Cigar PEG ADVANCED speaker school in Hawaii in December!

I’m really excited about Cigar PEG’s Advanced Speaker School, which  is Coming December 8-10, 2008.  Located at the Hyatt Regency Waikiki Beach, this school is for elite speakers who Seek a More Elevated Educational Experience.

The program includes:

Marketing Plan Work Session:  Work with Dr. Revenue/John Haskell who has written over 600 Marketing and Sales Plans for mid-size and smaller companies. This is a small group, and highly interactive, Dr. Revenue Marketing and Sales Planning Clinic. His proven system for writing plans means you will leave Hawaii with your 2009 plan done or darn close. What a perfect way to Jump Start 2009.

Speaker strategy session with Robert Bradford:  Robert will help you analyze your current strategic position and map how you can set yourself apart from the crowd in 2009.

Ed Rigsbee State of the Industry Update:  Ed Rigsbee will give his state of the speaking industry update with ideas about how to take advantage of current market trends.

Product workshop with Kirstin Carey:  Kirstin Carey will help you assess your current product mix and give you ideas about what to add in 2009 – and how to add the most profitable products to your line-up.

Half day sessions mean that you have time to enjoy beautiful Honolulu–see the Arizona Memorial, the beach and even a golf course. Plus great restaurants and the nicest people in America. Give yourself the gift of focusing on your 2009 business plan, in paradise.

This promises to be a fun time, with some wonderful takeaways for the experienced speaker.
Note that the EARLY BIRD pricing ends in a couple of weeks, on 8/31.  Sign up at www.cigarpeg.com now to save $300 on your tuition!

Post-Party Feedback

A quick note–thanks so much for all your help in making the 2008 Cigar PEG the success it was. And, before all the ideas for improvement are lost, please help me to capture those Ideas that we kicked around in New York. Below are some of my thoughts for improving the TPE “Total Party Experience,” please add yours ASAP:

> Need full-time dedicated DJ to cue music correctly; pre-auction, and post-auction music mix. Also to have a prearranged contingency if an attendee comes on stage and grabs the mic (like Mark did). DJ to kill the mic sound after 60 seconds if the attendee does not return the mic to the emcee.

> Better control of lighting

> It would have been okay to have had the food available earlier, I heard.

> How valuable is the first hour of no-charge booze?

> Keep to the Schedule!!! No impromptu auctions, no last minute adding of talent. The program (auction and comedy) must not last longer than 90 minutes. After 90 minutes, we are stealing time from the attendees, which I feel is unacceptable.

> Where in the program should the “eddie” award be given? What are your arguments for at the end, or other parts of the program?

> A casual “attendee engagement” activity should be planned for the time prior to the formal program

> No selling of shirts at the party–that sure worked out well.

> Any thoughts of who to ask to be auctioned celebrities for next year?

> Any thoughts or comments on BureauMatch?

> Any thoughts on the suite?

> What else can we “cost effectively” do to make the Benefactors feel even more special?

> How can we enroll sponsors?

Please forward your ideas and feedback and I’ll place your ideas in my 2009 party planning notebook–we did quite well, and I know we can do even better.

-Ed Rigsbee

What IS Cigar PEG?

Welcome to the Cigar PEG blog!  For those of you who stumbled into this blog without knowing us, the Cigar PEG is a 501(c)3 charity that raises money for various causes, including the NSA Foundation, Laura’s Hope, and the Long QT Foundation.  Our biggest fund-raising activity each year is an auction party we have near the annual National Speakers Association National Convention (although we are not part of, or even afiliated with the NSA).  Cigar PEG is the largest contributor to both the NSA Foundation and Laura’s Hope, and has donated over $250,000 to charities so far.

If you are a professional speaker, you should know that the Cigar PEG party is one of the premier networking events in the industry, and is attended by some of the most successful speakers in the world, as well as suppliers and speakers’ bureaus.