Disc Jockey News November 2019 • Issue #150
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PAGE 2 • Disc Jockey News • November 2019
By Mike Walter
I love words. When I was a kid, my mom told me whenever I read a word I didn’t know; I should look it up in a dictionary to find out its meaning. I had to chuckle a few years ago when I got my first Kindle because when you read something digitally, if you don’t know a word, all you have to do is press your finger on it and the definition pops up. It’s the same concept, just less walking. My mom also told me that you don’t really own a word until you use it in a sentence. So whenever I learn a new word, I do my best to work it into a conversation. I don’t remember when I first read the word “penultimate,” but it was one of those words I didn’t know at the time. So I put down whatever book or magazine I was reading and looked it up. It means simply, “second to last” - from the Latin, “paene,” meaning “almost” and “ultimus” meaning “last.” All that is a circuitous way of saying, welcome to the penultimate edition of The Disc Jockey News newsprint editions. I was sad when John Young informed me that this amazing publica-
effort in your life is worth it, say “Yes.” Stop analyzing things and waiting for the stars to align perfectly. I could have done that when I was first given the opportunity to contribute to this publication. I could have waited to see if it actually came to fruition. Or if anyone actually read the thing. But I didn’t. I knew enough about the Youngs to know they would make every effort to be successful. And enough about myself to know five to seven hundred words a
DJ of the Year competition, so this looked like another platform for me to contribute and give back to an industry that had been so good to me. And if it raised my name recognition among my peers, all the better. Fifteen years later, I can say that writing for the Disc Jockey News has done all that and more. I couldn’t even count the number of times people have told me that something they read in one ofPAGE my articles impacted their lives, pro6 • Midwest Disc Jockey News • October 1, 2004
The Power Of Saying Yes
tion would cease to exist at the end of 2019. I’ve been writing for The Disc Jockey News since its inception fifteen years ago. I’ve had the opportunity to share with you, dear reader, many of my thoughts about the DJ industry in this space. I’ve written about finding talent, performing, and maintaining a balanced life. I’ve recapped DJ conventions and Moving to a Multi-System Company concerts and shared lessons I’ve learned By Mike Walter in my travels from Ireland to Africa. Wow! A monthly article where I get each DJ you add, you get these benefits Training you may have heard me say “If in your next dream recruit. to share my thoughts on the topic that I over and over until you can actually start Only I Could Clone Myself!” Iʼm a firm Now, just like any good goal setting I’ve celebrated the best parts of our inconsider near and dear to my heart. In measuring your market share in whole believer that we all can. In fact, much exercise, take that piece of paper my opinion the most important part of percentage points. In our county, for like the “6 Million Dollar Man” I not and mount it over your desk. Put it running a successful Multi-System DJ example, Elite Entertainment performs only think you can clone yourself, but somewhere that youʼll see it every day dustry and lamented the worst. And I’ve Business is Maintaining your Staff! at approximately 4% of all the events I think you can make a better you. You and be reminded of what you are looking Check here every month for tips on that take place. That might not sound can start with yourself as the template for. Before you head out to an event, been thrilled to receive positive feedFinding, Training and Keeping the like much but think about it, one in and then find someone who better read it over because you just might bump of your business: the weekend twenty people that attend a party on any exemplifies the traits that make you into that dream recruit on the dance floor. back from so many Disc jockey News’ lifeblood warriors who will represent you and your given weekend in Monmouth County successful. Someone younger, better Or maybe theyʼll be the bartender the New Jersey are seeing one of my DJs. looking and a better dancer for example. next good name. time readers, whether it’s the random email Bill Parcels was recently speaking The exposure factor is very impressive So letʼs start there. Take a figurative you go out to the Dallas media about how tough it which is one reason why two-thirds of look in the mirror and jot down the for a drink, complimenting an article or the face-tois to find quarterbacks in the NFL. He our events every year come from either traits that you believe have made you or the waiter quipped, “you reporters think we just dial direct or secondary referral. We have successful in this business. This isnʼt an the next face accolade at a DJ show. 1-800-Find-A-QB.” Itʼs the same thing literally saturated our market. exercise to pump up your ego, although time you My first suggestion to anyone who we could all use a shot of good self have dinner. in our industry. There is no “1-800-FindA-DJ” for business owners. Discovering is interested in growing their Multi esteem every once in a while, but rather Will So what lesson do I have to share this you and training new entertainers is a difficult System company is you need to treat an attempt to draw a picture of your next r e c o g n i z e task. You can fail more times than you Recruitment and Training as an ongoing dream recruit. Start with yourself as the him or her month? Simply this: say “Yes” to opsucceed and even when you finally find operation. Just like sales and marketing, canvas. What makes you a great DJ? If when you the right person, itʼll take months to train the R&T division of your company needs you regularly receive evaluations from see them? portunities. them properly. Then you cross your to be tended to almost daily. You donʼt your past clients, read through them. And will you fingers and hope you can keep them on plant a bunch of seeds in a garden and After all, what we consider to be our a p p r o a c h John Young asked me to write for The then return three months later to a full own best traits isnʼt as important as what them with a staff. Yet similar to a great quarterback, bloom. New DJs take work to get up to the paying customer sees as our most job offer? Disc Jockey News just as he was launchadding an awesome entertainer to your speed and since no one on staff embodies valuable assets. What do your clients tell Finding out what you need in a dream staff can bring you incredible rewards the level of talent and professionalism as you? Do they say it was your beat for DJ is only the first step to successfully ing this publication back in 2004. I had like extra referrals, the opportunity to the owner (or so we all believe) that work beat mixing? Your voice? Your attention recruiting but itʼs an essential one. As cover more events on those busy days should fall to you. If youʼve ever seen to detail? Jot it all down and create your Prince says, “Paint a perfect picture” no idea at the time what it would amount and maybe even new accounts. And with me do my seminar on Recruitment and list of what you want, no, what you need, before you even begin the search. to. Would anyone read it? Would my The First Mike Walter Article In The Disc Jockey News October 2004 A Free Subscription efforts be for naught? I put those quesFor the latest upcoming regional and national events as well as wasof well within my capabilities. tions aside and said, “Yes.” Why not? fessionally or personally. That’s pow- month timely coverage what is new in the industry, subscribe FOR FREE to the Midwest Disc Jockey News. now, all these years later, I get to I’d submit a few articles and see where erful stuff. It means a lot to me, and I And Nationally Known Best Selling Authors! penultimate article, and I’d it went. This was pre-social media can only thank John and Lori Young for submit• my • Industry Information • Askit Thewasn’t Tech without a bit (MySpace launched the same year), so creating this publication and trusting in be lying if I said • DJ Classifieds getting your message out to the masses me enough to publish my work month of sadness. • Disc Jockey Spotlights Monthly Top Charts That’s the• power of saying, “Yes.” wasn’t as easy as it is today. I saw this after month after month (not to mention Please clip and mail this form to: Mike Walter is the owner of Elite new publication as an opportunity to giving me this front page spot instead of Jockey Newsand a naof New Jersey share my experience and expertise with burying me all the way back where Ron EntertainmentDisc tionally recognized expert in the area of my industry peers and hopefully bolster Ruth’s articles go). 29442 120th St. • Grey Eagle, MN 56336 Say “Yes.” The next time an oppor- multisystem company development and my name recognition as well. I was alBusiness Name: ___________________________________ training. You can contact Mike at ready speaking at national shows at the tunity knocks on your door, say “Yes.” staff Contact Person: ___________________________________ time and had recently taken over the The next time you wonder if some new mikewalter@discjockeynews.com. Address: _________________________________________ reins producing and hosting DJ Times’ venture might pay off or some additional City: _________________ State: ______ Zip: ___________
Midwest
email:____________________________________________
Be a Networking Ninja! By Tamara Sims
As wedding season winds down and the holiday season arrives, we have many opportunities to network and connect with our industry friends and professional associations. Fall and holiday parties abound, and walking alone into an event with many new faces can often feel overwhelming. But if you take time to prepare, you too can become a networking ninja! P l a n a h e a d ! Register for events early and block the time off on your c a l e n d a r. Make it a priority to attend. Share on social media so you can see which wedding professionals are going and even connect with them before the event. You can also do some research on specific individuals you would like to connect with at the event. I always look to see what venue managers, wedding planners, and photographers are attending, as they are great partners for our DJ business. Set a goal for each networking event. For example: “I would like to meet three new contacts” or “I would like to connect with Susie Smith.” If you are more of an introvert, find the event host or someone you know at the event who can help provide an introduction. I am always more than happy to make
connections for others at these events. I like to make people feel comfortable. The more you give, the more you will receive. It doesn’t matter if you know one person at a networking event or 100 people, always be authentic and real. Asking questions and actively listening is key. We have all been in situations where someone talks about themselves non-stop for 10 minutes and never asks one thing about you or your business. Don’t be THAT person! We are all in the same boat, so asking a question as simple as “how has your year been going” or “what was one of your favorite events this year,” are good ice breakers.
