Grace Under Pressure: Robbie Britton Impresses at ArmDjs 4.0

If you’re in the middle of producing a jammed packed two-day business conference and a curious squirrel somehow finds its way inside the hotel’s transformer- which subsequently blows up the transformer, causes the entire hotel to lose power- and obviously sends the little varmint to an early grave…. what would you do?      Some people would panic, some would start to make excuses and then some people, like Robbie Britton, would keep their cool, inform the attendees of the back-up plans, and then proceed to get a generator from their personal work vehicle to restore power to the essential audio/visual components within the hour.

As luck would have it, seasoned professional speaker, Rick Brewer, was on stage when the outage occurred.  Without skipping a beat, Rick continued his insightful presentation sans microphone and power point slides.  Robbie and his crew got the power restored in time for Rick to wrap up his excellent marketing advice regarding the psychology behind designing  appealing package options for your clients and to show a highly impactful video clip that gets me every time I see it.

That afternoon, I had the chance to sit down for lunch with Rick and Tom Haibeck, author the book, Wedding Toasts Made Easy.  If you’ve ever been to an elegant reception, gala or intimate dinner where the best man or person giving the toast was…  let’s just say… less than stellar- to put it nicely, that’s the reason Tom’s book has sold over 100,000 copies and people like Regis Philbin used it to prepare for his daughter’s wedding. After Tom’s presentation,  I bought a case of his books (that Tom was gracious enough to autograph) and couldn’t wait to give a signed copy to the next bride and groom that I met with.   This past week, I had a consultation with Jackie and Rody, who just hired me to Emcee their wedding reception for July of 2012.  They mentioned that the Best Man and Maid of Honor might want to propose a toast so I gave them a copy for each.  Look for Wedding Toasts Made Easy to be featured in an upcoming “Marcello Recommends” article.

As always, I gave Jackie and Rody a copy of The Best Wedding Reception…Ever! as well.  Peter Merry, TBWRE’s author, was also a featured presenter at the Armdjs conference.  Like his book,  Merry revealed some unique ideas that we can pass along to our engaged couples with regards to personalizing the  entertainment and tastefully highlighting traditional moments.

David Louis, who flew all the way from Hawaii to join the Tennessee roster, introduced a genius concept that I’ll be incorporating very soon to assist the 1/2 of MMP’s newly-engaged couples that usually need more help than the other…  David created a Groom’s Workshop.   There’s tons of information and resources out there for the brides, but not so much for the grooms.  If you’re a groom-to-be and would like to know… “What do I do now??!!” after you make an awesome proposal that’s worthy of a bazillion hits on youtube…  contact us at 973-366-9776 to schedule a private workshop.   And if you’re a bride who wants to sign up your future hubby so he doesn’t screw anything up, you can call us too and we’ll help you sign him up. These workshops are complimentary for our clients and simply considered part of the customer service level that MMP clients can expect when working with us.

Fellow Wedding Entertainment Director’s Guild board member and author of Customer Service A to Z, Larry Williams, went pretty deep into the finer points of customer care and hospitality during his session.   It was quite evident that he practices what he preaches…  His good friend and mentor, the legendary Dick Clark, has unfortunately been under the weather lately.  Larry arranged for several of us to record video get well cards for Mr. Clark to help raise his spirits. Larry knew that a situation like this required more than a generic Hallmark card.  It was a very classy and thoughtful gesture.

The ArmDjs conference gave attendees numerous ways to go above and beyond the public perception of the norm and the status quo.  Industry veteran, and one of the most talented performers I’ve seen in action, Todd Mitchem, drove this point home when he warned the audience not to become a Ferrari on the Freeway.  It’s a ‘reality bites’ type of expression that I learned as a kid through a basic sports example.   If you are an exceptional athlete in high school, chances are you’re going to be in good company when you get to college.  Meaning:  You ain’t that special kiddo.  And if you happen to be fairly awesome compared to your university counterparts, don’t celebrate until you get to the pro leagues because again, there are already some incredible athletes out there.   Now, if you manage to stand out in the Major Leagues, the NFL or the NBA… then you can pop the champagne and celebrate a little.  THEN,.. If you can combine your uber-athleticism with intellect, social graces and business savvy… you’ve earned the title of a Ferrari on the F1 (Formula One) circuit.

Author of his first book release, Running Your Multi-Op, Mike Walter, who we featured here on the MMP Blog last month, should have rented a Ferrari to get to Tennessee to give his seminar.  Instead of flying out from New Jersey, he chose to break-in his new car and drive 10 hours to avoid one of his pet-peeves…  a connecting flight.   Fortunately,  in addition to being one of the most successful businessmen in the mobile dj world, he’s also a marathon runner- so he still had plenty of energy when it was showtime. The attendees expected Mike to dish out a lot of training and management-related nuggets from his book like he normally does when he’s on the speaking circuit, but they (and I) were also treated to video examples regarding common performance-related pitfalls that Emcees can avoid.  Essentially, knowing when to say something is just as important as knowing what to say.

While we’re on the subject of  good timing, I want to thank my friend, Alan Trisler, for sharing his photo coverage of the event. Like all great photographers,  he knows how to be in the right place at the right time.

 As we often do when we are brought in to speak at the same conference, Mike and I met up before the seminars began on day one to start the morning off with a nice run.  (We always invite everyone to join us, but it’s usually just us who end up meeting in the lobby at sunrise.)  I’d have to say that this run was one of the most memorable in the 10 years we’ve known each other.  Check out Mike’s running journal for the detailed recap.

