February 2017 Disc Jockey News

Disc Jockey News FEBRUARY 2017 • Issue #148

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PAGE 2 • Disc Jockey News • FEBRUARY 2017

The Leads You Generate

Investments Pay Off

By Mike Walter

It’s late January as I sit down to write this article, and we are knee-deep in selling season. It’s the usual cycle here in the North East. It’s cold and dreary, so not a lot of events take place, but we are inundated with incoming leads and in full-on selling mode.

We are meeting with a lot of couples, showcasing every weekend and generally trying to fill our calendars for 2017 and beyond.

So with a keen focus on sales, this month I want to discuss the different types of leads we generate and how our approach to each one differs.

I’ll begin with the most passive lead.

When we ask the all-important question, “How did you hear about us?” and the response is “We saw your ad in ___” or “a Google search,” we know we have to start from scratch and explain everything and anything we can do for this person. The natural assumption is that this type of client will decide based solely on price, but I reject that. Just because someone didn’t come to us from a more qualified source, doesn’t mean they don’t value entertainment. It just means they found us and we can assume, plenty of other companies, so it’s time to start relationship-building.

The biggest way to do this, of course, is to start asking questions and finding out what this client’s vision is for their event. There’s the old adage that we have one mouth and two ears and we should use them accordingly. I believe in that, and I love discovering the visions of a new couple and seeing if Elite Entertainment will be a good fit. And I’m also aware when it comes time to proving we are the right company to work with.

When it comes to a passive lead like I’ve described, we better have lots of ammunition. Online reviews? We have plenty of them, and we’ve broken them down by specific entertainer so clients can read up on the one or two MCs they are considering. Video footage? We have plenty of that as well. In fact, we do our best to show each client a video from the location they’ve chosen for their event. Pictures? We have those as well. It helps that we have affiliated companies that shoot video and photography so we are constantly updating our promotional material. Showcases? We do them all year long, but especially in this busy selling season. We are out there almost showcasing every weekend, so if a client wants to see us in person, they have the opportunity. I believe if you want to sell to a client who has never seen you at an event, or even gotten a word-of-mouth referral about you, these are the tools you need to be successful.

Speaking of word-of-mouth, that’s the next type of lead we take. Someone who has heard of us, but never seen us first hand. These leads are stronger than the previous kind because you can assume a friend, family member or acquaintance has “vouched” for you.

And that adds weight to your credibility. Before you even begin your relationship-building with this person, think

about what they already think of you.

Someone in their inner-circle said good things about you. That’s a very positive first step. It doesn’t mean the sale is in the bag, but it means before you begin, you’re already a leg-up. It behooves you to ask more questions about the referral.

“What exactly did you friend say about us?” is a great way to explore this type of lead and get them talking about you and sharing what they already know. It’ll also give you an insight into why they called. If you hear that “you throw a great party” it tells you something different than if you hear that “you were very nice.” Both are compliments, to be sure, but they also tell you where you need to start filling in the blanks for this client.

The last type of lead I want to discuss in this article is our favorite kind. It’s the client who responds to “How did you hear about us?” with “We saw you at a wedding!” Think about what that answer already infers. They like you.

Right? They must! They wouldn’t be calling if they thought you were terrible.

Heck, they wouldn’t even be contacting you if they thought you were mediocre.

They must have liked you, so you are off to the best start you can be. These are the sales where it’s safe to say it’s yours to lose and the only way this client doesn’t book you is if you blow them out of the water with price or if you somehow screw up the sale. (Don’t call them back when you promised you would or something equally unprofessional.)

I meet with my two full-time sales people every week and we look over our leads and discuss strategies for apMike Walter continued on page 6

By Tamara Sims

2017 is well on its way, and last year’s investment in PhDJ continues to pay off. In last month’s article, I promised to share what I learned as a pupil during day two of PhDJ. Here we go!

The first quarter of the year is the perfect time to seek new talent, so of course my intelligent friend and frontpage partner Mike Walter began Day two by discussing one of his favorite topics: Millennials.

To be honest, I had never heard of the word “millennials” until I attended a seminar by Mike many years ago. This time he put a very important spin on the topic by focusing on hiring and interviewing this very complex generation.

Our company recently surveyed our own millennial employees and we were very surprised that money was not the number one motivation factor when selecting a job. Flexibility, time off and positive reinforcement were most important. Mike focused on all of these characteristics and how to incorporate them when preparing interview questions.

Ask open-ended questions so they can express themselves. Did they take the time to research your company?

Let’s be honest, with today’s tech-

nology, it takes less that 10 minutes for an applicant to find out what your company has to offer. If someone cannot invest 10 minutes of their time before the interview, will they really be worth your investment? Ask them why they would like to work for your company.

Have them share their hopes, dreams and past experiences with you. Do they have any long-term goals? Do they see themselves in a different career path five years from now? And don’t discount their body language, eye contact and facial expressions. This generation is easy to read, as they typically do not hold back their feelings.

Another important thing to observe during the interview: Can they keep their phone out of sight or are they constantly fidgeting, looking at their phone or, even worse, responding to text messages? If they have the ability to engage during the interview and not be distracted by technology, this is a very good sign. You must look for the clues.

Remember, a bad hire is worse than no hire.

The second half of our morning was spent learning from various wedding vendors in Raleigh, with a panel that Joe Bunn put together. Professionals included photographers, catering managers, venue managers and wedding planners, and we were given the opportunity to ask questions and learn how to become better vendor partners.

Teamwork was a common theme during the panel. Making each other look good and not throwing another vendor under the bus should be a significant Tamara Sims continued on page 6

February 2017 In This Issue:

Page 2: Mike Walter Page 2: Tamara Sims Page 4: Brian S. Redd Page 4: Mitch Taylor Page 5: Jason Spencer Page 5: Jake Palmer Page 5: Kristin Cole Page 6: Ron Ruth Page 7: Jeremy Brech www.discjockeynews.com 29442 120th St. Grey Eagle, MN 56336 Phone: 320-285-2323 Published by The Disc Jockey News

Editor/Educational Production Manager: John Young john@discjockeynews.com sales@discjockeynews.com 320-285-2323 office 612-597-4499 cell Sales: Rob Drachler 972-325-4470 Cell robd@discjockeynews.com

Page 8: Ruthie Flaa Page 9: Keith KoKoruz Page 10: Joe Bunn Page 11: Mike Lenstra Page 12: Dave Ternier Page 14: Top 30 Charts Page 14: Different Spin Page 15: Recurrent Hits Page 15: Harvey Mackay

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Disc Jockey News • FEBRUARY 2017 • Page 3

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PAGE 4 • Disc Jockey News • FEBRUARY 2017

Sub Size Matters!

By Brian S. Redd

What’s the best subwoofer for small to medium sized wedding reception? I just had this conversation with a DJ from Florida, and although the answer to this question is very much a matter of opinion, here’s mine: A powered 12inch subw o o f e r should do the trick.

This is something I discovered quite by accident. When I was building the first micro system, my main objective was a lightweight system I could carry, transport and set up by myself. I thought, well, maybe I could do smaller events of 100 people or less unassisted with a pair of two-way eight-inch powered speakers.

Just a few days after my eight-inch speakers landed on my doorstep, I had a 150-person wedding reception. Looking at the speaker’s specs, I discovered that the horns were delivering just as much power as my 12-inch two-way tops could. So, my roadie and I decided to try them with one of my 15-inch powered subwoofers.

At first, the results were quite impressive. We had more than enough highs and lows to fill the entire venue.

Then, about mid-way thru the night, I went to the bar at the back of the room to grab a soda. That’s when I heard “the bass.” It sounded incredible. I mean, you could really feel it.

Out of curiosity, I walked over to the dance floor to see what it sounded like there. If it sounds that good at the bar, it has to sound amazing up front. The opposite was true. Although you could still kind of hear bass, it wasn’t nearly as rich and full.

That 15-inch sub was a lot more than I could physically handle by myself. So,

I decided to try a lighter weight 12-inch powered sub for my solo gigs. Maybe with just a little bit of low end fill, I could break that 100 person event barrier and do larger gigs by myself.

The first time I road tested this system, I knew I had a winning combination. I wasn’t knocking plaster off the walls, but that much needed low end fill was there. When I walked to the back of the room, you could barely hear bass.

However, there was a decent amount of “boom” on the dance floor. In fact, it sounded better up front than when I ran that 15-inch sub.

So, what’s up with that? Of course, a 15-inch sub is going to move a lot more air around than a 12-inch sub. However, without getting too geeky on you, this has to do with throw. Turns out, the throw on my 15-inch sub ended up in the rear seating areas. Whereas, the throw on my 12-inch sub ends up putting that bass sweet spot a lot closer to my dance floor, and that’s where I want it.

When I explain this concept to people, the biggest objection I get is that they just want more bass than a 12-inch sub can deliver, and who can blame them? A good work-around for this would be to use multiple 12-inch subwoofers. This way, you move a lot more air around, but your throw doesn’t change. In other words, it’s more bass, but it’s still landing right where you want it.

Don’t get me wrong, if you want to fill an entire area with bass for something like a festival or even a school dance, the bigger subs are a great solution. However, for the average wedding, corporate event, holiday party or any event held in a standard-sized banquet hall where you want full sound on the dance floor along with conversation areas elsewhere in the room, it’s my opinion that you just can’t beat the little 12-inch subwoofer.

Brian S Redd is a Mobile/Club DJ in Milwaukee WI, DJ Youtuber and an official “American DJ” Artist/ You can reach Brian at: brianredd@discjockeynews.com/

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How Can I Serve Them Better?

By Mitch Taylor

Booking season is in full swing for those of us in the Midwest. It’s time to get our minds right to serve our potential clientele.

It’s very important that you approach every interaction with a client with a blank slate.

Of course you don’t forget the info you know about this person or couple, however, you can’t be thinking about the upcoming ballgame with your kid that night, the last two appointments that didn’t book with you or the fight you had with your spouse. Each interaction is a blank piece of paper with one focus: How can I serve them better?

