00:00:04 Hey, I'm Jodie, event manager, business owner, educator, and podcast host. I'm an introverted homebody wannabe winemaster, and I truly believe in the power of events to inspire, delight, and ignite human potential. Every week, I take you backstage into the wonderful world of business events and give you the insider scoop on how to take your event to the next level. Before we begin, I'd like to acknowledge the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the traditional custodians of the lands where we live, learn, and listen. Let's get into it.
00:00:38 Well, welcome back to another episode of the Events Insider podcast. I'm your host, Jodie, and it is a pleasure to be with you today, as always. And today I am very excited because I am joined by our first guest expert, Maggie Benjamin, who is the general manager of events at Saxton Group. Now, if you've ever needed to book a professional speaker for your event, you may have found yourself on the Saxton website scrolling their amazing talent. But they have a few different branches, and Maggie is actually heading up their newest brand mixy events.
00:01:09 Now, prior to this, Maggie actually ran the events for Business Chicks for seven years, where sometimes she would work with over 100 speakers a year. So she is absolutely the best person to chat to about all things speakers for your events. So I hope you enjoy my chat with Maggie Benjamin. Well, Maggie, welcome to the Events Insider podcast.
00:01:30 Thank you. I'm so excited to be here. Yeah, I'm so chuffed that you thought of me. Welcome. It seems like a really good fit. And when I was thinking about this before, I actually want to preface with what I love about this is that you could kind of say we're competitors.
00:01:45 I guess we're both kind of looking after event management agencies, but I actually really don't consider you a competitor. I'm really not about that. And so I love that we're just two event experts that can come on and have a chat. So I'm really excited to have this conversation with you. Yeah, me too.
00:02:02 I thought that, too. And I was like, it's just so nice for us to support and get together, especially in this climate, right? We've got each other and we've got each other's backs, and I think that that's so important that we work together and yeah. I'm so thrilled to be here. Yeah, me too.
00:02:19 So for the people listening, can you share a little about your career journey so they can get to know you? Yeah, of course. So I finished high school and then I went into uni. I always wanted to be in events. I think I always really liked the idea of hosting people running parties, even when I was younger, be putting parties on for my cousins or my sister or my brother or whatever that looks like.
00:02:42 So I've always wanted to get into events, and I didn't get the marks that I wanted to get from high school. And so when I went into uni, I was doing a Bridging course, and I just quickly realized that during the course, I think it was about a year in, I thought, oh, my gosh, I can do this without doing my uni degree. I can just stop right now and I can just start doing events because I feel that confident in myself and my ability to learn and grow. So I made the really scary decision at the time to stop doing uni, even though that's what all my friends were doing. All of my family wanted me to do that.
00:03:21 And I started working as an office manager for an events company, and they were a personal development company, which in the industry, we all know is a little bit dicey and can put hair on your chest very quickly. It can put hair on your chest very quickly. And I learned a lot in a very short amount of time. I completely underestimated the amount of work involved in running events. I think at that time, a lot of my friends were having their 21st and they were going away and having parties every weekend, and every weekend I was in another city working and running conferences and summits and all that stuff, and I was able to get a lot of experience with that.
00:04:02 So when my time sort of finished up there, about three years later, I was contacted by someone at Business Chicks who used to work at this company. So there was a little connection there, and she said, we're looking for an events person. And I was like, great. It's such a great opportunity. And I loved what they did.
00:04:19 I saw the events that they run and I was like, oh, my gosh, that's just a dream, going from a stale meeting room event to pink and flowers and confetti and balloons. So I said yes. And my career from there sort of progressed really quickly. I think I had a few promotions in my time quite quickly from the start. How long were you at Business Chicks altogether?
00:04:42 I was there seven and a half years. Yeah. Wow. Yeah, it's been a long time. And throughout that journey, I've learned so much because there were so many different events that they ran.
