behind the scenes
We’re all feeling this very deeply no matter what our perspective is. Some days are filled with hope and some days are just confusing and make you question everything. I’m sharing my perspective on your biggest questions from The Wedding Pro DJ Seminar last week with DJ Brian B, Owner of DJ Brian B Official, Jason Jani, Owner of SCE Event Group and Troy Adams, Owner of Carolina DJ Professionals.
A good friend of mine shared an info graphic earlier this week. It showed 3 different zones of “What do I want to be during COVID-19”.
1st - The Fear Zone - Which is spreading emotions of fear, getting mad easily and complaining a lot.
2nd - The Learning Zone - In this zone, you’re evaluating info before you spread it, recognize we’re all doing our best. Know this it’s okay to give up what we cannot control.
And Finally - the 3rd Zone - THE GROWTH zone - and this is what I want to talk about today. It’s about thinking of others and see how we can help them. Making our talents available to others in need. Living in the present and focus on the future. Looking for new ways to adapt to changes.
I sat down with DJ Jess out of Pittsburg and Jazmine with Hype Productions in Chicago on a QSC Play Out Loud series and we dug deep into getting in the “Growth Zone” with your DJ or Entertainment Business.
Top 5 Takeaways In This Video:
1. How to stay relevant and engage with your ideal client now!
2. How to be an active leader in your local community.
3. Ways to change your sales process.
4. How to market behind the scenes.
5. Making money with zoom parties.
Today we’re going to be talking about Sales & Marketing during the current times. Let’s real talk - we all know that our worlds have been a bit different in the last months or so. With the events we’re doing and with potential events booking.
On this edition of the QSC Play Out Loud - I talk with Vickie Musni and Jessica McKelvey! We're going to dig deep into getting in Sales & Marketing During the Current Times.
Let’s talk about growth. Shall we? Unless you know where you are going, you cannot make plans to get there.
Here’s a little Alice in Wonderland reference for you to bring this to life.
“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?” – Said Alice
”That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat.
”I don’t much care where—“ said Alice.
”Then it doesn’t matter which way you go,” said the Cat.
”—so long as I get SOMEWHERE,” Alice added as an explanation. (haven’t we all been here)
”Oh, you’re sure to do that,” said the Cat, “if you only walk long enough.”
— Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
So the first question you should ask yourself is where do you want to go and why? Take that in for a moment.
Let’s talk about Vision – To me I look at it from two views… personal am business because I am at the point of balance.
Personal Vision - Every year about October, I start dreaming. I dream personally and in my business. Your personal and business life are 100% connected. There are so many ways that you can dream about your life. For me I use the Level 10 Life concept. So I take 10 or so areas of my life and I make goals in each of them.
Business Vision - #Squad Goals
How do you define success?
To me it might be a big squad, a million dollars in sales and lots of polaroid moments that I’ve made throughout the year with friends and family. Why? Because according to the Small Business Annual Sales 2012, less than 4% of small business are over $1 million in sales.
Structure – Now How Do you Get there?
I knew that I wanted a team and a team needs structure.
In the beginning - Budget - Separate bank accounts (personal and business), Personal budget, Business budget – You’ve got to understand how much money you’re are spending and how much is coming in. What is your cash flow? If you’re taken a retainer for a wedding, technically you have not earned that money, so you shouldn’t be spending it.
Let’s talk about a business budget – What are you spending your money on this year
Operational expenses – cost of doing business
Marketing budget
Office supplies
Networking
Auto
Travel
Meals + Entertainment
What did you buy and create categories for this.
Sales Forecast + Goals - How are you going to hit the numbers you need to hit to pay yourself and cover your expenses. How much do you want to make this year? Are you growing? If not, how can you grow?
Create your business plan! Put your vision, budget and goals (aka business plan) onto paper. That should include what your spending and what you estimate is coming in. You set goals based on what you think is coming in. A friend of mine said to me that I have a crazy lady binder. It has every single thing our company is going to do this year. It includes….
Goals – Sales Goals, Revenue Goals and each team members KPIs.
Budget
Operational
Marketing
Sales
Social Media
Last years Analysis (I start this in the beginning of Q4 for the next year so it’s not so overwhelming. You have to look at the past 12 months and how it did so you can make decisions on what to do moving forward)
Tools
Delegate and Elevate – If you’ve got a team, it’s time to take all those goals and delegate it. We do what we call KPI’s each year and that is the Key Performance Indicators for each team member. They know the projects that are responsible for to propel our organization to the next level.
