The Business of Meetings

Today we have the great pleasure of speaking with Magdalena Bonnelly, the Founder and President of Event Strategies! Magdalena has worked all over the world, including in corporate America. She has also volunteered in the industry. She has a wonderful story of entrepreneurship, decision-making, and re-inventing herself to share!  We hope you enjoy listening to today’s inspiring conversation with Magdalena Bonnelly! Bio: Magdalena Bonnelly, MS, VEMM A well-connected negotiator, Magdalena Bonnelly has spent the last 20 years servicing clients from around the globe–Europe, North and South America, and Asia–securing the seamless acquisition of event space, guestrooms, audio/visual equipment, food, and beverage service, and all the other key items that make your conference a success. Known for her out-of-the-box thinking in strategic event planning and management, Magdalena was named one of 2021’s Smart Women in Meetings.  A queen of strategic partnerships, Magdalena collaborates with her clients, vendors, and suppliers to create meaningful events. Her strategic partnerships prove especially valuable in challenging times like the Covid-19 pandemic or when the client faces unexpected cancellations/postponement of the conference. Magdalena has helped her clients maintain flexibility and event agility, loyally representing her clients’ best interests while negotiating cancellations and event rebookings with suppliers. Tough during supplier contract negotiations and resourceful for last-minute event rescues, she knows there’s a solution to every conference concern. Magdalena holds a Master of Science in Business Management, a Bachelor of Arts in International Business and Economics, an Associate’s Degree of Applied Science in Travel, Exposition, and Meeting Management, and many widely recognized industry certifications.  In her personal time, she enjoys CrossFit, new-age teachings, volunteering with local animal rescues, and likes to try her hand at creative art forms like painting, music, and poetry. Magdalena lives in the suburbs of Dallas, Texas, with her husband, toddler daughter, and four rescue dogs.  Magdalena’s story Magdalena was born and raised in Poland. After graduating from college in 2001, she came to the United States. Initially, her goal was to visit her uncle, go to school, and make some money working as a nanny. Then she met a wonderful family that insisted on her getting an education. So while working full-time, she also went to Richland College in Dallas and earned an Associate’s Degree of Applied Science in Travel, Exposition, and Meeting Management. Several years later, she got to know organizations like MPI and PCMA and became a student member of MPI. Then she met two ladies from a small boutique hotel in Dallas who offered her the chance to work as an intern in the hotel’s sales office. That afforded her an eighteen-year-long career opportunity in the hotel business. She became a Catering Coordinator, a Small Meetings Manager, and a Convention Sales Manager. Over the years, she worked her way up the career ladder, ending her corporate career as a National Sales Manager for Caesar’s Entertainment Corporation.  In the summer of 2019, she began her entrepreneurial journey by starting Events Strategies.  Support Having the support of her husband helped Magdalena navigate her tough career path. Overcoming obstacles Magdalena was born in communist Poland, where the government owned everything. The strict socialist regime did not allow any opportunities for entrepreneurship, so the first obstacle Magdalena faced was overcoming the conditioning she had had since childhood. It took a lot of work to change her mindset and rid herself of her doubts about becoming an entrepreneur.  Her first two customers During her first month in business, Magdalena found two customers. She reached out to them because they had already formed a relationship while she progressed through her hotel career, and she knew they would want to keep working with her. Nerve-wracking Magdalena was proud of getting her first two clients, but it was also nerve-wracking because she was aware of her responsibility to deliver! It takes discipline to be a business owner  As a business owner working from home, Magdalena has to be disciplined. So she maintains social contact with others, walks her dogs often, and takes breaks from her work when necessary. Overcoming fear Magdalena had to be accountable for all of her actions and mistakes. So she needed to overcome her fear of responsibility and her tendency to think about everything that could go wrong.  The pandemic As the hotels started shutting down and tours were getting canceled, Magdalena wondered what she could do to support her family. She tried not to panic and focused on what she could do. Then she received a call from a friend who convinced her to start a company with him.  Starting a business in the PPE space They started a business in the PPE space, supplying PPE equipment to hotels, car rental companies, and even some government agencies. They kept the business going until the market got saturated. Then they parted ways, dissolved the company, and returned to their regular jobs. Virtual meetings Before Covid, Magdalena knew nothing about virtual meetings. She derived a lot of satisfaction from learning about technology and how different platforms could benefit her clients.  