If you’re someone who gets paid to deliver keynotes and workshops, there’s a good chance that your payment terms look something like this…

50% up front and 50% on delivery.

My hope is that by the end of this email, I’ve made a strong enough case for that to change.

Now, before I go any further I should say, if those payment terms work for you, keep them 🙂.

But if you find yourself going into these engagements feeling like you’ll only be paid if you nail it (rightly or wrongly), perhaps it’s time to do something about it.

… and the longer it takes for payments to be processed?

If you're someone who works pay check to pay check, it can be brutal; especially if you have a family to support.

But it’s not just the financial impact that takes a toll. The difference in mindset between someone who’s been paid up front and someone who hasn’t is huge. Subconsciously…

1. One walks onto stage bursting with goodwill 😃

2. The other walks onto the stage worrying what the consequences might be if it doesn’t go to plan 😬

So why don’t speakers change their payment terms?

From my experience, it’s because they don’t realise that they can.

It’s not common practice.

But that doesn’t mean companies aren’t happy to do it.

I took the leap 3 years ago and have never looked back. Since talking about it inside MicDrop, a number of members have followed suit.

The wording I use?

🧠 Top Tip: How I bypassed Amazon’s supplier onboarding process.

Supplier onboarding processes are the worst. They are a lot of (what feels like unnecessary) work.

The problem is… all the big companies have them.

What most people don’t know is that the decision makers you’re probably speaking to also have corporate credit cards 💳.

So giving your clients the option to pay by credit card (using a service like Stripe) allows you to by pass supplier onboarding processes completely.

But don’t speakers need skin in the game?

Devil’s advocate says they do…

I mean, everyone performs at their best when they have a vested interest, right?!

And I agree. But I don’t believe that money is the answer.

In fact, I think there is a far more effective and positively motivating incentive than money for the speaker to get this nailed.

Recommendations. 

Post successful engagement, the person who booked the speaker should be championing them:

1. Recommending them to other department heads/communities they are part of 🗣️

2. Shouting about the talk on social media 🤩

3. Offering a killer quote for their website... 🗯️

Would look good right?!

So, if you get paid to speak (or are planning to start…)

❌ 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐚𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐚𝐲𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬.
✅ Full payment needed to secure the booking.

You'll be a better speaker for it.
They'll be a happier client for it.

I know this because inside MicDrop, my public speaking community for tomorrow’s thought leaders, we help our members:

1. Transition into paid speaking

2. Increase their fees

3. Charge their worth.

In the last week alone, 3 of our members have either landed or delivered their highest ever paid talks.

If you’re generating a secondary income from giving talks/workshops and are ready to take it to the next level —> apply to join MicDrop .

You’ve got this 💪,

Alex

P.s. We’ve had a LOT of new subscribers over the last few weeks, so I thought I’d check in to find out what your biggest challenges are so I can adjust my content accordingly 👇.