The importance of perception

 In order to climb the speaking fee ladder…

…your buyers need to feel a perception of value the moment they hit your website.

The other day, I was chatting with a speaker colleague, and she shared an interesting thought. 

“If you want to be a $10,000 speaker, you need a $20,000 website. If you want to be a $20,000 speaker, you need a $40,000 website.”

While I had never heard this saying before, the sentiment behind it made all the sense in the word…

Probably because it’s my job to help support the goal of that statement. 

While continuing to flesh out this idea, she mentioned that event professionals and other buyers typically don’t put too much effort on the first pass in deep diving into each speaker’s background before they reach out. 

These folks, at first, are simply looking to get a sense that you’re worth every penny you charge before they learn more about how their program can benefit the conference, summit or other special event

They simply skim the speaker’s website and get a general sense of whether or not they could be a fit for the event. 

And that’s where the value of high-quality, compelling photos come into play. 

Juicy stage photos. Compelling lifestyle portraits. Genuine headshots and other promotional images. 

When you load up your website with eye-catching images that also reveal genuine aspects of your personality, that high-end, curb appeal draws the interest of these event professionals. 

That’s what leads them straight to the meat and potatoes of your website: program topics, titles and descriptions.

And that’s all you can ask for - a fair assessment of your value to the company or organization as they consider adding you to their schedule of events.

But it all starts with setting an intention to create a website that captures buyers attention through compelling photos that creates a perception of value that far exceeds what your speaker fee says you’re worth. 

Easier said than done? Sure. 

But, truth is, what’s it worth to you to become the person that’s on the tip of the tongues of all the event professionals snooping around your site to see if you’re a fit for their program of events? 

At the end of the day, if you want to climb the speaker fee ladder, don’t miss the rung that involves investing in a high-quality and comprehensive image content portfolio.

It could lead to you slipping off and starting all over again.