Be sure your 30-second elevator pitch is ready to go! What problem do you solve for your clients, what is unique about you and your company and how do you help create a memorable day for your couples? And don’t forget to wear your nametag and have plenty of business cards. I am always amazed by how many business owners forget or run out of business cards at networking events. Keep extras in your car, so you are prepared when your day is rushed, and you don’t have time to run back to your office. So what to do after the event? Remember all those business cards you collected? Don’t just throw them in your drawer. Send a quick e-mail to those you met and keep the connection going. Did you take fun photos? Post them on Social Media the next day. Tag
those you met, the venue, the caterer, and event sponsors, and don’t forget to use the event branded hashtag in your posts. I hope these simple networking tips will lead to deeper connections, stronger listening skills, and new prospects! Please feel free to share your comments with me at: tamarasims@discjockeynews.com or tamara@something2dance2.com Tamara is the Director of Sales and Marketing for Something 2 Dance 2 DJ Entertainment in Schaumburg, IL, which she proudly owns along with her husband Jay Sims. She has over 20 years experience in the wedding industry and loves creating wonderful wedding memories for her brides and grooms.
November 2019 In This Issue:
Page 2: Mike Walter Page 2: Tamara Sims Page 3: Mitch Taylor Page 4: Alan Berg Page 5: Jeffrey Gitomer www.discjockeynews.com www.djntv.com 29442 120th St. Grey Eagle, MN 56336 Phone: 320-285-2323 Published by The Disc Jockey News
Editor/Educational Production Manager/ Sales For DJNews and DJNTV John Young john@discjockeynews.com 320-285-2323 office 612-597-4499 cell
Page 6: Ron Ruth Page 7: Harvey Mackay Page 8: Mike Lenstra Page 9: Recurrent Charts Page 9: Different Spin
Deadlines: Advertisement deadlines are the 20th of the month. The publication is distributed on the 1st of every month. Subscriptions: Subscriptions to the Disc Jockey News are only available for DJNTV Insiders with a monthly or annual membership package. Canadian subscriptions will start January of 2020. Subscribe online at: http://www.djntvinsider.com Advertising: Our ad takers have no authority to bind this newspaper and only publication
Page 10: Keith KoKoruz Page 10: Thomas Heath Page 11: Brian Kelm Page 12: John Young of an advertisement shall constitute final acceptance of the advertiser’s order. Disc Jockey News is published monthly by John Young DBA the Disc Jockey News, 29442 120th St., Grey Eagle MN 56336. Periodicals Postage Paid as Sauk Centre, MN and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: send address changes to Disc Jockey News, 29442 120th St., Grey Eagle, MN 56336.
3 Steps to Save Friendships By Mitch Taylor
Extroverts have feelings too. If you’ve followed me for a while (and many of you reading this have... thank you), you know that I have done lots of training and hosted workshops and podcasts with Certified Personality Trainer Vickie Musni. You may even classify me as an extrovert, and you’d be right. I’m here to tell you that all personality types, including extroverts, have feelings too. Why this topic? After a couple of recent exchanges over the last month or so, it really hit home to me that while some may think extroverts are brash and bold and have a tough exterior, that they may also think that we don’t feel. That is 100% NOT TRUE. Think of an extrovert in your life. Are they also sensitive? Have you ever seen them completely blow up? I know for a fact that I can come across very abrasive sometimes (maybe you’re like me too in that way). It’s important to understand that everyone is going through things in life and that if you “poke the bear” too much, the bear may BLOW. UP. Not good. It’s for this reason that I firmly believe it’s important to understand personalities as much as possible. Let me give you an example. Recently I was on vacation in HAWAII (I’m in Hawaii...it’s absolutely gorgeous, perfect temperature, sun shining…) and I blew up at my lifelong friends we were vacationing with...and it wasn’t good. I look back at it, and I think, “That’s just stupid! Why the hell did I do that?” You have to cut yourself some slack sometimes and realize that things are going to go south in life sometimes, that’s just life. Looking back on it, I had received some very negative news in my life shortly before that trip, and I carried that with me all
the way over to Hawaii and let that affect not only my friends but my vacation with my family. Why did I let it affect that time and space in my life? Because the negative news also affected my family, and I care very deeply about them. If you’re an extrovert like me, have a short fuse or wear your feelings on your sleeve, or maybe you’re an introvert, and you let things just build up until they BLOW UP, what can you do? Take a step back. Breathe. Know that in the end, if it’s not life or death, it’s small stuff. Don’t get so consumed with it. Find another way to let off steam that doesn’t affect your fellow humans. Maybe you channel that energy into something productive with your life, such as a workout, run, or just a walk to clear your head. Come back at the situation with a clear mind ready to tackle it when you have your thoughts back in order. BONUS: If you do blow up, know that your TRUE friends will also realize that it’s only human condition, and they’ll (hopefully) forgive you. I know that I’m thankful my TRUE friends were able to have a conversation with me about it and move forward with our friendship. The bottom line, ALL personalities have feelings. They just handle them differently. Everyone is struggling with something underneath the exterior they show to the world on a daily basis. You have your own challenges; they have theirs. This is not a holier than thou thing. I’ve certainly rub people the wrong way over the years and probably will again at some point like today. :) Be kind. Have that thought in your mind as you move forward as you grow forward in your life and your business. Mitch Taylor is an 18 year veteran of the mobile disc jockey industry, starting out on the cruise ships of Carnival Cruise Lines. He is a member of the American Disc Jockey Association. Mitch owns and operates Taylored Entertainment in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and can be reached at 906.786.6967 or via email at mitchtaylor@discjockeynews. com.
