My philosophy for 30+ years has been "Together We Are Better™. With the advent of the internet, it is easy for clients to find me, but that doesn't mean they will book me. My chances improve if they have a relationship with someone they trust, and often that is a speaker bureau.

As my speaking colleague Terry Brock put it so well, "The reality of the marketplace is that speakers talk with each other and so do speakers bureaus. If a speaker tries to go around a bureau and not pay the bureau's legitimate, earned commission, word will get out about that speaker and he or she will be hurt severely in the marketplace.

I am firmly committed to being a "bureau-friendly" website! I want to channel most of my business through bureaus. A bureau will take care of the hassle of follow-up, contracts, hassles that arise from time to time and more. I'm happy to pay a fee to bureaus to have this done. Therefore I will regularly track and find out where business originated so that bureaus who recommend me not only are recognized but also compensated on direct business and spin-off business.

The concept of "bureau-friendly" is built on trust. This is what business is all about. If that trust isn't there, nothing else matters. With it in place, any of the other bumps in the road can be handled."

Please contact me if you have any questions, ideas or comments. I look forward to hearing from you!

Barbara Hemphill