How Great Business Keynote Speakers Multiply Your Conference ROI

Business keynote speakers are a smart choice for conferences, annual sales meetings, and company-wide incentive getaways. With the right talent to address your audience, you can multiply the return on your conference dollars in various ways.

Here are some of the areas which benefit from professional business keynote speakers.

Improve salesperson retention

There are certain intangibles which can influence the decision to remain at a company beyond a paycheck, health benefits, and retirement contributions. Status and personal improvement are value-adds that can tilt odds in your favor when it comes to a salesperson’s career trajectory.
Having access to top-notch business keynote speakers can make salespeople feel like they are valued and have a higher status than if they worked at other firms who do not make this investment. The personal growth and development which ensues from a great keynote, especially one filled with insights directly applicable to improved on-the-job performance, is highly desirable and can help reduce turnover.

Close deals faster

Business keynote speakers can motivate your salespeople to move leads forward through the sales funnel and thereby close deals faster. The effects are magnified when the keynote is followed up with supplementary material by the speaker, such as a book, conference call, or even a customized coaching program.

You could achieve a great ROI on this point alone. Just be aware that without some form of follow up, the motivation tends to wear off after a few weeks as attendees forget much of the material learned.

Add prestige

The biggest firms in the world are known for having innovative or well-known keynote speakers. They usually spare no expense in hiring them and go all-out with the audiovisual components of the presentation as well.

You don’t have to go to these extremes, but if your company hasn’t employed professional business keynote speakers in the past, doing so can add some prestige to your firm – at least in the eyes of your employees and other invited guests. The extra clout can lead to more business over time, as your reputation as a forward-thinking firm spreads.

Increase impact

Finally, hiring a professional speaker amplifies whatever message you are trying to ingrain into the minds of your attendees. As an example, if your conference theme is centered around the customer experience, talented and experienced business keynote speakers can add life to the topic using anecdotes and case studies from customers and colleagues who deliver great CX.

In fact, stories are some of the most effective ways to increase engagement and impact because the audience will place themselves in the situations and imagine the same things happening to them.
Treat a keynote speech as the investment it is capable of being, and turn it into a profit center rather than another expense. For more tips to help you get the most from your next sales conference or team-building event, please drop me a line.