The virtual aspect is working well The virtual aspect is working very well for Magdalena because she has a young daughter, so she is not eager to travel now. That could change as her daughter gets older, however. Free training Magdalena wanted to enhance her skills and experience, so she took advantage of the free training offered by various platforms. Getting your hands dirty Magdalena has learned that nothing will teach you as much as working, doing, and getting your hands dirty. She gained the most from jumping into virtual and learning as she went. Emotional intelligence Magdalena feels that emotional intelligence comes from within, so you need to look for it to gain it. Soft skills Magdalena has been called aggressive, especially in the sales world. So she would like to work on her soft skills, like reading the room, adjusting to the energy in the room, reading body language, and any other kind of non-verbal communication to get further with other people. Magdalena’s recommendations for people starting a business Consistent marketing is vital for any business. Magdalena recommends that business owners invest in hiring someone to guide them through the first steps of marketing and help them understand the importance of social media marketing. For sales, being authentic, having common decency, and building a good rapport with others will work well for business owners.  Connect with Magdalena Bonnelly On Website On LinkedIn On Facebook   Connect with Eric On LinkedIn On Facebook On Instagram On Website  

How to Leverage Call Centers with Richard Blank Today, we are delighted to be speaking with Richard Blank, the CEO of Costa Rica’s Call Center!  Richard has had an amazing journey! In this episode, he talks about call centers, sales, people retention, life, and entrepreneurship. He explains how to leverage call centers to connect better with your customers and grow your business.  We hope you enjoy listening to today’s conversation with Richard Blank! Bio: Richard Blank is the Chief Executive Officer for Costa Rica’s Call Center since 2008.  At the beginning of the new millennium, Mr. Blank relocated to Costa Rica to train employees for one of the larger call centers in Central America.  By utilizing his motivational public speaking style backed by tactful and appropriate rhetoric, Richard has successfully prepared and managed over 10,000 of the finest telemarketers in the country for the past twenty-one years.  In addition, he has earned the reputation of running a school for telemarketing and is often sought after for private training sessions and consultations.  Mr. Richard Blank holds a Bachelor’s degree in Communication and Spanish from the University of Arizona and a certificate of language proficiency from the University of Sevilla, Spain. A Keynote speaker for Abington High School 68th National Honors Society induction ceremony. Giving back to Abington Senior High School is very important to Mr. Blank. As such, he endows a scholarship each year for students who plan on majoring in a world language at the university level.  Per Gamification, Richard Blank has the largest collection of restored American Pinball machines and antique Rockola Jukeboxes in Central America.  Costa Rica’s Call Center (CCC) is a state-of-the-art BPO telemarketing outsourcing company located in the capital city of San Jose, Costa Rica. Our main focus has been, and will always be to personally train every Central America call center agent so that we may offer the highest quality of outbound and inbound telemarketing solutions and bilingual customer service to small and medium-sized international companies, and entrepreneurs as well as fortune 500 companies. Richard’s journey After graduating in 1991 from Abington High School in North East Philadelphia, Richard went to the University of Arizona. He majored in Spanish and Communication and focused on public speaking, non-verbal communication, and micro-expression reading. When he was 27 years old, a friend who had a call center invited him to go there to teach English, and he ended up working there for four years.  Starting a call center In 2008, Richard decided to start a call center with his wife. They began with one seat and fifty hours. Today, fourteen years later, they are 150 strong. They are very selective and reject more accounts than they accept because Richard wants to ensure that he can fulfill his clients' needs with the accounts that come in, and the agent will be comfortable enough to do the work. The agents’ experience Richard respects Costa Rican customs, culture, and native tongue. He also respects the bilingualism of his agents. He can mold brand-new agents, and with older agents, he sometimes has to get rid of bad habits. By properly preparing his agents, he feels he can put them all on a level playing field.  The culture Sometimes, telemarketers and call center agents feel like numbers or robots, and they feel expendable. So before putting them on the phone, Richard gets to know their names and who they are. He also trains them to give them a base foundation to grow. Quality calls Richard likes his agents to focus on doing quality calls. About 30% of all calls come about through referrals. Much of their business happens because they do an excellent job on the first call. By working smarter rather than harder, they earn those referrals. Growing a business by working with call centers Growing a business has a lot to do with workforce management. Small business owners in the meetings and events industry can grow their businesses using omnichannel support and emails. By making phone calls, they also get the chance to do up-sales, get referrals, and answer questions.  Put more effort into your communication Putting more effort into your communication, and making it warmer and more inviting, will separate you from others. If you make outbound calls, send an email, or leave a voicemail, take the time to look at the website or the CEO or business leaders' LinkedIn profiles to get a sense of the tone or the company culture.  