Professional Speaking FAQs

Once we have an engagement planned out and scheduled I will require a 50% non-refundable fee and any of the known travel expenses paid in advance. The fee is non-refundable because once a program is booked I hold that date for you.

I don’t take the next best offer that comes along, even if I am offered a higher fee. The date we book belongs to you and because I may be passing up on other opportunities that I can’t later accept I ask that you make a firm commitment to me with half the fee and known travel expenses paid in advance.

Once the program is over I will send a final invoice for the remaining 50% of the speaking fee and any travel expenses that were not paid in advance. The terms on that outstanding balance are NET 30 days.

My travel expenses are very reasonable. I travel via airline in business class and use either Uber, Lyft, or in some cases a rental car once I arrive at my destination. I generally bill for 3 meals per day plus any reasonable hotel costs. The only other expenses might be for materials and handouts, but this will be figured out in advance.

I can make all my own travel arrangements and bill them as part of my final invoice or I can work with you and any travel service you may be working with. Either way, I am very flexible and my expenses are reasonable.

Vendors have different goals from what your members may require. As an educator and speaker my goal is focused on giving skills, insights, and knowledge that creates sustainable change for your audience. I gain absolutely nothing by recommending a certain software, service, or product. My loyalty is to you and providing you and your audience with the best knowledge, skills, and outcomes possible.

By contrast vendors are trying to ultimately sell a service or product. While they may not explicitly do this from the stage this goal often comes through in their presentations, materials, and recommendations or lack of recommendations for products or services that their company doesn’t offer. Their loyalty is ultimately to the company they work for and not you. They have a goal of selling more products and services for their employer first and producing better outcomes for your audience second.

Lastly, as a practicing digital marketing consultant I am constantly practicing, refining and going through a constant process of creative destruction where non-effective strategies and techniques are replaced by effective ones. This process of creative destruction keeps my skills and the information I speak about current and relevant. This is the knowledge your audience gets when I am hired. I can offer this because my primary goal isn’t selling something else be it a product or service. conversely a vendor speaker may have outdated information or information that isn’t relevant outside of using their product or service.

Yes! While I offer some feature presentations on various topics any of them can be customized if needed. You can find those on the topics page. I can also mix and match aspects of my feature presentations to create a unique event for your audience.

If none of the feature presentations work a completely customized presentation within the topic area of digital or direct marketing can be prepared. I can also include specific industry or audience related case studies, exercises, and references. We will discuss your group’s needs and develop a customized, unique and effective program.

Materials are almost always included in a program, but custom materials can also be developed for the program. Materials development and quantity are factored into the overall speaking fee and will vary depending on your needs and audience size.

Yes, but please understand that my primary occupation is serving as an educational speaker to deliver specific content. I started offering products when clients requested them years ago. Today, I only offer products with expressly written and pre-authorized permission from you. Some clients want products sold, but most do not. There are a variety of products that can be sold at the back of the room. However, this is a negotiable issue. Presentations can be purely educational with no sales of any kind or any products offered if you wish. The inclusion or removal of products for sale from a presentation is simply another variable in arriving at a fee for the program.

One thing I will say is you have my absolute solemn promise that I will NEVER sell a single product or even mention that I do without your express permission to do so.

There are a variety of formats that can be offered depending on your exact needs, including:

• Seminars – 30 Minutes to Full Day Presentations
• Work Shops – 1 Hour to Full Day Workshops
• Training – 1 Hour to Multi-Day Training
• Break Out Sessions – Specialized Topics for Breakout as Part of a Larger Conference.
• Distance Learning – Video or Zoom Presentations
• Facilitation – Working with a group to reach insights and outcomes together.

Both video and audio recording of my material must be negotiated in advance. It is part of the variables that determine the final speaking fee. It is generally not an issue, but must be discussed ahead of time and worked into the final agreement.

I only speak on topics I practice and know well. That is primarily in the areas of digital and direct marketing. I am a consultant that provides speaking services, not a speaker that will talk about anything for a fee. I only speak on those items I practice and provide to clients. That includes most topics around digital marketing including:

• Search Engine Optimization
• Inbound Marketing
• eCommerce
• Content Marketing
• Web Site Architecture & Development
• Email Marketing
• Social Media
• Analytics & Data Mastery
• Lead Generation
• Sales Funnel
• Paid Advertising (Pay to Click)
• UX

I work in each of these areas on a regular basis and can confidently create a customized presentation around any one or several of these topics to match your group’s unique needs. I can even prepare specific examples and research case studies of these areas and how it applies to your group’s business problems they need solved.

Generally, no. Keynote speeches are typically motivational programs designed to get a single key point (hence the name) across to your audience. They are often used to juice up a sales or customer service force. My programs are designed to deliver a specific set of skills or information for an organization and meet specific training objectives. Keynote programs don’t fit into that model very well. I do have a number of contacts in the industry and I am happy to refer you to other colleagues that do provide keynote or motivational speaking services upon request.

At a minimum I will need a conducive room set up, sound system, microphone, digital projector, screen or projection backdrop and laptop connectivity. Other items that I may need based on your program is WiFi to pull up web sites and resources. If there are other needs beyond these I will notify you during our initial phone call as I learn more about what you want in a program.

I have a U.S. Passport and will travel anywhere in the world for a presentation. I am primarily requested to speak in the U.S., but can and will travel to any foreign country as requested. Reasonable travel expenses are added to my speaking fee in advance. I can arrange my own travel needs or work with the client to travel arrangements set up.