Speaking Posts

Zig Ziglar, 1926-2012

Zig Ziglar passed from this world today after a short bout with pneumonia. He made a huge impact on me in my early sales and networking training. I bought cassette tapes, audio CD’s, and VHS videotapes and worked hard to absorb everything he threw at me. His style was approachable, his name memorable, and his wisdom unmatched. He is the one person I can credit with making me feel comfortable in front of audiences as I speak on the same topics to industry trade groups. I admonish my audiences: “Buy and put to use anything you can get your hands on by Zig.”

Thanks for everything Mr. Ziglar, you’ve helped me along the way many times.

Here are a few of his pearls of wisdom:

“Where you start is not nearly as important as where you finish.”

“I Honestly believe I have felt your feelings. I HAVE WALKED IN YOUR SHOES. You may have made some mistakes and you may not be where you want to be, but that has NOTHING to do with your future.”

“You don’t have to be great to start but you have to START to be great.”

“What you GET by achieving your goals is not near as important as what you BECOME by achieving your goals.”

“You were Designed for accomplishment , engineered for success and endowed with the seeds of greatness.”

“When you THROW DIRT at people, you’re not doing a thing but LOSING GROUND.”

“You are the only one who can use your ability. It’s an awesome responsibility.”

Have any Zig Ziglar thoughts?

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Network Even Amongst Your Peers

handshakeI presented my program “Stop Grumbling – Get Out There” to a group photographers in New Orleans. (The New Orleans chapter of the American Society of Media Photographers.) It’s a roughly two hour seminar on networking and negotiating techniques.

Usually the doors open about an hour before I speak and I use that time to introduce myself to people as they arrive, exchange business cards, and to get a rough gauge of where the audience is in terms of networking experience. I always ask the question, “So tell me about what you do,” and from a person’s response I can tell a lot about what stage of their career they’re in and how much experience they have in handling a first-time face-to-face meeting with a stranger.

I’ll Be Presenting at WPPI

I’m really looking forward to getting out to Las Vegas this coming week for the 2010 Convention and Trade Show at the MGM Convention Center March 4-11. It’s always a huge gathering of photographers from around the world, with a great lineup of speakers, this year including me!

I’m presenting a Platform program titled “Smart Web SEO Means More Bookings” on Monday, March 8th from 6:30-8:30pm. From the program description: “Do you know what good search engine results mean for your business? How do you direct clients to your site? Is your website getting buyers to stop and take notice? Blake Discher combines his Search Engine Optimization (SEO) expertise with his successful photo business savvy in this head-spinning session. Do not miss this chance to learn how to market your business with both on-page and off-page SEO techniques. Blake talks candidly about what your website needs to make it work for you.”

One of the best things about presenting around the country is that I get to meet a lot of photographers and share a lot of information that has helped me to be successful. Visit WPPI’s main convention website for more details.

And if you’re going, please stop by and say hello!