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The Game Master coming to Ontario!

The very first time I met Scott Faver was at the Mobile Beat Las Vegas conference in 2011. Myself, Bryan Podworny & Dale Kerik were staying at the Riviera Hotel & Conference Centre where the conference was taking place and had come downstairs for a networking breakfast with this guy apparently known as “The Game Master”. Having no idea what this was all about and having never before attended any DJ conference in the world, I was intrigued to say the least when I saw the man known as, Scott Faver.

This guy was a ball of energy, had a massive 7:00 AM smile and was wound up and going like the Energizer bunny! Shortly after we’d introduced ourselves to the guys sitting at our table, this man walked up and introduced himself (something like this I’m sure).

“Hi, I’m Scott. And your name is…?”

(obvious response)

“Well it’s great to meet you Dave. Welcome!”

During the next 15 or so minutes, Scott introduced himself to those he didn’t know and said hi to the DJs he already knew. There would easily have been 70 or so of us there and if I had to guess, he knew maybe half of them. What happened after he’d finished saying hi to each of us on a one-on-one basis, was that the room went rather quiet as he went systematically from table to table, saying every one of our names! It was incredible!

This man knew how to interact with people in an entirely unique way to what I had ever seen. When he wasn’t sure of one name, he’d move on to the next 1 or 2 people and then, out of nowhere, would spin around and with an excited but military like precision, state the person’s correct name and keep going! This was Scott Faver. The man who could memorize a pile of new names just like that! He went on to share with us a technique for doing just that… and much, much more.

Meeting Scott under those circumstances is precisely how hundreds upon hundreds of DJs have met him. Scott’s now famous, “Breakfast With The Game Master” (BWTGM for short) breakfast networking and educational meetings are extremely popular (even at 7:00 AM in Vegas!) and they reside exclusively at the Las Vegas DJ Show. Scott has inspired DJs with many game ideas, but also much, much more.

His seminar as presented at the recent CDJ Show was on the topic that with sincere devotion to people, your business will succeed. And it’ll likely succeed so much so, that paid advertising will become a thing of the past for you. This, as we’d say in Canada, is simply the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Scott. And the greatest thing is, you don’t have to wait until the Las Vegas DJ Show to experience and learn about some of the precious materials that he shares.

If you’re within a short days drive or a quick flight from Ottawa, Ontario, please join what I can guarantee you, will be a most unique learning experience with Scott. It’ll be just you with 15 other people. The BWTGM breakfasts are good, but they’re nothing like I’m sure this is going to be!

A workshop has been set up to be led by Scott Faver for one day only on May 20, 2014 in Ottawa, Ontario. I’ve heard though, that unless a pile more people don’t sign up in the next 3 days, this opportunity to seriously increase the demand for your services and ultimately the success of your revenue, will disappear. As in, it simply won’t happen.

The networking, client service & performance gems you’ll come out with are going to impact your business in a very positive way. I implore you, please take this opportunity. I’ve learned so much from Scott that has helped to elevate my business in the areas of marketing, communicating with wedding VIPs, interaction and most of all, my corporate work. I plan every year to take on about 4 or 5 somewhat “involved” corporate parties and I only do so because of the knowledge and confidence I’ve acquired as a result of Scott Faver.

Should you have dreams that are bigger then the current size of your business, this will be a great start to assembling the pieces of your bridge to those dreams.

Believe it or not, for less money then what I just bought a bluetooth speaker for, you can take part in this full 1 day workshop by contacting Steve Bourguignon here.

Let’s make this happen. Your business will appreciate it. Your clients will love it.

~ Dave T.

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Looking back at the Calgary CDJ Show 2014

On the road now. And during the nearly 1200 KMs we’ve got to drive over the next 12 or so hours, a lot of details of yesterday’s CDJ Show were discussed.

I’m travelling with Bryan Podworny, Dale Kerik & Cory Gulenchin and we’ve all enjoyed our trip to Calgary for the show and found it very worth while. As a regional show, it was very successful at bringing together a series of worthwhile seminars and good product demos and displays. The DJs that attended were also eager individuals that wanted to up their game and work towards bettering what we all know and love about our industry. Very inspiring. It was a pleasure meeting all of you!

Showroom Floor — American DJ booth, CDJ Show showroom floor

The exhibitors had great product displays, knew what they were talking about and were happy to provide well thought out answers. A definite plus for a smaller, regional show, is that everyone has lots of time for everyone (think Disc Jockey News Conclave November 9 – 12, 2014). It may have even resulted in this guy purchasing a new toy for himself… very eager to now learn Serato DJ from the ground up and try out my new Pioneer DDJ-SX (now wish I wouldn’t have missed the Serato DJ seminar at this show)!