How did I come to this realization? In the book “The Closers” by Ben Gay III, one of the last sentences in the book is “Sum Tertius.” The phrase is Latin, and it translates to “I am third.” Basically, if you always put your clients’ needs ahead of your own, you will come out ahead way more often than not. This shift in mindset is necessary to always have a heart for exemplary customer service.

Let’s look at an example of how to approach this: A new teller starts at a bank. She trains with a Senior Teller and they are working the drive thru together. They are going through procedures when a car comes up and sends their transaction through the pneumatic tube. The Senior Teller greets the customer by saying “Hello” and then listens as the customer asks to cash a check. The Senior Teller then shows the new teller how to process the transaction in her computer, then counts the money and puts it in the envelope. The Senior Teller turns on her microphone and cameras, sending the money back out to the customer saying, “Here you go. Please verify and sign and have a good day.”

The new teller thinks about this and wonders if that’s how she would want to be treated. She believes, “I am third.”

She takes on the next transaction and the person in the drive thru wants to cash a $75 check. She greets the customer warmly. “Good morning, how can I help you today?” The customer says, “I’d like to cash this $75 check, please.” The Se-

nior Teller lets the new teller know that the customer is a regular at the bank that she knows so there is no need to see I.D. The new teller carefully processes the transaction in the computer and pivots to the window as she turns on her microphone and camera. She says, “I’ve got you all set Mr. Smith.” She lifts her hands in the air and holds the money out as she counts back to Mr. Smith “Here’s $20, $40, $60, $70 and $75. Thanks for stopping, Mr. Smith, and come back and see us whenever you need money.”

The Senior Teller stands there a little stunned. Unbeknownst to both of them, their Branch Manager was watching the new teller in action. She went up to both of her teammates and said, “Wow, great job! I think you have a future here.”

What was different here? The Senior Teller was stuck in her ways. The Senior Teller was doing everything she has always done — the same routine. Not warm, not congenial, not being of service to the customer. The new teller thought about how she would want to be treated in this situation. The new teller worked her job to the benefit of the customer and represented her employer well. She took responsibility for the transaction. She owned her part in the business. She put her customer first.

Are you stuck in your ways?

When was the last time you took a look at your business from an outsider’s perspective?

ACTION ITEM: Stop reading right now. Think of an aspect of your business that you haven’t changed in years — hopefully that’s not too easy for you.

Now think about it from a customer’s perspective or, better yet, ask someone you trust out for coffee. Tell them why you do that a certain way and ask for their input on how it could be made better. If you have a rockstar team, invite everyone in for a meeting and ask them what they feel could be improved in your company. You may just be surprised. You may get a whole new way of approaching your business and be able to grow beyond your current state, all while fostering employee loyalty.

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.

Disc Jockey News • FEBRUARY 2017 • Page 5

Salary Vs Hourly: Deciding How To Pay Your Event Team

By Jason Spencer

Have you ever asked yourself, “How should I pay my DJs, MCs and back office support team?” I suspect that if there’s more than just you in your company, then this thought has crossed your mind more than once.

The consideration of paying an employee hourly vs. salary is a decision that can be easily overwhelming to any professional event business owner.

As you determine the pros and cons of paying your team hourly wages versus salary, let’s look at six points of contention. Keep in mind you can consider 1099 contact, if appropriate, or straight commission for sales teams — but we won’t dive into that here.

SPEED As the owner of your business, you will have the ability to adjust your budget and monthly expenditures much faster when you are paying hourly wages. If for some reason you need to cut payroll, you can simply cut

the hours of your staff to reduce your costs.

LOYALTY If you must cut costs as mentioned above, your staff may begin to lose their trust in you and decrease devotion to your company. Culture plays a big part of any successful company. If you can provide an employee with a salary, the employee feels security in their job. He or she will begin to treat it more like a career and will be loyal to you and your growing business. They will take ownership to succeed in the tasks they perform.

SIMPLICITY The starting wage for hourly employees is usually much more straightforward given the local market. That could be minimum wage, it could flex based on the tasks at hand (e.g. sales consult vs. performing at an event), or you could use the opportunity to start new employees at a higher wage than your competition, which could lead us back to the prior point of loyalty.

UNCERTAINTY On the other hand, it can be difficult to determine an appropriate starting salary. If you have a trusted bookkeeper or accountant, they have formulas which should be able to guide you on this a little. You also have the option of approaching your employees with a lower starting salary and agree to a performance and wage review in 30, 60 or 90 days

Eyes Bigger Than Your Stomach...

By Jake Palmer

Are your eyes bigger than your stomach? Ever bite off more than you can chew? Let your mouth write checks your body can’t cash? You could insert any number of typical clichés here that would help to make my point.

Sometimes we try to do too much. I know this has always been a problem for me; maybe it’s something that is holding you back as well. I can only imagine that right now you’re thinking, “Wow, Jake just made a big assuming jump from being ambitious to being held down by ambition.”

Okay, odds are I can’t really read your mind, but it would be pretty sweet if I could. See, that right there is what I am talking about - that little side step comment is why my over-ambitious attitude gets me into trouble. I have a terrible time staying focused. If you have ever spent any time with me in person, you know this firsthand. If not, please believe me when I say it’s an issue. This is why I sometimes struggle to accomplish everything I want to, and I have a sneaking suspicion that it’s not just me as a person, but rather a personality trait — the very same personality trait that makes people want to become entertainers and DJs. See, we are pleasers, that’s what entertaining is. It’s making people happy — pleasing them.

When I first started as a mobile entertainer and radio DJ, I was young and energetic. I could do five things at once all day. I could bounce from activity or task to another. I could juggle an overactive radio career with three or four job titles in the same building, plus manage to keep a fledgling mobile business moving and functioning, all while maintaining a hyper-active social life with friends, family, girlfriend and hobbies. For several years I did this without a planner or daily schedule calendar. Now that I am getting “more seasoned,” I have noticed that this is simply impossible. Juggling six or seven things seems more difficult, yet I still want to please, so I make promises and

commitments that I think I should be able to do, but I find it more and more difficult to pull off. I think it’s like the old expression: “Jack of all trades, ace of none.”

So, if you’re like me, you have a great idea, a new product or service, a side venture or maybe just a cool hobby you would like to try that just doesn’t seem to pan out the way you hoped. Something seems to hold you back from giving it the full attention it needs. Is it poor planning, poor time management, poor execution?

Yes. Is it lack of focus, lack of attention to details or lack of realistic goal setting?

Yes. Is it possible that while trying to do more, be more and provide more as well as improve yourself, your business and your life that you do more damage than good? Yes. How could this be? I think we get spread too thin. Real life gets in the way, hyper-active social life gives way to hyper-active family, kids, piano lessons, gymnastics, spouses with careers, houses, cars and the adult reality that this isn’t a game. We are not 19-year-old invincible know-it-alls anymore. We are still ambitious and energetic, however, so we take on new challenges and adventures. But if you’re like me, you might overestimate what you think you can do and underestimate what you need to do.

At the end of the day, none of it gets the attention it needs, so all of it suffers.

Now I start to feel like maybe the ‘nine of all trades’ instead of the Jack, which is a not cool for a person who exists in a very ego-driven business like ours. I can only imagine it’s like an addiction where you vow not to overeat or drink too much, but then you do and feel like crap, so you overeat or overdrink again to kill the bad feelings. It’s a continuous cycle. Now I am not going so far as to make that comparison but merely use the analogy.

When setting goals and taking on the world, remember that it’s important to stay focused. Don’t lose sight of what is important, and don’t try to be too many things to too many people. And by all means, get a good daily planner!

Jake Palmer can be reached at jakepalmer@discjockeynews.com.

time. By starting low, you avoid the risk of overpaying. However, they will have stronger sense that you care about them because you’re working to provide them with a steady, reliable paycheck on a regular basis.

It is also possible to keep steady salaries low by building quarterly bonuses around your business goals. When the employee plays a critical role in boosting your revenue, you now have the added cash on hand to pay more to the employee. If you need more insight on creating business goals, read “The Great Game of Business” by Jack Stack.

FREEDOM Depending on the size of your company, you may pay a salary to your higher level sales team and managers, but your DJs, MCs and labor may remain hourly (or seasonal 1099 contract). Leaning on previous points, the loyalty of your upper-level employees means that clients should see regular, consistent and engaging contact with them. This will build rapport with the client and ownership with your salaried employee.

Conversely, hourly staff that only has little responsibility outside of showing up to work directly with your client on the event day may enjoy this freedom over the security of a regular salary paycheck. Determining who is the regular point of contact ensures your clients are getting the service they want

and need the day of an event, as well as the support from a friendly face during the planning stages.

LIMITING When paying by the hour, your employees may only perform at their peak when they’re on the clock. Essentially, they may only be there for the paycheck. For salaried employees, you can add other job tasks, especially for those employees who have added incentive for a quarterly bonus. Adding these tasks to a salaried employee reduces the need for administrative overhead positions, thus cutting other overall costs in the organization.

While recently advising several entertainment companies on improving their profitability in the past year, I have found that people easily account for 70-80 percent of the overall operating expenses in their business. Consider all the pros and cons closely, and feel free to contact me directly if you’d like to have a frank discussion about your numbers.

Jason Spencer is a Certified Profit First Professional and founder of Profithood Academy. He has over 20 years of wedding and event industry experience and is the owner of Spencer Weddings and Entertainment in Northern California. He can be reached at 916-264-9777 or by email at jasonspencer@discjockeynews.com.

Start From The HEART

By Kristin Cole

Since it is the month of LOVE let’s talk about marketing from the HEART. When designing your marketing campaigns and designs, starting from the HEART can help keep your messages focused on your ideal client. I have found that when I market from the HEART, I more easily attract the type of person I want to work with and connect more deeply with each client. That makes my experience as a business owner and employer much more fulfilling.

So, in your marketing ask yourself, is my marketing……

H - Helpful - Your message should illustrate how you are going to HELP your client get what he/she is looking for and how you are the BEST person to help meet their need.

E - Emotional - What do you want your customer to feel when they work with you or see your work?

