Magician-Entertainer.co.uk

Four Ways to Get the Most Entertaining Speaker for Your Corporate Budget

Use a Speakers Bureau - a reputable bureau is paid by speakers, so their services won’t cost you anything. Plus, with a stable of thousands or celebrities, musicians, comedians and business speakers, they can help you to find someone that meets your needs, budget and schedule.

Book a Speaker As Far Ahead As Possible - remember that your speaker might have to travel a great distance to reach your event. By working months in advance you can minimize last second headaches and costs.

Ask for Condensed Demos of Speakers - your bureau can send you a few video highlights of speakers that match your needs. You can usually form a good opinion of the entertainer within a few minutes, so save time by asking for shortened demos.

Be mindful of your timing - Scheduling the best speaker in the world won’t do you (or your audience) any good if the audience is tired or bored. Make sure that you schedule your speaker for a time when your audience will be receptive.

While the economy has been rough all around lately, few people have experienced as many budget reductions as meeting planners. Whether it’s money for travel, facilities or catering costs, the situation is the same-planners are asked to make more out of less.

Somewhere in this new sea of corporate frugality, where meeting planners are struggling to find the best bargains for all aspects of a event, lie the mysterious fees and budgets devoted to speakers, musicians, comedians and other entertainers. Finding a ‘good deal’ for event entertainment can be tough, particularly because there are so many subjective factors that make it hard to compare any one type of entertainer to another. When looking through bios and demo tapes, it’s hard to size up respective motivational or inspiration speakers the way you might a more tangible product or service.

Even so, there are steps that event planners can take to get a great keynote speaker for fewer dollars. Below are a few tips that should help you stretch out the entertainment budget for your next corporate event:

Think Big Celebrity Names. Big names cost big money, so you can’t save money by booking big name celebrities, right? It really depends. Hiring well-known celebrity speakers costs a big chunk of cash up front, but it can also be a great way to generate a lot of positive buzz about your event-from your attendees as well as the media. Nothing quite excites people the same way as hearing a talk or having a book signed by one of their favorite TV or business personalities. Savvy event planners can take advantage of this fact by spending big bucks on a top shelf speaker and saving even more by capitalizing on free publicity instead of expensive advertising.

Of course, that strategy only works if you have an event that’s large enough to benefit from the increased publicity and attendance that a big name entertainer can bring. What about those planners who have either events or budgets too small to justify the upfront costs of well-known speakers? In that case, you can still save money and get some great entertainment speakers by keeping a few things in mind:

Know The Type of Entertainment Your Audience Will Appreciate.

Many times, a speaker or entertainer who would not be considered or even well known within the general public can be an icon, or even a hero, to a specific group. For instance, not many people would be familiar with motivational sales speakers. But to the men and women working in his former industry, the speaker might be considered an inspirational superstar.

Keep in mind, though, that it works both ways. A business speaker who seems to be a big draw for one gender or age group doesn’t always translate into a home run for another. If you aren’t sure if a certain entertainer will be known throughout your audience, take a couple of minutes to find out ahead of time.

Be Specific on What Type of Speaker or Entertain You Need.

One of the greatest things about today’s speakers market is that there’s something for just about everyone, no matter how specific the need. If you’re looking for business speakers on needlepoint techniques in a post-modern global economy-trust me, there’s someone out there. So, the real trick is pinpointing exactly what type of speaker or entertainer you need for your occasion. Are you looking for a motivational keynote? A technical expert? Humorous after-dinner entertainer? The more you can answer this question, the easier your search will be.

No matter what, just remember that with the thousands of speakers available, a knowledgeable, experienced speakers bureau can help you find someone who meets your taste and budget. You just have to be willing to follow these rules and look for a good deal.

Written By:
Matthew Sherwood is an Account Executive with Brooks International Speakers Bureau. You can reach him at 303-825-8700, or at matt@brooksinternational.com

This article is free for republishing
Source: http://www.a1articles.com/article_95850_50.html

The word “corporate” comes from the Latin “Corpus”, meaning “body”. This leads to the idea that a corporation is something close to a group of people meant to act as one through their decisions. The main goal of corporate entertainment is to provide a sort of bondage between colleagues, or team members, even between the lower-ranking employees and their superiors, thus making the “organism” of the company work better. As you are about to see, human interconnections could prove themselves very important, so it wouldn’t hurt checking out what corporate entertainment is all about and how to get in touch with a corporate event organiser.