2020 Sponsorhip Options: 1. Disc Jockey News 2. DJNTV 3. DJ Humor 4. DJNTV Training 5. Photo Booth News TV (PBNTV) 6. DJNTV DJ Convention Las Vegas Contact John@discjockeynews.com For More Info
Disc Jockey News • November 2019 • Page 3
PAGE 4 • Disc Jockey News • November 2019
Weddings & Social Media – Why Should They Care? By Alan Berg
Who is your social audience? Many of us have a few different audiences for our social content: current customers, potential customers, industry contacts, family, friends, etc. Additionally, we may have many different pages and channels on which to engage with those audiences: personal pages, business pages, groups, events, etc. Before you start posting (I know it’s a little late for that for most of you) begin with which audience(s) you’re trying to reach, and then what value you’re going to provide them. If they’re not getting value from the interaction, they’re not likely to come back for more. “Why should they care?” That’s the question all wedding professionals should be asking before posting anything on social media. As with all marketing, it’s not about us; it’s about our audience. Too often, wedding pros are posting content that’s interesting to them, but their audience doesn’t care. You can see that there’s very little, if any interaction, and that’s what we’re all seeking on social media. After all, if there’s no interaction, it’s not social, it’s just you talking to yourselves. Another issue is posting content that’s interesting to one of your audiences, but not to the others. The other audiences will disengage and not come back, feeling that there’s no value there for them. I use a personal page on Facebook in addition to a business page. That was a conscious decision because you can’t tag a business in a photo, only in the description that goes along with it. I realize that my nearly 5,000 ‘friends’ aren’t the same as my offline ‘friends.’ That said, a few of my offline friends like seeing what I’m up to with my business. They follow my travels and will comment on them to me when
we’re together. That’s great, but they’re not in our industry, so they’re not going to become clients. Getting an audience is hard enough, with the millions of other pages that they could be viewing. So, once you do get their attention, how are you going to keep it? Pay attention to the posts and stories that get the most interaction, not just on your page, but also on similar pages and in related groups. Look for the influencers that your audience is already following, and take note of what kinds of posts and stories are getting good engagement. Don’t copy what they’re doing. Rather, notice what kinds of things are getting people to Like, Comment, and Share those posts and stories. You should also be commenting and sharing, so the followers of those pages see you as engaged in the conversation. What do the numbers mean? Wedding audiences are transient. Couples might follow you during their planning, but why should, or would they keep following you after their wedding? Why should they follow you if they chose another wedding professional (in whatever service you provide)? So, don’t just see how many Likes you have, see if the number is rising. Most people won’t Un-Like your page – you’d have to do something pretty bad to make them do that – they just stop paying attention. Therefore, if your number of Likes isn’t rising, you’re not gaining a new audience. If your number is falling, that’s really bad, because you’re not gaining enough new followers to make up for those that are Un-Liking, or UnFollowing you. It’s not all about the hashtags Hashtags are important for searches, similar to how SEO (search engine optimization) is important to your website. Once someone gets to your post or website for that matter, it’s all about the story you’re telling. Don’t just list hashtags under your photo or image, tell us the story of what’s going on the in the image, and why it matters to us, the reader. Connect the people reading to what’s going on, so there’s context. Post aspirational images, so your target audience can see themselves wanting that result.
You don’t sell services, you sell the results of those services Every wedding planner does essentially the same things. The same goes for officiants, DJs, photographers, caterers, really every wedding and event service. If you make a list, your bullet points look pretty much like everyone else in your category. It’s the intangible feelings and experiences that make you different. Facebook says to use “Lifestyle” images, ones that show people interacting with your product or service. The operative word is ‘people.’ Your customers rely on you to create experiences for people – those throwing the party and their guests. Show those experiences. Talk about those experiences. They’re shopping for the experiences. And don’t forget, your customers are going to review those experiences. Give them something to talk about, because when they’re posting about you… that’s the best kind of social exposure! You don’t need to be everywhere On which social platforms should you participate? You want to be where your target audience is when they’re looking for someone like you. You want to be where they would expect you to be when they are looking for you. For instance, my audience wouldn’t expect me to be on Pinterest, because the results of what I do aren’t particularly visual. If I were an event designer, florist, cake baker, caterer, or dress shop/designer, I’d certainly be active there. Follow your audience Ask your target audience which platforms they’re using for their wedding or event planning. See where they’re going for inspiration. That’s where you want to plant your flag. I’m very active on Facebook. I used to be more active on Twitter, but my audience, you, has moved to Instagram, so I’m much more active there. I use the easy tools in Instagram to also post my content on Twitter and my Facebook page. I wish it would also post it to my personal page, but, currently, it only posts to business pages. I’m somewhat active on LinkedIn because I keep getting connection requests there. I try to remember to post my content there as well, but I get very
little engagement when I do, even when the same or a similar post is getting interaction on Facebook or Instagram. If my audience wasn’t growing on LinkedIn, I’d stop participating. Where’s your audience, and why should they care? This brings us full-circle, and leaves you with a lot of questions that, hopefully, you’re able to answer: Where is your audience? (which platforms) Are you on the right platforms at the time they’re looking for someone like you? Are you posting content that gets them to engage? Where should you be purchasing ads and/or boosting posts? If you have multiple audiences that you’re trying to engage, do you have separate pages for each one, or are you active in the many groups where they each hang out? How are you going to measure your ROI (return on investment) from your efforts with social media? See how many of those questions you can answer before you waste any more time and effort on social media. If you’re like most of us, time is your most precious asset. You only have a finite amount of time to spend with family, friends, and in and on your business. Make the most of your investment in social media, and don’t worry that others are on sites where you’re not. Maybe they’re not getting a good, or possibly any ROI. Maybe they are, but the time/ effort/investment would be too great for you to achieve an acceptable ROI. You don’t have to be on every platform just because a friend or competitor is there. Choose where you want to be, provide a consistent value for your audience, and measure your return. Alan Berg has been called “North America’s Leading Expert and Speaker on the Business of Weddings and Events”. Find out more about his speaking, website reviews, consulting, books, DVDs and audio presentations at http://www.AlanBerg.com - email or call Alan, 732.422.6362
Disc Jockey News • November 2019 • Page 5
When You Walk In Empty Headed, You Walk Out Empty-Handed By Jeffrey Gitomer
How much of your presentation is “standard”? Whether you sell a product or service, whether it’s simple or sophisticated, how much (what percentage) of your presentation is the way you usually present it? Void of personalization? Void of customization? Void of interaction? And all about you. What kind of presentation do you think your prospect wants? • They want to know what the value is to THEM. • They want to know how this fits into THEIR business or life. • They want to know how THEY benefit. • They want to know how THEY win. • They want to know how THEY produce. • They want to know how it affects THEM. • They want to know how THEY profit. • They want to know how easy it will be put to use in THEIR environment. And NONE of those elements exist in your standard (canned) presentation. Rats. Why are you giving a “we-we” presentation (all about you and how great you are), when the customer only wants
a presentation in terms of them? HERE’S THE REALITY: When you walk in empty headed, you walk out empty-handed. IDEA: Take all the boring crap you were going to say to the customer, and send it to them in an email saying, “Here’s my presentation for the part you could find on Google or on our website, so that when we’re together, I don’t bore you. Rather, I’ll be prepared to give you ideas that lead to (state how they win). Fair enough?” Now you’re a real salesperson. Now you’re forced to go in with ideas and information about THEM that they can use for their own productivity, enjoyment, use, and profit. And you now have a better than 50% chance of making the sale. CAUTION: Unless your presentation is customized and personalized for the customer AND in favor of the customer, there will be a disconnect. Their dominant thought will be, “this guy doesn’t understand me and/or my business.” Here are some keys to understanding whose favor your presentation is geared toward: WE-WE – Statements about you that boast rather than prove. WE-WE – Unfavorable statements about the competition. WE-WE – Comparing yourself to the competition. WE-WE – Self-serving questions. “What do you know about us?” WE-WE – Qualifying questions about who decides, budget, or payment. WE-WE – Non-specific testimonials that praise you, but give no reason why.
