FAQ

Brokerage is bringing two parties together for their mutual interests. An organization wishing a speaker not represented by a Speakers Bureau or Speakers Agency can hire a Speaker Agency or Speaker Bureau to obtain the Speaker for them. In essence, hiring the Agency or Bureau to contract the speaker for them. The fee or commission for this service should be agreed to in advance by the organization that has hired the bureau or agency. Royce Carlton, when providing this service, is paid a 20% commission of the speaker’s fee agreed upon by the two parties. Transparency is paramount. If an organization hires a Speakers Bureau or Agency, it should certainly know how much it is paying them for this service. Royce Carlton is always delighted at providing freeinformation on where and how to obtain a speaker it does not represent. A commission is charged only when it is involved in the transaction. For more information about Brokerage, read EXCLUSIVITY VS. LISTING.

Buying product from a manufacturer, distributor, etc. is not uncommon. Macy's buys a product from a manufacturer, which they then own and then sells at a marked up price. Unfortunately, this same practice is utilized by some Speakers Bureaus. They buy the services of the speaker at one fee and then mark it up. Unfortunately, commissions can sometimes be as much or more than the speakers fees. For more information about Buy and Sell, read BUY & SELL.

Co-Brokerage is commonly used language when a speakers bureau or agency arranges for a speaker from another speakers bureau or agency who represents a speaker exclusively. The exclusive speakers bureau or agency extends a commission to the “corresponding” speakers bureau or agency.

Co-Brokerage is language co-opted from a speech given by Carlton S. Sedgeley, President of Royce Carlton, at an IPA convention when he was discussing working with competitors. The language that was originally used was "corresponding relationship", which is a relationship between two competitors, essentially providing a way to work with each other for the speakers it represents. "Corresponding relationship" was a way to avoid a buy and sell or two commissions for a single transaction. As Sedgeley discussed in his speech, "brokerage" and a "corresponding relationship,” was taken out of context and the language that became used in the industry is Co-Brokerage. In a Co-Brokerage transaction, the middle agent's commission simply is deducted from the money being paid to the exclusive agent. It is all transparent and no additional money is deducted or charged to the customer or the speaker.  

If a Speakers Bureau or Agency represents a speaker exclusively, a predetermined commission has been agreed upon for paid speaking engagements. The commission is paid to the lecture bureau or agency from fees received by the speaker. The average commission is thirty percent, although commissions have been as low as ten or fifteen percent. If an Agency or Bureau is working with another agency or bureau representing an exclusive speaker they will usually share the commission received by the exclusive Agency or Bureau.

For each speaking engagement, a contract is issued between speakers bureau or agency representing an exclusive speaker and a Sponsor (customer). Brokerage contracts are by and between an organization and the speaker. Contracts can be lengthy or as is the case with Royce Carlton, a one page document. Contracts are signed by both parties. Royce Carlton is authorized to sign on behalf of the speaker. If Royce Carlton is arranging for a speaker it does not represent, the contract will be signed by the speaker, the organization and Royce Carlton. If Royce Carlton is arranging for a speaker represented exclusively by a Speakers Bureau or agency, the contract will be coming from the exclusive speakers bureau or agency.

Just a note, in order for a contract to be enforceable, a contract must be 1) in writing 2) signed by the party to be charged and 3) contain all the essential terms. For more information about Contracts, read UNIFORM LECTURE CONTRACT.

The relationship between a Speakers Bureau or Agency which allows both parties to work with each other sharing a single commission. The language more commonly used among lecture bureaus or agencies is co-brokerage. Please refer to co-brokerage above.

Although there can be varying kinds of exclusivity, like market, regional or program exclusivity, for the most part exclusivity as understood in the lecture/ speaking engagement industry TO MEAN that a specific speaker is represented by a designated "Speakers Bureau" or "Speakers Agency" for this specific activity in their life - lectures, speaking engagements, seminars, etc. For more information about Exclusivity, read Lectures And Lecture Agencies and EXCLUSIVITY VS. LISTING. 

A contract can be written indicating that the sponsor is responsible for expenses, but “not to exceed” x number of dollars. In this situation, should the actual expenses be greater than the expense budget, the overage will be the responsibility of the speaker and/ or the speaker and his agent, usually in accordance with their percentages. However, should the actual expenses be less than projected, the money not used, if pre-paid by the sponsor, will be returned to the sponsor. If the expenses were not pre-paid, the sponsor is only responsible for the actual expenses. What is paramount again is that there is complete transparency and accountability. For more information about Expense Budget please read EXPENSES? INCLUSIVE FEES? SHARED EXPENSES.

Oftentimes a sponsor will indicate that they can allocate x number of dollars “toward expenses.” If this is agreeable to all the parties, there will be a fixed amount for expenses and should the expenses, when the engagement is completed, be greater than the amount agreed upon, the additional expense money will usually be paid to the speaker or shared with the speaker and the agency in accordance with their percentages. Should the final expenses be less than the amount allocated, the additional overage will go to the speaker. No accounting is necessary to the sponsor. For more information about Expense Budget read EXPENSES? INCLUSIVE FEES? SHARED EXPENSES.

When the fee for a speaker is inclusive, it means that the cost for travel and all other expenses connected to the engagement are included. Many institutions need one cost and one cost only. What usually happens is that the agency or bureau will calculate the projected expenses (air, ground ,hotel, etc.) and add it to the fee for the speaker giving the sponsor one total amount. After the engagement, the expenses will be paid and should the actual expenses be greater than what was budgeted, it will usually be paid by the speaker or shared by the speaker and the agency in relationship to their percentages. Conversely, if the actual expenses are smaller than the expense budget, the overage will usually go to the speaker. For more information about Inclusive Fees read EXPENSES? INCLUSIVE FEES? SHARED EXPENSES.

