Working Together
Are We a Good Fit?
Representation works best when a speaker is ready to build something over time—not simply looking for someone to send a few emails or secure a quick booking.
We work closely and selectively, and we ask for the same level of clarity, responsiveness, patience, and investment from the people we represent.
This page is here to help both of us decide whether the relationship makes sense before we begin.
We begin by looking honestly at where you are now.
We first need to understand your work, goals, experience, audiences, current materials, existing relationships, and what is already working.
That honest starting point helps us see what is ready for outreach, what needs clarification, and where focused development will make representation more effective.
You need something real to build from.
You do not need to arrive with a perfect speaker platform. But there does need to be a substantive body of work behind the speaking—professional expertise, a practice, a methodology, a book, a point of view, lived experience, research, or a track record that gives audiences a reason to listen.
If your materials are holding you back, we need to know that.
Clear positioning and credible materials make outreach more effective. We will look closely at your website or speaking page, biography, topics, photography, video, testimonials, press, and speaker materials to understand what supports the work and what may be creating friction.
An entirely new website or every possible asset is not automatically included in the monthly representation engagement. If additional development is needed, we will explain what we recommend, why it matters, and how it should be scoped.
We decide together what you are offering and what it should cost.
Positioning, topics, audience fit, fee strategy, and offer design are strategic decisions—not assumptions we make once and leave untouched.
Together, we clarify what you are bringing to the market, which audiences are most aligned, how the opportunity should be framed, and what fee approach makes sense for the work and the stage of your speaking practice.
We become the business contact for your speaking work.
Within the agreed scope, Cheryl Janis Agency handles organizer communication, follow-up, logistics, and booking development as appropriate so you do not have to manage every moving piece personally.
You retain final authority over whether to accept an engagement. You can continue having warm, direct relationships with the people who approach you; when a conversation becomes a professional speaking inquiry, you connect them with us.
You do not need to negotiate your own fee.
We support or handle fee conversations and negotiation where appropriate and agreed. That creates one clear professional pathway for organizers while allowing you to focus on preparing for and delivering the work.
Speaking opportunities take time.
Relationship-based outbound is cumulative. Some conversations develop quickly; others take months; some never become bookings. Larger conferences, universities, associations, healthcare systems, and institutions may plan many months—or more than a year—ahead.
We do not promise guaranteed speaking engagements, income, booking volume, or timing. We do promise thoughtful positioning, proactive outreach, careful follow-up, honest guidance, and sustained attention to the opportunities that genuinely fit.
The starting engagement is part of the fit.
Four months · $3,000/month · $12,000 total · No commission during the initial engagement
New representation relationships begin with a four-month engagement at $3,000 per month — $12,000 total.
This is not a package or a bundle of predetermined deliverables. It is a period of working together: learning your work, strengthening the foundation of your speaking practice, identifying the right market, and beginning the sustained outreach and relationship-building required to develop opportunities.
During these four months, we take no commission on speaking engagements we help generate. If $20,000 in speaking engagements is booked through our work during the initial engagement, you keep the full $20,000. Our compensation during this period is the monthly retainer and nothing more.
The work develops over the four months. We begin by sharpening your positioning — your topics, offers, audiences, and the value your speaking creates. From there, we identify the associations, companies, professional groups, conferences, and event organizers most likely to respond to your expertise and begin thoughtful outreach. As the campaign develops, the work increasingly becomes follow-up, relationship-building, learning from the market, and helping genuine interest move toward booked engagements.
At the end of the four months, we look together at what we have built and what the market is telling us. If the relationship is a strong fit on both sides, your positioning and materials are ready, and there is meaningful market traction, we may be open to discussing a commission-based relationship going forward.
That is a later conversation, not the starting arrangement.
We do not begin new client relationships with commission-only or performance-based representation.
We work best with people who want a real partner.
- You are open to honest strategic feedback.
- You are responsive and professional.
- You are willing to refine positioning when needed.
- You are willing to keep materials current.
- You are realistic about the time required to develop opportunities.
- You are comfortable collaborating rather than outsourcing every decision.
- You are prepared to invest in the initial engagement.
- You are interested in building relationships and a speaking practice over time.
We may not be the right fit if…
A strong partnership has to feel workable for both of us.
- You are primarily looking for commission-only representation from the outset.
- You need guaranteed bookings or an immediate financial return.
- You are not prepared for the $3,000/month initial engagement.
- You do not want to participate in positioning, interviews, coaching, or material development when needed.
- You want high-volume generic pitching rather than selective relationship-based outreach.
- You are not currently able to respond reliably when opportunities or decisions arise.
What you can expect from us.
- Close involvement from both of us
- Deep listening
- Careful preparation
- Clear strategy
- Proactive outbound
- Relationship development
- Honest feedback
- Thoughtful follow-through
- Speaker coaching and development
- Clear communication about what we are learning
Ready to explore the fit?
If this sounds like the kind of relationship you are looking for, tell us about the work you have already built, the audiences you hope to reach, and where your speaking practice stands today.
Prefer to look things over first? Download How We Work