Posted May 12, 2010 by Kelly MacDonald
Doing More With Less
by Kelly MacDonald-Hill, Partner & Senior Vice President
Last Friday, I attended the MPI Toronto Chapter Monthly Meeting and was really impressed with the panel they featured on “Doing More with Less”. The panellists were meeting planners discussing the value of working with different supplier partners, including Convention & Visitor Bureau’s, Speakers Bureaus, Site Selection Companies and Hospitality Schools. I saw lots of planners taking notes and suppliers were treated to an in-depth client perspective on what services are most appreciated. It was a good meeting – so kudos to the organizing committee!
During Q&A, a question was posed from the audience about Speakers Bureaus. “I am contacted quite a lot by individual speakers and I want to know what the advantage is of working with a Speakers Bureau when I can book directly with the speaker?” It was directed to the panel, so I didn’t feel it was appropriate to jump up and answer at the time - but I was dying to!!!
The panelist answered saying that there is no additional cost to working with a bureau, which is true. And, that in the case of a cancellation or emergency, it is great to have a bureau behind you – also true. However, there are so many more reasons why developing a relationship with a speakers bureau is of value!!!
I would have also said: “First of all the potential for calls from individual speakers is huge!” “We promote 700+ speakers on our web-site alone. All vetted and categorized, with a system in place to keep their information up-to-date and our agents and logistics staff informed of all. And, this is after we have first seen them in action and had an initial meet & greet with the team. It’s a full time job! In addition, we have on file hundreds more speakers and we maintain relationships with other agencies and bureaus around the world - so you don’t have to.” take a breath…
“When we have a conversation, the focus is on your needs first – we listen and help you determine the perfect fit utilizing our expertise and passion for the bus., following current issues, latest trends, newest books… combined with our knowledge of and access to the best speakers on the planet!!! And that’s just the beginning, we also help you prepare for the event, handling all the speaker related details. We’ll provide high res. photos, the speaker bio, intro and promotional materials. We’ll organize conference calls, send up-to-date AV requirements, book flights and ground transportation and make sure proper tax forms are completed for out-of-country speakers or events.” At this point I would have apologized for going on so long and sheepishly taken my seat…. Instead… I saved it for the Blog.
For more information please contact Speakers’ Spotlight.






