Booking a customer focus speaker: what should you look for?

A good speaker on customer focus has had customers of their own, tells stories they have lived through, and makes sure your audience knows afterwards what they will do differently tomorrow. A great story is nice. An audience that treats customers differently on Monday is what you book a speaker for.

I speak at kick-offs, customer events and conferences about customer focus, customer experience and sales. Below I set out what to look for as an organiser, even if you end up choosing someone else.

What does a customer focus speaker bring your audience?

Everyone in your audience shapes what the customer experiences. The salesperson, the planner, the colleague in accounts, the board. Many of them just do not realise it.

A good speaker shows them. Afterwards people look at their own work differently. And you have a shared language: everyone knows what is meant by "an 8 is a customer, a 9 or 10 is a fan".

Six things to look for

1. Has the speaker done it themselves? Talking about customer focus is easy. Ask what someone has built. I have been an entrepreneur for more than 25 years, and in 2008 I set up a customer research agency with my brother. It grew to 21 countries, working for clients such as Google, Samsung, Microsoft, Bol and ING. What I share on stage comes from my own businesses.

2. Does the speaker have their own research and stories? For fifteen years my agency followed hundreds of thousands of customers going through a real customer journey. Two things always weighed most: trust, and the feeling of being taken by the hand. Insights like that stick because they come from practice. Check whether a speaker mostly quotes other people, or has stories of their own. Alongside my own work, I like to use research by Bain & Company: 80 per cent of 362 companies believed they delivered a superior customer experience. Only 8 per cent of their customers agreed.

3. Does the audience take part? An hour of listening is a long time. Ask how the speaker involves the room. I ask people, for example, to tell the person next to them about the best customer experience they ever had as a consumer, and then the worst. Everyone has a story. Then I ask: how do we want our customers to talk about us? An audience that talks remembers more.

4. Do people go home with something to do tomorrow? Ask the speaker what the audience will do differently the next day. One concrete example from my talk: the empty chair. At Amazon, a chair at meetings is kept for the customer. Put one in your next meeting and ask: what would he think of this? Anyone can do that on Monday.

5. Does it fit your audience? A room full of account managers needs something different from a room with the whole organisation, from the workshop to the board. Ask the speaker how they tailor the talk to your people. I always want to know beforehand who will be in the room and what they do every day.

6. Is there a follow-up? After the event, the daily grind takes over again. Ask what is possible afterwards. With me, that can be a book for every participant, the free Customer Experience Model scan, or an inspiration session or training with a team. Then the event becomes a beginning rather than a one-off afternoon.

What topics do I speak about?

Topic	What it is about	Suits
Fans are made together: fewer walls	Your customer does not see departments, he sees one company. Wherever work is thrown over the wall, you lose fans.	Kick-offs, customer events, conferences
From customer to fan	An 8 is a customer, a 9 or 10 is a fan. How your whole team turns satisfied customers into fans.	Everyone who shapes the customer experience
Sales, Honest & Relaxed	Selling that feels good, for you and your customer. More revenue with less pressure.	Sales and account teams

The most requested is Fans are made together. My message there is simple: you do not make fans on your own, you make fans together. Look at where the walls and islands are in your company, and make them smaller.

From customer to fan is based on my new Dutch book Van klant naar fan (From customer to fan). Sales, Honest & Relaxed comes from my first book, the Dutch number 1 bestseller of the same name.

What do you sort out as an organiser beforehand?

A speaker can only make a good proposal once you know three things.

The goal. What should be different after the event? "An inspiring closing act" is not a goal. "Sales and service seeing one customer journey together" is.

The audience. Who is in the room, how many people, and in which roles? Do they know each other? Is it your own team, or your customers?

The length and the slot in the programme. An opening needs something different from the slot after lunch. Agree as well whether there is room for interaction, and whether there will be a follow-up.

A tip I often give organisers: let the speaker talk to a few people from the audience beforehand. Then you hear your own customers and your own examples back on stage.

What does a speaker cost?

For talks at events I work with a tailored proposal, because every event is different. For an inspiration session with your own team the prices are fixed; you will find them on the speaker page.

A team leader at Budget Thuis said after a session: "The team was super enthusiastic. Lots of interaction, an open and pleasant atmosphere." That is what I want for your audience too.

Organising an event? Send me the date, the audience and what you want to achieve. I will make you a proposal.