Your product or service is only 30 percent of the reason why your customers stick with you. Get an unfair advantage over your competitors by showing your people how to keep the 69 percent or so of customers that your competitors are losing. Finding the Money If this is a last-minute meeting and don't have a budget for your speaker, there are a few things you can do to find the money. If your company has funds allocated for training materials, or a budget for people to attend public or association seminars, consider using those funds to pay for the speaker. Or consider changing the way you do your meeting.
Savvy companies trade off the open bar for training materials.
For the price of two or three drinks, you can give your people a book or audiotape that they will learn from long after the party is over. Consider Sponsorships Ask business partners, customers, or companies that want access to your group to sponsor the speaker, expenses, or training materials. Speakers can put logos on visual aids, worksheets, and even put stickers on books and other learning materials. The speaker can thank the sponsor from the platform, inviting a thank-you round of applause for the sponsor's VIPs. If your meeting is being convened at hotel, the property will often comp the speaker's lodging.