Meeting planners will resort to a lot of different ideas when it comes to finding the right speaker for their event, and I can understand why. Choose the right personality, one that shares a ton of useful information while entertaining your attendees, and you’ll come off looking like a hero. Go with the wrong person, and you risk looking bad in the eyes of senior management… not to mention facing questions about how you managed the budget for the meeting.

For that reason, I’m going to offer you an insider’s trick – a can’t-miss way to separate the really great Canadian professional speakers from the ones that will leave you wishing you had never heard of them: Find a professional speaker who has been hired multiple times by the same group.

On the surface, this could seem like a small detail, but it isn’t. Here’s why: For someone to have been brought in again by the same organization (regardless of whether it was for the same audience, or if it was months or years apart) says something about their work, and the reception they received. No one would pay to hear somebody twice unless they hit the mark, and they certainly wouldn’t shell out extra dollars to have them speak to a second audience if they didn’t work great with the first.

A lot of people won’t tell you what they really thought of a professional speaker, if only because they don’t want to hurt someone’s feelings or get caught expressing something negative when there’s a chance it can get back to them. But, as with all parts of life, if you follow the money you’ll get a definite answer. People vote with their purchases, and that’s a great way to find out what they really think about any product or service. So, if you’re looking for a Canadian professional speaker who is a cut above the rest, just go and find one who has been brought back multiple times by the same client.

Looking for a great speaker in Canada, and an expert on technology, the Internet, and online marketing? Call David West today – he could be the perfect presenter for your next industry event or trade association meeting!

In today’s economy, no group or trade association can afford to waste money on any part of an event. This is true for things like hotels and meals, but it especially applies to professional speakers. After all, once that presentation has been given, you can’t request another or send it back to the kitchen.

On this blog, you’ll find plenty of articles that should help you find the best Canadian professional speaker for your industry event or trade association meeting. Today, however, I would like to do something a little bit different and offer a few tips to help you get more value out of any speaker you book.

Here are four ways to turn the speaker for your next event into a better investment:

Choose a relevant topic and expert. It goes without saying that choosing the right speaker gives you better value, but it’s easy for meeting planners to go with the topic or personality that’s “hot” instead of one that has the right message for their group. Think carefully about the long-term message you want your audience to receive, and then find the person to best deliver it.

Do your homework. The more you know about the speaker’s presentation, the more you can ask them to tailor it to your audience. You might not want your speaker to completely rewrite or rearrange his or her talk, but by asking him or her to stress the right details, you can make their presentation more relevant to your group.

Give your speaker the right info ahead of time. In the same way, your speaker will very likely ask you for information about the audience, your industry, other speakers you’ve heard in the past, and so on well in advance of their speech. If you wait until the last minute to supply these details, then you’re allowing them much less time to be prepared – and lowering the chances that they’ll give an impactful session.

Make space in the schedule for a breakout session or Q&A period. Regardless of how well your speaker covers his or her topic, your attendees are likely to have questions, or want personal attention. Leave some room in the schedule for this to happen; the more loose ends your speaker can tie up directly with the audience, the more value they will have received for the time they spent listening.

Want to book one of Canada’s best technology speakers? Get in touch with David West today to find out about his speaking fees and availability.

Start gathering quotes for business web design – or any professional service, I suppose – and you’ll notice right away that there will be a general range for professional work, along with a few that seem to be a little too good to be true. But, in this tough economy, the choice is clear, right? Isn’t it smart to save a little money where you can get a great deal when it’s offered?

Before I answer that question, let me point out two very important things. The first is that, in web design and almost any other business, you are highly likely to get what you pay for. And secondly, especially in business web design, what you pay for your project isn’t nearly as important as what you get out of it. In other words, a site that seems a bit more expensive now is a steal later if it ends up doubling your profits.

With that being said, the one thing to pay close attention to in any suspiciously low business web design quote is what’s not being listed.

In other words, are you really getting a great deal, or is it that they’re just taking away the “extras” that are most important to your site?

Here are at least five things that should definitely be included in any business web design quote:

A search engine optimization and marketing plan. It doesn’t matter what your site looks like, or what it does, if no one can find it. Make sure it will be accessible on Google, Yahoo, and Bing at a minimum.

Ongoing service and minor updates. What happens if you need to change a page, or find that you left a typo on your homepage? It’s important to pick a business web design team that will still be there when you need them.

Web hosting. Hosting might seem like a minor detail, but it affects your site speed, performance, stability, and even search engine positioning. Make sure you’re getting a competitive rate for high-quality hosting.

Social media links and profiles. Sites like Facebook and Twitter are more important than ever, and your company is going to suffer if you don’t have a presence on each of them.

An ongoing plan to grow your company online. Remember, your website shouldn’t just be an online brochure, but an important part of your marketing and promotion plan. What is your new business web design company doing to help you make it more successful?

We all like to save money, and it’s tempting to go with the rock-bottom business web design quote. Before you do, however, make sure that you aren’t spending less at the expense of your company’s future.

If you want some of the best Calgary web design and online marketing, contact eKzact Solutions for a free consultation today!