Getting Booked Through eSpeakers Marketplace
PRESENTER
The eSpeakers Marketplace platform is a secure, convenient way for organizations to research and hire speakers, trainers, coaches, and consultants.
Buyers use Marketplace-powered speaker directories to search for experts by price, topic, availability, and more. Buyers can see details about individual speakers by clicking on their profile and seeing the content that the Speaker has posted about themselves, which includes video, programs, fees, virtual, and more.
Buyers can also post a public "call for speakers" that appears on the eSpeakers job board. Speakers can use their eSpeakers PRO account to view and apply to these jobs.
Once a buyer has selected a speaker for their engagement, the Marketplace platform facilitates the agreement of an online contract and also accepts the Speaker's fee from the Buyer, which is passed along to the Speaker, less applicable fees.
Where Is My eSpeakers Profile Displayed?
The eSpeakers Marketplace platform publishes a directory of speakers under its brand at eSpeakers Marketplace.
Other organizations also use the platform to publish directories with their branding on them. Each of these directory publishers selects the speakers from the eSpeakers catalog they want to be listed in their directory. Inquiries and calls for speakers that come through these directories are identified as such when viewed by Speakers in EventCX. These inquiries are sent directly to the Speaker via email or mobile app notification. The Speaker should follow up quickly using the Messages window in EventCX for the best chance of landing the job.
In addition, some speaker bureaus power their web directory with the Marketplace platform and act as their broker. The bureau handles inquiries that come through these bureaus. The bureau will contact you outside of the Marketplace platform if they have work for you.
Note:
When this article and other documentation referred to "the Marketplace platform" or "Marketplace," it generally refers to any directories using the technology platform, no matter the branding.
What Does the Process of Getting Hired and Paid Look Like?
The Marketplace platform is designed to make it easy for a Buyer (the event organizer) and a Speaker (or trainer/coach/consultant) to connect and complete a transaction.
The steps look like this:
-
Buyer creates a JOB on the Marketplace platform.
-
Buyer and Speaker communicate through platform MESSAGING and agree on specific terms.
-
The CONTRACT is digitally signed.
- The Buyer pays a DEPOSIT to the Speaker through the platform, which lands in the Speaker's bank account with less applicable fees.
-
On the day of the engagement:
-
Speaker does a stellar job, and the Buyer is thrilled.
-
The BALANCE of the speaking fee and agreed-to travel and materials fees are collected from the Buyer by the platform and deposited in the Speaker's Stripe account and into the Speaker's bank account.
- The Buyer leaves a glowing review for the Speaker (which raises Speaker's search rank on the directory).
How Does Online Contract Signing Work?
Online contracting is built right into the workflow when a Buyer hires a Speaker in a way that makes things very natural and straightforward for both parties.
Once a Buyer and a Speaker are engaged in a conversation (via the Messages window) about a JOB that the Buyer has entered on the Marketplace platform, either of those parties can initiate an OFFER.
That OFFER, once accepted by the other party, becomes a binding contract between the Buyer and the Seller.
The offer, or contract, contains these five components:
-
Fee for speaking/training/consulting (always in USD)
-
Flat travel fee (if any)
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Material fee (if any) for books, virtual training, etc.
-
Terms: a paragraph or so about when and where the Speaker needs to be, for how long, and what they should do. This is written in plain language and should be free of legal jargon so that both parties clearly understand the intent.
-
An agreement document: the offer-maker chooses the
Default Engagement Agreement provided by eSpeakers, or uploads a PDF document from their computer. This document is where the legal terms should live and is typically more than one page.
These five components combine to form the OFFER. Once the other party accepts the offer, we refer to it as the "contract." Contracts are between the Speaker and the Buyer; eSpeakers is not a party on the contract.
Online contracting offers simplicity and security. When the receiving party ACCEPTS the OFFER, they must be signed into their password-protected eSpeakers account. They are required to initial the screen showing the OFFER details, and the computer's IP address is captured, along with the date and time.
What Happens If a Contract Is Canceled by One Side?
An offer that has been ACCEPTED is considered a binding contract. What happens when one side or the other backs out of that agreement depends on: which party is backing out (the Buyer or the Speaker), whether a deposit has already been paid, and how far away the event date is.
If the SPEAKER breaks a contract:
-
Any money paid so far (e.g., DEPOSIT) is returned to the Buyer.
If the BUYER breaks a contract
-
Any money paid so far is retained by the Speaker (e.g., DEPOSIT)
-
If the event date is less than 45 days away, the Buyer is responsible for completing payment for the BALANCE of the Engagement Fee. The Buyer is not responsible for paying any agreed-on TRAVEL or MATERIAL fees.
-
If the Terms of Agreement executed as part of the accepted offer state otherwise, those terms apply instead.
How Do the Client's Payments Get to Me?
The eSpeakers platform handles the process of getting money from the Buyer to the Speaker. Because it is online and streamlined into the hiring process, making the payment is very easy and secure for the Buyer, relieving the Speaker of the administrative chore.