00:04:53 It was like no day was the same. And that's what I enjoy about events. So I think that sort of sums it up. Yeah. Amazing.
00:05:02 And I love that story because I did do an events degree, but I actually don't know whether I would necessarily recommend it these days. I mean, I think you can do so much without a degree. There's only so much you can learn kind of sitting in a room for three years. And I think that's kind of part of why I started Events academy, right? Because there's people out there that want to learn how to do events.
00:05:21 And yes, there's some foundational knowledge that you should learn, but it is also about just getting out there and learning on the job. And I think there's a lot you can learn in a short amount of time rather than a three year degree. So I love that that's your story. I want to talk about business. Chicks.
00:05:37 Obviously, that was a big chunk of your career before where you are now. So who were some of your favorite speakers from the Business Chick stage? Anytime someone asks me this, the first person I say is Elizabeth Gilbert. She amazing. Okay, I understand.
00:05:52 Yes, she is. Just if anyone listening has never heard her speak before, you need to just find her on a podcast or something and you'll just fall in love immediately.
00:06:04 Her voice is almost like a motherly nurturing warm. It's like you're being cradled while you listen to her in the best way possible. And she has this raw spiritual essence around her as well and gives a lot of opportunity for learning. And someone similar to that, as well as Cami Nexapille. I find her every time I listen to her speak.
00:06:28 She holds such a powerful presence on stage, and I could hear her speak 100 times, and every time I hear her speak, something else would click within me and I go, oh, gosh, I need to be doing that, or, this is where I'm holding myself back right now. And so she was just wonderful, and she's great. She's one of the trained facilitators for Brene Brown's work. Yeah, right. Okay.
00:06:51 If you love Brene Brown, you will definitely love Kemmy. And in her own way, she just does amazing things. And then I think as well, I would just have to throw Jenny Oliver in there just because he's such a nice guy.
00:07:06 We'll throw in a token mail.
00:07:12 He's a funny, nice guy, and I just really enjoyed being in the same room as him, so I was like, he's added to the list. So how many kind of speakers would you have throughout a calendar year at Business Chicks? Yeah. Wow. That's a good question.
00:07:26 So we were doing if we're doing 90 events, and some of the events would have ten, so you're probably looking at 100 and 2130 speakers. Yeah. Okay. Wow. So you've got a lot of experience, I guess, sourcing selecting, listening to speakers.
00:07:44 What do you think makes a great speaker? Yeah, that's a great question. I think it's a mix of the content that they're providing and their stage craft as well, and the way that they present. There's definitely an art to blending emotive storytelling with really pragmatic lessons and takeaways for people as well. And I think that the best speaker as well will always take the time to understand your event beforehand and tailor their content or their delivery for your audience.
00:08:16 And you can always tell when they've done that and they've made that extra bit of effort to connect with your particular audience and that means the world. Yeah. There's nothing worse than someone just coming on stage and presenting their standard presentation. I think from cards. Yeah.
00:08:34 Oh gosh, no, it's 2023. We don't need that anymore. Yeah. Okay. And so have you ever had a speaker that kind of didn't deliver?
00:08:43 Kind of talking about what we don't like with speakers. Have you had a speaker that sort of didn't deliver on what they agreed that they would do? And I guess how did you handle that? Yeah, I haven't necessarily had a speaker that on paper didn't deliver on what their agreement was. But I had your job properly.
00:09:00 Yes. But I did have a couple of instances which I think other people might relate to that are sort of in a similar realm. And I think a common issue amongst events, people across the land is a speaker not being able to make it because their flight was canceled last minute. There's been raging thunderstorms and their flight couldn't make it and they were due on stage in 2 hours and they can't make it anymore, or something happened in their personal life. And I've been in a situation where I've been at an event and they were part of the lineup and they were due on, like I said, in 2 hours and their flight was canceled.
