I can’t remember who first asked me the question “are you well read?”. It could have been my good friend Jim Cerone, who some readers will know from the first Pro Mobile Conference or his wonderful Perfect Host article series. Or it may have been further back, when listening to DJA (Disc Jockey America), Mark Ferrell’s online radio station of podcasts for mobile DJs with contributors such as Jim Cerone, Bill Hermann and Peter Merry. At the time (10+ years ago) these were ground-breaking, coming long before the education that is now available to DJs for helping to grow and improve our service.
By Alan Marshall A full-time wedding DJ and master of ceremonies based in Hampshire, Alan Marshall has nearly 40 years of experience, and is currently focused on creating wedding entertainment that is engaging and driven by emotion. He is the Education & Training Officer for the National Association of DJs, having previously served as both a Branch and National Chairman. Are You Well Read? The premise was simply to know a little bit about a lot of topics so that on match day (i.e. the day of your event) you are informed enough to engage with the guests.
In this article I will attempt to expand on that basic idea as well as discuss the wider benefits of the written word, audio books and – of course – podcasts. But first, back to the original idea. What does it mean to be well read in the context of the mobile DJ world? Well, fundamentally, the concept is to gain basic knowledge (through reading, watching and listening) of a wide range of topics.
This means that you can engage a wide variety of people in conversation about whatever it is that they find interesting. This will help you to break the ice with potential clients at meetings, guests at events and other service providers at networking events, which will ultimately help you to build relationships and rapport. However, this is a long game, as it requires covering a very broad range of subjects. The same principle, however, can be applied in a more focused way to each of your events.
If you were lucky enough to attend the first Pro Mobile Conference back in 2013 you would have witnessed Jim Cerone put this into practice; essentially he gave a personal master class in being the perfect host. Now, of course, it was a DJ Conference and Jim, being a very accomplished DJ in the States, had that connection with the attendees. But, beyond that, before the event he had done his research. He just seemed to know everyone already!
He knew faces and names, and connected with everyone as part of his preamble. This meant that when it came time to speak, to deliver asking the right questions? The most powerful question to use when finding out about an event is ‘why?’ . If like Bill Hermann, who was the keynote speaker at last year’s Pro Mobile Conference and a good friend of mine, you want to create a truly unique entertainment experience, you really can’t ask why enough!
Then comes the research. If, for example, the Bride’s family are coming from Wales and through asking the right questions you find out they are big rugby fans, do you know the team they support, if they are playing that day and how they are doing in the league? Or, as another example, football. If you know the majority of the guests at the reception follow a team, do you know enough about them to be able to hold a brief conversation about how they’re doing?
A little research goes a long way. If you are trying to stand out as an entertainer, as an all-day host or evening host/DJ, research is king. The more you know, the more it can positively affect what you do and say. The concept of being well read can also be applied at a business level.
Are your decisions based on your own personal experience of success and failure or do you draw from a wider knowledge bank? I once had the fortune to attend a Tony Robbins event in London. For those that don’t know, he is an American author, entrepreneur, philanthropist and life coach, known for infomercials, seminars and self-help books. He is arguably the world leader in this area, with clients including actor Hugh Jackman, tennis star Serena Williams and former President his seminar, he was no longer a stranger!
He was a friend. Jim had done the research, he had found out about those attending the event and his fellow speakers. Put simply, he was well informed! Taking this concept on board at your next event and doing a little research could really pay off.
Consider how much do you know about the couple if it’s a wedding or maybe the guest of honour at a corporate party? What do you know about the guests attending or the company holding the event? From where are they travelling? What connects all of them and how.
If it’s a company event, how is the company doing – have they had a good year? Do you know the names of the key players at the event and a little about their personalities? Finding out these details will enable you to engage with your clients and their guests better, and on a deeper level, which will ultimately result in a better party and more referrals. All of this starts at the planning stage, challenge yourself: are you "Finding out these details will enable you to engage with your clients and their guests better, and on a deeper level, which will ultimately result in a better party and more referrals" 35ARE YOU WELL READ?
ARE YOU WELL READ?3636 Bill Clinton. At that event one statement that still resonates with me to this day was, “the biggest cost in any business is time!” It doesn’t matter who we are or what resources we have at our disposal, we all have the same finite amount of time each day, week, month and year. You can choose to use that time to continue doing what you have always done and hope for different results (which almost certainly won’t come). Or you can learn from your mistakes and hopefully, over time – maybe the next twenty years – find the path to success.
Or you can watch, listen to and read from those who have already spent twenty years making the same mistakes and have already become successful. This is surely the key to becoming successful much faster! The great thing is there are loads of fantastic books and other resources out there for small business owners that cover everything to do with marketing and sales. Plus there is also a wealth of material available specifically written for, and by, DJs covering topics explicitly related to our business.
Not everything will resonate with you, so you need to do a little research first. A good place to start is by asking yourself the question, "what is challenging me right now?" The chances are that someone else has already had the same challenge and written down how they overcame it in a book. When you do the research, you can often find yourself changing your perspective to a different point of view that in turn can lead to a broader understanding. Back to Tony Robbins’ quote: our biggest cost in business is time, there never seems to be enough!
I personally allocate an hour a day to reading, and limit it to only one hour, as I know more than that can lead to information overload! Personally, I can afford a whole hour each day, because this is my main job. However if, like many DJs, you are balancing a day job with also running a DJ business, time is even more critical. Fortunately, with a lot of great books also available in audio format, the drive to and from work can be a great time to become well read.
Beyond the great wealth of knowledge available in traditional book, eBook or audio book form, it’s worth checking out video and audio podcasts. Recently I’ve enjoyed the great motivational stuff that Jon Holder is posting on Facebook as well as Tony Winyard’s new Exceeding Expectations podcast which features great interviews with people who love their work and try to far exceed the expectations of their clients. Both Jon and Tony are delivering seminars at the upcoming Pro Mobile Conference, which – if you haven’t already booked and there are still any places remaining – I highly recommend attending.
Also worth checking out is the DJNTV (Disc Jockey News TV) YouTube channel which includes content from Jim Cerone, Bill Hermann, Brian S Redd, Dave Ternier and Jeremy Brech, who are all very experienced entertainers. When I personally started my quest for knowledge, I bought everything that I could get from the Pro Mobile Book Store. I then continued to build my collection purchasing every book I could get my hands on, both online and during my many trips to DJ shows and conferences here in the UK as well as over in America.
Will all this knowledge make you better? Well, that is subjective based on your definition of ‘better’ . But it will certainly make you more informed! "there is also a wealth of material available specifically written for, and by , DJs covering topics explicitly related to our business"