Use high impact imagery and messages to capture them emotionally. Why? Because emotions directly impact logical justifications to purchase. This basically means that when emotional connections are made, it is hard for a consumer to say no. Make an emotional connection with your ideal client and your ability to close the sale will increase greatly! Want more on this subject? Check out this article: http://upfrontanalytics.com/ decision-making-emotional-vs-logical/ A - Accurate- Does your message contain all the needed information? Have you checked for errors or typos? If it is a promotion, do you have terms and conditions included? Don’t forget your business name, contact info and the services you offer.

R - Relatable - Is your message something your target demographic can relate

with? Does it capture their attention and leave them wanting more? If you are unsure about what your target demographic is looking for in marketing messages ask! Contact a few of your past clients or a person you know in that demographic and ask what draws them in, what they like. You could set up a quick survey for them to take, allow them to choose their favorites of various ads, or ask them to give you direct feedback on your advertising.

T - Tell a Story - When you tell a story or paint a picture of what you can do for your client, you access a part of their mind that helps them make connections.

Through these connections, decisions are made - similar to emotional purchasing.

Telling a story means a bride can see herself in that particular situation, she can feel the emotions and see the vision of what you can do for her. It is more than saying, “I can play your favorite songs and have great speakers.” It is describing a beautiful first dance moment you helped create or describing the feel of a room you transformed. This skill can take practice but will pay off in big ways!

Much of what we do in our industry is from the heart - and our marketing should be no different. The better we can express our message to the heart of our brides, the more success we will have. In truth, marketing is less about plans, budgets, and statistics and more about reaching our potential clients in a way that will capture more than their business - it will capture their heart. Happy month of love to all of you!

Kristin Cole is the owner of Sound Wave Events in Boise, Idaho. Her passion for unforgettable customer experiences, relationship marketing, and online branding have been the driving factor behind the success of her company. She is a committed small business coach and teacher, who helps business owners develop into their full potential. You can reach Kristin at kristincole@discjockeynews.com

PAGE 6 • Disc Jockey News • FEBRUARY 2017

The Why, When, Where And How Of Personalized Recordings

By Ron Ruth

This month I’m reaching into the Disc Jockey News mailbag to answer the questions of why, when where and how of personalized recordings for wedding celebrations. This is a fun topic for me since I’ve been using personalized recordings in one form or another for a little more than a decade.

Let’s start with the “why” of using personalized recordings. The most obvious answer to that question can be found in the word “personalized.” As DJs, we are constantly on the prowl for personal touches that we can bring to a couple’s wedding to give it a unique flair.

And, to truly make a memorable impact on a wedding, it’s vital to emotionally engage the guests; much like a movie or stage production emotionally engages an audience. Personalized recordings are just one way to do that and can be incorporated into just about every formality at a wedding reception from the bride and groom’s love story, to the first dance and parent dances.

There are plenty of examples of those on YouTube but there are also some pretty incredible uses that I’ve seen that you won’t find on-line.

I saw my friend. Peter Merry, expand on an idea he got from Reno, NV, based DJ, Larry Williams. He worked a personalized recording of a bride speaking to her father into a wedding ceremony. Just as they were about to head down the aisle, they stopped at a pre-designated place and the guests (and her father, of course) heard her voice say, “Here we are, dad. The moment you knew would come along.” She continued her surprise speaking very briefly about how she found a man much like her dad and offered appreciation to him and her mother for all the wonderful things they had done for her throughout her life. The emotional clincher came with her final recorded words, “here we go,” just as they stepped off toward the altar. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house (including my own) and it was the first of many number of personal touches included in that celebration.

Randy Bartlett of The 1% Solution fame is known to record the vows at wedding ceremonies and, while guests are enjoying the party segment of the reception, he will edit portions of those vows, creating sound clips that can be played back during the closing dances of the evening. The impact of hearing the verbal exchange between the bride and groom is powerful and quite memorable. It’s not only an incredible finale to the celebration, it brings the event full-circle by reminding everyone of how it all began.

I record every spoken word at a wedding reception----from the introductions through the toasts. Similar to what Randy does, I will sometimes edit the toasts during the party portion of the reception and incorporate them into the closing songs of the night. I will most definitely do it if the father of the bride is one of those delivering a toast. Again, the emotional impact makes for a very memorable personal touch that brings the event to a grand finale.

So “when” is the best time for you to schedule a bride and groom for a personalized recording session? I think that depends on how the recording is going to be used and your approach to helping your couples discover personal touches they can include in their wedding. Personally, the purpose of my first meeting with a couple during the planning process is to learn as

much as I can about the bride & groom-tobe and their relationship to provide them with ideas for extremely personal touches they can use throughout their celebration.

To get that valuable information, I invite them to my office and conduct a casual but thorough interview of the two of them together.

I also have 3 other reasons for recording that initial interview. First, I’ll never have to rely on my memory or hand written notes (scribbles) because I can always go back and listen to the recording, again, if necessary. Second, I will often use clips of their voices as part of the love story I write and perform at their wedding reception. And, third, the couple will sometimes share fun information about their parents or wedding party that I can use as part of their introductions. As a bonus, the fourth reason I conduct an interview and record it during our first planning session is to begin the relationship and trust building process that will add to the extraordinary experience they will enjoy with me throughout the planning that leads up to their celebration.

For first dance “love drops” or father & daughter or mother & son dance, “appreciation drops,” I would suggest scheduling those a couple weeks after the first planning meeting. I say that because it will give you an opportunity to find out just how enthused they are about the idea of doing the recordings. There really needs to be an emotional buy-in by both the bride and groom. Without that buy-in, the recordings will sound scripted, staged and insincere. Whatever emotional impact they may have hoped for will be lost and their recordings will come across more as a novelty than a memorable inclusion. In short, don’t press the idea simply because you think it’s a good idea and listen closely for eagerness from both the bride and groom.

If the couple is fully committed to making the recordings work, take time during your first meeting to prepare them for the process and give them some simple instruction on how to compose the words that will work best with the recording. We’re talking about feelings here. So your instructions should be for them to first consider how they “feel” about each other. You should also work with them to speak as though their soon-to-be husband or wife is sitting in front of them. What are the things they see in the other that makes them love that person so much? How excited are they that their wedding day has finally arrived? How do they see their future together? These are just a couple examples of questions that will bring out emotion in their answers and voices. I’d also suggest that you record them individually and in an environment that doesn’t allow them to hear what is being said. Ask them not to share with each other what they’ve said so can enjoy the spontaneity of the moment when they hear their new spouse’s words during their first dance as husband and wife. Keep in mind that their visible, emotional reaction will be as priceless as the words they and their guests hear.

When it comes to the personalized recordings for the parent dances, I instruct my couples to talk about their love for family, how they wouldn’t be the person they

are today without the influence and support of their dad or mom. I encourage them to pretend or envision that they are alone with their mom or dad (whichever the case may be) moments before the ceremony is to begin. And, they not only have an opportunity to tell her or him how they feel, they really WANT to share those feelings in the short amount of time they have. “What would you say?” “How would you say it?”

When it comes to “where” to capture the recordings, you’ll want the quietest space you can find. If you plan to invite the couple to your office, make sure you turn off

anything that has the potential to add ambient noise to the recording. That includes computers, hard drives and fans. I even turn the air conditioning up or the heat down during the actual recording time to prevent unwanted background noise from the fan.

Oh, and make sure phones have all been shut off.

Finally comes the “how” to getting quality personalized recordings. First, you’ll need a quality microphone. I use a Samson, unidirectional, USB studio microphone. I know other DJs who use high-quality digital recorders. Although I’ve never tested it, I’ve been told that today’s smart phones can capture a quality recording. I’ve used analog microphones in the past but have never been happy with the outcome of the recordings. They often produce an annoying buzz that is impossible to remove from the recording.

Second, you’ll need better than decent editing software. I use Adobe Audition CC.

Mike Walter Continued From Page 2 proaching and following up on each one.

The very first thing we look at is the referral source because, in my experience, it dictates so much of how a client needs to be handled. Ask that initial first question: How did you hear about us? and then get ready to follow whatever path Tamara Sims Continued From Page 2 eye-opener for many.

I have never understood the need to bash another vendor on social media to make one look good. Of course, we may have disagreements with other wedding vendors, but it should not play out in a public forum. Whatever happened to the days of picking up a phone and discussing a problem like adults instead of airing your grievances for all to see? All of the panelists agreed that they want to work with team players that are positive and genuine. That is how I have always lived my life personally and in business.

Communication before the wedding and during was extremely important to the panel. We all have the same goal of providing the best possible experience for our brides and grooms, and when one vendor fails to communicate, a domino

I’ve been using it for years but it comes with a pretty hefty learning curve if you’ve never used any sort of editing software before. If you’re a Mac user, you might consider Garage Band. According to Beebom. com on the interwebs, the following are the “Top 10 Best Audio Editing Software:” WavePad, Audacity, FL Studio, Ardour, Wavosaur, Adobe Audition, Sound Forge Audio Studio, Steinberg Cubase, LMMS, PreSonus Studio One. Some of these software titles are listed as free. Some come with a 30-day free trial.

Others come with a pretty hefty price tag up front. Regardless, you need software that provides noise eliminating capabilities and multichannel recording function. Before you schedule your very first recording session with a couple, it is highly advised that you spend a couple weeks (at least) practicing and experimenting with your software choice.

Something as simple as not having the proper mic level setting can ruin a recording.

If you’d like to know more about the why, when, where and how of personalized recordings, from the questions to ask to coaching and prep to details of getting a quality recording and more, I’ve put together a package of information that may be of interest to you. To learn more about how you can get this valuable information sent right to your inbox, simply send me an email at RonRuth@DiscJockeyNews.com.

Ron Ruth is a 20 year veteran of the wedding and DJ industry and the owner of Ron Ruth Wedding Entertainment in Kansas City. He’s also a self-described “Disney Geek” and a nationally recognized speaker who presents seminars at conferences for DJs and wedding professionals on the topic of delivering quality service.

