Outspoken Oath: The Clients
/A word from Tori, our COO:
Over the years working in the speaking industry at various agencies, we’ve learned that industry veterans have decided to unofficially regulate a lot of rules. They even have created an association with a paid membership to discuss and institute these rules and to create a space where agencies can share insights into what’s happening within their own organizations and with their clients. Although we are mostly rule-followers over here, and we agree with many of their “guidelines,” we knew we were just too outspoken about how we wanted to operate; we knew we didn’t need to pay some unofficial governing body to build an agency that operates honestly and in the best interest of our clients and our speakers.
With the encouragement of one of our own speakers, Soon Yu, we developed Outspoken’s Oath—one set for our clients and one set for our speakers. Developing our Oath not only helped us internally understand our purpose as a company, but it also helped us share how we plan to operate in conjunction with our peers—both in similar ways and in ways that reflect our individual, outspoken identity. There have been many defining moments (and a bumpy start) that led us to the creation of our business, but transparency was always at the forefront of our identity. We feel it is our point of difference—in addition to our kick-ass roster of diverse speakers—that gives our speakers and our event hosts peace of mind knowing we give it to them honest.
Check out below what Tara had to say about our Client Oath, and tune in next week when I break down insights into our Speaker Oath.
Written by Tara, our CRO:
When determining our Client Oath, it was a fairly simple process. We asked ourselves “how would we want to be treated if we were booking a speaker?”.
This is a strange industry (a lot of people don’t even know it exists), and it can be difficult to navigate. How can we, as an agency, demonstrate that we can be trusted and that our speakers will not only deliver—but will leave your audience members retaining and sharing their message well after your event is over?
We start with being curious about who you are, what your organization does, and what your future objectives are. Then we get to work with matching that information with who our speakers are, what they stand for, and if their messaging aligns and elevates your event’s goals. And then you get to decide, based on our recommendations, what speaker will be the right one for you.
“Building trust with our clients is worth more to us than losing a deal—and, it’s just the right thing to do.”
Transparency is at the forefront of how we run our agency. When it comes to quoting fees and expenses—we like to be upfront about all of those details. And sometimes we might not have a speaker on our roster who is going to be the best match for you. In those instances, we collaborate with other agencies to find you the right match (referred to in the industry as co-brokering). Some agencies split commission with us, and others want us to add to the fee. In the adding-on situation, it would be more economical for you to go through the other agency (than through us). We never practice the “adding on” approach when an agency wants to co-broker with us (as we believe this disincentivizes collaboration within the industry and lacks transparency). If another agency forces us to add on a commission for their speaker, we’ll tell you and give you the option to work with the other agency. Think of it as Buddy in Elf when he’s directing parents to different stores that have better deals on toys. Building trust with our clients is worth more to us than losing a deal—and, it’s just the right thing to do.
Lastly, we will never leave you high and dry. If a speaker has to cancel for whatever reason, we will drop everything and find you a replacement. If you choose to work with another agency, we are still here to provide advice on anything involving the speaker booking process. We know this industry can seem daunting, but we want to make this easy and fun. And hopefully, when you work with us, that’s exactly how it feels.