Answering calls Have your best people answer calls. If there is an overflow, it is worth paying a little extra to work with a blended call center answering service so that you never have to miss that special call! Cold calls Doing cold calls represents half of their business. Their forte is appointment setting and lead generation, and they sometimes do surveys. Outbound calls Richard believes he has cracked a code for making outbound calls! The best approach for a phone call is to use anonymity (apart from mentioning the name of the company you represent) in the first three to five seconds of the call.  The Buffer Boomerang technique If someone gives you a negative one, negative two, or a negative three-tone, reduce that tone and make it positive to reset the conversation. Then, show active listening by repeating the question. Land it back at them with a plus-two boomerang response.  Positive escalation When your call gets transferred, it is the perfect time to give a positive verbal escalation (complimenting someone who works for you) to gain momentum and move forward. Concluding a call Calls consist of an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. To conclude, ask if there are any final questions, and then finish up with a military alphabet to double-check the email address of the person to whom you are talking.  Follow up Follow up with a thank-you email that includes the name of the person who assisted you by transferring your call. Motivation Richard’s agents are properly prepared and well-rehearsed. He motivates his team by giving them prizes for meeting their goals. Working with good faith and good intentions also helps them weather the storms.  Reading micro-expressions on the phone The purest form of communication is phonetics because congruence is where audio matches the visual. Phonetics can be broken down into four different sections: Tone Rate Pitch Duration Your tone is the one consistent variable you have when you read micro-expressions. Keep it confident and empathetic.  Mirror imaging Focus on the speed and pitch of the person you are talking to. Read them initially to see if they are going faster, slower, louder, or softer. After about five minutes, you will notice if there is a spike or dip in their speech. Tone, rate, and pitch can be manipulated. Your ultimate tell-sign is your subconscious answering speed. Then it will be the ideal time for you to ask a tie-down, a pin-down, or a clarification question.  Repetition Richard suggests that you repeat something from time to time to make sure that the person you are talking to is following along with you. It will also give them time to digest what you have been talking about.  An exit interview Better phone calls sometimes include an exit interview. You could get five reasons why someone chose your competition or get a suggestion to enhance your services.   Connect with Eric On LinkedIn On Facebook On Instagram On Website   Connect with Richard Blank On his website On LinkedIn

Today, we have the great pleasure of speaking with Liz Holtby! Liz is a giver! She is the Vice President of Operations for Meeting Escrow.  Liz has some important information to share about financial risk management and incentive travel. In this episode, she tells her story, talks about the services she provides and the value of incentive travel, and shares some great insights!   We hope you enjoy listening to today’s informative conversation with Liz Holtby! Bio: Liz started her career in Toronto with the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (now CPA), planning meetings for their Executive Office and Board of Directors. Since then, she has worked with various marketing, as well as Meeting and Incentive Travel companies in an operations-related capacity. Her roles have included human resources, finance, operations, administration, and technology. Primarily, she ensures that the operations team has the support required to deliver programs on time and within the budget.  Currently, daily, Liz manages financial risk for a variety of organizations. She handles client event budgets by managing funds in segregated domestic and foreign currency trust accounts.  Liz is passionate about education and mentorship and helps cultivate the next generation of leaders in the Business Events Industry through her teaching positions at Durham and Centennial Colleges. She is also a member of their Program Advisory Committees.  She is a graduate of Ryerson University’s Hospitality and Tourism Management program with a Bachelor of Applied Arts. She is TICO certified and is the 2022 President for SITE Canada (Society of Incentive Travel Executives). Liz’s story Liz graduated from university in Toronto with a degree in commerce and a specialty in hospitality and tourism. She took one inspiring course in meetings and event management, given by Duff Shaw, an icon in the industry. Liz wanted to follow in his footsteps as a teacher and inspire others as he had inspired her. That led her down the path of incentive travel, meetings, and conferences.  In 2008, Liz left the industry because of the recession. She worked for a marketing company for about three years and then got back into the incentive travel industry. She joined Meeting Escrow in 2018. Joining Meeting Escrow Joining Meeting Escrow was an opportunity for Liz to marry the MICE industry with the finance side and risk management. Creative people  Most people in the industry are part of the industry because they are creative people who care about the details.  