As a father, something that was said that I’ll  never forget was delivered by Gitomer Cerified Speaker standout, Patrick Henry.   This was the second time I’ve had the pleasure of watching Patrick light-up the stage with his musical anecdotes that strike a sharp and humorous chord with his audience, but this was the first time I’d heard him say this…  “Some nights, I’ll be holding my beautiful baby daughter, Meredith, in my arms.  And all I can think about when I look into her gorgeous blue eyes is… Please don’t grow up to be a skank!” It was hysterical.   I don’t really tweet that often, but this one had to be shared with other fathers and anyone else in the world who needs a good laugh.  And if you appreciate this type of real-world humor with an edge like Patrick’s tweetable moment, check out Tina Fey’s prayer for her daughter from her new book, Bossypants.

  

When I think of professional goals, Book Yourself Solid, which was written by the Keynote speaker, Michael Port, can easily be considered one of the entrepreneurial bibles that I looked to in my formative years for insight and inspiration. His “Red Velvet Rope” philosophy is right in line with my business model and hard-earned company reputation.  Port gave an enthusiastic presentation that featured one gem after another on the subjects of marketing and branding.   No notes or slides necessary.   I guess that’s one of the perks of being considered an expert in your field and being the author of a NY Times Best Seller… the ability to effortlessly speak on your specialty subject matter becomes second nature.   Just fly to the next destination, engage, teach and wrap it up with a standing ovation.    Highlights from his seminar included Michael telling the famous, “If you try to please everyone, you might as well kiss your ass goodbye” story and his strong recommendation that you focus your efforts on “commitment and fulfillment” and “sharing information and compassion” when you are looking to build a deeper relationship with prospects and colleagues you already know.

The chance to see Port in person was very exciting.  The opportunity to speak with him for 15 minutes after his presentation was exhilarating.  And now that I’m kinda out of big adjectives, the fact that by chance Mr. Port and I sat next to each other on a connecting return flight home from Tennessee to Charlotte and talked about everything from the economy and the UFC, to the politics of politics and Donald Trump, to cross training, yoga and how to travel fashionably...well.. let’s just say… WOW!-  Life is pretty cool sometimes. And as if I needed another cherry on top,  Mr.  Port extended a  very gracious  lunch invitation for sometime in the near future. How surreal would it be to break bread at the home of one of your literary idols?

I’m delighted to report that my performance workshop on Energy, “The World Belongs to the Energetic,” was well received by the  attendees and that a lot of positive feedback has been buzzing around the industry’s social media outlets.

These are two comments that came in via MMP’s Facebook Page:

“I traveled to attend this event from New Zealand. I loved Marcello’s presentation.” -David Seel, The Perfect Wedding, NZ

 

“I have been a DJ for 24 years and although I perform at over 250 Mobile Disc Jockey events every year I have chose not to attend DJ Conferences during my career…..until ARMDJs 2011. The presentation put on by Marcello and Mike Walter was the best 2 hour investment of my career. Marcello not only gave us great ideas but he demonstrated how to implement them first hand. He is truly a highly talented performer. Mike Walter has an incredible perspective on business and talked about the details of our job that really matter. I look forward to learning from these two pros again in the future!” -Rob Vollmar, Grant Hemond and Associates, FL

Special thanks to Mark Maillet, from Eternal Lighting Company, for spotlighting my stage performance with the sleek  Premier 120- LED fixture.  It really enhanced the over-all presentation and helped me demonstrate how professionals can use lightscaping and special effects to adjust the ambiance accordingly and raise the level of energy in any room.

Apparently, Robbie Britton already knows how to create energy, end an event on a high-note and leave a crowd wanting more.  Like a little kid on Christmas Eve who couldn’t wait to open his presents, Robbie finally showed everyone a video clip of  next year’s keynote speaker giving a pre-recorded teaser of what’s in store for ArmDjs 5.0 in the summer of 2012…    Gary Vaynerchuk, the author of Crush It and The Thank You Economy will be  bringing “the hustle” and “the thunder” in a “serious way” because “that how he rolls.”  The attendees (including yours truly) were totally amped.

See you next year!  -mp

Marcello Pedalino to Join Michael Port in Tennessee on the Appalachian Summer Symposium Line-up

After reading the best seller, Book Yourself  Solid, a few years ago, Michael Port has continued to have a significant impact on MMP’s success. When my business was being profiled for a local business story, I credited Port’s latest literary effort when the reporter asked me if I had any advice for entrepreneurs.  “I’m reading a great book by Michael Port. He puts our business philosophy very eloquently.  Develop your credibility,  establish yourself as an expert, strive to be your best- most likable self, and you’ll quickly become the most obvious choice for your potential clients.”  These words of wisdom have served MMP Entertainment well.

Fast forward to 2011.   Robbie Britton, producer of ARMDJS 4.0, has invited me to join the stellar ensemble cast of industry-notable presenters and special guest speaker, Michael Port. Needless to say-  I’m honored, flattered and very excited.

The content of the symposium will cover areas of performance and business characteristics that are paramount to a successful company.  Michael Port will speak on Bookings, Larry Williams on Service, David Louis on Networking, Peter Merry on Value, Todd Mitchem on Control, Tom Halibek on Speaking, Mike Walter on Training, and my seminar will address- Energy. I’ll be sharing ways that entertainers can harness their physical and creative power so they can recharge their performances.

Tuesday, June 21, & Wednesday, June 22, 2011.

See you in Tennessee!  -mp