Break Glass In Case of Emergency

By Jeff Jacobson

If you booked a speaker directly, and he or she cancelled on you, what would you do? Where would you even start?

One of the most common questions I get asked by potential clients is “Why should I use you?” And they don’t just mean me personally or my company, they mean why should I use a speakers’ agency, period.

I understand where they are coming from. Through streaming video such as YouTube and Vimeo, TED talks and personal websites, speakers are more accessible than ever, and often easy to get a hold of directly by conference organizers and event planners.

When I was first asked the question, I responded with the same kind of answers that most businesses like mine tend to offer; we give attentive service, have a customer-comes-first attitude, and possess a work ethic second to none. I’d like to think these are all true of JJA.

However, the biggest reason you should use an agent is because of what sometimes can and will go wrong. When you book a speaker directly, he or she has little vested interest and not enough industry connections to replace themselves.

I like to call this the “break glass in case of emergency” option.

The unfortunate reality when booking high-profile, in-demand speakers is that sometimes they have to cancel. Agents don’t like to talk about this, but having been in this business for years, I can tell you that it happens. Sometimes flights are delayed, sometimes there’s a family emergency, sometimes professional obligations get in the way, but yes – sometimes a speaker is forced to cancel on an event, often at the very last minute.

And then it’s time to “break the glass.”

The first thing I do in a situation like this is let you know that it’s going to be okay, because I know that it will be. I’m a sounding board for you to vent your frustration, letting you know that I’ve been through this before. The next phase is reach out to any and all speakers who I think could be appropriate for you and be available to pinch-hit. Often, getting a replacement on such short notice requires us to cash in our own personal chits or favours, which I am more than happy to do in these type of situations.

Nine times out of ten, these situations are resolved by finding a suitable replacement; it just takes, calm, reason and experience to get from point A to point B. I hope that you don’t have to, but if you do break glass in case of emergency, I’m here to help.