We’ve pulled the curtains on another area of the business events industry. If you don’t know much about a speaker bureau, then you’re in for a treat. Celebrity Speakers have a team of 10 dedicated members and between them they have 100 years of experience. A committed and resourced team that will help you find the right speaker that will add value to your event. Now that’s amazing!
Celebrity Speakers has changed a lot in the past 20 years, from clients booking 5-10 speakers for one event to becoming more trend driven and clients only requiring one or two speakers. Each speaker showing their value and knowing what’s in it for the audience. It’s the art of matching the right speaker to your event content. There’ s a lot more involved than ever because a speaker is an event investment.
Only one out of ten enquiries request a “celebrity” to be a speaker at their event and when they do it’s mainly for gala dinners.
The majority of clients will present Celebrity Speakers with a theme, an issue or a problem, then ask them to recommend a speaker who can solve it or suggest a speaker that is the right fit. What a client is looking for is not a speaker’s celebrity status, they are far more interested in the content they present.
The disadvantage of finding your own speaker
If you’ve been thinking of finding your own speaker, you’ll soon come to realise that there is a lot of research involved. When you find a speaker’s website you’ll see and read great things about them and compelling testimonials. But contacting the speaker directly can sometimes result in waiting days for a response to your email (just because they’re so busy).
The advantage of a Celebrity Speakers
To avoid to-ing and fro-ing with multiple emails allow Celebrity Speakers to do the leg work for you.
- They know each of their speakers
- They’ve seen every speaker present
- They know what value each speaker can add to your event
- What every speaker can or cannot do
- They know a bit about each of their speaker’s background so they’ll know if they’re a perfect fit for you and your event.
Have you ever experienced your speaker not being able to make your event due to unforeseen circumstances? We have! Celebrity Speakers understands the stress this can have for an event manager/conference organiser. Their team have the resources and connections to find a replacement speaker so you don’t have to and you can move forward with your event delivery.
Ever wanted to become a professional speaker?
It’s quite a lengthy process to become a speaker and this is crucial because Celebrity Speakers’ reputation is on the line when every speaker they provide steps on the stage. They’re in the business of trust! So, if a speaker didn’t perform it’s a big thing!
Celebrity Speakers are always talent scouting for new people. If there’s a trend in the market that people want all the time and there are not enough speakers to cover, then they’re on the lookout!
Finding the right speaker
The right speaker is so crucial to the success of your event. It’s so important to understand who will be in the room. When booking a speaker, it’s not about the event manager/conference organiser, it’s being aware of what the audience wants and needs because having the wrong speaker could have a devastating impact to the event. It might not be the speaker is a bad it’s just the audience might not connect with them.
The journey during and post COVID-19
Like the rest of the business events industry, Celebrity Speakers were hit hard during lockdown because all events were postponed or cancelled. It was during this time the team had to do something to help their clients, their speakers and themselves. So, with the help of Louise’s mentor Cecilia Robinson, the Mentor Me program was developed. A strategic program to help people move forward, giving them direction and a how to plan. Now the event industry is getting back to some kind of normality the Mentor Me program is still available and will remain an online service for the foreseeable future.
The advantage of having a lot of time was the opportunity for Celebrity Speakers to find different markets, so they were not just doing big events and conferences. Their speakers now go in-house to corporates and lunchrooms. They’ve been working hard to find segments in the market that were always there but just never explored. Finding different ways of doing business such as providing more consultancy, workshops and virtual appointments has kept business going.
Listen to the full episode here.
Louise Ryburn, Managing Director of Celebrity Speakers NZ
Louise Ryburn is the Managing Director of Celebrity Speakers NZ, New Zealand’s premiere Speakers Bureau which has forged a reputation as an industry leader; driving ethical standards and professionalism and renowned for representing the country’s top talent from political leaders to global entrepreneurs, to world ranked athletes and adventurers.
Celebrity Speakers last year celebrated their 30th Anniversary and was instrumental in developing the speaking industry in New Zealand, as founding members of Conventions & Incentives NZ and the National Speakers Association. Louise is passionate about the events sector and is involved with many of the industry bodies.
After graduating with honours in marketing with a keen interest in psychology and communication – when Louise learnt about the speaker bureau business, she knew it was the perfect fit for her, combining these interests and being able to positively impact on people’s lives through the message’s speakers share.
Louise has been in the industry for almost 20 years; having done every role in the business she understands completely what it takes for a speaker and our clients to be successful.
Website: www.celebrityspeakers.co.nz
Instagram: www.instagram.com/celebrityspeakersnz
Facebook: www.facebook.com/celebrityspeakersnz/
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/celebrity-speakers-nz-ltd/
