%20(1).webp)
The “money” conversation. Quoting your fee. Negotiating with potential clients. These are some of the most dreaded aspects of professional speaking.
Maybe it’s because it feels so personal. If you’re selling a robot vacuum cleaner and get rejected, you can probably shrug it off. No big deal, they probably just really like their Swiffer.
But as professional speakers, we’re not just offering a product. We’re delivering our big ideas, the IP we’ve crafted over decades, a speech we’ve poured our heart and soul into. When we face pushback, it can feel like an attack on our personal worth.
Now, we really shouldn’t think of it that way. As professional speakers, we sell our speeches, not our personas. When event organizers choose speakers, they focus first on the speech, then the ideas, then you (when you’re not famous, that is; if you’re wildly famous, it’s reversed). So remember, you are not your speaking fee. You are not your speech. Your worth is not dependent on either.
Here’s the thing that makes negotiation so complicated: many speakers haven’t calculated their quotable fee—the first number you give when anyone asks how much you charge to speak. Many speakers don’t have a well-defined negotiation strategy either. Without these two essentials, every negotiation can feel like an anxiety-ridden guessing game.
And if you’ve tried to use the typical “negotiation tactics”—using the silent treatment to create tension, take-it-or-leave-it-style negotiation, using a bogey—you might end up feeling more like a swindler than a service-oriented, mission-centered professional.
But negotiations don’t have to be horrifying. You don’t need to hardball. You don’t have to worry about losing the gig every second of the client call. When you know your numbers, do your research, and have these negotiation tools in your tool belt, fee conversations go from scary to seamless.
Stop Whispering Your Worth
I believe most speakers, myself included, are less scared of the stage, and more scared of the moment before the stage. That moment when someone says, “What’s your fee?”
That’s when you start to worry, and wonder if you’re really worth your fee. It’s the quiet fear: “Will they still want me if I say the number?”
I learned this the hard way.
One of my early gigs came through a third-party agency. They handled everything and paid me well. So when the client came back a year later wanting to book me directly, I quoted a “safe” number—one I knew they would easily accept. Looking back, I realize now that I quoted both out of fear and because I didn’t really know my actual quotable fee.
Then came the prep calls. The content rewrites. The revisions. The post-event debrief. And the warm invitation: “Join us for dinner the night before.” (I love connection, but let’s be honest: dinner is still work.)
That’s when it hit me: “I negotiated a keynote, but I’m delivering a full experience.”
The client wasn’t the problem, my undervaluing was.
You’re not charging $5K, $10K, or $15K an hour. What you’re delivering is much more than just a 45- or 60-minute keynote. It’s the transformational experience you provide from the moment you meet your client to after the event concludes. When you truly understand that, you’ll stop whispering your worth and start confidently quoting your fee.
So know your baseline. Have a fee you can say without shrinking. And offer options, not apologies.
I’ve learned that when you stop whispering your worth, clients say yes. Trust grows, both during the negotiation process, and throughout the experience. And you walk away feeling more confident about your worth.
What to Know BEFORE You Negotiate
What you say to potential clients during a client theme call (also known as a discovery call) is important. But successfully negotiating your speaking fee begins with preparation. When you know these five important things, you’ll be able to clinch the deal, land the gig, and get paid what you’re truly worth.
Clincher #1: Define Your Fee Numbers
The foundation of negotiation is knowing the numbers: your quotable fee, negotiation gap, and average fee. When this is absolutely clear, you’re in a much stronger position to talk with event organizers. Without this information, negotiation is just a stab in the dark.
First, let’s define each of these important terms:
- Quotable Fee: The number you tell a prospective meeting planner when they ask your rate—before you've negotiated or even discussed the event details. (Your quotable fee is based on the value of your speech, your demand, deep market research, what other similar speakers charge, and the F+E+E Factors.)
- Negotiation Gap: The difference between your quotable fee and the final negotiated fee. (Generally, this is 25% of your quotable fee.)
- Average Fee: The average of all the final fees you earn over time.
For example, if a speaker’s quotable fee is $10K, their negotiation gap would be $2,500. (This doesn’t mean you can’t be flexible; each speaker will define the floor and ceiling for their negotiations differently.) While this speaker might accept gigs at various fees between $10K and $5K, their average fee would be $7,500. That’s the typical amount they can expect to earn per gig when they quote their full fee to event organizers.
Knowing these numbers helps you understand the ideal range you can negotiate within. The upper limit is your quotable fee—sometimes clients will accept your full fee, without qualms. The midpoint is your average fee, this is what you’ll typically earn per gig. The lower limit, or your negotiation floor, is usually 50% of your quotable fee (although you might take free gigs now and then, and you should always clearly state the reason why during the negotiation—more on this later).
If you offer multiple speeches, these numbers will be different for each speech. A speech with more demand and traction will have a higher quotable fee than a brand-new speech you’re still refining. Likewise, your quotable fees for a virtual event can be different from those of in-person events.
Knowing your fee numbers shows you how flexible you can be in your negotiations while still achieving your revenue goals.
.svg)
.webp)
%20(1)%20(1).webp)
%20(1).webp)