Have Pulse Meetings with Your Team – We now do weekly team meetings, monthly DJ meetings and quarterly Photobooth team meetings.
Weekly Team Meetings
Quarter KPI and Performance Reviews with Team
Monthly DJ Meetings
Quarterly PB Meetings
Annual Core Team Retreat
How I execute my year
How I plan My Year
Q4 is creating my game plan
Q1 is executing the plan
Q2 is keeping it going
Q3 is re-evaluating it.
Your why is going to keep you moving and give you the motivation to tell you if you’re capable. I know that if I don’t go into my office each day and go after the goals I’ve set for 2018, I won’t get any closer to where I want to be next. It takes laser focus.
Growing - Trust me when I tell you that you have to have the structure in place in order to grow. If not, you’re foundation will not be strong enough to hold it and you will crumble to the ground. I have failed many times (behind the scenes, trust me) so make sure you have a solid structure to support your big ideas.
Ask Yourself: What does your incoming lead funnel look like? Are you getting the referrals you want?
For us we get referrals from current clients - so we have internal DJ challenges with team. We snapchat each other moments from the weddings, we rewards based on the quality of reviews that come in, we do regular coaching and training… we’ve made customer service part of our culture. It’s engrained in our staff.
We also get referrals from vendors – so we’re doing a few fun things this year to make sure we stay top of mind in addition to trying to keep up with customer service.
Growing doesn’t always mean it costs more money. I remember when my marketing budget was $0! How are you utilizing your social media? I’ll tell you that even where we stand right now, it’s very difficult as DJs to get video clips from our weddings from videographers – that is AMAZING exposure for you! Ex: I have a part time IGmmer who is focused on posting photos on IG and tagging our vendor friends!
Remember - Your Vibe Attracts your Tribe.
Who is on your team? Who is in your inner circle? Who are you choosing to do business with and align yourself with. What are you portraying online?
One of my fav quotes I tell my team comes from football – The 7 Ps. Proper Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance.
The 2019 Planners Suite Conference started on an early and cloudy Monday, January 28th. Once the doors opened, the sounds of Little Havana filled the Luxmore Grande Estate, and the first thing attendees saw was a beautiful arrangement of balloons cascading down the staircase installed by American Balloons in Orlando. It was obvious from here that we were in for a party. The planners were seated at tables such as “Many Mojitos” and “El Capitolio” - and greeted by a beautiful cigar box full of goodies! The tables were adorned with florals from Flowers by Lesley and a beautiful program by Taylor and Hov. Many planners jumped at the chance to take a photo of the stage from Panache Events, adorned with the Luxmore’s beautiful furniture and draping done by Jones Event Decor. Our design team put so much thought into the feel of the room - it was HOT in HAVANA!
On day two, we had a vendor panel (or “friendors” if you have them) had a chance to tell planners exactly why they would - or wouldn’t - work with or refer certain planners. Venue owner Tamuel, Videographer Chip, Florist Bron, and myself told planners like it is and spoke truthfully when doing so. An eye opening and mutually beneficial experience.
We closed the day out with a poppingly, pink performance from Christy “Cece” Todd who reminded us that our humble beginnings are lessons, and that we don’t have to cut them out of our lives - just out of our website and advertising. She said if you want to service a certain client - you must make the sacrifices to appeal to that market.
I had the honor of speaking at the Bridal Society Alumni Retreat in Orlando, Florida. It was all about Finding Your Nice and Standing Out. After 2 days of learning and growing, MY very own Our DJ Rocks ROCKED the after party!
I definitely think that being an entrepreneur takes hugs balls-- being fearless. As I look back now, I can tell you... fearless is what I've always been, even though at times I felt like a chicken sh*t. And now that I'm this far in, I am going through old files and I just can't help but share some of my thoughts from my first phase of my business. I sometimes forget what I was feeling and what I was going through because I'm in a whole new phase.... This one I found from August 2011, which was 6 months after I had quite my job and 1 month after every piece of equipment I had to operate my business was stolen.
FROM FILET MIGNON TO RAMEN NOODLES AND BACK. ERRR. WELL, I'M GETTING THERE...
I am a young, energetic, female taking a leap of faith in a male dominated industry and am working furiously to inspire other female entrepreneurs.
