Tips for Meeting and Event Planners
There are literally thousands of keynote speakers available to speak at corporate sales meetings, conferences and trade shows. Finding the right sales speaker who will educate and motivate your attendees to make the changes needed for sales growth and success depends on understanding who your audience is, and how a speaker will relate to that audience.
- Do you have a specific topic or goal for you speaker? Do you want to educate, entertain, or motivate: or all of the above?
- What are your audience demographics? Are all attendees from a single organization but different disciples, or is it a mixed group of industries and roles?
- Is the presentation a one-directional broadcast, or is it interactive?
- Is your ideal speaker only presenting the keynote, or will they also be conducting workshops or coaching sessions or attending a meet and greet?
Hiring a sales speaker who can achieve your goals and stay within your budget is critical to the success of your sales meeting. As a career salesperson, a business owner and professional motivational sales speaker, here are my top 3 musts for hiring a sales speaker.
3 Musts for Hiring a Sales Speaker
1. Speakers Must Entertain and Educate
No matter how knowledgeable or experienced a speaker is, if no one is listening the message is wasted. Delivery style, use of visuals and subject matter knowledge are critical to connecting with an audience:
within one hour, people will have forgotten an average of 50% of the information you presented. Within 24 hours, they have forgotten an average of 70% of new information, and within a week, forgetting claims an average of 90%
2. Hire a Sales Speaker Who Has a Successful Sales Career
Theory is great: but real-world experience as a sales professional and expertise in training other sales people are key qualifications for a sales speaker. Professional sales people are trained in sales strategy and psychology: and can spot a phony or a theorist a mile away!
3. Ask for References from Sales Professionals
Of course you’ll ask for references from other event planners to make sure your speaker delivers on time and on budget. The key to a good sales speaker is will they make a difference to your sales organization? Meeting planners aren’t your best reference for the qualifications of a sales speaker: ask sales pros your prospective speakers has worked with to verify that their sales message is on point and will get results.
Whatever your budget, hiring the right sales speaker is critical to the success of your event. Make sure you hire a motivational sales speaker who delivers a message that gets results and is remembered!
this article originally appeared on LinkedIn
about Anthony Caliendo:
I’m an entrepreneur and sales professional with over 20 years of successful sales and sales management experience. My expertise in sales, marketing and business development spans from small business to international companies.
I’m the best-selling author of The Sales Assassin: Master Your Black Belt in Sales, winner of the 2015 USA Book News business book award for entrepreneurs and small business.
I provide personal sales coaching; and consult, speak and train about growing and motivating your sales team to businesses, corporations and conferences across the nation, as well as a guest contributor and sales expert for TV and radio, and professional organizations.