WE-WE – Excuses about why you don’t have Twitter activity or a YouTube channel (they searched for it before you arrived). WE-WE – No social media recommendations from customers. THEM – Questions about THEM that reveal their history, their situation, and their motives – their past experience, their wisdom, their opinion. True engagement. THEM – Testimonials that overcome specific objections – price and quality. THEM – Any third party media that supports you or your product – articles or interviews. THEM – Great (current) social media presence (your reputation that helps put the buyer at ease rather than on guard), including direct interaction with customers. THEM – Ideas you created that they can use. Proof you did your “homework.” KEY POINT OF UNDERSTANDING: Features are about you, and benefits are in the middle. They can be stated either way. But value is about them. And value, customer perceived value, needs to be the focus of a “them-based” presentation. WARNING: Don’t be defensive. I can hear you telling me that you give a customized presentation. I can hear you telling me that you’re different than all the other people on the planet. And I can hear you telling me that customers love your presentation and all about the fact you can close three out of four people once you get in front of them. I hope you can hear me say, “That’s a
bunch of crap!” Here’s how to measure your customization reality: 1. Amount of time spent on pre-call research. How well do you know the person and the company you are visiting? 2. The two great ideas you are walking in the door with will benefit them whether they buy or not. 3. The variations that you made in your presentation that adapt to their company, their present situation, their needs, their productivity, and their success. 3.5 Your knowledge of the customer’s buying motives are as good or greater than your selling skills. Them-based are the most difficult sales presentations of all. Marketing departments have no concept of them, and most salespeople aren’t willing to do the work to prepare them. That’s great news for the 5% of salespeople who are willing. They’re easy to identify. They’re always the highest performers and the highest earners. Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of twelve best-selling books including The Sales Bible, The Little Red Book of Selling, The Little Gold Book of Yes! Attitude, and 21.5 Unbreakable Laws of Selling. His real-world ideas and content are also available as online courses at www.GitomerVT.com. For information about training and seminars visit www.Gitomer.com or www.GitomerCertifiedAdvisors.com, or email Jeffrey personally at salesman@gitomer.com.
PAGE 6 • Disc Jockey News • November 2019
Your Performance Defines Your Customers’ Experience By Ron Ruth
My wife Debbie and I recently returned from our annual vacation to Walt Disney World. As many of you already know, we are self-proclaimed “Disney Geeks” and have made Disney World our only vacation destination. We’ve returned to the “House of Mouse” well over 45 times over the past 28 years. There are so many things about the guest experience Disney delivers that we enjoy, amazing things that keep us coming back for more and that I’ve written about in the past. But, during our last visit, I started to take a more, in-depth notice of one of our favorite experiences as guests--the live performances. We love the live performances, whether they’re on a big stage, a small stage, or a popup “street” performance. Those shows always feature Disney’s most amazing and talented cast members who are singers, dancers, musicians, actors, etc. Our absolute favorite live performance is called Festival of The Lion King, and it is performed in the round inside a 1500 seat theatre at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Festival of the Lion King is a 30-minute, Broadway-style show filled with songs, pageantry, acrobats, and puppetry celebrating Disney’s classic movie, The Lion King. The caliber of cast performance in Festival of The Lion King makes it a
show that you’ll want to see again and again and again. It’s that good. But, it’s also just one of a half dozen or so live, big stage performances spread out through the four theme parks at Walt Disney World. As a frequent visitor, I’m guessing that there are more than a dozen small stage or street performances that also take place throughout the day, every day, as well. Some are interactive. Some are not. But all are highly entertaining. On about the third day of our recent vacation, I came across a performance by a band called Matboukha Groove outside the Morocco pavilion within the World Showcase at Disney’s Epcot theme park. The band featured four musicians; two were violinists, one played the guitar, and the fourth was a percussionist and vocalist who stepped off the stage to interact with the small audience of guests who had stopped to gather around their small stage. Even in the uncomfortable Florida heat and humidity, these performers and their performances didn’t miss a beat (pun intended) when it came to delivering a fun, engaging, interactive, and memorable performance. I enjoyed their performance so much; I went back to see them perform two more times that same day and a couple more times a few days later. Each performance was as high-energy and entertaining, if not more, than the one I had enjoyed before. It was during one of those performances that I started thinking about the
number of shows a performing, Disney cast member performs in every day. As I studied the time schedules of all four parks, I found that most shows, big and small, are performed seven to eight times a day. Those daily performances are usually performed by the same cast members. Many times, you’ll see the same cast members performing in the same show over multiple days. That means, they may perform the same musical numbers, dance moves, or acrobat-
ic feats or all of the above a minimum of 40 times or more per 5-day work week. Yet, you’d be hard-pressed to notice a difference in quality from performance to performance. Whether it’s a big production like Festival of the Lion King or a more intimate presentation like Matboukha Groove, the performers are always consistent in the delivery of a high-level performance that makes you want to see it again and again and tell others about it---much like I’ve been doing here. What I find extremely fascinating is how those performers are able to stay upbeat and focused for each performance.
