Articles by Ruth Levine

 
Contracts
By Ruth Levine

Corporate Meetings & Incentives, Sep 1, 2005

CONTRACTS: Don't Miss the Boat
Be sure the following points are included in your contract so that there are no surprises:

State what the speaker's attire should be. Do you really want to chance having your keynote speaker show up at an incentive event in Maui in a Hawaiian shirt and shorts if the audience is business formal?

State whether speaker product sales are permitted. Consider if you want your winners to feel an obligation to buy expensive books and tapes at the back of the room.

Add a reciprocal indemnification and “hold harmless” clause. These clauses may become necessary when you least expect it.

Make sure the city and state in which arbitration will be held is included in the arbitration clause, as well as if the prevailing party will pay attorney costs should arbitration occur.

3 Money-Saving Myths MYTH 1
Our incentive meeting is on a cruise, and we will provide an all-expenses-paid trip for the speaker to join us for the entire week. In return, we can expect him to reduce his honorarium.

REALITY: In this economy, speakers cannot afford to take themselves out of the circuit for a week. Each day on your ship is a day they must forgo another fee for speaking.

BETTER IDEA: Arrange to have the speaker open your event before the ship leaves port. Some ships may even allow you to have a speaker get on or off a ship midtrip. (You'll have to check; it depends on the ports of embarkation and disembarkation.

MYTH 2
We are having back-to-back incentive programs at a world-class resort, and we would like the speaker to be the opening keynoter for both meetings. Since the second group comes in five days after the first group arrives, we can pay all expenses for the speaker to spend the week with us in lieu of a fee, and he can enjoy a wonderful vacation for free.

REALITY: A true vacation for a speaker is the luxury of staying home for a few days, so this offer is more of a deterrent than an incentive. As in Myth 1, the speaker's time is money, and the speaker may even charge a hefty surcharge if he is required to spend the week.

BETTER IDEA: Why not have the same speaker be the closing keynote at one event and the opening speaker for the second? Not only will this reduce the amount you pay for expenses, but some speakers offer a discount for booking back-to-back keynotes over two days.

MYTH 3
A speaker will be willing to reduce her fee significantly if we are buying 300 of her books as pillow gifts for attendees.

REALITY: Even though you will get a discount on books purchased in quantity, very often book sales are a money-maker for the publisher only and not the speaker directly.

BETTER IDEA: Tell the speaker that you have pre-purchased books, and see if she will agree to stay 45 to 60 minutes after the presentation to do a book signing and/or a photo opportunity at no additional cost.