Presenter Bios
Get to know the partners before they know you and you'll quickly notice it's proof positive this is one of the most powerful business seminar you'll ever attend. With 13 of the Wizard of Ads partners in one room, you're bound to leave with practical and proven knowledge you can use in your business.
Presenters - Alphabetically:
Paul Boomer
Helping businesses take advantage of their website as a 24-hour sales person, Paul Boomer has helped owner-operated businesses increase their website response rates up to 427%.
Today, as a Wizard of Ads partner, Paul passionately shares his knowledge with whomever is willing to listen. With a background in theatre, radio, and web marketing, Paul looks at the world and asks how and why. "How can your website make you a better profit? Why aren't you doing anything about it?" After helping pad the pockets of happy business owners, it's not uncommon to learn he's taking a moment to help local charities succeed.
Paul teams with Dave Young in teaching the Blog and Web site workshop in Austin.
Paul's client list includes learning centers, amusement parks, property developers, gift shops, and jewelers anywhere between Texas, Florida, California, New York and Canada.
Mike Dandridge
Mike took a failing Electrical Supply company, losing $10K a month, and within one year that store was pulling in $12 Million in sales and $1.2 Million in Gross Profit. And that was just the start. At the end 5 years, the store had 35% of the market share for Central Texas – grossing $70 Million in sales. And that’s without an advertising campaign, other than word of mouth. And – most importantly - he did this while competing against both Home Depot and Lowes. He took on the big box stores and kicked their ass in his market.
When the rental industry – a $42 Billion industry - faced increasing competition and pressure from Lowes and Home Depot, Mike is the guy they turned to.
He is the author of three books, one of which details the exact processes and techniques he used in his one-year turnaround, and is oh-so-surprisingly titled, The 1-Year Business Turnaround and available from both Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
He’s also been a featured speaker for national wholesale organizations and is a featured columnist in several industry magazines. To sum up, he’s a nationally recognized expert on competing against category killers. He and Tom Wanek teach Fight the Big Boys and Win.
Mike Drew
Michael R. Drew, a veteran of the book industry, joined Executive Excellence in 1997 as Publicist and Special Sales Coordinator. In 1999, he moved to Bard Press, where he served as Publicity, Special Sales, and Events Coordinator. When Bard Press was sold, he became Marketing Director for Bard Press/Longstreet Press. As Marketing Director, Mike most recently worked for Entrepreneur Press, which is owned by the publisher of Entrepreneur Magazine.
Owner of Promote A Book, Inc., Mike is a book marketing and promotion specialist. Mike can tell you just what all the marvelous benefits are that you will get from becoming the author of a best selling book ; selling a lot of books is just the beginning. He can also tell you about the four ways of reaching any of the bestseller lists.
Mike has played a key role in creating 48 national bestsellers.
Jane Fraser
Jane Fraser has been a Marketing Consultant for more than 21 years and a Certified Radio Marketer since 1991. Her studies with Wizard Academy have honed her expertise as a Branding specialist. Jane leads business owners and managers systematically, through a process of uncovery to capture their distinguishing uniqueness in the marketplace. Each marketing plan is customized to the client’s needs and goals. She then creates the advertising message that delivers. Her writing expertise is one of the key reasons her clients are experiencing so much success.
As a Research Analyst (1994-98), Jane utilized proprietary research data that revealed psychographic and demographic profiles, product usage, leisure activities and media habits of consumers for CHUM Halifax. This invaluable information was to develop archetypes, messages that resonated with key words and images, as well as leisure activities for promotions.
Jane is particularly interested in Message Development, Transactional/Relational Customers, and Branding Strategies in conjunction with her ability for understanding and placing effective media plans.
Peter Nevland
Having left his engineering job at Motorola to perform as front man for the act known as Spoken Groove, Peter has literally seen the world. For the last 5 years he's traversed nearly every continent, delighting audiences with his energetic performances and mind blowing writing skills. His ability to connect with diverse crowds seems to know no bounds.
So how does that translate into effective business consulting? What could an artist possibly contribute to a company trying to improve their bottom line? Behind every poem, song or CD he's created churns the never ceasing mind of an analytical engineer with a Master's in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.
Add the creative ability to see possibilities others miss with an extraordinary talent for making words come to life, and you get the kind of ideas that make you remember why you started business in the first place. Peter's constantly looking for ways to make stories come to life. Think he can help you find the story your customers are longing to buy?
Steve Rae
Steve Rae loves being in front of a crowd, whether it's toting his guitar or as a speaker at conferences and speaking venues around the world or as a charity auctioneer.
As a speaker, Steve has addressed groups in Canada, the US, Australia and Great Britain. His particular specialty is radio station groups and their customers, but he has also addressed Ad and Sales Clubs, TV stations, Chambers of Commerce, the oil and gas industry, University, college and high school level advertising and marketing programs and the toughest of all, Mrs. Wilkinson's grade three class.
He's also President of Raedio Inc., a communications company that owns radio stations in Canada, a member of the Board of Governors of the Stratford Festival Theatre of Canada and a Wizard of Ads partner.
His book, Exercising Your Imagination was published in November 2003 and his first CD of original songs entitled Steve Rae - Live at City Hall was released in July, 2006. He teaches Public Speaking 101 at Wizard Academy.
Tom Wanek
Entrepreneurship tugging at his heart, Tom Wanek's spent the past eight years growing his successful retail-clothing store. Dealing with his fair share of growing pains, skinned knees and all. Just like you.
Today, as a Wizard of Ads partner Tom’s passion and commitment is helping owner-operated businesses in North America with their marketing and advertising.
As an adjunct faculty member of the Wizard Academy in Austin, TX, he co-teaches the workshop, “How to Fight the Big Boys and Win”. Tom’s an international speaker - presenting his pioneering ideas on marketing communications.
A 2-day seminar with this line-up should cost you at least $2,200. Why are we only charging $99CDN ($85US)? You're thinking that you're going to continuously hear a sales pitch, right? Nope. Nothing of the sort.
Tough economic times equate to the equilibrium helping us stay upright. The Wizard of Ads Partners see this seminar as a way to grow the engines that make the economy run. Want your sales to rev?