They make it look so easy. How do they do it? I reached out to my friend, Dawn Marie Parks, who is both a street and stage performer at California Adventure and Disneyland. I asked her, “How do performers who often perform in one show, 7-8 times per day, sometimes five days per week, keep fresh? How do they avoid boredom and the monotony of repetition? How do they stay high energy?” There’s gold in her response. “I think about the guests. Basically, all we do as cast members is for the guests. We owe it to our guests to give them our best performance every time. If there is ever a day I feel that I can’t perform to the best of my ability and in a manner that is worth the guests’ time, I make a decision to not work that day. That doesn’t happen very often. But, I’ve had a couple of days where I just had to take off work because I didn’t have the energy to perform properly. I guess you just have to know how to recharge your own tank between shows and know that you have to put it out there because it’s not about you, it’s about the guests.” Another friend and performing cast member, Lauren Pritchard, says, “We remember that it’s always the first time the guest is seeing that show. We remember to always make each other look good and find the fun in everything we do because we create joy for the audience by playing together. As cast members, we only have 10 seconds to show an audience a good time, and that 10 Ron Ruth Continued On Page 9
Customer Service Always Matters
Disc Jockey News • November 2019 • Page 7
By Harvey Mackay
A man entered a shoe repair shop and said to the owner, “I just found this claim ticket for a pair of shoes I dropped off … 10 years ago.” “Oh my,” the shopkeeper chuckled. “Let me take a look at that,” he said as he inspected the ticket. “I hope we still have them. I’ll go in the back and check.” T h e shopkeeper could be heard rummaging through boxes before he called out, “They’re still here!” “That’s great!” the man said when the shopkeeper emerged from the back room holding a pair of dusty shoes. “How much do I owe you?” “They’re not ready,” the shopkeeper replied, “but I can have them back to you by next Tuesday.” We’ve all been in that man’s shoes, metaphorically. We do business with an organization, only to find out the customer isn’t really the most important person to them. Regardless of how often I speak or write about service, the response is most often centered on personal experiences that have disappointed. On rare occasions, I hear about truly amazing service, and it just reinforces how important it is to share these stories with our sales force. Let me give you an example. In the envelope manufacturing business, of which I’ve been a part for 50plus years, we win or lose customer jobs by pennies per thousand, which at times seems incredulous for pricing to be so dominant in the decision process. However, when most of our customers are purchasing between tens of millions to in several instances over 500 million envelopes annually, the pennies do count up to thousands of dollars of cost difference. With our product and pricing so dramatically close between customer options, it truly does come down to quality of service and flexibility in adapting to the “ordering off the menu” requests by customers. But the sale only begins when the customer says yes. In addition to the sales force, every person who has a hand in the production, packaging, delivery, and post-sale customer service needs to be on board with the company’s philosophy and promises. Otherwise, that customer probably won’t be a customer for long. Keeping employees motivated to consistently provide high-quality customer service is absolutely essential for any company that plans to stay in business. Here are some basic considerations: • Hire the right people. The rule is you either hire smart or manage tough. Hiring smart is much, much better, but it requires you to know what you’re looking for and to recognize the skills and attitude you want. Look at experience and listen to your gut. If you still aren’t sure,
ask yourself if you’d want that person to be working for your competitor. If the answer is no, then you know your answer. • Keep score. Measure performance, or your team will be in perpetual warm-up mode. Let employees know what they’re being measured on and how it’s relevant to them, their customers, and the organization’s bottom line. Clear expectations eliminate misunderstandings. • Recognize employees. Make sure you reward the desired outcome. For instance, if you want your salespeople to create relationships and long-term accounts, reward them. We have a designated parking spot with their name near the door for the salesperson of the month. A “wall of fame” is great motivation for displaying the
above-and-beyond attitude you want to encourage. • Practice what you preach. If you want a motivated customer-service rep, you need to be motivated yourself first. You need to love your customers because if you’re not sincerely motivated yourself, you’ll never motivate other people to provide service excellence. Steve Hardison, who went on to become a successful executive coach, began his career in sales at Xerox. Product returns were against company policy at the time, but according to a story in the Chicago Tribune, one day Hardison decided to let one of his customers return a copier regardless of the rule. When his boss demanded an explanation, Hardison said, “If I lose a job because I took care of a customer,
then I never had a job.” The next day his boss’s boss called him into his office. Hardison fully expected to get fired. Instead, the executive said, “I wish I had more people like you.” His reputation for honesty and integrity was made. Mackay’s Moral: There is no such thing as too good where customer service is involved. Reprinted with permission from nationally syndicated columnist Harvey Mackay, author of the New York Times #1 bestseller “Swim With The Sharks Without Being Eaten Alive,” “We Got Fired!...And It’s the Best Thing That Ever Happened to Us,” and “The Mackay MBA of Selling in the Real World.
PAGE 8 • Disc Jockey News • November 2019
The Way I See It: A New Experience By Michael J. Lenstra
There’s a new opportunity for DJs to learn and grow this coming February when the Disc Jockey News unveils its DJNTV DJ Conference February 24th27th at the South Point Hotel and Casino on the edge of the Las Vegas strip. The show, sponsored by the Disc J o c k e y News, will run in conjunction with Photo Booth Expo 2020 at the same location. Although DJ shows in Las Vegas are nothing new, show producer John Young promises this one will be unlike any that have come before. “This show will have more of a roundtable feel to it,” John explains. “Whereas shows in the past have been more of a lecture series where a presenter spoke, and the attendees took notes, this one will be more interactive, allowing more connection between the attendees and the presenter.” Presenters will also be available after their seminars for one-on-one conversations in the DJNTV Chill Room. The Photo Booth Expo (https://photoboothexpo.com/), which this year partners with the DJNTV DJ Conference, is in its sixth year of operation in Las Vegas. Rob Savickis, creator of the show, noted that the two conferences were complementary, since
many of those attending past expos were also involved with the DJ business in some capacity as well. Therefore, he felt it would be a natural fit to include a DJ component to the show. Because the Disc Jockey News has been a past supporter of the event, Rob approached John with the concept, and John was happy to tackle the endeavor. While they share a space, John notes that the itineraries are tailored to who will be attending. John stated, “We’re going to have our own educational track, and then we’re going to be sharing that exhibit hall so we can check that out and have a lot of fun with the crew from Photo Booth. But, they are going to have their educational track; we are going to have ours.” he said. “They are well on the way to 4000 sold passes for the 2020 show,” John states of the Photo Expo, “and a good percent of them are in the DJ business as well.” Photo Booth Expo saw over 4000 attendees for their 2019 show. John is no stranger to producing shows for the Mobile DJ community, having put together events for the Minnesota Association of Professional Disc Jockeys, several conclaves for the Disc Jockey News and the Southern Disc Jockey News conference. Attendees will recognize some familiar presenters at the revamped conference, intermixed with some new faces. “Every one of our presenters will have some connection with the Disc Jockey News TV, says John, “whether that be that they are part of one of our shows or we had them on as a guest on one of our shows.” Attendees will also have the option of taking part in more thorough workshops being
