At TYS, our team has booked 5,307 gigs for the speakers we represent.

When a client decides not to book one of our speakers, we ask three key questions—not to change their minds, but to gather actionable intel and better position ourselves for future opportunities.

Q1. What was your #1 deciding factor?

​CONTEXT: Interestingly, 33.2% of our respondents say topic relevance was their primary reason—only 9.7% cite budget. This proves my theory that event planners aren’t risking their money; they are risking their reputation.

Q2. Please be brutally honest: ​why did you choose not to book {Speaker Name}?​

​CONTEXT: This question often reveals gaps in marketing clarity. For example, an event planner might say, “We were looking for a speaker on X​.” ​But our speaker DOES speak on X. This means work must be done on topic clarity, speech titles, or learning outcomes.

Q3. How far in advance do you start looking for speakers when planning an event?

​CONTEXT: This question lets us know when to circle back for future events. When we follow up, we lead with EVIDENCE showing we’ve addressed any concerns raised in question #2.

As John Maxwell says, you either win or you learn.