Frequently Asked Questions
- Where do I begin?
- Why should we hire a professional speaker when someone from within our organization will speak for free at our event?
- I've never booked a speaker before. What if I don't know what kind of speaker I want?
- What qualifications do Harry K. Jones, Kathleen J. Wheelihan, or Dr. Jeffrey W. Drake offer?
- Can I see them on stage before I hire them?
- What can we expect from your speakers’ DVDs?
- Will I be able to communicate directly with the speaker I chose prior to my event?
- What topics do AchieveMax® speakers present?
- How do you tailor your material?
- How long are your presentations?
- How can you effectively address so many different types of groups?
- What kind of humor do you use?
- How can we get extra value by engaging one of your speakers?
- Once I choose a speaker, what's next? How does the process work?
- What do you need from us?
- How much do your seminars and keynotes cost?
- We are a non-profit organization. Do you have any suggestions for sponsors and partners?
- Where are your seminar locations? I don't see them listed on the site.
- How do you handle travel arrangements?
- How do you handle expenses?
- How do you handle banquet/luncheon settings?
- Can presentations be audio or video taped?
- What kind of consulting do you provide?
- Who do I contact to send a resume?
- Who do I contact if I would like to suggest a book for the Top 10 Books List?
- Who designed the website?
- Who do I contact regarding online marketing?
- Who do I contact if I have a product or service that I would like you to buy?
- I'm a student. Who do I contact for a copy of your training materials?
- I'm a student. Who do I contact for a quote for a fictional seminar for a class project?
- How do I submit a link so that my site will be listed on the AchieveMax, Inc. website?
Where do I begin?
Right here. Keep reading and call us anytime if you have questions and would like to speak with a real human being! You will most likely speak with Jeff or Melanie. Just give us a call at 800-886-2MAX in the U.S. or 810-695-6900 outside of the U.S.
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Why should we hire a professional speaker when someone from within our organization will speak for free at our event?
Having your President, CEO, a member, or a vendor speak at your event may be entirely appropriate, depending on your goals for the event. On the other hand, many post engagement questionnaires indicate that participants enjoy and expect someone outside the company or even the industry to give them an entertaining and broader perspective. Our speakers have presentation styles that leave participants energized for positive change and, with our tailoring, we can use those presentation skills to move your participants toward organizational goals.
You may not actually have an either/or situation. Most events have several sessions where speakers or trainers are needed. You can very often have the best of both worlds, since there are appropriate places for everyone to speak. Here’s another consideration: to maximize the impact and return on investment (ROI) from your speaker-dollar—consider using one of our speakers for more than one presentation at your event. We are many times asked to deliver both a keynote as well as a break-out session.
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I've never booked a speaker before. What if I don't know what kind of speaker I want?
Just give us a call at 800-886-2MAX or 810-695-6900 and be prepared to answer the following questions:
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City, State, Country |
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Location (hotel, training center, your facility) |
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What kind of meeting (convention, symposium, trade show, annual event, party, banquet) |
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How many training slots will you want to fill? (HINT - often times the same speaker can deliver a keynote address and a seminar/workshop for your group. You will save money on travel and expenses.) |
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Number of people in the group/audience |
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Demographics (age, gender, career level, other) |
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Preferred topics (customer service, leadership, time management, etc.) |
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The specific goals and objectives for the meeting |
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Budget for speaker and if it includes travel and expenses |
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What qualifications do Harry K. Jones, Kathleen J. Wheelihan, or Dr. Jeffrey W. Drake offer?
To learn more about our professional speakers, please read the background statements for Harry K. Jones, Kathleen J. Wheelihan, and Dr. Jeffrey W. Drake. Also, take a look at our newsletter for articles written by our speakers. Still looking for more information? Give us a call at 800-886-2MAX or 810-695-6900.
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Can I see them on stage before I hire them?
Give us a call at 800-886-2MAX or 810-695-6900, and we’ll send you a DVD with short segments of a presentation.
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What can we expect from your speakers’ video tapes?
First we’ll tell you what you can't expect. You can't expect to see our exact presentation, since each one is unique. We’re known for our customization and have many references to prove it. You can expect to see our style of speaking and examples of our mix of business information and entertainment. You will also see that we always interact with the audience which they really love.
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Will I be able to communicate directly with the speaker I chose prior to my event?
Of course you will. In fact, we encourage this conversation. Once you have finalized the decision and signed a contract, we will pass the information along to the speaker and set up a convenient time for a phone call or series of calls with your key people.
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What topics do AchieveMax® speakers present?
AchieveMax® speakers present more than 50 custom-designed programs. For more information, please look at our pages on training and keynote presentations.
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How do you tailor your material?
We know many speakers say they customize, but to them that means they sprinkle in the name of your organization and charge you extra to pronounce it right. Here's how we do it
- We do a computer search of your industry, your company and your competition;
- When possible, we do phone interviews with audience members (sometimes we incorporate their quotes into color visuals and/or handout materials);
- We review your trade publications;
- We "secret shop" your retail establishments, if appropriate;
- You get handout materials that reflect the theme of your meeting; and
- Titles and subjects can be customized to your event.