held by industry stalwarts Mitch Taylor, Ben Stowe, and Ron Ruth, respectively. Michael Joseph and Michael Young will be providing the music mixes from the main stage and, continuing a longstanding tradition, Bill Hermann, Executive Director of The Entertainment Experience Workshop, will serve as Master of Ceremonies. John stated of Bill, “Bill Hermann has been my MC for my shows from the very first one we did back in the early 2000s. He’s been with me at every show, and Bill Hermann is going to be the man with the microphone at this year’s show. We’re really excited to be bringing Bill and the whole crew from DJNTV to Las Vegas for what will be one of the greatest educational experiences in 2020.” The interactive seminars will cover a range of topics, such as social media marketing, branding your business, wedding performance tips, and parttime versus full-time advantages and disadvantages. More unique topics include seminars on working with your spouse in the business, how to automate your multi-op system, and some music mixing tutorials with both Virtual DJ and Serato. Additional in-depth training will be available through a trio of Master Classes, which include Ben Stowe’s “Audio Master Class” on Tuesday morning, “Wedding Sales In The Digital World” that will be presented by Mitch Taylor on Tuesday afternoon and Ron Ruth’s “How to Speak Fluent ‘WOW!’” on Wednesday morning. These affordably priced master classes include recordings of sessions that overlap the master class so that attendees can review the infor-
mation after the conference ends. An exhibit hall will also be part of the program and will feature products and services from over a dozen DJ related businesses. After hour party entertainment is also planned with a seventies and eighties themed night set to kick things off Monday night. Then, of course, there is always the heart of the Vegas strip, which is only an eleven-minute cab ride from the South point hotel and Casino. Beyond simply setting a benchmark number of attendees for the show, John has another barometer for measuring the conference’s success. He states, “I want to hear stories for our attendees six months after the show on how it has changed their business and changed their lives.” Tickets for the 2020 event are available at http://www.djntv.com/tickets. Use promo code DJNTVSHOW2020 to get the current best rate on the full show pass. The way I see it, you can never have too many opportunities to develop your craft. I already have my pass and my hotel reservation. Will I see you in Vegas? Until next month. ~ Michael ~ Michael J. Lenstra is a self-described Wedding DJ and is celebrating over 25 years in the Mobile DJ industry. He is a full-time DJ/Entertainer, and is owner of Alexxus Entertainment in Dubuque, Iowa.He can be reached at mikelenstra@discjockeynews.com
Disc Jockey News • November 2019 • Page 9
Top 50 Charts for November 2019
The Weekly Printable Charts (Top 50, Recurrent and Billboard Singles) are available at http://www.DJNTV.com/charts Sponsored by iDJPool.com Pop 1 LEWIS CAPALDI Someone You Loved 2 LIZZO Truth Hurts 3 SHAWN MENDES & CAMILA CABELLO Senorita 4 POST MALONE Circles 5 JONAS BROTHERS Only Human 6 ED SHEERAN Beautiful People f/Khalid 7 SHAED Trampoline 8 LIZZO Good As Hell 9 ED SHEERAN & JUSTIN BIEBER I Don’t Care 10 POST MALONE Goodbyes f/Young Thug 11 SAM SMITH How Do You Sleep? 12 NF Time 13 MAROON 5 Memories 14 HALSEY Graveyard 15 LIL NAS X Panini 16 CAMILA CABELLO Liar 17 TAYLOR SWIFT Lover 18 MARSHMELLO & KANE BROWN One Thing Right 19 NORMANI Motivation 20 DAN + SHAY & JUSTIN BIEBER 10,000 Hours 21 ARIANA, MILEY, LANA Don’t Call Me Angel 22 NIALL HORAN Nice To Meet Ya 23 BILLIE EILISH all the good girls go to hell 24 WHY DON’T WE What Am I 25 CHRIS BROWN No Guidance f/Drake 26 SELENA GOMEZ Lose You To Love Me 27 LIL TECCA Ransom 28 KYGO & WHITNEY HOUSTON Higher Love 29 DIPLO & JONAS BROTHERS Lonely 30 ILLENIUM Good Things Fall...f/J.Bellion 31 ALESSIA CARA Rooting For You 32 SAWEETIE My Type 33 5 SECONDS OF SUMMER Teeth 34 AJ MITCHELL Slow Dance f/Ava Max 35 LAUV f***, i’m lonely f/Anne-Marie 36 FRENCH MONTANA Writing On The Wall 37 TONES AND I Dance Monkey 38 BEBE REXHA You Can’t Stop The Girl 39 POST MALONE Take What You Want 40 MEGAN THEE STALLION Hot Girl Summer f/N. Minaj... 41 DOMINIC FIKE 3 Nights 42 BLACKBEAR Hot Girl Bummer 43 LOUD LUXURY & BRYCE VINE I’m Not Alright 44 LIAM PAYNE Stack It Up f/A Boogie 45 BTS Make It Right f/Lauv 46 THE CHAINSMOKERS & ILLENIUM Takeaway f/Lennon Stella 47 KESHA Raising Hell f/Big Freedia 48 PUBLIC Make You Mine 49 DJ SNAKE, J BALVIN, TYGA Loco Contigo 50 CHARLIE PUTH Mother Urban 1 DABABY Baby Sitter f/Offset 2 WALE On Chill f/Jeremih 3 MEGAN THEE STALLION Hot Girl Summer f/N. Minaj... 4 CHRIS BROWN Heat f/Gunna 5 CHRIS BROWN No Guidance f/Drake 6 LIZZO Truth Hurts 7 MUSTARD Ballin’ f/Roddy Ricch 8 LAYTON GREENE Leave Em Alone f/Lil Baby ... 9 LIL TECCA Ransom 10 DJ KHALED Wish Wish f/Cardi B/21 Savage 11 QUALITY CONTROL/LILBABY/DABABY Baby 12 MEGAN THEE STALLION Cash S**t f/DaBaby 13 YOUNG THUG Hot f/Gunna 14 LIL NAS X Panini 15 YELLA BEEZY Restroom Occupied f/C. Brown 16 DRAKE Money In The Grave f/Rick Ross
17 BLAC YOUNGSTA Cut Up 18 FAT JOE Yes f/Cardi B, Anuel AA 19 SUMMER WALKER Playing Games 20 ROTIMI Love Riddim 21 CHANCE THE RAPPER Hot Shower 22 DANILEIGH Easy 23 AMBJAAY Uno 24 SAWEETIE My Type 25 THE BONFYRE U Say f/6LACK 26 TRAVIS SCOTT Highest In The Room 27 YOUNG THUG The London f/J. Cole/T. Scott 28 BIG SEAN Bezerk f/A$ap Ferg, Hit-Boy 29 ALICIA KEYS Show Me Love f/Miguel 30 TEYANA TAYLOR How You Want It f/King Combs 31 RICK ROSS Gold Roses f/Drake 32 DOJA CAT Juicy 33 YFN LUCCI All Night Long f/Trey Songz 34 YOUNG DOLPH & KEY GLOCK Water On Water On Water 35 BURNA BOY Ye 36 JEEZY MLK BLVD f/Meek Mill 37 CARDI B Press 38 FETTY WAP Birthday f/Monty 39 SIR Hair Down f/Kendrick Lamar 40 NLE CHOPPA Camelot 41 A BOOGIE WIT DA HOODIE Mood Swings 42 SWAE LEE Won’t Be Late f/Drake 43 LIL DURK Bora Bora 44 POST MALONE Enemies f/DaBaby 45 FABOLOUS Choosy f/Jeremih & Davido 46 K CAMP Lottery 47 DVSN Miss Me? 48 CALBOY Chariot 49 YK OSIRIS Ride f/Kehlani 50 JACQUEES Verify f/Young Thug & Gunna Hot Adult Contempory 1 TAYLOR SWIFT You Need To Calm Down 2 LEWIS CAPALDI Someone You Loved 3 SHAWN MENDES & CAMILA CABELLO Senorita 4 ED SHEERAN & JUSTIN BIEBER I Don’t Care 5 JONAS BROTHERS Sucker 6 JONAS BROTHERS Only Human 7 MAROON 5 Memories 8 ED SHEERAN Beautiful People f/Khalid 9 MAREN MORRIS The Bones 10 LIZZO Truth Hurts 11 SHAED Trampoline 12 SAM SMITH How Do You Sleep? 13 POST MALONE Circles 14 TAYLOR SWIFT Lover 15 P!NK Can We Pretend f/Cash Cash 16 DAN + SHAY & JUSTIN BIEBER 10,000 Hours 17 ROB THOMAS Can’t Help Me Now 18 GOO GOO DOLLS Miracle Pill 19 CAMILA CABELLO Liar 20 NIALL HORAN Nice To Meet Ya 21 KYGO & WHITNEY HOUSTON Higher Love 22 DOMINIC FIKE 3 Nights 23 HALSEY Graveyard 24 JOHN K If We Never Met 25 X AMBASSADORS Hold You Down 26 TWENTY ONE PILOTS The Hype 27 ANDY GRAMMER Wish You Pain 28 KELSEA BALLERINI Miss Me More 29 MARSHMELLO & KANE BROWN One Thing Right 30 ILLENIUM Good Things Fall...f/J.Bellion 31 LIZZO Good As Hell 32 SELENA GOMEZ Lose You To Love Me 33 DEAN LEWIS Waves