Ron can be reached at 816-224-4487 or ronruth@discjockeynews.com

the answer puts you on.

Mike Walter is the owner of Elite Entertainment of New Jersey and a nationally recognized expert in the area of multisystem company development and staff training. You can contact Mike at mikewalter@discjockeynews.com. effect can occur, resulting in missed photographs, missed entrances and missed opportunities to make an ordinary moment extraordinary.

And speaking of investments, I am hoping to see many of you at MBLV 2017 in March. Invest in yourself and your business will thrive.

Please feel free to share your comments with Tamara at: tamarasims@ discjockeynews.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.

Disc Jockey News • FEBRUARY 2017 • Page 7

What I Learned From Two New Conferences

By Jeremy Brech

This month I decided to take on two new conferences or conventions. The first being The Special Event show and the second being NAMM. I actually spent more time in California this month than I did South Dakota.

I have been to numerous DJ conferences in the past, such as Mobile Beat, DJ Expo, LDI and also wedding conferences such as Wedding MBA and WeddingWire World.

As I grow my business, I understand that I need to step outside of my comfort zone to find what I really want out of my business. That may be trying a new conference or, if you have never attended a conference, going to your first. With Mobile Beat right around the corner, that might be the leap of faith you take to start your journey to the next level.

Let’s learn a little more about the shows that I was fortunate enough to give a try.

The first show was The Special Event or TSE, and it was a huge eye opener for me as I found an industry much larger than I am use to. I truly felt like a small fish in a big sea and that is exactly what I loved about it. I knew some familiar faces, but the best part was meeting people that I had never met before or even heard their stories. The conference, held down in Long Beach, was well put together and created some great excite-

ment and momentum for me and our business plan. As most of you know, it is the education in the halls that seems to be the most valuable.

The second show that I attended was NAMM, in which I was fortunate to provide the lighting production for the Electro-Voice booth. I have always had a lot of respect for the EV team, but after getting to know them more and really understanding their focus for a large industry of musicians, my respect grew even more. They have so many moving parts in the operations but they all have the same interest in mind, which is us as consumers.

Talk about a team that truly cares about music, performers and their employees. I was a part of something that I was truly proud of and they provided that same feeling back to me. I could tell they appreciated my work and the time I invested in this project. They respected all of the amazing national performers that were a part of their booth and their success at the show. They treated everyone like family and made sure that they were there for anyone at any time. The lesson I learned at NAMM was that the DJ industry is such a small fish in a large music sea. The show is huge, and you can’t wrap your head around the extensive size of this show.

In all reality, though, I learned that taking care of others and making sure you make everyone feel at home should always be your number one priority.

This pertains to your staff, your clients and even your family. A huge thanks to Mike Doucot and his amazing team for the hospitality. Electro Voice truly is a giver to our industry and my best way to

say thanks is to support a team who will always support us as a DJ industry.

Don’t be afraid to try something new.

Don’t be afraid to take a leap of faith and believe in yourself. I watched the DJNTV mini sessions on Jan. 29, and right after my session was a good friend of mine Jason Jani. He said, “Sometimes you just have to take a leap to achieve,

and don’t be afraid to be different than everyone else. It might be scary and it might be hard, but believe in it, and you can do great things.”

Jeremy Brech is Owner/Entertainer/ Lighting Designer of DJ Jer Events and Lighting Design. Jeremy can be reached at: jeremybrech@discjockeynews.com.

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PAGE 8 • Disc Jockey News • FEBRUARY 2017

DJ Dustin Reichert: Journeying Through Adversity And Finding Strength

By Ruthie Flaa

Staring hard times in the face? During those moments, DJ and entrepreneur Dustin Reichert would definitely agree with holding on to this cliché but powerful motto: Stay positive.

“I have found that [positivity] is the key to my successes in life during the most dark of times,” said Reichert.

He’s an everyday DJ, entertainer and businessman with a passion for helping people. Despite his successes in the industry, Reichert’s journey is not void of trials and obstacles. Having a background in Criminal Justice, Reichert once served as a Deputy Officer. After being shot and injured on the job, he underwent the process of coping with PTSD and eventually stepped back from law enforcement all together. Fortunately, he discovered his love for the DJ world.

“My neighbor owned a DJ company, so I approached him and told him I wanted to work some events with him,” Reichert explained. “Eventually he said yes and we did one event together. It was some kind of union party. After we setup our equipment, he walked right to the bar for a drink. I was second guessing the choice at that point. But I was looking for an income angle.”

Later, a coworker asked Reichert to help DJ for a wedding. Although the official DJ for the event didn’t show up, Reichert took the reins and ran it alone. To his benefit, the no-show DJ and owner of that company eventually moved on.

“I bought the company and broke all ties,” Reichert said. “While building it I worked a lot of rowdy bar karaoke shows to build the cash flow. They were Jack Daniels themed, unofficially, and resulted in many hangovers. And really there was no money in it. After seven years I dropped it since I was able to replace that income by providing bubble parties. It was a third of the equipment for less time and more money — and no hangovers. Dropping bar shows also allowed me to have a clearer mind and run it like a business.”

Getting his foot in the door was only the beginning. In 2005, Reichert went on to buy Spirit Unlimited Professional DJ Entertainment, a company in business since 1976.

“We focus mostly on weddings and special events for DJing but do smaller events at times too,” Reichert said. “I work as one of the DJ Entertainers for the higher packages and have a small staff that I train and manage as well.”

Desiring to further expand his business and experience as an MC and entertainer, Reichert absorbed as much training and knowledge as he could find. Eventually, he ended up in a class learning the art of hypnotism.

“While sitting in that class, I looked around and smiled and thought, ‘This is totally for me!’” Reichert said. “I hit the ground running from there. But I

had worked so hard on the DJ company I didn’t want to just jump ship. But the business side of me prevailed and I found a way to manage them all together.”

As Reichert puts it, he has plenty of “irons in the fire.” But that doesn’t hold

him back. Reichert also works for Teambonding, a Boston-based company specializing in team building events. While Reichert only works a couple events each month, the event schedules works well with his own. On top of being Teambonding’s “Midwest guy,” a selfstarter and businessman, Reichert also does speaking events.

“The Minnesota Sheriff’s Association reached out to me about speaking about my shooting, PTSD and the power of the mind,” Reichert said. “Since then I’ve shared my story to many criminal justice agencies and recently to schools in a different format. I started training in the area of speaking by attending part of the John Maxwell Training and a training with Anthony Gallie. They have really boosted the momentum of my speaking and organization.”

Because of the speaking events and their success, Reichert found that his story would be well-suited for the page as well as helpful in aiding his healing process. “[The story] is too much to tell in one sitting, and I was trying to tell it all.

A friend suggested that maybe I write things down to help organize them. So I did. And it helped a lot. And the speaking events went much smoother because of it. And then one day I realized that I had a book.”

Reichert’s book, “10-88! Officer Down,” details his experiences with PTSD and the shooting itself. During the writing journey, after adding more anecdotes and making the revisions, Reichert still believed something in his story was missing.

“I realized that I still wasn’t letting go and that anger was holding me in a prison. On the thirteenth anniversary [of the shooting], I woke up in Portland, Oregon after an event and went to the local Japanese Garden. I found a peace there and knew it was time. I wrote up a long post and [shared] it on my Face-

book, publicly forgiving those that I was previously angry with. It was amazing.

The ending that I had struggled with for so long suddenly flowed easily. Shortly after, the end of the book was written.”

Although PTSD isn’t relatable to everyone, Reichert’s desire was not only to find healing in writing, but to encourage and educate others about the subject, which can be a sensitive one.

“I want people to understand that PTSD is often more than just a single traumatic incident and more complex than most think, but I also want to put a human face to it. A reasonable face. I want them entertained at the same time. More importantly, I want to share with people how to find a positive approach to life despite adversity.”

Reichert is in no way allowing PTSD to have control over his life. In fact, he recently started taking classes to finish his Criminal Justice degree. Now that he is established as a successful business man, many people ask him why he bothers to pursue his degree again. Reichert’s number one response? “To tell PTSD it can kiss my ass.”

That, and so he can be a good example for his children as well as continue

learning.

Whether it’s playing with his kids, his dog or taking short breaks from work just to be with family, Reichert still makes time for the simple things, even in the midst of chaos, work and school. At the end of the day, Reichert has a deep satisfaction with where his life is now, all that he has accomplished and that he can spend his days doing meaningful work.

“I love people,” Reichert said. “And I love helping people. So doing weddings is my love. I get to see people on the most important day of their lives . . . I get to help make that day special.

With my hypnosis, seeing people truly laugh from deep down is so special to me. I think laughter has a special healing component, especially against the daily stresses of our lives. And I love speaking and sharing my story in a way that hopefully helps others. I’m always amazed at people’s appreciation after I’m done speaking. It’s humbling.”

With a newly-released book and an entertainment industry that changes and expands every day, it’s clear the journey and the growth never end. But Reichert has enough years of experience behind him and is willing to offer some of his best advice.

“Breath. Smile at what is worth smiling at. Realize that chances are you have been through worse, and even if you haven’t, you will get through this.”

Learn more about Dustin Reichert at www.dustinreichert.com. To purchase his book, “10-88! Officer Down: The story of an officer involved shooting, politics, and his survival of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder,” visit www.1088officerdown.com or find it on Amazon.

It’s DJ Mike Walter.. Not Walters

By Keith ‘KC’ KoKoruz

A lot of people reading this article have perhaps seen Mike speak, read Mike’s books or Facebook posts, purchased his DVDs, attended his PHDJ workshops and even read his articles in this very newspaper, since he has been on page one forever as opposed to being buried in the back where I like to think the best articles happen to be.

The question is, however, how much do you know about DJ Mike Walter?

His name is usually in a sentence such as: Did you attend Mike Walter’s seminar? or did you read Mike Walter’s article?

We have to set the record straight. His name is Mike Walter, not Walters. The reason I point this out is because he has given, and continues to give, so much back to the industry that his name with an “‘s” gets confusing. Now, let’s talk about Mike Walter.

