NSA Northwest's Quarterly E-zine - October 2006
In this Issue
- Message from President Jocelyn 'Toolie' Garner
- Building High-Energy Web Sites and PR Materials -- Register Now!
- Special Event Opportunities for the NSA Northwest Community
- Dan Poynter, "The Book Guy", Speaks to Our NSA Northwest Chapter
- Upcoming Chapter Saturday Workshops and the Holiday Party
- Fourth Annual Holiday Giving Project
- Changes to the Chapter Board of Directors
- Calling All Future Leaders: NSA Northwest Wants YOU!
- Get a Speaker Sneak Preview...Free Consulting...
- Visit the NSA Northwest Personal Development Library
- Welcoming our New Members, Affiliates, and Vendor Partner
- Savvy Networking Tip #1
Message from President Jocelyn 'Toolie' Garner
Dear Friends,
As the leaves on the trees begin to change, I'm reminded that while the calendar year is drawing to a close, at NSA Northwest we're just getting started! In fact, we got of to an incredible start with our Saturday Workshop on book authorship for speakers with Dan Poynter. A total of 53 people patiently squeezed themselves into a smaller-than-usual space over at the Embassy Suites, and they were handsomely rewarded with well-honed instruction on "Turning Your Speeches Into Books." (See Jan Dwyer's account of the meeting later in this newsletter.) We also had a big turnout for our Article Writing In-Home Work Session on October 9th. Twenty-five people heard from two experts on divergent approaches to using articles to promote our businesses.
Speaking of Saturday Workshop locations, we're changing ours to the Coast Bellevue Hotel, just east of I-405 at the NE 8th exit in downtown Bellevue, starting with our November 18th event. In case you missed the email I sent in August, now that we'll be at the Coast Hotel, we are going to have continental breakfast included in your registration fee! Just remember to register early for our next Workshop with Jerry Teplitz on November 18th. You can find the details below.
We've lined up even more opportunities for you to learn in addition to our regular Saturday Workshops and In-Home Meetings. Be sure to look carefully at the section marked "Special Event Opportunities for the NSA Northwest Community" below.
When I attended Camp NSA last November, we talked about "networking," but I wasn't satisfied with the discussion we had about what it means in the context of NSA. As a result, I decided to make networking an important focus of my year as President of NSA Northwest. Setting up our new website was a big part of creating an opportunity to network with each other. At our November 18th Workshop, I'm going to take about half an hour to go through the site and show you all the ways it can help network with your fellow speakers for our mutual benefit, as well as promoting yourself as a speaker in the Puget Sound area. You'll want to be sure to attend the workshop to learn all the features and benefits of our new website.
I have also asked our NSA Northwest Director and association leadership specialist, Anna Liotta, to share one of her Savvy Networking Tips with us this quarter. We hope you'll truly "network" with your fellow speakers in NSA Northwest as a result of our efforts.
Back to top"Building High-Energy Web Sites and PR Materials"
Nov. 18th Workshop with Dr. Jerry Teplitz
Why do some ads work and others don’t? One key explanation is the energy that the copy and graphics in the ad generate. If energy is present, it encourages people to read your piece; if energy is lacking, they’ll most likely throw it away. In this fascinating seminar, "Creating High Energy Websites and Promotional Materials", you will learn why everything you see has a positive or negative impact on your energy system. Once you understand this concept, you will discover ways to create high energy promotional materials that capture the attention of readers. The ultimate result is greater profits.
As a consultant, Dr. Jerry Teplitz has used the technology of Behavioral Kinesiology Muscle Checking on ads and pr materials for retailers, as well as for the authors of the Chicken Soup for the Soul book series and Heinz U.S.A. Come and find out how these exciting principles can transform your web sites and promotional materials! We’ll meet at our new location: the Coast Bellevue Hotel.
Special Event Opportunities for the NSA Northwest Community
NSA Enterprise Lab
The upcoming NSA Enterprise Lab at the NSA headquarters in Tempe, Arizona from Nov. 3rd-5th, is just a few weeks away! The term 'Enterprise' is one of the 4 Professional Speaker Competencies outlined by NSA, and it's the biggest one: it's about the business end of the speaking profession. Two of our own Washington State-based members are among the outstanding faculty who will be presenting at the Lab: our own past President Linda Keith, and Chris Widener, a successful NSA speaker and businessman. Ready to attend? Get all the details at the special NSA website devoted to this event. Tell a friend! You can download a copy of the event postcard by right-clicking on this link, and then attach it to your email.
Selling Your Book to Publishers
From time to time, members of our larger NSA community of speakers pass along invitations to our NSA Northwest chapter to attend events at a special discount. For all of you who prefer to find an agent and/or write book proposals to existing publishers, NSA member Wendy Keller is the person who can tell you how it's done. As a favor to NSA Northwest, Wendy is extending an additional 10% discount on her "Two Day Author/Speaker Training Extravaganza" event here in Seattle on November 4th and 5th. If you're not already planning to attend the NSA Northwest Enterprise Lab in Tempe that weekend, you might want to consider attending Wendy's classes!
