Are You Suffering From Revenue Reality Disorder?

Do you know your average speaking fee?

Before you answer… really think...  

Do you know exactly what you earn on average from gigs throughout the year?

This is one of the first questions I ask speakers when I’m planning to refer them to an event organizer.  And time and time again, I hear something like this…

“Hmm… I quote $15K for my quotable fee, so my average is probably around $13K… or maybe $12K… or $12.5…?”

It’s the upward inflection at the end of their statement that reveals the truth.  This happens to 99% of the professional speakers I talk to.

Why is it that you don’t know what you’re actually charging? Believe it or not, this simple lack of precise knowledge is likely costing you thousands and preventing you from reaching your yearly revenue goals. 

So today… let’s dive into the problem… revenue reality disorder!

(I’m no psychologist but this is one disorder I feel confident in diagnosing.  So, let’s find the fix, shall we?)

The Hidden Disorder Costing You Thousands

This little phenomenon comes along when you don’t know what your real average fee is.  Go ahead and ask yourself the question: what IS your average fee?

If you answer with an upward inflection in your voice or find yourself using hedge words to defend your answer, then you might be a victim.

“Hmm… it’s probably around $13,500.”

“I charge $5K for my quotable fee, so it must be around 10% less or $4,500.”

“Ha! Honestly, I don’t know the exact number!”

Big kudos to you if you can be honest enough with yourself to say the last one.

Another way to diagnose Revenue Reality Disorder is to ask yourself if you’re constantly upset when you find that you’re falling short of your revenue goals. You’ve worked hard all year and earned those 15 gigs you had planned on, yet your total revenue is less than you expected it to be.

The truth is that professional speakers should have a fee gap between what they initially quote to clients and their average fee after negotiations.  You should expect your negotiation gap to be between 40-70% of your quotable fee. (That's what we found when we surveyed 30 professional speakers a few years ago.)

So, if your quotable fee is $10,000, your negotiation gap should be between $4,000 and $7,000 – resulting in an average fee between $3,000 and $6,000.

It’s okay – and totally normal – that you’re not earning your full quotable fee on every gig.  But you need to have a realistic idea of what you’re actually earning on average if you want to build your business.

How This Disorder Sneaks Into Your Business (and Wrecks Your Goals)

Revenue Reality Disorder does more than just make you sound uncertain when you’re asked your average fee… it actually hurts your business.

To see the problem in action, imagine that you set a goal for yourself to earn $100K from this year’s speaking engagements.  Your quotable fee is $5K, so you assume your average from the last ten gigs was around $4,250 give or take.

If you want to earn $100K, then you need to complete 24 gigs to reach your goal.  ($100K divided by $4,250 equals 24 gigs.) 

But here’s where Revenue Reality Disorder plays in…  

You forgot to take into account the speaker’s bureau fees, the multi-day engagement that earned you less per day, and the several “one-off” gigs that you did for half the fee.

Your actual average fee is only $3,000. 

$100K divided by $3,000 per gig means you actually need to do 34 gigs this year to reach your goal – ten more than you had originally planned.

Ten extra gigs is no joke – especially when you only realize the issue late in the year.  It will result in ~30% of your revenue and a lot more work to book, travel, and perform those extra speeches.

A lot of times, when speakers make this discovery, they slip into panic pricing.  They’ll start to lower their fee so they hit the volume they need to reach their new increased number of gigs.  But, that lower price means their average fee drops even more, compounding the problem.

Suddenly, you need 40 gigs to reach your goal, not just 34. 

You’re chasing gigs like a caffeine-fueled hamster on a wheel – and spoiler alert: hamsters don’t hit $100K revenue goals.

When you have Revenue Reality Disorder, you’re missing that sense of urgency and understanding about holding closer to your quotable fee during negotiations.  Every ‘yes’ you give to a lower fee gig reinforces the problem.

The 3 Sneaky Reasons Speakers Fool Themselves

So, why do so many speakers fall victim to Revenue Reality Disorder?  Well, I’ve identified three root causes.

One: Winner’s Memory Loss

Your brain selectively likes to remember those really big wins, doesn’t it?  

After you won that first $20K gig… boom… you’re on a new level.  That number sticks in your brain and you conveniently forget the dozens of other gigs you did at a much lower fee.

You forget the four-day event you did for $20K – resulting in only a $5K per day average.

You forget the three gigs you did for free in order to grow your referral tree.

You forget the 25% commission the speaker’s bureau took from that event you did in Austin.

Nope… you did a $20K gig and that’s what your brain wants to stay focused on.