Working at a church as a janitor, Mike also attended the Connecticut School of Broadcasting with the dream of one day being an on air radio DJ. During this time, he took a part-time job working for John Murphy and his up-and-coming Star DJs. At the time, Star DJs was growing to become the largest DJ service in New Jersey and perhaps the country. Mike shadowed Murphy, Rick Galdi, Danny Vinies and

Paul Geiger who were the “Core 4” at Star DJs at that time. Mike eventually came to work inside the company under Rick Galdi, the vice president of Star DJs, and later became the Director of Operations.

“He embraced the responsibility of being in charge of other entertainers,” Murphy said.

While this may not seem like a big deal to some of you reading this, his job was to oversee a company that was doing 50-75 jobs per weekend. His job was to make sure every DJ knew where and when they needed to be and that they were fully prepared.

“Mike was a natural for the DJ business,” Murphy said. “It combined his passion for learning with his love for people, and he really fell in love with this business right from the start. Mike and the Mobile DJ industry were a natural fit.”

After growing as much as he could with Star DJs and watching the company dynamics change, Mike decided it was time to go out on his own and create his own company. Eric Taylor, who had also worked for Star DJs, had left and was on his own too. Mike joined him, becoming a partner. Eric Lee Taylor was his full name, and his initials were ELT, eventually transforming into Elite Entertainment. Eric retired from the industry to pursue a career in public speaking and coaching, and Mike eventually bought out Elite Entertainment.

With Mike’s passion for teaching and

Disc Jockey News • FEBRUARY 2017 • Page 9 managing people, Elite Entertainment continued to grow and prosper. Mike will tell you his formula: Find great people with great personalities and a work ethic to match. From there, he will train them to become great DJs. Some will stay and some will move on. This is just a part of life.

The very first time I ever saw Mike speak, he had a graphic on his power point that said, “Talent Moves On.” I was so relieved to find someone who had the same philosophy. For years I had attended seminars at DJ expos that talked about tying up your staff with contracts to prevent them from leaving, and I never understood it. Mike spoke my language.

If you treat your staff well, the right ones will stay and prosper with your company.

“I’ve been working for Mike for just about half of my life — over 20 years now,” said fellow DJ and friend Tom Monaco. “I can honestly say I’ve learned so much from him, not just about being a DJ, but personally. More importantly, he’s helped me become a better person. It’s very rare to find someone like Mike — someone who can be a great boss but also a great friend and mentor at the same time.”

Any small business owner knows that the hours are long, the work load is neverending and there is always a list of things to do tomorrow. However, Mike is one of the few people who is able to balance his life.

“The thing that impresses me the most about Mike Walter is his sense of balance,” said Randy Bartlett. “He obviously is suc-

cessful in business, he writes, he speaks, he trains new staff in the evenings, and yet, he still makes time for himself as well as his wife. He watches TV, attends concerts and ball games, goes to dinner, runs every day and plays with his dogs. I am most impressed with how he is able to balance his life.”

When he speaks at various DJ conventions, Mike’s passion for the DJ business is one of the things that makes him so approachable, as was the case with DJ Joe Bunn.

“He loves music, loves being a DJ, running a DJ company and helping other DJ company owners. That’s passion,” said Bunn. “Soon after meeting him, I flew him down to Raleigh to help me with my own growing company. Fast forward several years, and I had an idea to start a workshop to help other DJs. Who was the first person I called to join me in this project? Mike Walter. Without hesitation, he said yes, and the rest is history!”

PHDJ was born and continues to help small business owners grow their DJ business.

Today, Mike Walter’s Elite Entertainment has over 16 DJs and has also expanded into photography, with partnerships in the creation of Elite Digital Images as well as video with the creation of Elite Video Productions. Elite Entertainment offers photo booths, lighting décor and audio visual production at clients’ weddings and special events.

With over 1400 reviews and a five-star rating on WeddingWire, Elite Entertainment is one of New Jersey’s most respected Disc Jockey services.

Is there someone that you think I should write about who has helped change your career for the better? Is there someone in our business who you think others should know about? Shoot me a note with your suggestions.

KC can be reached at KC@discjockeynews.com.

PAGE 10 • Disc Jockey News • FEBRUARY 2017

Building A Following For Bar Gigs

By Joe Bunn

I’ll be honest with you, it’s been a long time since I’ve rocked a club, but some things never change. Let me guess, club owners and promoters want a DJ “with a following.” Sound familiar? Secondly, they don’t want to pay you jack. Am I right? Basically, they want you to market their club for them, and when folks don’t show up, they blame you.

I already know I’m right. In any case, I know I’m knocking them, but club/bar shows can be a good source of income for “off night,” but save those Saturdays for making the real money — weddings and big corporate events.

Okay, so even after I’ve trash-talked them, you still want some of that bar and gig money? No problem, let me try and help because, in my youth, I did make a ton of money off these places. Granted, it was a different era.

There wasn’t a DJ on every corner or in their parent’s basement willing and ready to DJ for free (or a $20 bar tab). I would go into a deserted place on, say, a Tuesday night, look around and tell the manager, “I can put 250 people in here in less than a month.

I want every Tuesday night, but I’m taking $5 cover charge from everyone that walks in here, and my boy is running the door.”

I don’t think I ever had someone turn me down. They kept the alcohol money and I’d walk out at 2:00 a.m. with about $1500 cash money on a Tuesday. I don’t know if you can pull that off in this day and age of “everybody and their mother is a DJ,” but it doesn’t hurt to try. The other thing you have to remember about “back in my day” (dang, I’m old) is that social media wasn’t a part of the picture. Facebook didn’t exist, Instagram didn’t exist. The internet was a baby fledgling. I would go around campus with my staple gun and post flyers I got printed at Kinkos on these big wooden signs. I would call my friends. I would let people know on the mic at my frat gigs. That was my big marketing plan.

The first thing a club owner is going to want to know, is if you’re any good. The only way to do that is to send them a mix. Back in my day (ugh, I’m old), I would show up and give the manager or owner a mix on a cassette or, later, a CD. These days if you don’t have a Soundcloud or Mixcloud page, you’re going nowhere.

Once you make your mix, post it right away. I prefer Mixcloud because a lot of my mixes get pulled from Soundcloud due to copyright issues. When I post the mix, I make sure it has artwork to go with it. Try picmonkey. com or fiverr.com if you can’t design something good yourself. Make sure to tag the mix with the type of music that it is, and always list out the tracks. Those are all critical steps for getting people to listen and to follow you on Mixcloud or Soundcloud.

After making sure the post is right, I share the link to the mix on all of

my social media channels. I tweet it, Instagram it, Facebook it — all of that. I even text the link to some of my friends. If it’s good enough, it will get shared over and over. More listens equals more followers equals more power with club owners.

A club/bar owner will want to know if you have a following — meaning, do people in this town know or care about you? These days, gaining your following is going to involve technology. The only way to prove this is with numbers. Numbers of followers on Instagram, friends on Facebook, followers on Soundcloud or Mixcloud.

You’ve got to get those numbers up.

Other than buying followers, which I can assure you a ton of DJs do, you can get them organically by trying a couple of different tactics. No matter

what the social media channel, you’ll get followers if you engage with other people. What I mean by that is if you follow people or search hashtags and start to like and comment on other people’s photos, they will eventually follow you back. It’s actually psychologically proven. It’s sort of like when a neighbor shows up at your front door at Christmas with a fruit cake and you don’t have anything to give them. You frantically search under the tree for something you can re-wrap and give them. It’s the same thing on social media. If you follow folks or like their stuff, they are going to want to do the same. Try it. I can’t promise super fast growth, but I can promise growth.

Also, you must hashtag your photos, especially anything DJ-related.

You can use up to 30 on Instagram.

Try ones like #DJ #DJlife #music etc.

People seek out hashtags, believe it or not, and you’ll get followers if you use them. Check out the way I use them

on my @bunndjco Instagram account (five periods and then the tags in the first comment section). It makes it not look so “spammy.”

The final part of the equation is just being out and about around your city. If you want to play in these bars and clubs, you’re going to have to frequent them. Get to know the owner or manager, the door guy and even the DJs. Never talk junk to people about the other DJs around town. I promise, that will come back to haunt you. Yes, we know you’re better than they are, but keep it to yourself. Now get out there and get that money!

Good luck, DJs! Hit me up if you have any questions.

Joe Bunn is the owner of Bunn DJ Company in Raleigh, NC. He is available for consulting and speaking engagements. His DVD “Marketing the Music” is now available at www.djjoebunn.com. Contact him at joebunn@ discjockeynews.com.

The Way I See It: Persistence Pays Off

Disc Jockey News • FEBRUARY 2017 • Page 11

By Michael J. Lenstra

In 2008 I decided to say goodbye to my 8-to-5 job and pursue my mobile DJ business as a full-time career. I knew when I did that I was going to need something more than the weekend wedding to make a viable living. At around the same time, an associate of mine, Bob, made a career change that didn’t work out and he too decided to concentrate on making a living as an entertainer. Together we looked at some of the options (karaoke shows were an emphatic no for both of us) and stumbled on a new and upcoming trend called trivia nights. Bob immersed himself in the research on the venture and I began marketing for more weddings. When Bob felt he understood how the program worked we together approached some establishments and nonprofit organizations and made our pitch. Some of those organizations were willing to give trivia nights a try, and we were on our way.

The program became a success, but the truth of the matter was, I was not real thrilled doing it. Maybe if we had subscribed to one of the established programs out there, like DJ Trivia, it would have been different. But just starting out as full-time entertainers and working on a shoestring budget made that impractical, so we resorted to researching and writing our own questions which, to me, made it more time consuming than what it was worth. That, and the constant stream of people who approached us with their smartphones to argue a question after a round made trivia nights, to

me at least, a pain in the backside.

I told Bob to go ahead and run with the program and if he needed any help I’d be there for him. I’m happy to say he is doing exceptionally well with it. He’s averaging 3 to 6 shows a week and does well enough with it to make a living.