Branding Roundup for NSA Northwest Members
Those of you who attended our Saturday Workshop with Dick Bruso in April will remember how effectively he worked with our 3 volunteers during the bonus "Brand-storming" session. Are you interested in working with Dick on your brand? Patrick Williams, our VP of Marketing, is working on setting up a Branding Camp with Dick here in Seattle. This two-day event is open to the NSA Northwest community and any other interested small business owners, with a limit of 12 people. Tentative dates are March 30th & 31st. If you want to participate, send email directly to Patrick at info@PatrickWilliamsConsulting.com.
Dan Poynter, "The Book Guy" Speaks to Our NSA Northwest Chapter
On Saturday, September 9th, NSA Northwest kicked off the year with "The Book Guy" himself - Dan Poynter, CSP who spoke on the topic, "Turning Speeches into Books." This 120-book author and expert delivered to a sell-out audience the essentials on writing, promoting, and promoting our books. As Dan said, his mission is "I don't want speakers to die with a book still inside them," and his practical , step by step model was invaluable to many of us who have dreams of being successful in the authoring world. One of the many useful tips that Mr.. Poynter shared was his ideas in selecting a working title for our books:
- Start with the key word
- Choose specific, familiar and short words for titles
- Obtain the domain name (.com) for the title
- Select a subtitle that is more descriptive
- Test the title and subtitles on your NSA colleagues
- Create a punchy ad copy for the back cover before you write one word in your book!
In addition to hundreds of book-writing "gems", Dan also showed us an actual book writing template, some creative ideas to get compelling testimonials, and practical information for cover art.
If you missed his session, Dan's books can be purchased at www.ParaPublishing.com. If you are thinking, planning or writing a book - his book entitled "Writing Nonfiction" may be the place for you to start. If you want information on publishing or promoting your book, his book entitled "The Self-Publishing Manual" may be just what you need!
Upcoming Chapter Events and Holiday Party
Tuesday, October 24 - Members and Affiliates ONLY
Business Development Session with Michael Port
Community Center at Mercer View
2:00 pm to 5:00 pm, with refreshments
Register online NOW
Saturday, November 18 - Workshop for Members, Affiliates, Vendor Partners, and Guests
Building High Energy Web Sites and PR Materials with Dr. Jerry Teplitz
8:00 am Registration & Continental Breakfast
8:30 to 11:45 am Program
Register online NOW
Monday December 11 - Holiday Party for Members, Affiliates, Vendor Partners, Guests and Their Spouses
Entertainment by Humorist Tim Gard
6:30 - 10:00 pm (Dinner around 7:30 pm)
Plated dinner with choice of entrees
Registration available starting November 1st
Fourth Annual Holiday Giving Project
This is our 4th year of supporting Seattle's Union Gospel Mission's Women and Children's Shelter. Every year our goal is to increase the amount of donations, and to do a little something extra to make the ladies feel extra special around the holidays. Last year we presented to the ladies shampoos and soaps and other wonderful gifts, along with lovely scarves. They were thrilled!
So, please start collecting items now. Those shampoos, soaps, lotions, and other items that you get in your hotel room are perfect gifts for these women, many of whom have never received a Christmas gift before. We'll be scheduling a time in December to put these items together as gifts, and also a time when we will deliver these items to these women. This is the highlight for many of us within the chapter and certainly a highlight for these precious women. Questions? Contact Jan Dwyer at Jan@JanDwyer.com.
Changes in the Board of Directors
We have had some changes to our Board of Directors since our last newsletter, so let me introduce you!
President-Elect
Sandy Bjorgen of Creative Conversations
Sandy started out the year as VP of Membership, but has stepped up to take on the 3-year commitment required for the path to Chapter Presidency. We are delighted to have her, and are already seeing her leadership qualities in action.
Programming Coordinator
Peggy Wolff of the Wolff Consulting Group
Joining Toolie, Jan Dwyer, and Sandy Bjorgen on the Programming Committee is Peggy Wolff, who is moving from Director to Programming Coordinator. Peggy takes excellent care of our incoming presenters, and recruits In-Home Hosts and presenter party hosts as part of her work on the Board. Be sure to email Peggy about volunteering to help!
VP Membership
Bill Cooper, author "Leading Beyond Tradition"
You may remember Bill as our capable emcee for the Affiliate Showcase this past May. Bill just qualified for National Membership last month, and without skiping a beat has agreed to join the Board in his new role as VP of Membership to help others qualify. We are very proud of Bill's achievement, and we welcome his leadership and fresh insights on the membership qualification process.
Calling All Future Leaders: NSA Northwest Wants YOU!
Leadership is a privilege and a responsibility! If you have ever thought about increasing your NSA Northwest membership investment, I can't think of a better way to do this than to get involved as a leader in the Chapter. As Nominating Committee Chairwoman, I would be delighted to talk with you about the various Board positions that could have YOUR name on them.
