How to set your rate for appearances
As an athlete you will be asked, “What’s your rate to come and speak to my team/company?” In this article we provide you with a framework for exactly how to answer this question.
Here are some general numbers/rules of thumb:
Practice, Visuals & being able to deliver it within a time window: If you have a speech that is rehearsed, includes slides/visuals and can be delivered in a clean 30 min window, then you're safe to charge anywhere between $2,500 to $4,500 as a start. The more practice you have (even if it's yourself at home practicing), the more you can lean towards the higher side.
It's important to know your buyer. If it's a school, you may want to consider an entirely different rate card just for schools. Or what some will do is they will offer 2 speeches per year pro bono, just travel or virtual.
A speaker's fee can often be dictated by:
The number of testimonials they have from people who have seen them speak
Quality of video
Quality of photo
If you're just starting out it's more important that you get reps, photos of you speaking and video of you speaking. This is far more valuable than an initial fee of $2,000 you may receive.
For more on setting your rates, below are two resources that dive into the topic in great detail:
Rate Card - part 1: https://www.cgsportsco.com/cejih-explains/part-1-establishing-a-rate-card
Rate Card - part 2: https://www.cgsportsco.com/cejih-explains/part-2-examining-the-rate-card?rq=rate (this has actual sample rates)
