December 4, 2015 in Newsletters

December 2015 Newsletter

A Note from Your President

Thankful & Grateful during the Holiday Season

This time of year is hectic for many people, including us NSA-NTers. With work and family expectations and obligations, we can easily get caught up in what “we have to do”, rather than being grateful for the special blessings we have in our lives.

I know I am preaching to the choir, but just a reminder – Being thankful and grateful is the spirit of this holiday season. Here at NSA North Texas we are so thankful for the energy, service, and generosity you contribute to others. Without your passion for the professional speaking industry, and your desire to help your NSA friends, our organization simply could not exist.

As we progress through the final days of 2015, I encourage you to share your gratitude with as many people as you can. Your thoughtful words, calls, or e-mails may be exactly what that person needs to help lift their spirits during a busy time, and help put them on the right track to have their Best Year Yet.

NSA-North Texas Facebook Group – The Events Tab

Click HERE to see one of our newest process improvements in the NSA North Texas Facebook Group. The Events Tab now displays upcoming Chapter events, so you have quick access to the schedule information you need. You still need to register for most events at our Speaker.org website, but you can publicly indicate your plans to attend on each Facebook Event (so your NSA friends can expect you!). Thanks to Doug Petersen (@Doug1508) for this improvement in our Technology area! And give us feedback on how it works for you.

November Meeting Shout-Outs

  • Special Guest David Newman, CSP (@DNewman) shook up some of our assumptions about effectively marketing ourselves. The main goal was to help us build the confidence of our prospective clients that we can solve their most pressing problems. “Are you confident in the $10 in your cup?” If you are, you’re on the way to marketing your value more powerfully. Follow David on Twitter, and keep the conversation going.
  • Quick Appreciation – It takes a village. There are many wonderful people contributing to the great momentum of the NSA North Texas Chapter. Here is one.
    • Lauren Midgley (@1LaurenMidgley) – As our Director of Membership, this NSA Professional Member consistently brings the 3I’s (Ideas, Initiative, Implementation) to our processes for welcoming and supporting Guests, Candidates, and Professional Members. Lauren recently led an outreach effort with an NSA North Texas booth at the Toastmasters District 25 Fall Conference, and already that project has led to increased interest and newly registered guests for our upcoming Chapter meetings. Lauren’s passion for making the North Texas Chapter better is so evident, and I just want her to know how appreciated she is.

I’m looking forward to a high-energy December Marketing Showcase, with a speaking industry panel and Showcase presentations from some of our highly talented NSA North Texas friends!

To your continued Success and Happiness,

sig-cp-175px

 

 

Chris Price (@ChrisPriceCDP)
President 2015-16
NSA North Texas (@NSANorthTexas)

Our Next Seminar December 12, 2015

Back by popular demand! The Speaker Marketing Showcase returns to NSA North Texas on Saturday December 12th. We will have an expert industry panel, along with FIVE Speaker Feedback Showcases.

Have you ever wondered what goes in the minds of meeting planners when selecting new speakers and presenters?

Well now is your chance to get a behind-the-scenes peak from THREE viewpoints! The NSA NT December meeting will have a special panel consisting of a renowned association meeting planner, a seasoned corporate meeting planner and a representative from a speakers bureau!

This is a meeting you cannot miss – you will gain new insights and see your marketing through the eyes of decision-makers.

The meeting will consist of three parts.

Part 1 – Presentation – Each panelist will give a short talk on how they evaluate speakers, what they look for – all the dos and don’ts! Meet the panelists.

Part 2 – Showcase – Five NSA NT speakers will present three key elements of their marketing: their website, one of their videos and a short segment delivery of their signature speech. The panel will evaluate each speaker and provide constructive feedback – this will benefit everyone in the room!

Part 3 – Q&A – Now it’ll be your turn! You will have the opportunity to ask for a particular viewpoint or from the entire panel. Anything you ever wanted to ask an association or corporate meeting planner or speaker’s bureau.

Mark your calendar and make your reservation now!

Saturday, November 12,  8:00 am – 12:30 pm
Hilton Garden Inn Dallas / Richardson

you, the speaker - Dear Abby Keynote

by Dave Lieber, CSP

Dear Abby Keynote:

I need your advice. I am spending more on clothing than I am earning in my speaking career. But I have this hang-up that unless I look my best I won’t get work. What do you suggest? – ClothesHorse

Dear ClothesHorse:

Nothing wrong with looking good. My suggestion to you is to curb your expensive habit by making a list of the used clothing stores in your area and visiting them every two weeks. You’ll find some great deals on their constantly changing inventory. And you’ll still look mighty fine. Oh, and talk to Linda Thomas, our resident chapter member on what colors look best for you and your line of work.

Dear Abby Keynote:

I saw the speaker list for the Feb. 26-28, 2016 NSA Winter Conference in Austin, and now I’m not sure I want to go. The reason is I don’t recognize a lot of speakers, so I’m not familiar with them. – Hesitating Harry

Dear Hesitating Harry:

That’s the reason you should go. Conference organizer Gary Rifkin, CSP, is going to shock and awe us with his amazing talent show. It’s a plus that there are a lot of new names. That means we’ll all get exposed to new ideas.

