Why You Don't Need a Bureau to Get Paid Speaking Gigs with Brandon Edmondson

“I think the potential disadvantage with the bureau is you might have this idea, like, if I'm on a bureau's website and they booked me once, that could really turn into something big. And that's really not the reality."

Grant sat down with Brandon Edmondson, VP of Sales at Premiere Speaker Bureau, to dig into the current state of the speaking industry, things to think about as you price yourself, and if you need a speakers bureau to be successful. 

"We know we probably represent less than 10% of the billion dollar industry of the speaking pie, right? So that means Coca Cola, all these companies on the outside of that piece, they're just connecting directly with speakers. So the pie is huge."

In this episode, they dig into:

• 00:00 Brandon’s background and credibility 
• 06:04 How COVID changed the speaking world.
• 06:52 What’s shifted since then? 
• 12:02 Let’s talk about the percentage of gigs agents are booking. 
• 13:04 Is the world saturated with speakers?
• 16:57 Advice for raising speaker fees for all.
• 22:42 Why it’s important to track your own data.
• 23:42 Sectors that are currently thriving. 
• 28:55 What it means to be a non-exclusive speaker.
• 32:16 How I think about pitching speakers and what your agent-speaker relationship could be. 
• 33:28 Advice for aspiring professional speakers in demand.
• 37:24 The number key for success as a speaker.

Episode Resources:

• Check out Premiere Speakers
• Connect with Brandon on LinkedIn
• Get Free Speaker Resources
• Book a Call with The Speaker Lab
• Calculate Your Speaking Fee
• Join The Speaker Lab Community on Facebook
• Subscribe on Apple Podcasts
• Subscribe on Spotify

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