
- You are not confident you have got your fee correct yet, so you are looking to get some guidance from the market by seeing what you are offered.
What will you do with regards to putting fees on your site?
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