Taking employees from their assigned tasks is a challenge at any time, particularly in the difficult economic environment of today. Yet senior managers committed to improving company sales are doing just that. They are providing a brief intermission from the hectic day to day for their employees by providing speech presentations on a wide array of topics related and unrelated to their job.
Many speakers are available to provide presentations that will inspire and encourage your employees to increase their sales activity. It is not critical to find a speaker that will talk directly about your line of work. Many speakers speak on subjects that can enhance your function.Your staff will be challenged to think in new and creative ways which can often result in a positive increase to the bottom line.
Here is a checklist of things to discuss with a potential speaker:
1.Up Front Details.
Communicate the exact date, time, and location up front when talking with potential speakers.In addition remember to let them know how much time you have allotted for their presentation.While this may seem over simplified, there have been too many times when these critical details were not communicated well and a manager found himself after much planning and promotion without a speaker.
It will also help if you can give the speaker an estimate of attendees and details about the group they will be talking to.With this information, they are able to mold their speech to suit the audience, which gives a much more enjoyable event.
2. Excitement Building.
Ask the speaker for a summary of their presentation in advance so that you can start building excitement among your employees.Flyers, enticing emails describing the event and other promotion all works well.Providing food is always a great way to make it fun for the employees. In any event, make sure your staff sees the event as a bonus for them rather than something they have to attend.
3. Compensation.
If you have a budget available to pay a speaker you will be working with a larger selection.Speakers typically charge a set rate for in area and out of area speeches. Many also request travel reimbursement, or extra compensation for a longer presentation.
Don’t worry if cost is a factor.Speaking fees are all over the board, and if you can offer other forms of compensation a speaker is often willing to negotiate. Many speakers’ ultimate goal is not the fee, but rather the potential customers for their products and services.
Two typical forms of payment on a low budget are promoting the speaker’s products to the audience, or, even better, buying a copy of their book or product for each attendee.
There are other ways to compensate a speaker on a low budget.You might consider inviting your customers or those in your office complex to create a larger group for the speaker.You could also obtain the names and contact information of everyone attending so that the speaker can perform their own follow up.Many speakers are grateful to receive a great testimonial and entre to similar groups that you know through your personal referral.
It takes some effort and time to set up a speaker session your employees will enjoy and get value from, but it is a great way to build positive energy and increase commitment among your staff.It is all important to always stress the benefit of the experience on the employee, and that you as their manager are committed to their growth as a person. The ultimate rewards to the company’s bottom line can be extraordinary.
Marty Dickinson moved beyond his techno-fear of the Internet more than 14 years ago and has since launched more than 100 of his own websites while helping more than 300 clients to use the Internet to grow their businesses. Internet Marketing Speaker, business owner, and co-author of “Web Marketing All-in-One for Dummies” (Wiley 2009), he enjoys inspiring other techno-phobic business owners, authors and speakers to move beyond their fear of the Internet to embrace its full potential.