Some few Speakers Bureaus list everyone they can think of without any predetermined authorization whatsoever from the speaker. However, seeing these listings, a customer may conclude that the Bureau actually represents these speakers. Further, Agencies like Royce Carlton who represent all of the Speakers Exclusively, find that many of these unscrupulous bureaus are listing our speakers. It is becoming increasingly more difficult to police them. Although it is possible for an Exclusive Agency to authorize a Speakers Bureau to list its speakers, Royce Carlton prohibits such listings because it leads to confusion about representation. Unfortunately, the only recourse we have when discovering this listing is to send a “cease and desist” letter or commence a law suit, which is obviously costly and time consuming. For more information about Misrepresentation, read EXCLUSIVITY VS. LISTING.

With every contract there is an offer and acceptance. The offer is being made initially from an organization to hire the services of a speaker. If the speaker accepts the offer presented by the organization, it is now a contract subject to all of the essential terms as outlined in the offer. If the original offer is not accepted and a counter offer is made, the tables are turned. The speaker then makes the counter offer to the organization and it does not become a contract until it is accepted by the organization. If it is accepted by the organization it is a contract. For more information about Offer and Acceptance read UNIFORM LECTURE CONTRACT.

Loosely defined, the term Packaging as it is most often used and understood in the lecture industry is some kind of series or multiple buying of speakers resulting in a special consideration to the sponsor, usually financial, although it could be services rendered. For more information about Packaging read THE PACKAGE.

There are several kinds of representation including 1) Exclusivity 2) Exclusive Right to Sell 3) Program Exclusivity 4) Market Exclusivity 5) Regional Exclusivity or 6) Right to List etc..

Most Speaker Agencies represent all of its Speakers under what would be referred to as “Exclusive Right To Sell,” which means that they are the only Company that has the right to offer the services of the Speaker and to issue contracts etc. Sometimes, it may be limited to a specific market or program, but that is rare. It may be more likely that an Agency might be limited regionally, especially because of today’s global market.

For example, there are a few Speakers whom Royce Carlton represents here in the United States who may wish to have additional representation in other countries due to their specific appeal to a particular country. With that said, Royce Carlton, like other Agencies, is increasing its reach abroad so much so that it is probably one of the fastest part of its growing market.

The “Right to List” is more closely associated with Speakers Bureaus, who usually have a wide variety of representation. In the past, speakers would sign up with a Speakers Bureau and there would be some predetermined conditions on how a person would be offered. Unfortunately, it is now too often undetermined and leads to misrepresentation. For more information about Representation, read EXCLUSIVITY VS. LISTING.

In an effort to create equity, when billing expenses, Carlton Sedgeley, President of Royce Carlton created the language of “shared expenses” when a speaker is speaking in more than one venue then the expenses are shared among the sponsors. For example, the speaker coming from New York, flying into California, doing an engagement in San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle would share the total expenses for airfare, ground transportation and hotel. All four sponsors would not be billed round trip airfare from New York. For more information about Shared Expenses read EXPENSES? INCLUSIVE FEES? SHARED EXPENSES.

Both the Speaker Agency and the Speaker Bureau are in the business of selling the services of Speakers. However, they can and often are different.

An Agency represents all of its Speakers exclusively, usually under an “exclusive right to sell.” It is a principal/ agent relationship, which outlines how they will work together. In essence, the Speaker is the boss or principal and the agency is working on behalf of the Speaker. When the Agent speaks about the Speaker, he or she has been given authority to speak on his/her behalf either “expressly,” giving the agent explicit instructions. Additional authority is “implied” by virtue of their relationship, although it has not been specifically written or spoken.

The usual kinds of instructions are about fees for services, how many Speaking Engagements they are likely to accept in a year, topics, travel instructions, etc. The Agency is very involved with the speaker and can be very authoritative about a Speaker it represents. For more information about Speaker/Lecture Agency, read LECTURERS AND LECTURE AGENCIES.

Speakers Bureaus can and often times represent speakers exclusively. However, more often than not, they are acting as a clearinghouse for a large number of speakers with whom they may have access or the capability to obtain their services. They may even have a limited exclusivity, such as a specific market or program. Unfortunately, some Speakers Bureaus are “listing” speakers they do not represent and from their advertising, infer that they do.

A reputable Speakers Bureau will only list speakers with whom they have made arrangements to be listed. They will formally or informally have a predetermined financial arrangement regarding fees and commissions should an engagement occur.

However, some Speakers Bureaus act as “consultants” to customers. In these circumstances, they may ”broker” speakers other than speakers who are listed with them. If they are “brokering” a speaker, the Speakers Bureau is being hired by the customer to obtain the services of a speaker and the commission should be paid by the customer and agreed upon in advance, as the customer has “hired them.” The exception is when it is co-brokered with an Exclusive Agency where commissions are shared. For more information about Speaker/Lecture Bureaus, read LECTURES AND LECTURE AGENCIES and EXCLUSIVITY VS. LISTING

Sponsor is the generic term most of the industry uses when referring to its customers. It has been a long-standing term going back to the Chautauqua Speakers Circuit. In the entertainment industry, the customers are usually referred to as Presenters or Purchasers.