That, of course, still left me with the initial problem of doing something else besides weddings to derive income from, especially during the off months.

In 2013 I attended the Mobile Beat Convention in Las Vegas. While shopping around the exhibit floor I came across a program from Digi Games called Extreme Bingo, which was a cross of trivia and bingo. The software would take any questions, songs, pictures, and even video and scramble them and make up to 199 unique bingo cards with the answers on them. I thought this might be the perfect solution. Not only could I market it to some of our corporate clients who are always looking for cutting edge entertainment, it might also be useful as a substitute for trivia nights and as a fundraiser. When I returned home from the convention I downloaded the demo program, did some experimenting with it, and coerced my teenage daughters to let me test it out on them and a few of their friends. I then approached our county fair. I had been doing a different program with them every summer and asked if I could slip the Extreme Bingo in a couple of times to see what the reaction would be. They were happy to give me the opportunity and the response I got while testing it out was more than positive.

I experimented with it a couple of more times and purchased the program the following year. I decided to use the name Trivingo, which I thought was a bit more of a definitive name. I put together a website and Facebook page, had some brochures printed up, and went to visit some of my contacts who I thought might benefit from the program.

It took me a few months but I finally had a couple of bookings and I was on my way. Or so I thought.

For every successful booking I had, the next one would be a disaster. Our local Hospice chapter used it for a fundraiser; we had nearly 80 people in attendance, and it was very prosperous.

One of those people in attendance was a member of a nonprofit organization who signed me up for their annual fundraiser.

One of their members was a manager at

a local radio station and he blistered the upcoming fundraiser on the airwaves. I worried I would not have enough cards.

200 was the maximum I could print.

33 people showed up. So much for the power of radio.

And that was just the way it was. For every success I had, whether it was a fundraiser or an attempt to get it into a bar and grille as a weekly event, there was another that just bombed. More than once I came to the conclusion that this wasn’t the answer that I thought it would be, but for some unexplainable reason, maybe lack of common sense, I pushed on.

Finally, in January of 2016, I received a call from a past client of mine. He and his wife had recently bought a bar and they were looking for some ways to increase their income during the middle of the week. “Could I come in and do karaoke?” he asked. No, I explained, karaoke is not one of the things that we do. But I told him about this other product I had and made an appointment to

come demonstrate it to him. I gathered up my laptop, a brochure, and a couple of Trivingo cards and did a demonstration for him. He was willing to give it a shot and booked me for every other Thursday. Things went so well that after only two months he asked if I could do it weekly. The crowd slowly grew, but we took the summer off because wedding season was in full swing for me and most bar and grilles in our area lose a lot of their patrons when the weather is nice and the days are longer. We picked it up again in September and the crowds returned. In a matter of a couple of months a couple of other nightspots called me to ask if I could come do Trivingo at their place. Then some of the regulars went back to their employers and told them about this thing that would be great for their holiday party. Finally the phone was ringing.

Next month, I will begin my fourth weekly program. I’m currently doing it on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday evening and now will be doing it on Sunday afternoons as well.

I also have two fundraisers scheduled this month, another in March, and have just talked to someone about yet another fundraiser at the end of April.

So an endeavor that started in 2013 is finally paying off in 2017. Noted public servant William Eardley IV once said, “Ambition is the path to success, persistence is the vehicle you arrive in,” and I guess I have found that to be true.

The way I see it, in today’s world of instant gratification it is way too tempting to throw in the towel too early on some of our attempts at something new. Stick with it just a bit longer.

Until next month, ~ Michael ~ Michael J. Lenstra is a 20-plusyear veteran of the Mobile Disc Jockey Industry, a full-time entertainer, and owner of Alexxus Entertainment in Dubuque, IA. He can be reached at mikelenstra@discjockeynews.com

PAGE 12 • Disc Jockey News • FEBRUARY 2017

Getting Face Time

By Dave Ternier

“Hi there. My name is Tegan, and I’m getting married on July 21 next year.

Are you available, and how much do you charge?”

Regardless of how those words were delivered to me, I use a sales process that follows the same guidelines each and every time. (I’d rather call it something less business like, but for now, let’s leave it at “sales process.”)

The origin of the written inquiry, be it through email, Facebook message, website inquiry or text message makes no difference to my process — unless the inquiry called me directly, which bypasses the written part as detailed below.

The three elements I require to make a sale are: A written inquiry, which leads to a phone call, which leads to a face-to-face meeting.

My goal with each written inquiry is to make a phone call.

My goal with each phone call is to book a consultation.

My goal with each consultation is to establish if they are a good fit for me, and I for them. If we, the potential wedding clients and I, agree that we all seem to fit well together, then the details are presented with how to book my services for their wedding.

The purpose of this blog post is to describe how I achieve that face time with a potential wedding couple. This is not about how to conduct the face-toface consultation, but rather, how to get yourself and potential wedding clients to that face-to-face consultation in the first place.

Many DJs struggle with the task of scheduling a meeting with a potential wedding couple but insist that meeting in person is an essential ingredient to selling their services. If this sounds familiar, keep reading.

As you go through the following details, please keep in mind that this is not the correct way to book a meeting. This is simply how I book a meeting. This is the process I use, and it won’t necessarily be yours as well. Adopt what you feel comfortable using and archive the rest for review at a later date.

Also, remember that my only responsibility is to book out myself because I have no employees and the DJ and MC services I offer sell for a reasonably high dollar figure, beginning at $4000. They are not for everyone, both in terms of service style and price.

Lastly, while most DJs do not require a consultation meeting with potential wedding clients, as DJ services in general begin to sell for more and more dollars, the frequency of face-to-face consultations seems to increase. This might not be your current practice, but as your services move to higher and higher dollar figures, this may become a necessary part of your process.

Written Inquiry There are a variety of ways to respond to inquiries, and a lot of DJs are fine with simply messaging or emailing back and forth, in order to book a meeting. I’ve taken on the idea that if someone decides they don’t want to speak with me on the phone, it is unlikely they are a couple I will absolutely love working with.

I also find that through the power of the human voice, I have better odds of connecting with people before meeting them than I might through email or messages.

We are live entertainers, full of great personality, aren’t we? Generally speaking, phone calls also save me and the person I am communicating with a bit of time.

With each written inquiry received, I will do one of two things. If a phone number has been provided, I’ll skip to the next step and call them directly without replying in any other way. If no phone number was provided, I will reply via the medium they’ve inquired through (email, Facebook, text message, etc.) with one very short and simple email: Hey ________!

What is your phone number and when would be the best time for me to call you?

Thanks, chat soon! :) The brevity of my reply and lack of given choices of action has provided me with a stunningly high percentage of favorable responses (well, over 90 percent if I had to guess; I seldom don’t receive a reply). While I won’t claim to have all of the explanations for that success, the fact that it is so brief and asks just one simple, easy-to-answer question, probably contributes to the results I’ve experienced.

I have also omitted a few common lines from my reply on purpose. Things such as “Thank you for your inquiry” and “Congratulations on your upcoming wedding” are sentences that have been purposefully omitted. My reason for doing this is because I do not believe they provide a lot of value to the recipient in email form.

I strongly believe in offering thanks and congratulations to all newly engaged couples who reach out to me, but would rather have the tone, authenticity and sincerity in my voice go along with those words. I believe that any goodwill I might receive from delivering this with my voice will be more useful when I ask for the face-to-face meeting. Therefore, I have chosen to reserve the honor of communicating thanks and congratulations through the authenticity of my voice in a phone call.

Lastly, I’ve used two exclamation points, a casual closing sentence and the ubiquitous punctuation used for communicating a smiling face. Each of those elements is designed to communicate small parts of my personality and to let them know that they’re not dealing with Ternier Continued On Page 13

Ternier Continued From Page 12 a person who takes himself too seriously.

Before you think of using this exact approach, I would first suggest asking if this reflects your true personality.

Phone Call The phone call I have with a prospective bride or groom has one primary purpose: to build some trust and authentic connection in just a few short minutes in order to book a face-to-face consultation.

One of the most important parts of this phone call is to be fully in charge of the context and direction of conversation. If you lose control of the conversation, you won’t have the chance to properly convey what your services are all about, and there is a chance that the potential client won’t be given all of the information they need to fully understand their request of you.

When this happens, it is the salesperson’s fault nearly 100 percent of the time.

I don’t mean to tell you that I adopt a “sales pitch” frame of mind, but instead, it is for another, even more important reason. I have come to realize that I am the one and only conduit through which a potential client can learn as much as possible about me and my services. Having taken ownership over that idea, if a potential client makes a final decision before being given all of the information about the services I provide, they may have been delivered a disservice. That is on me. Therefore, take control of the phone conversation. Otherwise, the person who you’re speaking with might run it and unknowingly shortcut their way through learning what they should be from you.

Before I give you a quick summary of the conversation I might have during this phone call, please allow me to state the strongly-worded statement: If you don’t genuinely want to know the answers to the following talking points, stop reading this blog post now. In fact, send the couple my phone number and I’ll provide them with the experience they deserve.

Disc Jockey News • FEBRUARY 2017 • Page 13 Was that strongly-worded enough?

If you’re simply going to use the following suggestions because “Dave said so,” then you’re not following the intended purpose of genuinely wanting to get to know the individual and couple you’re about to meet. People’s bullshit meter runs a mile a minute these days, and if you’re not real, there is zero chance you’ll get, or even deserve, a face-to-face meeting with them.

The Conversation Everyone’s approach is different, but I’ll often begin with discussing something simple about the day of the week, what they are doing that day, the weather, etc.

(True story, don’t laugh!) Then I’ll often mention that I heard a rumor that they were getting married (obviously). After they humorously confirm this “rumor,” I’ll offer a sincere and authentic congratulations. We’ll discuss when the engagement took place, how long they’ve been together and I’ll ask them other questions and make other comments based on what’s been shared with me. I’ll briefly ask them about what keeps them busy during the daytime (i.e. their jobs) and I will ask how they heard about me. If they told me in their initial inquiry, I’ll simply have them elaborate on that.

This conversation is extremely organic, often going in a variety of directions.