00:09:40 And so we just had to think on the spot. And we ended up pulling a couple of speakers who luckily I had there and just throwing, I guess, a little panel together during that time. But we were very honest and forthcoming with the audience, too. We just said, look, we know that this person was meant to be here, so X, Y and Z have very graciously stepped in to do some extra content for everybody to fill in into. These things happen, and I think that's the best way to do it.
00:10:09 And if you couldn't get another speaker, then I think it's yeah. Again, you just have to be really honest with your audience and say this is what's going on. And it definitely helps if you've got a great MC who can deliver that news in the most beautiful way. Yeah, I remember I had one speaker not show up once, similar situation. They fell really ill really suddenly and they were able to send like a family member and they were speaking about a family business anyway, so it sort of worked out.
00:10:38 But that was the closest I ever got to kind of being stuck without anyone. It's terrifying. It can be really intense and unfortunately, in some circumstances, you just have to be honest and say what happened and we can plan as much as we can, but there are external factors that are always going to influence things. Absolutely. Yeah.
00:11:03 It sounds like you haven't had anything too bad, which is great. No, nothing too crazy. I mean, of course, there's been instances where maybe speakers didn't perform the way that I sort of expected that they would. And I think that's just part of the ride. And you take it in your stride, and sometimes you're taking a chance on an emerging speaker who might not be as strong as what you thought that they could be.
00:11:28 Okay, if you get feedback from the event, like I said, you take it in your stride and you learn. Events are all about risk taking and taking chances on people. And even the most famous of celebrity speakers can sometimes just not be it. So it's really hard to tell that's it. And it can be really hard to find the right speaker and be confident that they are going to be the right fit for your event.
00:11:54 So I guess on that note, for anyone that needs to source a speaker for an event, where should they start? Yeah, that's a great question. I think it's important to start with the purpose of your event and a really clear vision of what you're wanting to get out of a speaker. Are you throwing in a speaker just for the sake of it, or are you throwing in a speaker because you really want your audience to get some sort of information or some sort of inspiration, whatever that looks like from this speaker on stage. So it could be that you just really want a great story from a really high profile person to get bums on seats and that's totally fine.
00:12:31 Or it can be that you're wanting someone who can really share a workshop style learnings and takeaways so really finding the topic and then it can just be such a hard slog finding and vetting the right speakers. It is just you can Google until the cows come home. I'm interested when you say vetting. Can we talk on that a little bit? Do you have a process or is it kind of different for different circumstances?
00:12:59 Yeah, I mean, over the years it's just changed a little bit, but I think it's more going through you find a name of someone and I think especially at business Chicks, when you're locking in 120 speakers a year, you're not always going to have high profile talent who are represented by bureaus. Sometimes you're going to be working with people that maybe haven't had a lot of speaking experience. And so the vetting process there is important and that involves, I think, trying to if they've got any speaker material on YouTube or anything like that, even if it's just them presenting at a lectern to a school or something. I've sometimes gone on and watched it and I think it's also really important to do a thorough Google search on that person before reaching out to them, just to make sure that there isn't anything crazy or chaotic going on in their life that wish you knew about before we put them there. For sure.
00:13:53 Yeah. So a little bit of a stalk is what you cool. Yeah. Awesome. Okay, so that's starting point and you were sort of talking about kind of you've got the high profile big names who might be supported by an agency and then you've got people who are kind of just starting out on their speaking career or a particular expert.
00:14:13 So I do want to touch on, I guess, kind of the difference between the two because I know that there's a lot of kind of different opinions around kind of paid versus unpaid. What do you kind of think about that? What are your thoughts? How do we sort of navigate paying versus asking people to speak for free? Yeah, absolutely.
00:14:33 Look, I always stick by where possible. It's so important to pay speakers for their time and expertise. I know that in some cases with speakers who are C suite in corporate, for example, can't be paid for their time. And there's instances like that where of course but if you've got some budget there I just think it's important to remember that often we're asking people to share years of learnings and hard work, education, lived experience, and I think that they should be compensated fairly for that. And I think in instances where it truly isn't possible or you're wanting to offer a reduced fee, it's important to find value in other ways.
