This is an admonition I have often given to veterinary professionals. The amount of education, money invested and experience they have is VALUABLE and worth paying for. But today I want to talk about speakers and consultants’ time.
Over the years I have been on many podcasts. Most are veterinary acquaintances that I am happy to converse with on subjects I enjoy. Their podcasts are free to listen to, so I appreciate the good will of helping my profession through their efforts.
However, one of my pet peeves is the companies that “invite” me to join them on a panel or podcast which they then add to their education platform and “SELL” to the public. I got caught once by this, but now I quote my speaker fee and get a polite “thank you but we don’t pay” reply. Fine. You don’t get me.
I just want to say to those working as consultants, influencers and educators – quit letting other people profit from your expertise. Build your own content and offer it. Platforms are plentiful. Gather yourself a mailing list and share your content with people who are interested in your topics. Get paid.
Conferences are another guilty party. For those of us who have created content, built an audience, and bring unique experiences and education to the table – negotiate your speaker fee! It is exciting to get to present at a conference when first getting started, so I am certainly not talking about a newbie in their first time on stage. But for experienced and well-known speakers with an audience who follows them… ask for your rate.
Here is what I have learned with over 20 years as a speaker and consultant. The answer is always NO if you don’t ask. Chances are good you can make more money at home over Zoom than presenting at a conference. When you consider the loss of productive time flying, the time preparing your content (usually about 40 hours); the time on stage is worth much more than the $200 to $350 bucks you are typically offered. By the way, these fees haven’t changed in 20 years, so they have become less valuable in today’s market. Then your presentation is videoed and resold to the conference owners paid prescribers with you getting nothing for your work.
Will you get business from speaking? Maybe. Is it fun? Definitely. But investing time in networking and building your online audience is probably more valuable.
I am not saying don’t speak. I am saying don’t let companies take advantage of your intellectual property and underpay you just because you want to get on stage.
Know what you are willing to take to go and ask!
