The Cigar Peg is the kinda place you’d expect to see testosterone in action. You just don’t always expect to see it from a couple of dainty and determined women. Without them, this economic slump would have slammed the Cigar Peg last Monday night, since the bidding was anemic until my friends stepped up and created a steamy battle for the best items.
I was in Phoenix last week at the National Speakers Association (NSA) annual conference and attended the Cigar Peg for the first time.
Unlike other NSA “pegs” which focus on professional silos such as consulting or coaching, the Cigar Peg is about philanthropy and partying. It raises money for the organization’sFoundation. This annual party brings out many superstars within the NSA tribe for a good time and a live auction to raise money.
Held at the Angels and Demons bar in Phoenix, all the auction items were services from high roller NSA members. The auction was raucous and fun to watch….. as guy after guy walked away with treasure for pennies on the dollar.
Note, I said, guy after guy, because almost up until the very end, nary a single woman in the group played to win. That is, until one friend/colleague and one friend/client I brought to the party decided to jump in. Two women. Together, they bid on a couple of different items that rocked the house, resulting in a significant percentage of the revenue raised.
One girl friend bought services from two of the hottest marketing gurus around, Randy Gage and Ford Saeks. Here’s what made things especially interesting: Being new to the speaking industry, my friend has never made a paid speech and had no idea who Randy and Ford were. But she didn’t need “resumes” or “reputation” to get the picture.
“I felt I had something to learn from them. It was a gut thing,” she said.
Of course, I personally have a special fondness in my heart for people who see what they want and go for it, especially when it comes to anything likely to take them to a new level of performance.
After my friend, whom I prefer to keep anonymous for now, works with her auction prizes, I’ll let you know how it goes. Meanwhile, bravo for the babes whom kibbitzer and sales guru Jeffery Gitomer described as the only one in the room with guts, only he used a more colorful expression than guts which I’ll leave to your imagination.