What does Meeting Escrow do? Meeting Escrow provides a variety of different financial solutions. During a crisis, their clients become concerned about the advance deposits they pay to their vendors. The deposits get put into an Escrow trust account where the beneficiary is both the client and the vendor. The account is mandated by an Escrow agreement signed by both parties. The agreement outlines when the deposits were put into the Escrow trust account and when they get paid out. That is very helpful for both clients and vendors because a client could go bankrupt as easily as a vendor could, and if that happens, the funds go to the other party. Secure Vendor Payment Program Meeting Escrow also has a Secure Vendor Payment program. They have twenty different currencies of trust accounts for when money sits in Escrow or a trust. They work with clients who have programs in various countries around the world. When they take in money from clients, they exchange it immediately. Then it sits in the foreign currency trust account, so there is no currency fluctuation. Incentive travel Incentive travel is all about providing people with experiential moments that they cannot do by themselves. Right now, incentive travel is more important than ever because it gets people away from their screens and helps them connect with people in different countries. It helps bring back a sense of community, camaraderie, and motivation. SITE Most of the people that Liz communicates with through Meeting Escrow are hoteliers, DMCs, clients, or third-party agencies. They are busy now and finding it hard to get the staff they need, so people are doing multiple jobs within those companies to get their incentive programs off the ground. Their focus right now is on execution and planning for the future. Changes in the industry When Liz started teaching about four years ago, she used to tell her students good things about the industry. It was hard for her students to find jobs within the industry back then because they were in short supply, and companies within the industry wanted people with experience. Now, many jobs are available, so students can pick and choose. They can also research what they truly want. As a result, many students are now focusing on roles in areas of sustainability, charity, and CSR.  Getting back into teaching Liz is looking forward to getting back into teaching to have the opportunity to bring more great graduates into the industry again. In-demand skills within the industry Young people should develop project management skills and certifications to become marketable and successful within the industry. Because anything you focus on when you execute an incentive program, a conference, or a meeting is a project. And each project is different. Document your task Things seldom go as planned with projects. It is vital to document all the relevant tasks, milestones, responsibilities, and dates. That will help you stay on top of things and execute your job with minimum stress. Project management Project management means creating a database and automating your project. That will ensure that everyone working on the project is clear about their area of responsibility. Sales CRMs are a helpful tool if you get into sales. They are an excellent way to generate sales, document opportunities, follow up on sales potentials and leads, and follow a sales cycle.  Automation Automated tools, like CRMs, project management tools, accounting software, Mailchimp, and others, are helpful. They can make individuals more efficient and help small companies perform like big companies.  A four-day workweek A four-day workweek is about being as efficient in four days as you could be in five. Automating some of your processes can make a four-day week a realistic possibility. Recommended tool for better efficiency and organization Liz recommends that people within the meetings and event industry use Zoho because you can buy one subscription that includes all the components and platforms beneath it. They include Zoho Project, Zoho CRM, Zoho Forms, Zoho Books, and Zoho Campaigns.  2023 will return to 2019 levels Much of what Liz has been reading says that 2023 will return to 2019 levels. It also seemed to be the consensus amongst the 450 event planning professionals she got together with recently in Ireland. Covid As a result of Covid, Meeting Escrow has been armed with all the risk management tools they need to move on and keep going.    Liz’s quotes: “Dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s is truly what finance is about.” “The majority of people in this industry are in this industry because they are creative people.” “I think incentive travel cannot be any more important than it is now to get people away from their screens, out of their desks, and connecting with people in a different country.” “Incentive travel is about providing experiential moments that people can’t do on their own.” “What you are executing when you execute an incentive program, a conference or a meeting is a project. And no project is the same.” Connect with Eric On LinkedIn On Facebook On Instagram On Website Connect with Liz Holtby On LinkedIn Meeting Escrow