There are so many benefits to serving....you'll have the chance to learn business strategies or technologies that can help your own business; you get to work with a team of leaders to continue to make our chapter successful; you will be "at the table" to share and even implement ideas; and you will practice and enhance your own leadership effectiveness in a safe and fun environment.
Interested? Please contact me at Jan@JanDwyer.com or give me a call at 253-891-1609.
Get a Speaker Sneak Preview… Free Consulting…
It’s all there for you! Spend quality “car time” with visiting speakers. There’s nothing like being in a car with someone to get to know them. Learn some background and what our speakers are planning to say at our meetings. Tell them about yourself and you are sure to get some pithy comments and suggestions to help your own business.
All you need do is volunteer to pick a speaker up at the airport (usually on a Friday afternoon) and take her/him to the hotel. Or provide a ride to or from dinner that Friday night. Or drive him/her back to the airport after the Saturday meeting. It’s simple.
When picking up at the airport, you provide us and the speaker with your cell phone number, then go to the Cell Phone Parking Lot and wait for a call. The speaker will tell you the door number at which they are waiting and you swoop in, pick them up and dash them off to the Coast Hotel. That gives you about 30 minutes of car time.
Drivers are needed for the following dates:
- November 17 and 18 for Jerry Teplitz
- January 12 and 13 for Chris Clarke-Epstein
- April 13 and 14 for Janelle Barlow
- June (dates TBD) for Mark LeBlanc
Email me, Peggy Wolff (wcg@wolffwoman.com ) to sign up and I will let you know flight number and arrival time closer to the date.
Visit the NSA Northwest Personal Development Library
Have you been wondering how you can improve your speaking and business skills? Or maybe you want to know what went on in those General Sessions at the National Convention? Well, you are in luck. As a free benefit to Members, Affiliates, and Vendor Partners, NSA Northwest's Library has educational information to help you develop your professional speaking and business skills.
Checking out an item is easy. Just fill out the form. Hand in the top half and keep the bottom half to remind you when the item is due. Items are due back promptly in one month. For your convenience, we provide an envelope to use to mail the item back to us.
- New this fall: we have DVDs of some of the General Sessions from this year's National Convention, and Educational sessions from our Super Summit, plus various donated items.
- We also have a Grab Basket. These donated items are free for the taking!
- If you would like to donate an item to the Library or to the Grab Basket, please feel free to do so. We welcome your contributions.
You will find the Library table at NSA Northwest meetings. Come check us out (pun intended)!
Welcoming Our New Members, Affiliates, and Vendor Partner
We want to give a warm welcome to all of you who have joined NSA Northwest since July 1st!
Ms. Ann Amati MHA, Affiliate
Deliberate Strategies Consulting
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www.accountloyalty.com
Mr. William Cooper, Member (transitioned from Affiliate)
Author, "Leading Beyond Tradition"
bipd1@comcast.net
www.leadingbeyondtradition.com
Ms. Sandra M LaBelle MEd., Affiliate
Author, national speaker
Teaching Smarter, Get Your Life Back
sandra_labelle@hotmail.com
www.teachingsmarter.net
www.sandylabelle.com
Mr. Bob Linz, Affiliate
The Quiet Way
blinz@seanet.com
Ms. Lynda E McDaniel, Vendor Partner
Writer & Writing Coach
lynda@lyndamcdaniel.com
www.lyndamcdaniel.com
Ms. Sherie McGuffey, Affiliate
naturalradiance@wamail.net
Ms. Assunta Ng, Affiliate
Publisher, Northwest Asian Weekly
assunta@nwasianweekly.com
www.nwasianweekly.com
Mr. Gregory P Simard, Affiliate
salessuccess2006@msn.com
Did you know? The two-year requirement for Affiliates to become Members has been removed entirely. If you were once an Affiliate of NSA Northwest, but left because of this requirement, we want you back! You can rejoin anytime and enjoy the benefits of participating in our chapter events at Affiliate rates. Visit our Join NSA/NW page for details on Affiliate Membership.
Savvy Networking Tip #1
When business people begin to learn how to network in earnest, they frequently confuse networking with brokering and prospecting.
- Prospecting is passing out business cards to find new business for yourself. It’s a broadcast method, a one-way communication, a push-push-push endeavor, and most of us hate it. You’ve probably been on the receiving end of someone who is prospecting. You may have felt uncomfortable, harassed, or downright angry. It’s not the most time- and energy-effective method for finding new customers.
- Brokering is the second activity that sometimes gets intermingled with networking. Brokering is introducing two people in order to make a commission off of the business they do together. There is nothing wrong with brokering: it is a viable and valuable business model. However it is not networking, because you are "expecting" to directly receive compensation.
- Networking is people connecting to each other who meet without expecting compensation. It’s truly about bringing together individuals who have something in common, whether it be a passion, a need, or a purpose. This action is something that many of us do daily, and it is the true essence of networking. Making these kinds of connections between people builds a solid foundation that will serve us for years to come.