Wedding Pros Go ‘All In’ at EPMEN

I don’t mind being inside when it’s cold and rainy outside.  Especially when some of the most successful entrepreneurs in the wedding industry are sharing techniques to improve what you’re passionate about and philosophies that can help you earn loyalty for life from your clients.  EPMEN 2012 was on.

SCE ‘s Jason Jani, struck a nerve with a lot of the attendees when he said that “75% of the people on this earth aren’t doing what they love everyday… That sucks.”  “Don’t just chase the dollar, chase the dream…  Don’t settle…”  It was clear why artists like Jay Z and Kanye West call on Jani when they are on tour.  His passion for “doing cool things for cool people” is currently unmatched in the mobile entertainment and event production field.  I loved the way his question, “Are you making excuses or are you all in?” came up in conversation and on twitter the rest of the day.  As I said on my Twitter… “I’m all in JJ!”

 

Lorenzo Araneo, host of Rockstar Podcast and devout Twitter fan, shared some heart-felt personal stories about why he and his family are loyal to particular brands in his Art of Social Marketing presentation.  After he and a few others in the audience got a little choked up, his points were easily made and accepted.  I really liked how Lorenzo wasn’t shy about sharing his affection and respect for his Italian heritage.  Araneo tells it like it is.

Always a crowd favorite, Elite’s Mike Walter, brought his usual dose of well-prepared wit and wisdom in a seminar called, 10 Things You Can Do To Have A Better Day.  In addition to stressing the importance of waking up early, exercising and eliminating distractions… he earned a tweet-worthy moment with “Health and fitness IS a time management solution.” Amen Michael!  Neen James would be proud.

Many of us got to meet WedLock’s Jayne Hallock for the first time and picked up a few nuggets from her seminar on Blogging.  One in particular was the Yoast SEO Plugin recommendation for Word Press users.  Another was how to use Pinterest as a source for content and inspiration.  Jane also had some heads nodding when she said, “Your website is your business card; your blog is your personality.” And, when you are blogging, “sometimes about 100 words is enough.”     (-maybe next time. )  Hallock and seemingly everyone else in the entire world except me was dialed-in to Instagram too.  (Some of the cool filters that app offers was the inspiration for this entry’s photos).

Up and coming stars of the photography and cinematography world, Vanessa Joy and Rob Adams, offered some great tips for capturing event footage and testimonials with the latest DSLR equipment, software and technology.  Since MMP still uses a video camera from 1997 to record comments from our clients at the end of events, this seminar was extremely informative and timely.  We’ll be taking their advice soon and  upgrading to a DSLR camera with a 50mm 1.4 lens and a manfrotto 561bhdv-monopod.  Rob and Vanessa also shared ways to offer instant gratification to your clients.  This dynamic duo is making quite an impression on the workshop circuit.

If you were interested in Creating an Exceptional Customer Experience before the actual sale, Alan Berg had you covered.   Alan has a remarkable ability to take anything you do or say and within 5 minutes advise you how to do it and say it 10 times better.  On top of that, he knows how to take whatever you are currently doing for your prospects and rethink everything–  from the way you contact them initially to the way you respond to them when they call you back after shopping around.  Mr. Berg has some serious skills.

The country’s most lovable Emcee, Sean “Big Daddy” Mckee, took a day out of his ‘8 gigs a week’ schedule to host the festivities.   Show producer, Adam Skuba, deserves major kudos for the caliber of Monday’s line up and the over-all production;  especially considering that this was only his sophomore effort.  Special thanks to Adam, the EPMEN team, and all the sponsors (NJ Wedding, Bride Live, Elegant Bridal, Hurricane Productions, Screaming Lunatic, NJDJN, Sherman Specialty, NAME and ADJA) for their hospitality and support.

See ya next year!