We have the great pleasure of speaking with Walker Deibel today! Walker is a fantastic individual and the number one name in acquisition entrepreneurship! He created the Acquisition Lab and wrote the book Buy Then Build.  Walker is an entrepreneur, teacher, and father. In this inspiring episode, he tells his story and talks about what it takes to be successful as an entrepreneur. He also gets into the benefits of acquisition entrepreneurship and discusses whether it is better to acquire an existing business or start from scratch. We hope you enjoy listening to today’s memorable and encouraging conversation with Walker Deibel!  Bio: Walker Deibel is a serial acquisition entrepreneur, bestselling author, and M&A advisor. Walker acquired seven companies over ten years and co-founded several startups. His bestselling book, Buy Then Build: How Acquisition Entrepreneurs Outsmart the Startup Game, was released to critical acclaim, including being recognized by Forbes as “one of the top 7 books all entrepreneurs must read.” It is currently used in many universities.  His book and the educational company of the same name share his experiences and frameworks to help entrepreneurs learn why buying an existing company is often a better route for entrepreneurs, and how to do it. Their flagship program, the Acquisition Lab, offers buy-side M&A services for first-time financial buyers in a do-it-with-you service; providing information, coaching, tools, and community. Walker is a partner at Quiet Light where he helps online-based businesses exit. He is a Certified M&A Advisor, Certified M&A Professional, former SEC licensed stockbroker, and recipient of the Middle Market Thought Leader of the Year, awarded by the private market Alliance of M&A Advisors. He was recognized as a lower-middle-market thought leader by Axial, and his writing has been featured in Inc, Entrepreneur, Forbes, Fast Company, & Harvard Business Review. Walker is currently the owner of the premiere aluminum railing manufacturer in Missouri and a portfolio of online-based businesses. Historically, he has owned and operated in many industries, including manufacturing, fulfillment, software, education, and eCommerce.  Walker is an Emmy-nominated producer. He worked on almost a dozen films with premieres at some of the world’s most prestigious festivals, including Sundance, SXSW, and Toronto International Film Festival. He holds an MBA from the Olin School of Business at Washington University in St. Louis, where he received the Declaration of Accomplishment in Entrepreneurship from the Skandalaris Center of Innovation and Entrepreneurship. He is a Pipeline Entrepreneurs fellow and an adjunct professor at Olin, where he launched the acquisition entrepreneurship class for the MBA program. He lives in St. Louis, Missouri, with his wife and their three children. Walker’s backstory Walker grew up in St. Louis, Missouri. Everyone on his dad’s side of the family had a small business. On his mom’s side, everyone was artistic and creative. So Walker developed a creative interest early on but always felt the need to be economically sustainable.  Stockbroker Walker was an English Literature major in school. He became a stockbroker immediately after graduating in 1995, right at the end of the tech boom when the transition from the old economy to the new digital economy was happening.   Film Walker got laid off during the tech bust along with 6,000 other people. He was full of ideas, so he moved to the San Francisco Bay Area to learn from people doing their own thing in business and ended up getting a foothold in film. Learning from failure After moving back to St. Louis to get an MBA, he launched a startup with some MBA classmates. Unfortunately, it did not work out, but he learned from the experience. It also helped him get to where he is today. The first thing Walker learned that the first thing you need to do as an entrepreneur is to get off the pay-cheque because it is as addictive as crack cocaine! Entrepreneurship Entrepreneurship allows you to live the biggest, most engaging, and most impactful life possible. It is part of you, all-consuming, and it gives you a vehicle for wealth creation and wealth destruction simultaneously.  A strong work ethic As an entrepreneur, it is vital to have a strong work ethic and the ability to be imbalanced at times.  The number one reason startups fail Lack of product-market fit is the number one reason nine out of ten startups fail.  Entrepreneurship through acquisition Buying an existing business is affordable. If you buy an existing business, you start with existing customers, revenue, established infrastructure, and ongoing earnings, which form a foundation for innovating and growing the business. Having existing earnings allows you to get a bank loan to acquire the business. Figuring out entrepreneurship  While figuring out entrepreneurship, Walker found that the market was okay, but it was hard to get any data. He also found the market decentralized and fragmented, and there was no efficient way to navigate it. So, after about six months, he went corporate and crushed it! An opportunity Walker did not want to spend all his time building a brand for another company, so he started doing a part-time search for a business of his own. Then his dad invited him to work for him in his small company. (It was a surprise because, for all his life, Walker’s dad had told him that there was no role for him in his company.) Walker worked there for about a year. Then he bought the company.  Several things happened Immediately after Walker bought his dad’s printing company, several things happened: His dad’s cohorts started approaching his dad, wanting to know how he sold his business. Walker realized that knowledge about business sales could be easily acquired.  Walker understood that starting from scratch is very smart- but only sometimes! Books Even though a transition was happening in the print industry and bookstores and newspapers were going out of business because of the internet, more authors were writing and publishing books, and more people were buying books than ever before.   