After maybe 6-10 minutes and after confirming with them that I am available for their date, I will tell them that in order to fully continue the conversation about my services, we will get together for a faceto-face visit. I always share with them that my policy is not to accept wedding bookings from couples that I haven’t met with in-person. This is the honest truth and is a policy I do not waver from.

With a massive smile on my face, I’ll then continue by saying that the reason for this policy is not only for them to discover if they’re going to like me, but because

I also need to confirm that I am going to like them. (Gasp!) With a small chuckle, I’ll then segue to a serious tone by saying that I am looking for wedding couples who are willing to collaborate with me on the details for their wedding and put some effort into creating everything that is going to happen. And, in order to ensure I continue to love my job, I want to make sure that we’re all going to get along because we are going to be spending a lot of time together ahead of the wedding.

Sometimes I will quickly tell them about a situation a few years ago where I was hired by a wedding couple where money was no concern and because Dave Ternier was simply “the guy to have.” It was a miserable experience for me because there was zero collaboration from the couple, and I swore that would never happen again. I use a lighthearted and firm delivery for this part. If delivered incorrectly, I will come off as a pompous prick who isn’t deserving of anyone’s time. But, delivered with lighthearted confidence, based on the authentic caring and connection I created in the first part of the call, this puts me into a position very few DJs find themselves in. I have implied that I don’t necessarily need their business, but, if they meet certain benchmarks I’ve set out, they will be given the opportunity to work with me. This is a very powerful position to be in.

If you decided to adopt something similar to this specific part of the conversation, I am going to remind you that if you deliver this incorrectly, you are done. Finished. Period. End of story. The moment this adopts a “sales pitch” tone or an overconfident I’m-too-good-for-you feel, you might as well hang up the phone. Tread with this idea carefully.

The last part of the phone call involves me suggesting a couple of times we can meet. If you were wondering why I brought up the question of their jobs ear-

lier, it was, in part, because of this question. I will suggest a couple of meeting times for when I know they’re likely not working or in school. I will have already looked at my calendar during the call since asking them the work question.

(Video chat, using a professional subscription to Zoom software, is used when travel for a meeting between myself and the wedding couple is not feasible).

There you have it. That is how I book a consultation, face time, with a potential wedding couple.

Very few inquiries I receive don’t go through with a face-to-face meeting. If I had to guess, 95 percent of the time I meet face to face with the wedding couple inquiring about my services. My local area reputation, the source of the inquiry or referral and many other variables can factor into this result, but even inquiries that are the source of a random Google search often lead to a meeting with me.

Sometimes I am asked about price, which I do not typically share ahead of the consultation. I share that information when I meet with couples, after I’ve explained what they might actually receive for it. If they ask a second time, I am always respectful and provide them my starting price.

An inquiry —> A phone call —> A face-to-face consultation Through the tone in my voice, the sincerity of my questions and the authenticity with how I conduct myself on that phone call, the person I am speaking with understands that I truly care about the people I work with and that I truly care about my work. As a result, when I request the meeting, they nearly always say yes!

Based in Manitoba, Canada, Dave Ternier is a single operator DJ/MC for his company, Special Request Weddings.

Dave Ternier can be reached at DaveTernier@discjockeynews.com.

PAGE 14 • Disc Jockey News • FEBRUARY 2017

Top 30 Music Charts By www.PrimeCutsMusic.com

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

Pop Alessia Cara Scars To Your Beautiful Maroon 5 Don’t Wanna Know MGK x Camila Cabello Bad Things Ariana Grande Side To Side Zayn & T.Swift I Don’t Wanna Live Forever Chainsmokers Closer Hailee Steinfeld Starving Rihanna Love On The Brain Ed Sheeran Shape Of You Weeknd I Feel It Coming Shawn Mendes Mercy Weeknd Starboy Niall Horan This Town Jon Bellion All Time Low Chainsmokers Paris Bruno Mars 24K Magic Rae Sremmurd Black Beatles Adele Water Under The Bridge Drake Fake Love BeBe Rexha I Got You John Legend Love Me Now Clean Bandit Rockabye Hey Violet Guys My Age Lukas Graham You’re Not There Noah Cyrus Make Me (Cry) Sia The Greatest Flume Say It Fitz & The Tantrums HandClap Lady Gaga Million Reasons Bruno Mars That’s What I Like

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

Country Blake Shelton A Guy With A Girl Thomas Rhett Star Of The Show Dustin Lynch Seein’ Red Little Big Town Better Man Chris Young Sober Saturday Night Granger Smith If The Boot Fits Brad Paisley Today Michael Ray Think A Little Less Jon Pardi Dirt On My Boots Maren Morris 80’s Mercedes Eric Church Kill A Word Carrie Underwood Dirty Laundry Luke Bryan Fast Lauren Alaina Road Less Traveled Brantley Gilbert The Weekend Jason Aldean Any Ol’ Barstool Garth Brooks Baby, Lets Lay Down And Dance Kelsea Ballerini Yeah Boy Josh Turner Hometown Girl High Valley Make You Mine Kenny Chesney Bar At The End Of The World Chris Janson Holdin’ Her Trent Harmon There’s A Girl Chris Stapleton Parachute Dierks Bentley Black Darius Rucker If I Told You Runaway June Lipstick Craig Campbell Outskirts Of Heaven Dan + Shay How Not To Miranda Lambert We Should Be Friends

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

Adult Contempory Justin Timberlake Can’t Stop The Feeling!

Shawn Mendes Treat You Better Sia Cheap Thrills Pink Just Like Fire Adele Send My Love (To Your New…) Maroon 5 Don’t Wanna Know Adele Water Under The Bridge Chainsmokers Closer Michael Buble Nobody But Me X Ambassadors Unsteady Train Play That Song Alessia Cara Scars To Your Beautiful Charlie Puth We Don’t Talk Anymore Bruno Mars 24K Magic Calum Scott Dancing On My Own John Legend Love Me Now Ed Sheeran Shape Of You Calvin Harris This Is What You Came For Bon Jovi Roller Coaster John Mayer Love On The Weekend Andy Grammer Fresh Eyes DJ Snake Let Me Love You Niall Horan This Town Fitz & The Tantrums HandClap Daya Sit Still, Look Pretty Nathan Sykes Over And Over Again Major Lazer Cold Water twenty one pilots Heathens Zayn & T.Swift I Don’t Wanna Live Forever Hailee Steinfeld & Grey Starving

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

Urban Drake Fake Love Migos Bad And Boujee Rae Sremmurd Black Beatles Amine Caroline Big Sean Bounce Back Luke Nasty OTW Future Used To This 21 Savage & Metro Boomin’ X Khalid Location Rihanna Love On The Brain Dae Dae Spend It Chris Brown Party J. Cole Deja vu Rihanna Sex With Me PartyNextDoor Not Nice Kevin Hart Push It On Me Dreezy Wasted Lil Uzi Vert You Was Right Jeezy All There Bibi Bourelly Ballin DJ Esco Too Much Sauce Rob Stone Chill Bill Beyonce All Night O.T. Genasis Push It Fat Joe & Remy Ma Money Showers Dababy Light Show Big Sean Moves Bruno Mars 24K Magic D.R.A.M. Cash Machine Weeknd Starboy

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

Rock Green Day Still Breathing Metallica Atlas, Rise!

Ghost Square Hammer Highly Suspect My Name Is Human Shinedown How Did You Love Avenged Sevenfold The Stage Red Sun Rising Amnesia Volbeat Seal The Deal Breaking Benjamin Never Again Beartooth Hated Korn Take Me Starset Monster Chevelle Door To Door Cannibals Sixx A.M. We Will Not Go Quietly In Flames The Truth Pretty Reckless Oh My God Pop Evil If Only For Now Bleeker Highway Sick Puppies Where Do I Begin Red Hot Chili Peppers Go Robot Through Fire Breathe Devour The Day The Bottom Adelitas Way Ready For War Kings Of Leon Waste A Moment Metallica Moth Into Flame K.Flay Blood In The Cut Blink-182 She’s Out Of Her Mind A Day To Remember Naivety Art Of Anarchy The Madness From Ashes To New Breaking Now

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30

Alternative Green Day Still Breathing Blink-182 She’s Out Of Her Mind Judah & The Lion Take It All Back Kings Of Leon Waste A Moment K.Flay Blood In The Cut Lumineers Cleopatra 1975 Somebody Else Cage The Elephant Trouble Catfish And The Bottlemen 7 Coin Talk Too Much Rag ‘N’ Bone Man Human Andrew McMahon In… Fire Escape twenty one pilots Heavydirtysoul Red Hot Chili Peppers Go Robot Revivalists Wish I Knew You Bishop Briggs Wild Horses Bob Moses Tearing Me Up Fitz & The Tantrums Roll Up Cage The Elephant Cold Cold Cold Bastille Blame Dreamers Sweet Disaster Milky Chance Cocoon Highly Suspect My Name Is Human XX On Hold Mondo Cozno Shine Bleeker Highway Kaleo All The Pretty Girls Coldplay Hymn For The Weekend Young The Giant Silvertongue Dirty Heads Oxygen

Disc Jockey News • FEBRUARY 2017 • Page 15

Recurrent Hits For The Dance Floor for FEBRUARY 2017 http://www.discjockeynews.com • http://www.djntv.com

Pop Recurrents 1 ARIANA GRANDE Dangerous Woman 2 WIZ KHALIFA See You Again f/Charlie Puth 3 SKRILLEX & DIPLO Where Are U Now w/J. Bieber 4 ALESSIA CARA Here 5 FIFTH HARMONY Worth It f/Kid Ink 6 DAYA Hide Away 7 LUKAS GRAHAM 7 Years 8 TOVE LO Talking Body 9 DRAKE Too Good f/Rihanna 10 PINK Just Like Fire 11 FLUME Never Be Like You f/Kai 12 SELENA GOMEZ Hands To Myself 13 SELENA GOMEZ Good For You f/A$AP Rocky 14 THE WEEKND The Hills 15 JAMES BAY Let It Go 16 THE CHAINSMOKERS Roses f/Rozes 17 MARTIN GARRIX & BEBE REXHA In The Name Of Love 18 WALK THE MOON Shut Up And Dance 19 THE WEEKND Can’t Feel My Face 20 SELENA GOMEZ Same Old Love 21 JUSTIN BIEBER Love Yourself 22 JUSTIN BIEBER What Do You Mean?