In what way has starting your own business been a leap of faith? First and foremost, stability. OMG let the questions in my head begin. Where will my next 'paycheck' come from? What about health insurance? What about long term disability? How will I pay the rent? What about my savings account? What if this.. and what if that. So what did I do? I beefed up the savings account with a 3-month 'just in case,' and I started marketing and networking like a mad-woman! Not only that but in my line of business, it's a man's world. Not that many people have heard of a chick DJing a wedding, especially a young one- I get it allll the time. Really - we're in the 21st century, why we still have men vs women roles is beyond me, but I'll take my gifts and my passion and make it set me apart from the rest. So in addition to getting over the hurdle of being a female I also have to earn the respect as being a young entrepreneur. And it's an obstacle that I still continue to overcome daily.
Where have you found the strength to take it? It has been said that you become very much like the 5 most people you spend your time with. So where have I found 10% of my strength? In 5 People including my fianc and family, my co-workers from the 'corporate' world and my collegues from the new world I'm in. Networking, Networking, Networking - it's all about who you know. And who can pick you up when you fall and put you back on track. MYSELF: The other 90% of my strength comes from myself. The biggest obstacle getting in way of the initial leap was me and my fear. Along the way to taking the leap, I looked to others who were decades ahead of me and exactly where I wanted to be. My most favorite quote of all is "Have No FEAR. The only thing standing in your way of success is a 'No;. I know that every "no" is simply getting me closer to a 'YES'. {Diann Valentine} Who also said "Lead with your gifts and passion and everything else will fall into place." And so I remember standing in my kitchen one evening and I said to my fianc, 'I'm going to do it. And if I have to eat Ramen Noodles for the first year, so be it. Donald Trump didn't get where he is today without taking big risks. In order to see a big return, you have to take big risks.' And from that moment forward my mantra for the year was JUST DO IT and I prepared for my leap. I wouldn't regret a single thing and am loving every minute of the ride.
My schedule tends to be hectic as most of our is. Between running and growing an almost million dollar operation, being a loving wife, present mom and there-for-your-team kind of leader, it can get very emotionally overwhelming and draining. When people say to me, wow you just always seem to have it together! I think to myself… actually if you own knew the behind the scenes. But when I really sit down a think about it, I have created systems and habits out of techniques that helps me keep it together!
You can implement one of these techniques at a time so that it doesn’t seem so overwhelming with change at first.
The 7 P’s
Proper Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance. My team and my kids are SOOOOOOOOOOO tired of hearing me say this, but it applies to so many things. So one night I was on the computer, doing something creative while my husband was watching football. And one of the coaches said this to his players. I thought WOAH! — Hold up! I can learn something from football? This technique has stuck with me since. So for the sake of your own sanity and being the successful entrepreneur you are, when you finish for the day, prepare for the next day. Write down your next days AGENDA and to do list BEFORE you leave the office the night before. I also recommend cleaning off your desk and organizing it so that when you walk in the next morning, you don’t get a sense of overwhelmed as soon as you sit down. Create a file system and neat and tidy “piles” of paperwork.
PUT YOUR PHONE AWAY! -
Cell phones are no longer cell phones as they become more powerful than your laptop. With multiple ways for clients, partners, friends and family to communication with you, I’m sure you get 10-30 dings an hour. So when you are working on a project, put your phone away. Put it in a drawer, turn it over on your desk and only check is every 2 hours or so. Checking our phones has become a habit that you don’t even realize that you are doing and when you are constantly checking your phone you end up pointlessly scrolling with no purpose. You think it’s going to make you happier or inspire you, but it making you way less happy. And when you’re less happy, you are less engaged. You’d be surprised at how many things can wait.
According to Entreprenuer.com -> Did you know Tim Ferris’ email is always on airplane mode? The reason, he says, is because he stopped getting stuck in the weeds -- managing the details of every project, or trying to clear out even a portion of those 355,692 unopened messages. (His assistant, Donna, will ensure that he sees the critical ones.) Instead, he’s begun asking himself an important question about every project and challenge: What might this look like if it were easy?
That question will lead to other questions, such as: Are there people I could hire? Are there ways I could simplify it? It’s a basic thought experiment, of course, but Ferriss knows that it may not occur to people like him. “As a very type A, competitive, driven, run-through-walls type of person, you end up only having one gear, which is sixth gear,” he says. “When you’re so accustomed to competing and pushing rocks up hills successfully, you accidentally look for paths that include a lot of resistance.” So his message to himself -- and to anyone like him -- is to stop. Imagine the easier path. Then build it. “I’ve been looking,” he says, “for elegance and less resistance.”
