Vickie Sullivan

Market Strategy for Thought Leaders

Resources  >> Speakers + Incentive Meetings

Written by: Vickie Sullivan  |  November 12, 2015

Speakers + Incentive Meetings

My last post discussed why new speakers have a hard time breaking in. Let’s continue the conversation on speaking with new trends about a very lucrative market segment: financial and insurance incentive meetings.

For the uninitiated, incentive meetings are getaways for those who met sales or other goals. Considered a working vacation by many speakers, these meetings are great work if you can get it. My favorite findings:

  • 83% report that business sessions are included in the agenda. That’s good news for us. Keep in mind that the sessions also include team-building activities. In this segment, your biggest competitor is the experience-based event. Being interactive is an understatement.
  • 36% depend on DMC (destination management companies) for speaker selection and management. My take: buyers want to use low-cost local talent to save on budget. (See point below.) Be prepared to negotiate hard for these invites.

 

Related post: Why it’s gonna get harder to get your speaking fees in 2015.

 

  • Budgets and timelines are tight. Increasing travel costs eat up any budget increase. And many buyers hold off committing to a destination (and therefore speakers) until they know who and how many are going.

 

The inside track here: use leverage. If you already have a following in the industry, go to your advocates with something new and interactive. Find out the agenda for the event and look at games and role-playing to get your message across. These events are still great fun — we just have to work harder to get these opportunities.

 

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