The friendly hospitality and welcome of those in the Calgary community of mobile disc jockeys was also outstanding. Huge thanks to the great team of people that really sweated really hard over the last 3 months to pull this show together.

In addition to the presenters I wrote about yesterday, here is a sampling of what we learned about and picked up this past weekend at the CDJ Show:

– The pros & cons to placing your booth in a variety of difference places at a wedding show.
– Don’t “schedule” an “appointment” or a “meeting”, rather, plan visits (thank you Scott Faver).
– Being told what the fines are for improper use of lasers (depending on their classification) was really educational. Being informed of what the unique classifications are in Canada was helpful too.
– Scott Faver really is up for a phone call anytime if you need help brainstorming an idea for a party (for FREE too, thanks Scott!).
– Listening to Vickie Musni talking about the 4 different personality types is a lot of fun! It can be very helpful for not only understanding the people already around you, but also those who you have yet to meet, those that might one day become clients of yours. (I’d witnessed Vickie present this seminar once before and it’s still as good as ever!)

To sum up, it was an absolute pleasure making the overnight trip to arrive just in time for the start to the first Calgary DJ show. About shows and conferences like this in general, Bryan Podworny said it best today as we were cruising along the pavement under a cloud-filled prairie sky…

“Nothing beats the reinforcement of meeting other people in the industry who want to succeed. These shows are a great place to come together as a group and bounce ideas off each other.”

That, my friends, is the truth. And it’s worth something. It’s worth a lot.

Next conference stop? Well I can’t make ARMDJs this year (but you should!) so it’ll have to be sunny, Las Vegas, Nevada for the Las Vegas DJ Show this September. See you there!

~ Dave T.

(By the way, in preparation for a “RESOURCES” page on this blog, what DJ shows are you aware of in addition to these? Mobile Beat, Midwest DJs Live, the CDJ Show, ARMDJs, the DJ Expo, The Las Vegas DJ Show, Disc Jockey News Conclave. Let me know here, thanks!)

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All content is © Dave Ternier but sharing of blog content online (Facebook, chat groups, etc.) is strongly encouraged provided the following two conditions are met: 1) Direct URL to the blog post must be shared and any part of blog quoted must be attributed to Dave Ternier or aDJthought.com and 2) Copying and pasting an entire blog post in it’s entirety is not permissible, but if quoting, please quote no more then 1 – 2 paragraphs.

Scott Faver opens the CDJ Show!

With his popular, likeable and well known high energy, Scott Faver opened up the May 2014 edition of the CDJ Show in Calgary, Alberta this morning!

Scott Faver at CDJ Show May 2014

Scott’s presentation “Promotion is not Devotion” spoke at length about methods through which he “promotes” his name and his company. “Promotion” though, as he sees it, isn’t exactly what you might think in this case. Through an unparalleled devotion to his clients, Scott demonstrated how he stays top of mind with not only clients, but past clients, wedding vendors, etc. In order to accomplish this, Scott insists that proper and real relationships must take place before, during and after any event. This translates, when done efficiently, to a service that requires little to no advertising which is what Scott has enjoyed for many years.

As it seems to have been a common thread in materials that I’ve been reading and listening to over the last few weeks, something else Scott also shared really stood out to me, “If you are everything to everyone, you are nothing to all. FOCUS.”

Wes Straub at CDJ Show May 2014

Later that morning, Wes Straub, DJ and Website designer, spoke under the seminar heading “Power up Your Brand and Business”. Wes’s DJ background has taken him all over the map from clubs in North America to across the Atlantic in Ibiza. He also currently works as a user experience, interaction and graphic designer, technical development and project manager for Inspire Studios Inc.

The information and presentation Wes shared on creating an online presence for you and your brand was very well polished and delivered in a manner that was engaging and easily understood for even the most novice marketing individual. When discussing your brand and the idea of taking it online, his approach to that conversation requires answers to 2 very specific things about you and your business. Before you go online… define who your customers are and define who you are. All you’ll do is waste your time and everyone else’s time if you go online before defining both of those things.

I’ll also share 4 rules here that Wes gave us for creating and maintaining meaningful online content:

#1 Less noise, more voice. Be human online and make it count.
#2 It’s for your audience, not the entire world. You know who your audience is right?
#3 Be original, be unique, be inspiring. Create conversation, whether it’s about what you actually do or not.
#4 Audience first, SEO second. Search Engine Optimization is important, but never forget that your content needs to be written for your audience first.