00:15:18 And that could be, if it is an emerging speaker, can you offer them a recording of their presentation for them to include in their speaker kit? Or a really good yeah, I love that. Yeah. Can you facilitate an introduction to another client that they could get another gig from? Can you sell their books?
00:15:33 Can you offer a donation on their behalf? Because yeah, plain old exposure doesn't cut it anymore, but there's different ways we can get creative to still provide value for people if the budget isn't quite there. Yeah, I 100% agree. And I love what you said about exposure doesn't cut it anymore because it's so true. Just saying that they get to be in front of a bunch of people, that's not a return on investment.
00:15:55 So I 100% agree with everything you've just said. But I guess in terms of speaking fees then, can you share any insights? Because for me personally, I find it a real challenge to budget in advance for speaking fees because sometimes you get back a quote and it's like way more than you expected it to be. And I'm not saying that they're not worth that. Then sometimes you get it back and it's much cheaper than you expected.
00:16:21 And I know it really is like how long is a piece of string? And it's really up to the circumstance and whether the speaker wants to do it or not. And they can kind of double their fee if they don't want to do it and those sorts of things. But for the person planning the event, it can be a real challenge. So do you have any insights around how to navigate that.
00:16:41 Yeah, absolutely. And this is a tough one because I think before I started working with a speaker's bureau, I was stuck in the same sort of realm of like, I have no idea. You can reach out to someone and you could think that they might be $10,000 and they'll say, oh, no, I'm $80,000 and you say, okay, that's fine, I didn't put it in my budget.
00:17:07 If anyone has that budget, if anyone. Has that budget, please reach out. But I think it comes back to, again, what you want out of a speaker. I think, look, if you're I definitely have some averages here that I was able to retrieve from my brand and talent manager before this interview. So hopefully this is helpful.
00:17:27 So look, if you're wanting a well known personality and you're wanting someone to get bums on seats and this is sort of like a headliner, like a star person, you're looking at probably about a twelve k average. If you want someone emerging but impactful, you're probably looking at about three to five k average. Okay, so that's someone who people may not have heard of, but is going to do a really good job. Yes. Awesome.
00:17:55 They've been on a speaking circuit for a while, but they're just not as well known as some of the other people. Okay, awesome. That's super helpful. Great. Again, like you said, it's like how long was a piece of stream?
00:18:11 But having some averages and that in the back of your mind is just, oh, gosh, so helpful. Yeah. Especially when we're just kind of putting together a draft budget and kind of going, okay, what are we putting in this speaker line here? That's really helpful. Thank you.
00:18:26 So obviously you sort of touched on now that you're working with saxton and you're heading up a new arm of that called mixy. Can you tell us kind of how that came about? Because I remember seeing it and I was like, oh, what is this? And I kind of haven't had the chance to kind of hear the story yet, so I'm excited to hear kind of how that came about and what it's about. Yeah, I get excited just talking about it because it was just such one of those moments where the universe perfectly aligns and something comes along and it's just the right time.
00:18:58 Yes. At the end of last year, I finished up with business chicks and I was looking for work and I had a phone call from Anne, the CEO of saxton, and she was like, how are you? I heard that you are out of work. I am thinking of starting up a new arm of the business and it's going to be an events arm. Are you interested?
00:19:20 And I was like, absolutely friggin, that sounds amazing. And I had worked with saxton for my whole career, on and off, booking speakers and stuff. So I knew some of the girls already and I knew it was a great company. And when I met with anne, she was talking about how there were so many corporate clients that saxton works with who are, for example, HR managers. EA's people who I think over the last couple of years, especially since COVID where these corporates have had to either completely diminish their events teams or they've reduced their events resources, because either people have left the events industry or they just never got around to doing that after the pandemic.