Dear Abby Keynote:

I’m having a hard time making ends meet. I’ve invested a lot in my speaking career with my new website and my video. I’m still in the Academy, so I have a lot to learn. But my expenses are a lot more than my revenue. Any ideas? I don’t want to quit. – In the Red

Dear In the Red:

Couple of ideas. First, there’s an NSA Foundation scholarship available to help fund a trip to the national convention. You should look into applying. Second, if you have personal financial problems and need a little help, talk to Chapter President Chris Price and see if you can make special arrangements. All of us have endured and eventually overcome those early startup expenses which can cause sticker shock. But in the end….

Dear Abby Keynote:

My problem is I’m shy. I know what you’re thinking. How can you be a speaker if you’re shy? But I’m not shy when I’m training folks in a big room. How this hurts me is at our chapter meetings. There are some more experienced chapter members who I’d like to become friendly with, but I’m a bit intimidated and don’t know how to approach them. – Her Royal Shyness

Dear Her Royal Shyness:

Actually, I wasn’t thinking that a shy person can’t be a speaker. Truth be told, Abby Keynote, even with Keynote as my last name, I still, believe it or not, have momentary panic attacks before going on stage. I breathe deep and overcome. Now on to your problem: it’s a very simple solution. All you have to do is walk up to that chapter superstar you so admire and stick out your hand, smile and say “Hi, Michael Hoffman. My name is Her Royal Shyness and I just wanted to say hello and meet you.” Then sit back because a million questions will come your way, and you’ll have a new friend.

***

Since 2008 @DaveLieber, CSP, has been writing a monthly column about all things NSA-North Texas. He’s The Watchdog investigative columnist for The Dallas Morning News. DaveLieber.org

November Meeting Recap

David Newman, CSP
David Newman, CSP

We need to be known for one fabulous, awesome thing we do. Do not be a Chinese Restaurant Menu speaker. Goal is to be the stand out, obvious choice in your world.

Some tips David shared:

  • Decide Who You Are
    • What are you passionate about?
    • Who are you passionate about?
    • What are they passionate about?
    • What will they pay for?
  • Who are you disturbing? If you don’t turn anyone off, you are probably not turning anyone on either.
  • You don’t necessarily need to have a book. Buyers consider a professionally published book to be a risk reducer. You do need a tangible source of your excellence. (Blogs, pod casts, tweets, articles, etc.)
  • Get more material by repurposing. Turn blogs into a book. Turn articles into pod casts. Turn your book into teleseminars.
  • No video beats a bad video. You don’t want a buyers first impression of you speaking to be bad.
  • Refocus on right now. Buyers want to know they will get results, outcomes, skills and tactics that work. In a down time in an industry the buyer needs you to turn it around for him. Response to a client who has no money: I understand, that is why we are talking. I can help you fix that.
  • Change your approach to the market. Don’t always be selling and closing. Offer value and invite engagement. Connect with people really trying to help them. Give 80% of your material away free. Save 20% for paying customers.
  • Tap the power of You. Go to PRleads.com. Take advantage of variable data printing to get your buyers name on postcards you mail to him. (ask your printer and if they can’t help you, call me)
  • Stop selling. Make the buyer qualify to do business with you. “If you hire me and you don’t get results, one of us will not be doing their job, and it won’t be me. I can’t afford to be associated with an unsuccessful client.”
  • Practice copy listening. Hear what they said, rephrase it and give it back to them.
  • Don’t let your fee be the first thing to come up in a discussion. Try to make your fee relative to the value you will create. He used the example of working with 20 supervisors each of whom earns $80,000 a year. If you move that $1.8 million of payroll up 10% in productivity, the value is $180,000. Relate your fee to that number.
  • He offered much more material during the morning and gave us a link to kiwilive.com with the code doit. There you can download lots of his materials.

 Chapter Meeting Location

hilton-garden-inn-richardsonFor the 2015-16 meeting schedule, we’ll be meeting a the Hilton Garden Inn located at:

1001 W. President George Bush Hwy,
Richardson, TX 75080
Phone: (972) 792-9393.

Click here for a map.

 

Photo Gallery

November Meeting Speaker David Newman
November Meeting Speaker David Newman

 

NSA-NT President Chris Price, speaker David Newman and NSA-NT Director of Programming Andrew Szabo
NSA-NT President Chris Price, speaker David Newman and NSA-NT Director of Programming Andrew Szabo

 

NSA-NT Secretary Ron Hoesterey with member Betti Coffey
NSA-NT Secretary Ron Hoesterey with member Betti Coffey

 

NSA-NT members Joy Macci, Amy Kinnaird and Victoria Williams at the November meeting
NSA-NT members Joy Macci, Amy Kinnaird and Victoria Williams at the November meeting