Digital printing technology Walker started looking at digital printing technology because he saw that all his publisher customers had massive libraries of books of which they printed only about twenty percent. They ignored the other eighty percent because that would tie up their cash and inventory. Walker realized that if he could turn short-run digital book printing into JIT inventory for his book publishers, his company could have its best opportunity for growth in eighty years. Becoming a Merger & Acquisition professional Walker sold the printing company in 2013 to an acquisition target and subsequently bought another six companies. He knew the public capital market, but he also wanted to understand the private capital market. So he became a Certified M&A Advisor, an M&A Master Intermediary, and a Certified Exit Planning Advisor. He also spent a lot of time working with brokers to learn about the M&A space.  Buy Then Build Everything Walker learned about M&A culminated in him writing the book Buy Then Build, which became a best-seller. Along the way, Buy Then Build also became a textbook for 30% of the schools that teach entrepreneurship through acquisition. The Acquisition Lab People kept asking Walker to help them find and buy a business, so he created The Acquisition Lab as a solution. The Acquisition Lab is similar to an MBA program. It is designed to help people acquire a business, understand what makes world-class content, and then learn how to build that content. The Acquisition Lab became the most popular elected course for MBA programs at some of the best schools in the world, like Harvard, Stanford, University of Chicago, North Western, London Business School, Yale, and Columbia. The Acquisition Lab program Walker wanted a vetted community for The Acquisition Lab, so only about 25% of the applicants get accepted. You will get in only if they think you will succeed. The program takes twelve months. It is designed to meet people where they are and help them succeed in achieving their dreams.  The team Chelsea Wood is the Managing Director of The Acquisition Lab. Chelsea is a Certified M&A Advisor. She grew a company to three billion dollars and spent five years doing post-merger integration. Karen Heise is the former Director of The Career Center at a top-ranked business school. Chelsea, Karen, and Walker work together to create buyer profiles, bring in debt lenders, and do personality assessments.   Entrepreneurship is not for everyone Entrepreneurship is not for everyone. Walker points out that being an entrepreneur is not a job title- it is a condition. If you are unsure whether entrepreneurship is for you or if you have what it takes, it helps to know that if it doesn’t get you going, it is not for you.  Some clues that show entrepreneurship is for you You keep getting fired from your job You always find yourself second in command, and you keep on executing  Acquisition versus starting from scratch Your ability to tolerate risks, how comfortable you feel with debt, your age, and your level of experience will all indicate to a certain degree whether you would be better off starting from scratch or acquiring an existing business. It comes down to your business idea and how you approach it.  Two ways to grow a company There are only two ways to grow a company: innovation or acquisition. You can change the world with innovation, but it will take a long time and a lot of effort. For most businesses, buying an existing company is the fastest way to grow because you can double the size of a company in a single day.    Connect with Eric On LinkedIn On Facebook On Instagram On Website Connect with Walker Deibel The Acquisition Lab Buy Then Build On LinkedIn Books mentioned: Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael Lewis Buy Then Build: How Acquisition Entrepreneurs Outsmart the Startup Game by Walker Deibel  

113: An Entrepreneurial Journey with Mahoganey Jones We are delighted to be speaking with a rockstar in our industry today! Mahoganey Jones is a truly inspiring individual, and she is very well-known in the meeting and events industry! She is the Founder of Event Specialists and the first Canadian Event professional ever to become a Certified Digital Event Strategist!  She tells her fascinating story, talks about the birth of her company, Event Specialists, and shares her thoughts, insights, and experience. Bio: Mahoganey is an event expert. She founded and runs Event Specialists, one of Canada’s pre-eminent event production and management firms. She is the FIRST (yah, the first!) Canadian Event professional to become a Certified Digital Event Strategist. She also considers herself a poutine aficionado!   It has been 17+ years since Mahoganey took a jump into the Events world – and she still wakes up each day with a real love for her work! She has won numerous awards for her contributions to the events world, including the 2021 “Event Professional of the Year” & “Top 100 Most Influential People in the Events Industry.” Mahoganey’s story Growing up, Mahoganey wanted to be a pediatric oncologist. So she began volunteering at a local hospital on her fourteenth birthday. She then got hired by the hospital to be on their events team and part of their fundraisers. She wanted to know where the money from fundraisers came from and how it would get used. She then realized that there was more to events than the eye could see.  An event professional  Throughout her career, Mahoganey has only ever worked as an event professional. When in university, she planned career fairs. At the time, she saw events as a way to pay for her education because she still wanted to become a doctor.  