Time Block + Hyper Focus
I used to be the multi-task queen, but after becoming burnt out very quickly, I started time blocking and hyper focusing. For example, Tuesday’s are for team! Tuesdays mornings we have our weekly team meeting then any breakout meetings if needed. So from about 10-3pm, I do not schedule anything and leave it reserved for my team. Thursday from 10-1pm I reserve for my sales and marketing meetings to review how we are doing and what we could be doing differently, any opportunities on the table or anything creative we need to talk about. Sometimes, we just go Facebook Live! I leave my Friday and Monday’s completely open at all times and I do not schedule any meetings at all. This allows me to either rest from the weekend of events or upcoming events, prep for the events or give me space to do some of the passion work I love to do like marketing or team building. From a recent article on Entreprenuer.com I leanred that even Randi Zuckerberg uses this techique and she devotes days to a singular focus. Mondays could be entirely about writing her upcoming speeches or writing her books and Wednesdays are her radio days.
The challenge you will run into using this technique is the outside world with always try to interject. To manage this, you’ve got to be disciplined at not responding to people too quickly. It’s a form of training other peoples expectations. No one is going to put boundaries on your time except you. If people are used to you responding within 5 minutes, that’s what they will come to expect. and know that it’s okay to say no when do you respond. I’ve also found that sometimes by waiting until the end of the day, those urgent emails somehow tend to work themselves out.
Prioritize + Review
Write down the areas that you need to spend your time on. Is it marketing, sales, team management etc? Once you’ve written it down, review your last months calendar to see if you spent the time where it needed to be. Adjust as needed. At the end of the time, look back and see if you were able to accomplish something and if you didn’t - what kept you from it. From there you can re prioritize. shifting your energy to tasks that are strategically important to your goals.
Create White Space
When you are creating your schedule for the day, week or month, make sure to leave white space in there. White space is essentially wiggle room. That way if something doesn’t go as planned, you’ve technically planned for room to trouble shoot and it doesn’t lead to “not enough time” and eventually constant stress.
It’s Okay to Say No
This is where your vision, mission and to do this are going to come in very handy. When you do all of the above and you have to make a decision to say is this something I want to spend my time on… look at your mission, vision and goals and decide if that is going to get you one step closer to that. Answering it with that in mind, will make the decision become very clear. If not, you’ll need to revisit your goals and vision and clearly define those.
In this world (personal and professional) we have choices. We choose how we wake up in the morning, we choose every decision that we make throughout the day and we choose the people we surround ouserlves with. It is the choices that we make that give us the life that we have.
I am CHOOSING to be positive when there are negative vibes.
I ALWAYS treat everyone I encounter with respect because I was always taught that whatever you do to others, comes back to you 10 fold.
Just something I thought I would share with my community and also a reminder to myself when something tough gets smashed in your face and you've got decisions to make.
<3
P.S. - I am unapologetic for sticking up for my team and my company's integrity.
Let me begin by saying, I've failed too many times as a leader with my employees. I am not perfect. I don't have the perfect formula or a checklist of "how to manage your staff." But, what I do know is people do business with people. In a small business, it's more true than ever. We are not robots.
I also have a pet peeve and that is; I don't like the word employees. I don't feel like I employ anyone. I have the outlook that, just as I have a choice as a business owner to hire someone, they also have a choice to spend their time away from their friends and family to work for me. So, for the sake of this post, I am going to refer to "employee" as team members.
Here's what I've learned about team members from my failures:
Team Members want to feel valued and appreciated
Team Members want to feel like they are compensated fairly for their time and energy
Team Members want to enjoy coming into work every day.
So when I make decisions, I think about those 3 things above and hopefully knowing this, will keep me on the path of success.
I look at team like I do my marriage:
I am 150% dedicated and faithful to each one individual and to the bond that we have as a team and individually
I will fight for my team and stick up for them in the true times, but I hold them accountable because we all have to be a leading front towards one common goal and it takes 100% from both sides to make it work.
I am super fun and living, but I'm also tough as nails, I'm blunt, candid, and I don't sugar coat anything. Some people don't quite know how to take that.
I'm intense - Some ways good and some ways hard. When I'm passionate I'm passionate.
It takes honesty, tons of understanding and the willing to do the "work". Not like the paper work, but like that gritty, hard, I really dont want to face this work.
I may not be perfect at it, but everything is a work in progress and the key is communication.
If you are interested in hiring Kristin to speak or consult for your business,
complete this form or call Our DJ Rocks at 407-509-9786