34 MADDIE POPPE Not Losing You 35 BEBE REXHA You Can’t Stop The Girl 36 DERMOT KENNEDY Outnumbered 37 POST MALONE Goodbyes f/Young Thug 38 AMERICAN AUTHORS Bring It On Home 39 LUKAS GRAHAM Lie 40 TONES AND I Dance Monkey 41 ONEREPUBLIC Rescue Me 42 WALK OFF THE EARTH I’ll Be There 43 ADAM LAMBERT Superpower 44 STEVE AOKI & BACKSTREET BOYS Let It Be Me 45 THE RUA Hey You 46 WHY DON’T WE What Am I 47 CHARLIE PUTH Mother 48 JOHN MAYER Carry Me Away 49 FREYA RIDINGS Castles 50 INGRID MICHAELSON Young And In Love Country 1 COLE SWINDELL Love You Too Late 2 RUSSELL DICKERSON Every Little Thing 3 CHRIS JANSON Good Vibes 4 B GILBERT & L ELL What Happens In A Small Town 5 LUKE COMBS Even Though I’m Leaving 6 OLD DOMINION One Man Band 7 MATT STELL Prayed For You 8 KEITH URBAN We Were 9 THOMAS RHETT Remember You Young 10 KENNY CHESNEY Tip Of My Tongue 11 LADY ANTEBELLUM What If I Never Get Over You 12 JON PARDI Heartache Medication 13 DUSTIN LYNCH Ridin’ Roads 14 MIRANDA LAMBERT It All Comes Out In The Wash 15 TIM MCGRAW Thought About You 16 JIMMIE ALLEN Make Me Want To 17 GARTH BROOKS & BLAKE SHELTON Dive Bar 18 JASON ALDEAN We Back 19 SAM HUNT Kinfolks 20 DAN + SHAY & JUSTIN BIEBER 10,000 Hours 21 MIDLAND Mr. Lonely 22 BLAKE SHELTON Hell Right f/Trace Adkins 23 INGRID ANDRESS More Hearts Than Mine 24 JORDAN DAVIS Slow Dance In A Parking Lot 25 KELSEA BALLERINI homecoming queen? 26 KANE BROWN Homesick 27 RYAN HURD To A T 28 LUKE BRYAN What She Wants Tonight 29 TRISHA YEARWOOD Every Girl In This Town 30 BRETT YOUNG Catch 31 RILEY GREEN I Wish Grandpas Never Died 32 DYLAN SCOTT Nothing To Do Town 33 TRAVIS DENNING After A Few 34 JAKE OWEN Homemade 35 MAREN MORRIS The Bones 36 SCOTTY MCCREERY In Between 37 CAYLEE HAMMACK Family Tree 38 MICHAEL RAY Her World Or Mine 39 LOCASH One Big Country Song 40 GONE WEST What Could’ve Been 41 ERIC CHURCH Monsters 42 CHASE RICE Lonely If You Are 43 CARLY PEARCE & LEE BRICE I Hope You’re Happy Now 44 MORGAN WALLEN Chasin’ You 45 FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE Blessings 46 MADDIE & TAE Die From A Broken Heart 47 GABBY BARRETT I Hope 48 BILLY CURRINGTON Details 49 HOOTIE & THE BLOWFISH Hold On 50 CHRIS YOUNG Drowning
PAGE 10 • Disc Jockey News • November 2019
Should You Do The DJ Show Or Not? By Keith KoKoruz
Let me start by saying that I love going to trade shows and conferences. I feel it is the best investment a business owner can make regardless of the industry that you are in. I know that in 2019, there are thousands of videos online, not to mention industry Facebook groups, but attending a conference puts you in a different mindset than watching a Youtube video or reading a book even if it is by the presenter at the conference. It has been reported that only 5% of the US population chooses to attend seminars, conferences, etc. to further their career unless it is required by their occupation’s licensing and or certification. When I attend the various shows that I attend, I choose to believe that I am in the top 5% of my industry because the people in attendance have chosen to invest in themselves to get better at what they do. This year has been a busy year for me. I have not only attended a series of various trade shows, but I also produced one. Let me start by speaking as an attendee with some suggestions to get the most out of any conference. Go with an open mind. Understand that you will find some seminars below where you are in your career, and some will still be beyond where you are in your career. This is natural as the conference was not designed only for you. Sit in all of the seminars anyhow. You may find some of the seminars droll, but during those 50 minutes, you may be reminded of one simple thing that you used to do that you should start doing again. For me, it was a reminder about the power of a handwritten Thank You card. Prior to automated CRMs, and quick, imper-
sonal texts or emails, I used to handwrite a personal note and drop them at the mailbox on my way home. I used to email but have switched back, and the results have been noticeable. This is not a huge nugget, but the reminder has easily paid for itself with one event booked. Another thing to remember is that if you are coming for the conference, stay at the conference during conference hours. Las Vegas is an awesome city, and this year Mobile Beat, Photo Booth Expo, Wedding MBA, and LDI all were held in Las Vegas. I saw pictures of attendees hiking, laying by the pool, enjoying Vegas all during conference hours more than I saw some involved in the conference. If you want to go to Vegas to relax, then go. If you are going to the conference, choose to be present at the conference or don’t go. Try to stay for the entire conference right up until the last seminar. A few years ago, I was the last person presenting at DJ Times. A new presenter with a ton of experience was speaking before me. I had never heard of him. His name was Brian Buonassissi. He gave the best seminar of the entire conference to an audience of perhaps 40 people. Everyone that left the seminar early missed out. Since then, Brian has gone on to becoming one of the best presenters in our industry and is spearheading the most progressive DJ event in the industry. It is called the DJ Collective. This year I was unable to attend Mobile Beat or the Photo Booth show; however, one of the presenters who was at both was Alan Berg. He is the leading sales and marketing professional in the wedding industry as far as I am concerned, and any time that I get to see him live, I get totally pumped up again. I have had the good fortune to have him speak for me at The Marquee Show, as well as for my bridal show companies, Think Tank, and the ADJA. If you see him on a speaker line up at a conference you are considering attending; you will not be disappointed.
I did attend the Midwest DJs Live show in Milwaukee this year, and it is one of my favorite shows. The volunteer staff of dedicated DJs who put on this show is amazing. They really do an awesome job. They bring in a lot of very successful DJs to share their knowledge with their attendees, and if you live in the Midwest, you are doing yourself a disservice by not taking the time to attend. Their next show is in the spring of 2020 in Milwaukee again. I understand that my opinion of the Marquee Show is bias; however, let me tell you about the amazing people who have spoken at my show in the past two years. We have had Alan Berg, Andy Ebon, Nate Nelson, Brian Buonassissi, Jeffrey Scott Gould, Nick Spinelli, Michael Cerbelli, Jeffrey Craig Siber, Adam Weitz, Donnie Lewis, Jazmine Gonzalez, Jordan Marshall, Kate Patay,
DJ Flipside and John Young to name but a few. For a show that is only two years old, this speaker lineup is more advanced than shows in existence for over 20 years. You could never have access to these people online. Attending conferences allows you the opportunity to connect with all of these people. I also attended DJ Times this past August, and this show has been the show that has helped me grow my business the most. I started attending the DJ Expo in 1992, only two years in as a business owner. Each year, I learned more and more and have met some of the most incredible people you could ever know in this business. The reason that I am
writing this very article is because of meeting John Young at this show and then many years later sitting next to him by coincidence on a flight to this very show. This show has a lot of the east coast staples speaking at it, and it hosts the largest trade show floor in the DJ industry. Now let me speak to you as a producer. This is an extremely difficult job. You want to be all things to all people; however, the finances simply don’t allow this to happen. We can’t have members of the tv show Shark Tank speak at our conference because their fees are all over six figures for a 60-minute presentation. We try to do everything possible to bring in great speakers who have had success in various parts of the DJ industry or have something unique to say and teach. We try to bring in as many outside experts as possible as well; however, everything is based on our budget based on how many people we anticipate buying passes. Major manufacturers are looking to brand their company, introduce their new products and services to you, as well as sell you something while you are there. When attendees don’t buy their products at these shows, the exhibitor won’t come back. The misconception is also that these large companies should throw parties with open bar, food, and celebrity performers. That simply isn’t realistic. Wedding MBA has roughly 5,000 attendees at their show. There has to be approximately 1 million wedding vendors in North America alone. Think about that for one minute. That comes out to less than 1%. I have been attending shows since 1989, and I have always left with more ideas and knowledge than I can implement; however, I can’t imagine ever not attending conferences. You can reach Keith KoKoruz at KeithKoKoruz@discjockeynews.com.
