What are the advantages of booking with EKS?
We know you want the best Talent available within your budget and you need to find the right “Talent fit” for your event objectives and audience. We created EKS with these specific considerations in mind.
- EKS offers a variety of Talent – experts, worship leaders, authors, counselors, comedians, teachers, musicians and more. We want EKS to be your “one-stop go-to” place for all your event booking needs.
- EKS Talent are all proven professionals who have been pre-qualified before being offered membership. Not just anyone can be a member of our Talent pool. Each must be seasoned professionals, mature in their faith, have excellent letters of recommendation, provide personal and Pastoral references and agree to our Statement of Faith.*
- All Talent list their fees in a “range” to allow you room to keep within your budget while still honoring them according to their experience.
- All Talent have agreed to be open to negotiating fees whenever possible.
- EKS guarantees our services. If it should ever happen that Talent you select and book is unable to fulfill the contract we will either work with you to select replacement Talent, or change the date. If neither is possible, EKS will refund your deposit.
- With sufficient advance booking, all our Talent are willing to customize their presentations to help you best meet your event objectives.
- EKS is a collective service. When you book just one of our members, you receive the benefit of all our collective experience and effort.
- All our Talent are willing to be reasonably available pre and post event for planning and debriefing purposes.
- The Administration professionals at EKS are trained to help match the right Talent for the right event for everyone’s success. We will spend time learning about your group and your goals as part of the Talent selection process.
- We select who we want on our Membership Roster. This means you won’t find any difficult, egocentric personalities here.
What is the relationship between the Talent on the EKS Membership Roster and EKS?
EKS is a marketing and promotional service for our Talent. We have no contract with our members. We do not represent them. Each individual Talent represents him or herself. Neither do we have any contracts with our clients. The Performance Agreement a Meeting Planner signs is by and between the Meeting Planner/Organization and Talent. EKS is simply paid a percent of the agreed booking fee in recognition of the services EKS provides. EKS works as a marketing service for our Talent and an advocate for Meeting Planners.
What does it cost the Meeting Planner to book through EKS?
There is no additional cost for the Meeting Planner to book Talent with EKS. The contract rate you pay through EKS is the same if you booked with the Talent direct. Talent on our Membership Roster has agreed to pay a portion of the agreed booking fee we negotiate with you to EKS in consideration of our marketing on their behalf.
What other costs might the Meeting Planner expect?
Costs beyond the agreed amount for the Talent and any travel or other agreed expenses, depends on what additional services you select to have us do. Each element for each event is quoted separately so you can customize an event with all the features your budget permits. We also enjoy brainstorming with our clients to find cost savings alternatives for any event element.
What other costs might the Meeting Planner expect?
Costs beyond the agreed amount for the Talent and any travel or other agreed expenses, depends on what additional services you select to have us do. Each element for each event is quoted separately so you can customize an event with all the features your budget permits. We also enjoy brainstorming with our clients to find cost savings alternatives for any event element.
What are the general terms of booking with EKS?
Simply use our Contact page to inquire about any of our Talent. If you are unsure what individuals may be best for your event we will help you. As much as you want to choose the right Talent for your event and audience, we want that for you. Our collective years of experience allows us to guide you in your planning efforts. It is best to book early to have the best chance of booking the Talent you want. We recommend booking as far in advance as possible. This is why we offer incentives to our clients:
- Advance booking discount – book 15 months or more in advance of event date.
- Multiple Talent booking discount – book 1 or more Talent for same or different events.
What is the cancellation policy for the EKS booking?
We consider cancellations on a case by case basis and seek to have generous cancellation policies since our objective is to maintain long-term relationships with Meeting Planners. Generally, if an event is cancelled by the Meeting Planner less than six months in advance of the event, the 20% deposit is forfeited unless a new date for the event is established under a new contract. Then the 20% deposit paid is applied to the new contract. Any actual expenses Talent has incurred in preparation for the even (i.e. air fare cancellation fees) must also be paid by the Meeting Planner, regardless of any alternative date/contract. In such case, Meeting Planner’s organization will be provided documentation to reimburse Talent.
If Client cancels within ninety (90) days of the event, 50% of the contract must be paid; If Client cancels within sixty (60) days of the event, 100% of the contract must be paid to EKS who will remit funds to Talent.
If cancellation is made by Talent, then Exceptional Keynote Speakers will attempt to find a replacement Presenter/Talent for the event or, to change the date of the Event and maintain the same Presenter/Talent under a new contract. Generally, with a Presenter/Talent cancellation, if no replacement Presenter/Talent or date change is possible, 100% of the deposit is refundable to Organization, with no further obligation of Exceptional Keynote Speakers.
What happens if Talent gets sick or encounters some other reason he or she can’t fulfill the contract?
As stated above, EKS guarantees our services. This is part of the beauty of booking with us! First we have hand-picked each of our members so we are confident that any one of them can fill-in for another—each is of the highest standard of professionalism, ability and ethics and have stellar endorsements. Second, each one is committed to do everything possible to assure your success as the Meeting Planner. We want to do everything possible for your event success and we never want to lose a client. We will work with you to find a suitable replacement from within our Bureau and if that is completely exhausted and/or not possible, we will refund your deposit and still work to help you find a screened, qualified replacement from outside our Bureau.
Read our Statement of Faith here.
