Five questions separate a bureau that knows its roster from one working off a directory. Here is what to ask, and what a good answer sounds like.
Most event organisers meet a speaker bureau at the point where they already have a date, a budget and a problem to solve. The conversation moves quickly, the bureau sounds confident, and within a week there is a contract to sign.
The trouble is that bureaus differ enormously in how they work, and those differences only become visible after something goes wrong — a speaker cancels, the brief is misread, the invoice arrives with a line nobody expected. The questions below surface those differences before you commit, not after.
Five questions do most of the work. Ask them of every bureau you shortlist and compare the answers side by side.
Why it matters. A roster is a promise. Some bureaus build theirs from public directories and have never met the people on it. Others see speakers present live, collect feedback after every booking, and drop names that stop performing.
What a good answer sounds like. Specifics. When they last saw the speaker on stage, what a recent client said, how the speaker handled a difficult room. A bureau that vets properly can tell you which of two similar speakers suits a sceptical audience and which needs a warm one.
What a weak answer sounds like. “All our speakers are highly experienced professionals.” That sentence describes nobody.
Follow up with: When did someone from your team last see this speaker present?
Why it matters. Cancellations are rare but not exceptional. Illness, travel disruption and family emergencies all happen, sometimes with less than a week’s notice. What separates bureaus is whether a plan already exists.
What a good answer sounds like. A named process: who you call, how fast a replacement is proposed, whether the bureau has already identified backup names in your topic area, and what happens to the fee. Ask whether they have handled a cancellation in the last twelve months and what they did.
What a weak answer sounds like. “That has never happened to us.” Either it has and they are not saying, or their volume is low enough that it will happen to you first.
Follow up with: If the replacement costs more, who absorbs the difference?
Why it matters. A logo wall proves a bureau has worked with large organisations. It does not prove they understand a 200-person sales kick-off, a clinical audience, or a board away-day. Relevance beats scale.
What a good answer sounds like. Two or three events close to yours in format, audience and budget, with a sentence on what the brief was and how the speaker was matched to it. Willingness to put you in touch with the organiser.
What a weak answer sounds like. A client list with no events attached to it.
Follow up with: Can I speak to the organiser of one of those events?
Why it matters. This is where the biggest misunderstanding in the industry sits. Most bureaus earn a commission that is built into the speaker’s published fee rather than added on top — typically 20 to 25 per cent. Booking direct usually costs the same, because established speakers quote one fee either way. What you are really testing is whether the bureau will say this plainly.
What a good answer sounds like. A clear explanation of where the commission sits, whether the percentage changes with the speaker’s fee tier, and what appears on the invoice. At Speaker Agency our commission percentage is the same regardless of tier, which removes the incentive to steer you towards a more expensive name.
What a weak answer sounds like. Evasion, or a promise to “get you a better rate than going direct” — which usually means the fee was inflated to begin with.
Follow up with: Does your commission percentage change depending on which speaker I choose?
Why it matters. No roster covers every topic. A bureau that only proposes its own represented speakers is optimising for its margin, not your event. One that sources externally when the fit demands it is telling you where its priorities sit.
What a good answer sounds like. Yes, with an example. Ask how often they do it and what the arrangement looks like commercially.
What a weak answer sounds like. “Our roster covers everything you could need.”
Follow up with: When did you last book a speaker you do not represent?
Any one of these is a reason to slow down. Two of them together is a reason to shortlist someone else.
Once you have chosen a bureau, five things should be explicit in the agreement.
| Item | What to confirm |
|---|---|
| Fee and what it covers | Speaking time, preparation, any Q&A or workshop element |
| Travel and accommodation | Who books, who pays, what class of travel |
| Cancellation terms | The sliding scale in writing, both directions |
| Recording and content rights | Whether you may film, and how the recording may be used afterwards |
| Briefing commitment | Whether a pre-event call with the speaker is included |
UK practice on cancellation usually follows a sliding scale: more than 90 days before the event, around 25 per cent of the fee; 30 to 90 days, 50 per cent; under 30 days, the full fee. Rescheduling is normally treated more flexibly than outright cancellation. Confirm your bureau’s terms rather than assuming the standard applies.
For the wider picture on how bureaus operate, see our complete handbook on working with a speaker agency.
After Dinner Speakers
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