Thursday, November 20, 2008

Locating Speakers

Price Range

  • Fees can range from honorariums of $25 up to professional speaker fees of thousands of dollars.
  • In general, it is best to bring in a speaker who has name recognition in your market or is associated with a topic that will be of wide interest to your membership. Local speakers normally will fit the definition better than speakers from out of state.

Resources

  • Speakers bureaus in your town will have a list of people from across the country and the type of speech that they can present. These people are usually higher priced and normally are motivational in nature.
  • Ask people who they have seen lately and if they would recommend them. People attend a number of meetings during the year and, therefore, have a number of opportunities to assess potential speakers.

Benefits of a High Profile Speaker

  • Provides the chapter with a meeting format that will interest a broad base of the membership and generate interest in the chapter.
  • Brings more people into the meeting, where information regarding the other areas of RMA can be delivered.

Best Resources

  • Leverage a speaker who was brought in to do an educational program by having him/her as a speaker at a membership meeting (if they are held on the same day).
  • Referrals from the board members.
  • Referrals from the senior management of your member banks.
  • Community leaders.
  • Heads of banks.
  • Recommendations from RMA members.

For more information and for additional resources, please contact William Githens at bgithens@rmahq.org or 215-446-4124 or the Member Relations Consultant in your area.