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Home | Featured Articles | A Tribute to Dottie Walters
 





A Tribute to Dottie Walters
By Robin Raymer
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“How Dottie Created the ‘King of Sponsors'”

“Robin, you've got the potential of becoming the ‘King of Sponsors'! Take what you've learned today, and see what you can do. And of course, let me know what happens!” With those words, Dottie launched me on an adventure that would lead me to working with over 75 corporate sponsors. What I've learned about landing sponsors, and how it can help fast forward your speaking career, is a subject I'd like to share with you at length in future articles. But right now I'd like to give you some of the details on what led to that first meeting with Dottie, and how she gave my career some much needed direction.

HOW I MET DOTTIE

When I first met Dottie, it was living more than 2,000 miles away! I remember that Sunday morning very well. It was the summer of 1995. I was going to be speaking that afternoon in Springfield, Illinois, about an hours drive from where I live. I had a few hours before I needed to head down to the convention center. So I stopped off at a local Barnes & Noble bookstore and started browsing the book shelves.

I was actually looking for something very specific - a book on public speaking. I was already involved with speaking, but I was looking for something, or someone, who could help me do more with the talents I had. And then suddenly, out of nowhere, there she was - Dottie Walters - in the form of a bright yellow book. The title of her book stopped me in my tracks - ‘Speak and Grow Rich.' I bought it immediately and sat down right then and there in the coffee shop to start reading it.

I had her book read in a weeks time. From what I read, I knew for a certainty that Dottie was the person who could help me. I felt strongly at that point that I had to meet Dottie personally, so I called her right away. In less than a month after finding her book, I was on my way to California to spend a day with Dottie!

WHY I WAS SEARCHING

Before I relate how the meeting with Dottie went, let me tell you why I was searching for someone to help me in the first place. I grew up in the Midwest, but in 1980 I made one of the biggest moves of my life - to New York City where I learned the plastering trade. It's a very unique trade, and I found that knowledge about it was really hard to find. Those who had the knowledge didn't share it, and yet at the same time there was a huge demand for information about it. I saw this as an opportunity. I decided that I would be the person who would share this knowledge by becoming ‘Plaster Man'. But how could I grow my reputation? What were the best ways to use my time and limited resources to make the biggest impact, and to become nationally known? And just as important, how could I turn this into a great stream of income? Those were questions swirling in my mind, and I wanted to find the answers.

At the same time, I had a great interest in the art world. I had uncles who were very artistic, and a grandmother who really believed in me and thought it might be nice if I pursued a career in that field. When I was about sixteen I had created two cartoon characters, Pete & Peaches. I knew that they were good, as people enjoyed getting the hand drawn greeting cards I'd make for them. But how to go about getting them in front of the right people, to get them ‘discovered', well, that was another big question I had. But all my questions were about to get answered, when I flew out to meet Dottie!

A FRIENDSHIP IS BORN!

My mom lives out in California, so I met up with her and we drove to Dottie‘s ranch in the foothills of Glendora. It was a bright, sunny day, and everything felt right. I got out of the car, and then there she was, coming out of the house with a smile and a warm welcome! Have you ever met someone and you just know they're going to be the best of friends? Well, that's exactly the way I felt when I met Dottie. She had a way of making you feel right at home, and I knew I had found someone special, who could help me ‘unlock' the full potential of the talents I had, and to answer the questions I had in my mind for so long.

SPONSORS - THE 'KEY' THAT UNLOCKED IT ALL

What I found out that day was that most everyone has talent. The ‘key' is to find a way to profit from that talent, to benefit fully from it. And most often the thing that stands in the way is MONEY - or to be more exact, the lack of it! Simply stated, it takes money to get a dream off the ground. And money comes from SPONSORS.

That was what Dottie opened my eyes to in the time we spent together.  She felt that sponsors could help me achieve my goals on both the plastering side, as well as with my artwork.   Now the idea of having sponsors to help me reach my goals was new to me. I knew what sponsors did in a general sense. But who were my potential sponsors? How would I approach them? Who did I need to contact? What would I ask from them? What would they expect from me? Dottie gave me the blueprint and a game plan. And I left there with a clear direction on what I needed to do in order to put the plan into action.

A lot has happened over the 14 years since that first visit to California. The results of Dottie's guidance have been nothing short of amazing. I went from a local plastering contractor to an internationally known columnist, with training programs and a line of information products that are sold around the world. As a cartoonist, I now have one of the most prestigious art agencies that represents my artwork worldwide as well, and the cartoons are in a line of greeting cards sold nationwide. All of this success was a direct result of working with sponsors.

About seven years ago Dottie invited me to create a 2 CD album that contained valuable tips on how speakers can work with sponsors to fast forward their careers.

We had plans to create more products on this topic, but unfortunately Dottie's health started to decline and those projects were put on hold. But soon I intend to create more of these products to honor Dottie and to help others.

SPONSORS AND YOU!

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said: “Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be.” For me, that person was, is, and always will be, Dottie Walters. And I feel as if she has now handed the key to me, to help unlock the potential in others, with the same care and concern that she showed to me. If the idea of getting sponsors is of interest to you - to promote and fast forward your career, then fasten your seat belts and keep reading this magazine! You're about to be sent on an adventure of your own - with the help of sponsors!

P.S. - I'd like to hear from you! I'd love to hear about where you're at in your speaking career. And if you have any questions or comments, please feel free to write or e-mail me in care of this magazine. I'm here to help you! Until next time, ‘Keep Your Momentum!'

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Purchase the commercial sponsors CD set today! 

   

 

 




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