23 ZAYN Pillowtalk 24 MAJOR LAZER Lean On f/M 25 JASON DERULO Want To Want Me 26 ARIANA GRANDE Into You 27 ZARA LARSSON & MNEK Never Forget You 28 SHAWN MENDES Stitches 29 TWENTY ONE PILOTS Stressed Out 30 DAYA Sit Still, Look Pretty 31 JUSTIN BIEBER Sorry 32 G-EAZY Me Myself & I f/Bebe Rexha 33 ADELE Send My Love (To Your New...

34 DNCE Cake By The Ocean 35 KIIARA Gold 36 FLO RIDA My House 37 FIFTH HARMONY Work From Home f/Ty Dolla $ign 38 GNASH F/OLIVIA O’BRIEN I Hate U, I Love U 39 MIKE POSNER I Took A Pill In Ibiza 40 X AMBASSADORS Unsteady 41 JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE Can’t Stop The Feeling 42 THE CHAINSMOKERS Don’t Let Me Down f/Daya 43 DRAKE One Dance f/Wizkid & Kyla 44 MAJOR LAZER Cold Water f/Justin Bieber, M 45 TWENTY ONE PILOTS Ride 46 CALVIN HARRIS This Is What You... f/Rihanna 47 SHAWN MENDES Treat You Better 48 SIA Cheap Thrills 49 TWENTY ONE PILOTS Heathens 50 DJ SNAKE Let Me Love You f/J. Bieber

Urban Recurrents 1 FETTY WAP My Way f/Monty 2 FUTURE Commas 3 CHRIS BROWN Back To Sleep 4 BEYONCE Formation 5 JEREMIH Planes f/J. Cole 6 FETTY WAP Trap Queen 7 2 CHAINZ Big Amount f/Drake 8 USHER Rivals f/Future 9 LLOYD Tru 10 DJ KHALED I Got The Keys f/Jay Z/Future 11 RICH HOMIE QUAN Flex (Ooh Ooh Ooh) 12 FETTY WAP 679 f/Remy Boyz...

13 LUKE NASTY Might Be 14 KENT JONES Don’t Mind 15 BRYSON TILLER Sorry Not Sorry 16 TECH N9NE Erbody But Me 17 FUTURE Low Life f/The Weeknd 18 DJ DRAMA Wishing f/Chris Brown/Skeme...

19 DRAKE One Dance f/Wizkid & Kyla 20 DAE DAE Wat U Mean 21 RIHANNA Work f/Drake 22 MEEK MILL All Eyes On You f/Minaj/Brown 23 DRAKE Too Good f/Rihanna 24 MILA J Kickin’ Back 25 FUTURE Wicked 26 MARY J. BLIGE Thick Of It 27 J. COLE No Role Modelz 28 TORY LANEZ Say It 29 FAT JOE & REMY MA All The Way Up 30 BEYONCE Sorry 31 YO GOTTI Down In The DM 32 BRYSON TILLER Don’t 33 DESIIGNER Panda 34 YOUNG THUG & TRAVIS SCOTT Pick Up The Phone f/Quavvo 35 BEYONCE Hold Up 36 JEREMIH Oui 37 O.T. GENASIS Cut It f/Young Dolph 38 DRAKE Controlla 39 DJ KHALED Do You Mind f/Minaj/Brown...

40 YFN LUCCI Key To The Streets 41 USHER No Limit f/Young Thug 42 KANYE WEST Father Stretch My Hands 43 BRYSON TILLER Exchange 44 DJ KHALED For Free f/Drake 45 D.R.A.M. Broccoli f/Lil Yachty 46 YOUNG M.A Ooouuu 47 TORY LANEZ LUV 48 RIHANNA Needed Me 49 PARTYNEXTDOOR Come And See Me f/Drake 50 CHANCE THE RAPPER No Problem f/Lil Wayne...

Adult Contempory Recurrents 1 FIFTH HARMONY Work From Home f/Ty Dolla $ign 2 ZAYN Pillowtalk 3 R. CITY Locked Away f/Adam Levine 4 JUSTIN BIEBER What Do You Mean?

5 ELLIE GOULDING On My Mind 6 CHARLIE PUTH We Don’t Talk...f/Selena Gomez 7 FALL OUT BOY Uma Thurman 8 TAYLOR SWIFT Bad Blood 9 ANDY GRAMMER Honey, I’m Good 10 MAJOR LAZER Cold Water f/Justin Bieber, M 11 WIZ KHALIFA See You Again f/Charlie Puth 12 SELENA GOMEZ Same Old Love 13 THE WEEKND Can’t Feel My Face 14 MAROON 5 Sugar 15 JUSTIN BIEBER Sorry 16 RACHEL PLATTEN Stand By You 17 TAYLOR SWIFT Style 18 MEGHAN TRAINOR Like I’m Gonna Lose You 19 FLO RIDA My House 20 COLDPLAY Hymn For The Weekend 21 ADELE Hello 22 X AMBASSADORS Renegades 23 ED SHEERAN Photograph 24 ELLIE GOULDING Love Me Like You Do 25 TAYLOR SWIFT Wildest Dreams 26 MIKE POSNER I Took A Pill In Ibiza 27 LUKAS GRAHAM 7 Years 28 ELLE KING Ex’s And Oh’s 29 JASON DERULO Want To Want Me 30 CHARLIE PUTH One Call Away 31 MARK RONSON Uptown Funk f/Bruno Mars 32 RACHEL PLATTEN Fight Song 33 SHAWN MENDES Stitches 34 JUSTIN BIEBER Love Yourself 35 THE CHAINSMOKERS Don’t Let Me Down f/Daya 36 DAYA Sit Still, Look Pretty 37 TWENTY ONE PILOTS Stressed Out 38 DNCE Cake By The Ocean 39 WALK THE MOON Shut Up And Dance 40 CALVIN HARRIS This Is What You... f/Rihanna 41 JAMES BAY Let It Go 42 TWENTY ONE PILOTS Ride 43 X AMBASSADORS Unsteady 44 ADELE Send My Love (To Your New...

45 PINK Just Like Fire 46 TWENTY ONE PILOTS Heathens 47 SIA Cheap Thrills 48 JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE Can’t Stop The Feeling 49 ANDY GRAMMER Fresh Eyes 50 SHAWN MENDES Treat You Better

How To Set Your Voice Free

By Harvey Mackay

When I was embarking on my “second career,” public speaking, I had a little experience under my belt. I’d been a member of a Toastmasters group, a Dale Carnegie graduate and had made a long list of speeches to community groups and various causes.

Sometimes I would speak several times in a day, trying to reach as many groups as possible. My message was often only as good as my voice.

So I did what I always do when I know I can do better: I went out and hired a public speaking coach. As it turns out, the fellow I have been working with is more than a coach. He is just a few ticks shy of a miracle worker.

I’m talking about Roger Love, who has coached speakers, singers, internet marketers and plenty of folks who understand the power of voice and the impact it has on their careers. His updated version of “Set Your Voice Free,” first published in 1999, presents material that helps readers “showcase the best of yourself –

your talents, your passion, your originality, your authenticity.”

I was quite fascinated by the anatomy lessons that form the basis of Roger’s research and teaching. When you know how your voice works from the inside out, and how to best take care of it, your attitude will change. As Roger says, “The human voice is set up to speak or sing twenty-four hours a day without getting hoarse or strained or creating any physical problems.”

That information was especially helpful to me because my voice is my living.

Whether I am delivering a speech, making a sales call, making contacts for charitable or community causes, or mentoring future entrepreneurs, my voice needs to be strong and convincing.

He helped Reese Witherspoon and Jeff Bridges find their singing voices when they were preparing for movie roles that required them to stretch their limits. He worked with John Mayer and Gwen Stefani to expand their ranges and keep their voices in top shape despite demanding performance schedules.

Roger’s techniques are clearly explained in his book, which makes it simple to practice on your own. He says, “If you know how to control the pitch, pace, tone, volume, and melody of your voice, you can consciously use them to guide the emotions of your listeners and mag-

nify the impact of every communication you have.”

He acknowledges that great speaking and singing are not about being the best, it’s about being unique. “It’s about expressing who you are and what’s particularly special about you,” he says. “If you learn to use your own instrument with confidence, people will open their ears to you and recognize what sets you apart from everyone else.”

This updated edition includes techniques he has developed to help people with speech disorders such as stuttering and spasmodic dysphonia.

“True artistry in speaking comes from creating a convincing blend of three elements: what you say, the way you say it and who you are,” Roger says.

The real take-home for me is that how I use my voice is nearly as important as my message. We learn how to talk at a very young age, and I suppose we figure out soon after which cute little voices will help us get our way. But through years of school and career, are we really using our voices to generate the best effects?

Roger discusses four key emotions you need to evoke in your audiences to make them like and believe you: happy, grateful, passionate and confident. But his explanations take readers beyond typical descriptions of these emotions. Learning how to project these key emotions will

have marked effects on how your message is received.

The impetus for updating his masterwork now is the result of an interesting observation: the advent of television singing competitions and videos that go viral have “changed the landscape for singers, offering them new opportunities . . . and opening the public’s imagination to the possibilities of where our voices can be.”

Coincidentally, he credits the revolution to “The Voice,” the television competition that asked its judges to do blind auditions, facing away from the contestants while they sang. The voice alone did the selling, he said. “All of us realized that no matter what you look like, no matter what your age or background, if you can create the right sounds, people will see beauty, kindness, intelligence and uniqueness in you.”

Mackay’s Moral: How you use your voice speaks volumes about you.

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 his new book, “The Mackay MBA of Selling in the Real World.

PAGE 16 • Disc Jockey News • FEBRUARY 2017

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