00:20:04 There are people out there working in these industries who events are not within their normal remit but they're taking on this work and they're really struggling with it and they're going I have no idea what to do.
00:20:18 This is where you and I come in. Exactly. This is where we come in. So we decided to start a new arm of the business. And I think being connected to the speaking agency side of it as well, I think has been really helpful too, because I'm now connected with some of the consultants who work at Dux and are just so well knowledged and educated in speakers way more than I am.
00:20:46 And that has just been so helpful. So, yeah, it's really nice to be able to offer sort of, I guess, that full service agency and so, yeah, we're just working with Saxon's existing clients at the moment, which is nice and really just helping them out with their events. I think eventually Mixy would like to start doing their own events. Talk about it like I've got a team, it's just me right now. It's the royal way.
00:21:13 Yeah, exactly. And that'll be a few years down the track. But for now it's been really special and nice to connect with different people and find out what they're wanting to get out of and be able to help and support feeling. Yeah, it really is. So tell us about, I guess, some of the events that you've been doing and what you've got coming up and I guess the clients that you work with.
00:21:37 The kind of clients that you work with. Yeah. So the first event that I secured was an awards night which was quite exciting. So sort of off the bank and then just throughout the year I've got in the pipeline, just some internal events for people, just educational workshops or networking events. I've got an administration day coming up on the 5 May, working with another one of Saxton's brands, Melbourne EA group.
00:22:01 So Mix is going to be putting that event on for the EA which will be really nice and yeah, I mean look, we're still a startup, it's moving slow and it will gain traction. It has been slowly getting there but at this point in time, April 2023, I don't have a website yet. Use out there running events. Don't have a website. You don't have a website?
00:22:27 I'm just keeping it real.
00:22:31 It is really startup wise, but that makes it exciting because there's just so much potential and so much that we can do. So, yeah, I am excited and I'm not letting it stop me. So if there's anyone listening who's like, oh, my gosh, I have these events I need to put on and I'm so overwhelmed, you might be the right person that can help me. How can they reach out to you? Because you don't have a website.
00:22:53 I don't have a website. If you send an email to hello at Events academy, then I can come back to you. Or you can actually we've got an Instagram page, so at Events academy on. Instagram, I'll pop those in the show notes so people can easily thank you. But I wanted to ask one final question of you, and it may be a tough one, but hopefully you've had a chance to think about it.
00:23:17 If you could summarize all your years of experience, what's one piece of advice you would give to others who plan business events? Yeah, this one came to me straight away. I love that. Yeah, this was a no brainer for me. It is just be kind.
00:23:33 That is just awesome. The most important thing in the events industry. You can be the most organized, talented, well managed event manager in the entire world. But if you are not kind to the people who are around you, and you would know this as well, your event is only as good as your suppliers, your clients, your speakers. And if you have a bad relationship with them, it's like, how do you expect to work cohesively together and bring together an amazing event?
00:24:07 It's not all just on you. And so I think it's important, from every food and beverage manager to every delivery person, it doesn't matter. Kindness is just always key and you never know what's going on in someone's world. So, yeah, having those relationships and being able to call upon these people over the years is just invaluable. Yeah, such great advice as well.
00:24:33 And never burn bridges. But the thing that I was thinking when you were speaking then is particularly the guests as well, when people walk into a room, you have no idea what their day has been like and what they're going through. And yeah, just sharing kindness with them means that they can walk out a different person. Absolutely. So true.
00:24:52 Yeah. Beautiful. Well, thank you so much for coming on the podcast today. It's been a joy to speak with you. Thank you for all your words of wisdom.
00:25:01 And I'll definitely pop your contact details in the show notes. People can get in touch. Thanks, Jodie. Really appreciate it. It's been fun.
00:25:07 Thanks. Thanks for listening to this episode of the Events Insider podcast. If you loved it, make sure you subscribe, leave a review, share with your friends, and I'll chat to you next week. Bye.
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