When To Raise Your Fee: 5 Triggers (1 of 2)

You’re an excellent speaker… so you want to be paid high fees.

Am I right? Or am I right?

But maybe you just completed your Quotable Fee Analysis, and you’re feeling a little deflated.

You just learned you’re quoting too high and need to lower your fees… for a time.

No worries, my friend. This isn’t permanent.

Here are the five triggers that indicate it's time to increase your fee… so you can maximize your revenue.

Before I give you the first trigger, let me remind you of one crucial fact…

Speech First, Speaker Second

Event organizers aren’t buying you… they’re buying your speech…

This one might feel a little hard to swallow, but you are not the most important thing on that stage. It’s actually the words and ideas coming out of your mouth that will touch the hearts and minds of your audience.

Unless you’re unbelievably famous, event organizers buy the speech first, then the ideas within the speech… and then buy you.

So, each year, you're starting from square one when you sit down at your desk to write a new speech. That speech may be filled with fresh ideas, new concepts, and hilarious knee-slapping jokes… but the demand for that speech is precisely zero.

So, you’ve got to set your quotable fee per speech, not based on your previous successes. Then, watch for one of these five triggers to know when it’s time to increase your fee.

Trigger #1 (... and The Reason I Try to Lose 50% of My Gigs)

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Increase your fee when winning more than 50% of your inquiries.

This can be tough to hear, but we’re in the “supply and demand” business.

So, no one’s inquiring about your speech, and you’re not getting stageside leads… then your speech isn’t worth much.

No demand means no real value… zero dollars… zilch… nada.

This first trigger is all about the numbers… think 50/50.

Fifty percent is the magic number of gigs you want to win based on price alone. No more, no less.

I actually do my best to lose 50% of my gigs based on price because that means the demand curve is nearly perfect. For that specific speech, I’m at the ideal intersection for the fee I’m offering, the quality of the speech I’m giving, and the number of stageside leads I receive.

You won’t know if you’re losing 50% of your inquiries unless you’re tracking how many inquiries you get, the price you quote, and whether or not you win the gig. Tracking data will let you know your updated win/lose ratio.

This is important because it alerts you to any changes…

Imagine a scenario where you’re tracking your data and suddenly start winning 90% of your gigs. People barely hesitate when they hear your price, and it’s an easy decision for them to say “yes.” This means your demand is very high. And it’s a good indication that it’s time to raise your fee.