Here's how it works:
-
Immediately after accepting a Speaker's OFFER, the Buyer is required to pay the DEPOSIT of 50% of the speaking fee via one of these payment methods:
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Credit card
-
Bank account
-
Paper check through the mail
-
Once eSpeakers have received the payment, applicable fees are taken out, and the balance is deposited into the Speaker's Stripe account.
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On the Speaker's calendar, the event becomes confirmed only after DEPOSIT is received.
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On the day the engagement starts, the platform automatically debits the Buyer for the BALANCE:
-
50% balance owed on speaking fee
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Travel expenses, if any, per the contract.
-
Materials fee, if any, per the contract.
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The balance collected is deposited immediately into the Speaker's Stripe account.
STRIPE ACCOUNT TO BANK ACCOUNT
Once the money is in a Speaker's Stripe account (which happens within seconds for credit card and bank account transactions), the money belongs to the Speaker. Speakers can "payout" from their Stripe account to the bank account whenever they like, or they can configure automatic payouts to sweep the money into their bank account automatically.
PAYMENT VIA PAPER CHECK, WIRE
If the Buyer chooses to pay via paper check sent through the mail or a wire transfer, the process remains the same but takes longer.
The eSpeakers platform sends the Buyer a printable invoice, against which the Buyer prints a check and mails it to eSpeakers Processing or initiates a wire transfer. On receipt, eSpeakers deposits the amount, less fees, into the Speaker's Stripe account, and the rest of the process happens as it would with any other payment method.
RESPONSIBILITY
The online payment process has a naturally high success rate in collecting payments from Buyers. eSpeakers will facilitate the transaction but responsibility for paying always rests on the Buyer.
What Are the Commissions or Fees?
When a Speaker receives a job through the eSpeakers Marketplace, the platform has acted as both marketer and accounts receivable and there are fees associated with both roles.
FINDER'S FEE
Jobs that come to you through the Marketplace platform have a FINDER'S FEE, or commission, associated with them. The Finder's Fee varies from brand to brand. For instance, on the eSpeakers.com branded site, the Finder's Fee is 10% of the engagement fee. On the WSB DirectConnect brand, the Finder's Fee is 25%.
The Finder's Fee for each job in Marketplace is always prominently displayed so that the Speaker knows what it is. Speakers are never obligated to accept jobs that come to them via the Marketplace platform.
Finder's Fees apply only to the main ENGAGEMENT FEE and do not apply to TRAVEL or MATERIALS fees that may be part of the offer.
The Finder's Fee is deducted from the DEPOSIT that is collected by the platform from the Buyer when the contract is consummated.
In the case of a Speaker performing an engagement at NO CHARGE (for a charity, for instance) the Finder's Fee is $0.00.
PAYMENT PROCESSING FEE
Payments from Buyers are collected using
Stripe payment processing. For bank account payments,
Plaid is used in combination with Stripe. Both of these services have extremely simple interfaces and were selected because they make it so easy on the Buyer.
Payment processing fees are passed through from Stripe and/or Plaid and are not a profit center for eSpeakers. While the Finder's Fee applies only to the main engagement fee, processing fees apply to everything collected from the Buyer.
The processing fees charged by Stripe and/or Plaid are:
-
2.9% for credit cards
-
flat $7.00 USD for bank account debits
- These fees are the same or lower than most other ways to accept payments online.
Speakers will notice that for typical engagement fees, credit card collections are the most expensive by far. Speakers are free to encourage Buyers to pay via one of the other methods.
How Does the Lead Board Work?
This article has helpful information explaining how Speakers interact with the job board.
How Can I Get More Jobs Through the eSpeakers Marketplace?
Check out this article for tips on increasing your search result rank in directories. The higher you rank, the more views your profile gets.
Why Do I Have to Give Stripe My Social Security or Tax ID Number?
When you create a Stripe account, through which the eSpeakers platform will pay you for your work, you are required to enter your US social security number or other tax ID number.
The reason? The United States Government. In particular, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Stripe needs that tax id number to comply with government reporting regulations (
more information on the Stripe.com site
).
You should be very careful about giving out your tax ID number. Stripe is well recognized in the industry for its security and performance, but eSpeakers still encourages you to do your own research, so you're comfortable.
Does eSpeakers Send Out 1099 Tax Forms to US-Based Speakers?
(updated for tax year 2023)
No. Or at least, not often.
No. Or at least, not often.
eSpeakers is considered a Third-Party Settlement Organization (TPSO). When a speaker is booked for an engagement through the eSpeakers Marketplace platform, the contract is between the Speaker and the event organizer. eSpeakers is a third party that handles the payment.
As a TPSO, eSpeakers sends out a 1099-K forms to speakers who did both of these:
- earned at least $20,000 in the calendar year through us
- AND had at least 200 transactions through us (200 engagements in a year is a lot!)
If you meet both of these measures and have not received your 1099-K by February 1, please contact us at support@espeakers.com
This should not be considered tax advice, and we encourage you to seek counsel from your accountant if you have further questions.
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