How To Effectively Utilize Charity Events To Generate Business By Thomas Heath
The call (email text, message, etc.) comes in for a request for information. Excitedly, you open it up only to read that it is a request for a charity event. They may actually be looking for great entertainment for their event, but feel that because it is for “a good cause,” y o u should be stoked to do it for free. Don’t get me wrong here; I am a firm believer in paying your “Karma bill” in whatever way seems fit for you and your business. In fact, my wife and I were surprised when we received the Be United award
this year from the United Way for the charity events that we’ve done for that great organization. They actually gave us the award at an event where we were volunteering. Talk about surprised. But let’s face it, not every charity is a “good cause” for everybody. If you’re looking for exposure (I know…), you have to ensure that it is a win/win/win. The three wins that I refer to are as follows. 1. A win for the charity 2. A win for the event 3. A win for you, the business owner. You have to define what a win for you is. Is it giving for the sake of giving, or is it something else? Is it a trade for your time, and the goodwill and exposure that come from the community involvement? If it is your intent to give to get more goodwill and word of mouth (re: free advertising), I suggest that you speak with the organizers and ask to be listed as a sponsor. It is imperative that you set
solid goals in advance, with measurable results. Areas to think about include placement on their materials, social media content including video interviews with all of the sponsors (you included) well in advance of the event, etc. Always set a monetary amount for what you are going to do as well. This shows your value to them and to their cause/ function. I can only assume that if you are reading this fine publication, you are a professional entertainer. Professionals should get paid for their work. Whether you are an amazing DJ that can mix from “Dancing Queen” to “The Git Up” into “Careless Whisper” without missing a beat... If you can do that, you NEED to send me that mix! O if you are an incredibly talented Master of Ceremonies that can keep a room hanging on every word you say (Thanks MarBecca), you have something that can make their event better. Finding an entertainment sponsor for
their event is a good way to actually get some income from an event that you don’t feel strongly enough about for donating your time. In the past, I have gotten their list of past donors, and gone business to business looking for sponsors. This way, YOU are setting what you get paid for these events yourself. Whatever your end game is for charity events, giving to give is always the best course of action. Doing it as part of your business plan does take some work on your part, but the rewards are there for the giving. Thomas Heath is the owner of A+ Event Entertainment of Boyne Falls, Michigan. You can reach Thomas at thomasheath@discjockeynews.com.
Disc Jockey News • November 2019 • Page 11
YOU Do YOU! By Brian Kelm
No matter who you are with or what you are doing, BE YOURSELF! If you are trying to be something or someone you are not, it may feel good temporarily to be accepted but is inauthentic to who you are and a shortterm persona at best. The best foundation you will ever create in your life is your belief system. Everything you do in life is created with your beliefs, values, and ethics. They don’t waver, are not negotiable, and need to be firm for anything else to build on. We all want to belong to a community, group, and tribe. This will only work authentically if you are honest with yourself and listening to your heart. Your belief system and identity is a journey that you create, nurture, and evolves day-by-day. Don’t waste your time or any part of your life not being true to yourself
for what you believe. If you create this foundation, no matter what life throws at you, you will be able to deal with it and move past. Consider the following three elements to deepen your authenticity and belief in yourself: 1. Choice – A decision always needs to be made. Follow your gut and heart. What feels right, and why? 2. Commit – Go all in! Be unreasonable and not know how you will fulfill it. You will figure it out! Show up every day, no turning back, and be accountable! 3. Consistency – Working on yourself needs to be done every day for it to be effective. No different than becoming proficient at beat mixing or becoming a great Master of Ceremonies. Let your uniqueness and difference shine while having a rock-solid belief system that you work on daily! There is only one you – embrace it, never settle or stop believing in yourself! Brian Kelm, CWEP, CGWP, WED Guild is a 25+ year wedding entertainment and planning professional that has been all over the United States. Based in Wisconsin. Serving Anywhere. He can be reached at briankelm@discjockeynews.com
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Ron Ruth Continued From Page 6 seconds means everything because first impressions are the most important.” My new Instagram friend, the vocalist for Matboukha Groove, Archie Peña, adds, “We’re just hungry to entertain and make people happy. It’s what we live for.” Your business is very similar to the amazing, talented performances of cast members at Disney Theme Parks. Whether you’re serving a long-time customer or a first-timer, with every customer interaction, your brand is onstage. And, just like Disney’s performing cast members, you have only seconds to make a first and lasting impression. Do they feel valued and welcome? Or, do they feel that they are nothing more than a transaction? Are you consistent in delivering a high-caliber customer experience from customer to customer that they just have to experience again and again while enthusiastically referring it to others? The goal of a dedicated performer is never to settle on an audience of one. The goal is to generate a base of loyal, raving fans who always pack the house. How does your business build that same level of loyal enthusiasm with your customers? The absolute best stage and business performances are emotionally rewarding, as well. An engaging and memorable performance can make an audience -your customers, feel special, important, and as though the experience they’re enjoying was created solely with them in mind. No one goes to the theatre just to get a program and sit in a cushy velvet seat. They go for the experience of feeling engaged, connected to something bigger than themselves. For business owners, that “something” should be
your brand. Here’s why that is so important. According to a survey conducted by FierceRetail.com, “82% of consumers always buy from a brand they have a high emotional engagement with. And for those brands they know and love, consumers are willing to go the extra mile and promote them to their friends. In fact, according to a survey by Capgemini’s Digital Transformation Institute, 81% of emotionally connected consumers will promote the brand to family and friends. In addition, 70% of these respondents spend twice as much with the brands they are emotionally attached to than those without the warm fuzzies.” Most importantly, how hungry are you to make people, your customers, happy? As my new friend, Archie, proved to me and every audience member around me during each of the 4 or 5 performances I saw of Matboukha Groove, you can’t fake that hunger. You either have it, or you don’t. If you don’t, just like audiences of a street performance, your customers will hardly take notice and move on. The quality of your performance is how your customers will define their experience with your business. If it makes a lasting impression by putting your customers first, they’ll always come back more. To learn more about “How To Speak Fluent ‘WOW!:’ The Language Of High-Spending, Loyal Raving Customers.”---the customers you want to attract most to your business, please visit my website at http://RonRuth.com or email me at RonRuth@DiscJockeyNews.com