One of the best things you can do to drum up business or morale in a company is to throw an event with a celebrity speaker.

Maybe your searched “hire speaker for an event” and found us. But you need to have the right speaker and the right event, and there are many logistics to coordinate, so the idea of going ahead with something like this might feel overwhelming. That’s understandable, but that’s what we’re here for – to make sure you get a powerful speaker for a flawless event!

Events come in all shapes and sizes, and so do celebrity speakers for hire. We’ve found that the more we know up front, the more we can help whittle down the options to the very best match for both speaker and event. A lot of things dictate how this works, so read on to prepare for your call with a celebrity talent agent. You don’t have to have all the answers now, but we think this will help guide you along in the preliminary stages of booking a celebrity speaker.

Know The Why:

This is going to sound really basic, but why do you want to have an event? It’s important to know what your goals are before you do anything at all. This will be the north star of the entire process. The goal may simply be exposure, or maybe it’s an internal event to build morale in the company, or just entertain your employees. It could be a fundraiser, for which the goal is obvious, or maybe you want to create a long-term relationship in the form of a marketing campaign, in which you utilize a celebrity who can help increase sales through their affiliation. Once we understand the desired end result, then we can set out finding the best celebrity speakers to achieve that goal.

Have a Vision:

If you had all the money in the world, what does this event look like? What kind of venue will you use? What city will this take place? What’s the size of your audience? Is it a public or private event? What kind of person is attending? Is it a formal event, or a casual one? Do you want someone funny or inspiring or something else?

Those are a lot of questions, but they do matter. A fun event would entail someone like Penn Jillette who can literally work his magic, while an inspirational event would include a powerful keynote speaker like Jennifer Arnold, a cancer survivor, neonatologist and star of TLC’s Little People. If you want a wild and interactive experience, maybe Anthony Bourdain could speak about travel and food, and even cook up a crazy dish for people to try.

It’s okay if you don’t have a vision, though, so don’t panic! We can work through your goal and come up with creative ideas, then we’ll see which you like and go from there.

Who’s Your Dream Celebrity Speaker?

Similar to having an idea, you should know who you think would be best for this event, even if they are unrealistic. If we have a model, then there’s an idea to bounce from, and that way our agents can find someone with those same traits that you like. Which is to say, you should know why that person is your dream celebrity speaker. We know George Clooney is handsome, but if your event is about finding yourself, it’s much better to go with someone like Amelia Rose Earhart who found her own identity in the shadow of one of the most famous female pilots in U.S. history.

The notion here is to be prepared to have someone other than your ideal famous motivational speakers. Celebrities are very busy, and while we want to get the perfect person for you, you do need to have a realistic expectation. That said, we always do our best to get exactly who you want. If you’re dead set on an individual, make sure to come with a set of varying dates. It’s a lot easier to lock in your celebrity speaker this way.

Set Your Budget:

By that token, please have a budget! Business and motivational speakers can be expensive, of course, some more than others, and events vary in cost as well. A dream celebrity may be out of your price range, so be prepared for this circumstance, but be flexible. So many times the person you never thought of is an absolute crowd pleaser.

Expenses you should be thinking about are celebrity speaking fee, venue fees, rental and equipment fees, travel, food and per diem costs, and surprises. What are the surprises? It can vary per celebrity, so stash aside some money for those little unknowns.

We’ll walk you through a breakdown of costs, though. Once we figure out the type of event you’d like (more on that below), get a list of potential celebrities together, and a budget, we can begin to work out a cost estimate that will pull together an outstanding event.

What Kind of Event:

It’s one thing to have a vision, but at some point, if you don’t already, you need to know exactly what you want as far as an event goes. Is this a cooking event outside in the middle of the country on a farm? Or is it a swank black-tie hotel opening? A sporting event, a music event, or is it a sit-down event with a keynote motivational speaker? A panel discussion or a summit have very different needs than an interactive casual event.

But if you have a vision and we know your goals, and a celebrity who can deliver those goals, we can help with event ideas. Some celebrities are better at certain events than others. For example, if you have Alexis Maybank, co-founder of Gilt, you’re going to get the most out of her as a keynote speaker, as you also would with political strategist Angela Rye.

But Kayla Itsines is a fun, spunky fitness motivator. She’s a person you could get interactive with to really engage with her skills, either in a fitness setting in which she coaches (a talent of hers), or in the kitchen, as she helps cook healthy food. But, then again, you could get someone like George Foreman who successfully had a major career change from boxer to entrepreneur with his famous grill – you can book a celebrity speaker like Foreman to both cook and speak!

The idea here is to match all the areas up: coordinate the event goal with an appropriate sports motivational speaker, in an event that highlights their both expertise and also satisfies your mission, all within your budget. Whew!

Contact Us:

Ready to get started? Our celebrity talent agents are available to talk you through all the steps to hire a celebrity speaker. Give us a call today and we’ll get you underway!