In most cases, human interconnections prove to be vital. Perhaps many people are familiar with that strangling feeling of being stuck in your office for days and weeks in a row, having to provide creative and effective solutions on command while being supervised by you team leader or department chief as the phone keeps ringing. This is the most certain path to developing frustration, tension between team members and so on. This is why corporate entertainment is so useful nowadays and many companies turn to a corporate event organiser. When more and more corporations come to life and the old ones keep growing, so does the need to relax a bit, to change the scenery and try to work in a different environment. We all hate that routine, don’t we? Well, I know I do…

Visit the UK Entertainer Directory for corporate entertainers and more information on entertainment for events and event management companies.

Corporate entertainment comes in many forms, for example outdoor activities such as sporting or travel. There are many clubs with multiple members from the same company and so on. Fitness, yachting, golf, tennis, rafting, you name it! People have a natural tendency to socialize, and entertainment encourages this. Anyone works better with a friend by their side instead of a stranger. Otherwise, we would all be a bunch of impassive and lonely machines.

Also, many business men or women, develop a way of life out of being part of a corporation and doing business, especially if they get to be high-ranked, so working in a relaxed or at least different environment from time to time could offer a recharge both spiritually and professionally, as well as personally.

Corporate forms of entertainment such as get-togethers are wonderful opportunities to discuss or review projects, marketing goals, to discuss merges or divisions and plan various events. And what better way could there be to discuss business plans, get approvals and so on than a reception or a dinner? Therefore, a corporate event organiser might always come in handy to organize such events. You could also require the agency to provide you with a corporate entertainer, a professional, to lighten up the spirits and to enhance the atmosphere of the party or reception.

A specialized site which offers exactly this type of very much appreciated service is eventsbyoccasion.com.

By going online (the easiest thing to do these days) and visiting this site, you can read a listing to find exactly the kind of event you want organized. This corporate event organizer will assist you in everything you need to get up and running for the entertainment of you company’s employees. There is also guidance concerning bands, banquet halls, limousines and even parades, if you don’t like getting by unnoticed…Just try it and see how easy it is to have fun!

About the Author Rick Martin
Of course, for more information regarding how to enhance the experience that people have coming to one of your company’s receptions, fund raisers or mere get-togethers, the web could always ease your way to find corporate entertainment , but our website is the place to start doing it the professional way.

The UK Entertainer Directory is a new site for finding entertainers and performers in the UK. There is a big demand for entertainment at weddings, parties and corporate events, and this directory allows people go straight to the performer rather than through agents.

Listings in the directory provide a link to the entertainers or performers site, a short description of the entertainment service they offer and contact information. Listings are organised into a variety of categories, including one for magicians (with sub categories for close-up, cabaret and stage magicians, and illusionists), massive ones for general musicians and classical musicians (big because of the number of different styles of music and bands), and other categories for more unusual entertainers and acts like circus performers, comedy waiters, drag acts, after dinner speakers and living statues.

From the point of view of people looking to book an entertainer, the site is pretty easy to use. All the categories are listed on the front page, so users can click on them to browse whatever type of performer they are after. There is also a search function for finding specific listings and an option to find entertainers in a particular region.

The site is a useful resource both for people who know what type of entertainment they want for their event and for bookers looking for ideas and more unusual entertainers.

The most important thing is to make sure you book a professional. An amateur or part-time magician maybe able to perform amazing magic but there is a lot more to it than that. Will they turn up on time? Will they be smartly presented? Will they work hard to make sure they see every guest? Will they have the experience to cope with any last minute changes?

Remember that if you are hosting or organising an event, the magician you choose will reflect on you. In the same way, a professional magician who’s livelihood depends on performing regularly will look after all the small details because it reflects on them and their prospects of getting more work.

How do you know someone is a professional? After all, anyone can say they are but what can you do to check that it’s true?

How to Spot a Professional Magician

Check that the magician has a good website and/ or printed promotional materials. These days, magicians often rely on a website to provide information to prospective clients because it is so easy to keep a website up to date. Many also have videos or DVDs and printed materials including photographs. Of course, this doesn’t make them a great magician but it does indicate their professionalism. It can also give you an idea of what a performer is like if you haven’t met them.

Check that the magician is a member of magic societies such as the Magic Circle and the International Brotherhood of Magicians. These societies require magicians to be serious and accomplished performers before they are allowed membership. Another good sign is if they are a member of an organisation like Equity, the UK performers union or similar professional body.

Check the magician’s list of clients and engagements, and testimonial/ recommendation letters. A professional magician should be able to provide details of past clients and engagements - if they can’t something is wrong. The types of events they have been involved with will indicate if they are the right magician for your event. The letters and quotes can be helpful, although it is unlikely that any bad quotes will find their way into someone’s promotional materials! However, the number and quality of the quotes should give you an idea of how well received a performer is. Don’t be afraid to ask for copies of the original letters or emails.

Check that the magician has public liability insurance. This is very important! The magician may be closely interacting with your guests, perhaps borrowing objects from them and a professional will be covered for any accidents that may happen.