Near the end of his presentation, Wes brought up a topic that I’ve written briefly on before and am very passionate about: How you represent yourself in every public face is your brand. Your brand is everything you do. Your brand is you.

That sums up this write up for the May 2014 edition of the CDJ Show in Calgary. If all goes according to plan, I’ll put together one more write up tomorrow.

Now… to go and find some sleep…

~ Dave T.

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All content is © Dave Ternier but sharing of blog content online (Facebook, chat groups, etc.) is strongly encouraged provided the following two conditions are met: 1) Direct URL to the blog post must be shared and any part of blog quoted must be attributed to Dave Ternier or aDJthought.com and 2) Copying and pasting an entire blog post in it’s entirety is not permissible, but if quoting, please quote no more then 1 – 2 paragraphs.

Learning? Pff! Who needs it?!

Much will be said about two things on this blog… My passion for continuing education and my love for some really great and inspirational people outside of the DJ world.

I hope that by introducing you to the people that have so inspired me (from outside our direct industry), you might also be inspired by them in some way. Today, I introduce the first of those people to you due to some of the words in her blog this week.

I had the pleasure of witnessing Liene (pronounced Lynn) speak at the 2013 Business of Weddings conference in Toronto. Prior to that, I had followed her blog, Think Splendid for a couple of years and was often invigorated and inspired by what she wrote.

Liene is also the source of some great wedding market statistics if you’d like to learn more about current wedding purchasing trends. That information is available through her Splendid Insights which are collected, assembled and released annually. Much can be learned in those reports such as, “When hiring wedding professionals, how important is their personality in your decision making process”. 65% of couples reported that being VERY IMPORTANT in the 2013 global report.

I highlight Liene and her work today because of what she wrote this week and how it ties into plans I have this coming weekend to attend the May 2014 edition of the CDJ Show in Calgary, Alberta (from which I plan to write one or two segments on). In addition to networking with fellow DJs, I go to learn and also to unlearn. From a post titled “A Not-So-Secret Secret” Liene writes:

“The people who commit to constantly learning, unlearning and who check their bias and ego at the door are the ones who will succeed.”

I couldn’t agree more.

See you in Calgary?

For more great words of wisdom from Liene, see her short and simple write up from this past Monday called “Successful Storytelling”.

~ DT

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All content is © Dave Ternier but sharing of blog content online (Facebook, chat groups, etc.) is strongly encouraged provided the following two conditions are met: 1) Direct URL to the blog post must be shared and any part of blog quoted must be attributed to Dave Ternier or aDJthought.com and 2) Copying and pasting an entire blog post in it’s entirety is not permissible, but if quoting, please quote no more then 1 – 2 paragraphs.

Seek to specialize.

At our wedding vendor networking event last night, a great question was put to our presenter, the new owner of a bridal salon. She’s been running the salon for the past 12 months and the question was about discovering what she thought her biggest challenge in the upcoming year was maybe going to be.

Among her many answers, she spoke about the idea of trying to please everyone and how impossible that can be to do. Focus on YOUR business she said.

While those ideas can go in many directions and to varying degrees of depth, it reminded me of a decision I made a few years ago. That was to change my business name and focus on what I really wanted to do.

Prior to being known as Special Request Weddings, I was Special Request Disc Jockey & Imaging (how about that for a mouthful?!). I then decided, after much thought and discussion with others, that I was going to rename and brand myself as one that specialized in weddings. Thus, Special Request Weddings was born.

Shortly after the name change took place, I recall being at a local Canadian Disc Jockey Association meeting and handing out my new cards. One of the CDJA members looked at it and exclaimed, “Well now people will think you only do weddings!” Yes, I replied, that’s the point.

I remember the individual being very taken aback by this. No one around the region that I knew of had ever specialized in one segment of the services that an average mobile DJ does. Instead, many “specialized” in weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, christmas parties, school dances, grad, etc (all at the same time). I’m not entirely sure that this needs to be pointed out here, but according to dictionary.com, to specialize is defined as: “to train in or devote oneself to a particular area of study, occupation, or activity”. If you decide to specialize, honouring the generally accepted meaning of the word “specialist” in your message will carry a lot more weight in your marketing.

People seek our specialists everyday. If you seek to specialize, you’ll be rewarded for doing so.

Even though an optometrist is a doctor, my guess is you wouldn’t go to him to have your tooth pulled. But what if that doctor specialized in everything, would that change your mind?