Her first job Her first job out of university was as a kinesiologist. At the same time, she was asked to join health care fundraising campaigns and an events team to help plan campaigns for the provincial government. Her mentor at the time also suggested that she did events.  Event Specialists After deciding to try a career in events, Mahoganey found it hard to find a job without having a degree in event management. So she created a job for herself, and Event Specialists was born!  Fueling her business She planned a wedding show and a business trade show to get clients and fuel her new business. Ageism The main prejudice Mahoganey encountered in her early career was ageism. Her husband did the registration for her all her early events, and people often assumed that he, or someone else who looked older than Mahoganey, was the owner of Event Specialists.  Entrepreneurs Organization (EO) During the time when Mahoganey still lacked the necessary processes for collecting payment from her event clients, she heard that EO was looking for a manager for Canada. She applied for the position, got the job, and found that the organization full of people who talked and sounded like her. Learning from her role She learned a lot from her role at EO. She learned from how their team approached event design and how all the different chapters across the world shared similar thought processes. It re-kindled her love for events and pushed her back into running her own business. A challenge around diversity One of Mahoganey’s biggest challenges as a black female in the events space has been that everyone wants to fill the diversity quota. She feels that those who fill the quota because they have to have missed the mark, and she believes that color-blindness is not something real. A love for content and production Mahoganey started in the events world as a freelancer with a business name and only took on contracts that she herself could fulfill. However, after spending years in the industry and continuing to develop professionally, she realized that she had a love for content and production. So she started looking at events differently. An AV company Mahoganey feels that if she had known the event tech world first, she would have owned an AV company rather than getting into the planning side. Strategizing Mahoganey does not like planning. She loves the strategy behind how an event can be monetized and strategizing ways to put emotions into a space so that people feel something and walk away with the intent she wanted them to have.  The next five years Over the next five years, Mahoganey will remove herself entirely from the planning side of Event Specialists. She will continue strategizing and go back into the teaching space because that is where she loves to be! Covid At the start of the pandemic, Mahoganey saw people returning to the fundamentals and realizing that an event is not always the best way to fulfill the need or goal of a company. People also started to question how to measure the success of an event.  A regression Now, she feels that people have regressed to shorter timelines again. They are also going back into panic mode and rushing to own what hybrid or virtual look like. Innovation We are now reaching a point where true talent will shine, and Mahoganey hopes that innovation will come back.  The time has come Mahoganey feels the time has come for us to settle down and stop saying that we are post-pandemic and want things to go back to pre-pandemic. We need to avoid falling back into how we have always done things, live in the current state, follow current trends, and continue to evolve as an industry.    Connect with Eric On LinkedIn On Facebook On Instagram On Website   Connect with Mahoganey Jones On Twitter (@mahoganeyjones) On LinkedIn On Facebook On Instagram (@mahoganeyjones)  

Music was My First Love with Darryl Hurs - Episode 112 We are delighted to be speaking with a legend in the music industry today! Darryl Hurs is the Founder of Indie Week in Toronto. He is also the Managing Director of Downtown Global.  Darryl has created online conferences and worked with famous bands and musicians like U2, Madonna, Beyonce, Jay-Z, and Dave Matthews. Darryl is a fascinating individual! In this episode, he tells his story, talks about music, marketing, and engagement, and paints a vivid picture of the future of conferences.  We hope you enjoy listening to today’s captivating conversation with Darryl Hurs! Bio: Darryl Hurs has a 25+ year history in the music business, including launching and running one of Canada’s largest music showcase festivals and the conference, Indie Week. In the past two years, he founded three new online conferences: Music Pro Summit, indie101, and SCREENxSCREEN. Recently hired as the Managing Director for Downtown Music in Canada heading the Canadian operations for Fuga, Songtrust, Adrev, Found.ee, CD Baby, and Downtown Music Services. His past positions include design and branding/marketing for Live Nation as a freelancer (projects included a corporate rebrand and logo design, launching VIPNATION.com, work for U2, Nickelback, Madonna, Beyonce, Jay-Z, and Dave Matthews) retail buyer at HMV, and booker for one of Toronto’s top live music venues (The Rivoli). Growing up in Canada Darryl grew up in Edmonton. He already knew in grade six that he wanted to get into the music business. The music industry in Canada was in Toronto, so he moved there when he was older, looking to do what he does now. Darryl’s story Darryl wanted to be a musician, so he studied guitar at MacEwan University in Edmonton. Then he joined a band and moved with it from Edmonton to Toronto. When the band moved back to Edmonton, Darryl remained in Toronto. He knew nobody there, so he started networking, volunteering, hustling, playing, and auditioning. He began carving out his career when he became a booker for a venue, started managing bands, and did all the promotions and bookings for the bands he was in. Then he took a desktop publishing course and started earning a living doing graphics and design.  