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How long are your presentations?
Most of our presentation topics can be designed to fit your available time from 30 minutes to two days. We’re also experienced and flexible enough to adapt when our segment needs to be cut or expanded unexpectedly. We will do whatever we can to accommodate your needs.
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How can you effectively address so many different types of groups?
The fact that we’ve addressed a wide range of audiences is a big part of our added value to your organization. Every group is different, but we’ve found that we face many similar challenges. In our areas of expertise, we bring the best of "what works" from other industries to your group.
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What kind of humor do you use?
We use only clean, non-offensive humor that is topical to your company and/or industry. We make every effort to tie our humor to the subject matter. You will never be embarrassed.
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How can we get extra value by engaging one of your speakers?
Many groups that hire us to do a keynote presentation also have us do a breakout or spouse session at the same event. This gets you a big discount on the second presentation, compared to hiring two speakers, and saves you travel and expenses, which is certainly helpful for those of you on a tight budget. We’ll also provide you with a written introduction of our speaker mixing background information with a touch of humor providing the proper mindset for your audience.
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Once I choose a speaker, what's next? How does the process work?
We send you a contract. A deposit is made at the time of signing. Once we receive the contract and deposit from you, we follow up with:
- An initial planning interview
- Background development
- Detailed development
We will pass the information along to the speaker and set up a convenient time for a phone call with your key people.
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What do you need from us?
As soon as you engage us, we will begin our pre-program research by interviewing you briefly by phone. We will ask for back issues of industry trade publications, newsletters, corporate reports, and a list of your group's "movers and shakers" to be interviewed.
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How much do your seminars and keynotes cost?
Each event is priced out based on what the individual client wants and needs. There are several factors to consider, including the seminar location, length of the program, travel and materials expenses, special needs, etc. Please call us for a free quote at 800-886-2MAX or 810-695-6900. You may also contact us by filling out our form or sending an e-mail to . Please be sure to include your phone number so we can discuss the details of your event.
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We are a non-profit organization. Do you have any suggestions for sponsors and partners?
We have developed a page with suggestions for finding sponsors and/or partners to help cover the cost of bringing in a professional speaker for your event.
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Where are your seminar locations? I don't see them listed on the site.
We do not offer public seminars. Our seminars are custom-designed for your organization and seminars are presented on-site or at an area location of your choice such as a hotel, resort, convention center, etc.
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How do you handle travel arrangements?
Depending on client preference, travel arrangements are made by the client or by our office. Some companies choose to schedule the flight through their corporate travel account for better rates. We use coach airfares whenever possible. We ask that clients reserve our speaker a king, non-smoking room in the hotel of the event billed to their master account, with confirmation sent to our office. If you have specific questions about our speaker’s travel to your event, please contact us.
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How do you handle expenses?
Our staff will handle all the details of your event in a professional and timely manner. Every effort will be made to keep expenses to a bare minimum. You will never have any alcohol or extravagant expenses of any kind charged to your master account.
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How do you handle banquet/luncheon settings?
We have extensive experience as speakers at functions where food is part of the program. Special challenges exist in these settings that must be addressed for a seamless and interesting program. You don't want your attendees saying, "WHEN WILL THIS BE OVER?" We are happy to provide a tip sheet that will help you in designing a banquet or luncheon program.
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Can presentations be audio or video taped?
In most cases it can be arranged for you if done in advance. Based on the desired use and outcome of the tape, sometimes there are copyrights, royalties, time limits and other issues that need to be discussed and agreed upon in writing. There is an additional fee for audio or video taping a presentation.
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What kind of consulting do you provide?
For more information on our consulting, please click here.
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Who do I contact to send a resume?
We do not have any plans to add more speakers and consultants to our team at this time. We are also not a speakers bureau.
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Who do I contact if I would like to suggest a book for the Top 10 Books List?
Professional speaker and avid reader Harry K. Jones writes the Top 10 Books List. You may contact him at .
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Who designed the website?
The website is designed and maintained by AchieveMax® team member Melanie Drake. You may contact her at about technical issues with the site. If you are a web designer and would like to redesign our site, please note that we have no plans to work with outside contractors on the site.
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Who do I contact regarding online marketing?
We are not currently considering additional online marketing or search engine optimization services. Because of the number of unsolicited calls we receive, we require all online marketing inquiries to be e-mailed to . All phone call inquiries will be automatically rejected. If we are interested, we will contact you.
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Who do I contact if I have a product or service that I would like you to buy?
To show us that you have researched our company and really want us as your client, we expect you to read through our site. If you've done your homework, you'll write to about your product or service. If we are interested, we will contact you.
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I'm a student. Who do I contact for a copy of your training materials?
Since each of our seminars is custom-designed for our clients, we cannot provide training materials because they contain proprietary and confidential information for each client.
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I'm a student. Who do I contact for a quote for a fictional seminar for a class project?
Because of the amount of student inquiries we receive, we are no longer able to provide quotations for class projects.
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How do I submit a link so that my site will be listed on the AchieveMax, Inc. website?
We are no longer accepting links to our resource page. Please do not contact us.
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