Live Nation He landed Live Nation as a client for eight or nine years, during which time he also launched VIPNATION.Com for them, rebranded the company, and did event marketing and advertising for several famous artists. He gained experience in marketing and promoting events and engaging fans. A promotion Darryl has been the country rep for CD Baby in Canada for three years. At the end of last year, he received a promotion and is now the Managing Director for Canada for Downtown Global. Covid When Covid hit, they lost everything and started doing conferencing online. Since then, they have launched another three successful other online music conferences. They now have several different projects on the go and are on par with where they were at the start of Covid. Indie Week Darryl created Indie Week because no festivals in Toronto focused on local artists. It was a music festival and also a music conference. Just before Covid, Indie Week in Toronto was doing about 240 bands from all around the world for four nights at 24 music venues in downtown Toronto. (Before that, they were doing the UK, but they stopped when Brexit happened.) In Indie Week, they got the industry out to look at the bands and vote for the band that deserved to play at Indie Week in the UK. Then, at Indie Week in the UK, they would pick a band to bring to Canada.  Comafest Since Covid, they have partnered with a Comafest in Brazil. They have taken an artist there every year and intend to take a few artists there in August 2022. Their objective is to build the international partnerships they started online, partner with other existing festivals, and take artists to those festivals. Online conferences They plan to continue their conference online. What set their conference apart from all other conferences happening during the Covid lockdown was that they were 110% invested in doing it online.  Positive feedback They have had a lot of praise and positive feedback for their online conferences! They could get higher-level speakers because they did not have to fly anyone anywhere.  The Indie Week online Music Conference They took the music conference and broke it down into different demographics to go online. Now, Screen X Screen, which is about music and tech, happens in February each year. Indie 101 is about education, and it happens in May. Music Pro Summit hosts high-level industry discussions and takes place in September. Indie Week is their hub, so they try to bring everything together in one place and focus on international connections. Many people have said that it is one of the best online conferences they have ever attended. The platform Their platform, Whova, is open to engagement and connecting with others. All their programs are recorded and people can talk online for three months. So any attendee can still go through the speaker and attendee list and message them after the conference. People are learning how to use the platform and taking advantage of it! A community Their free weekly sessions focus on being real. The sessions have helped grow their community because people love having the connection! Value People add value. Darryl believes that if you offer help first things will happen, and if you do something that engages with people, it will become valuable. So focus on people first, and monetization later. Online is working well They are planning to stay online because it is working well. They are also looking for ways to utilize what they have done online and do something in person when the time is right to do so. The goal The goal for Indie Week is that the participants make connections that turn into a real business. Online versus face-to-face People make a mistake when they try to recreate a face-to-face event online. Indie Week is an online experience, and the organizers are making the most of it! They are not trying to do what they would normally do in person.  Valuable experience They gained valuable experience from doing four online events in one year. They learned to utilize the positive aspects of the online experience and capitalize on them. AI Darryl believes that AI will make it possible for anything to happen musically in the future! Music marketing for artists Everyone in the world is online today, so artists need to plug into social marketing. That means using Facebook ads and Instagram ads and knowing how to use the data to locate their audience and the areas where people are tuning in the most. Then they need to start feeding different ads to that market to build a story. They can also use billboard ads, magazines, and online advertising programs like Found.ee. How can artists get known? Artists should focus on what they do and how to use tools to elevate that. They should focus on where their audience is and try to get as many fans as possible to engage. Engaging audiences at conferences People need to talk less about business and more about who they are and how they are doing. Digital is global, so there is value in considering how to elevate an in-person event to online. Being inclusive is also vital.    Connect with Eric On LinkedIn On Facebook On Instagram On Website   Connect with Darryl Hurs On LinkedIn Indie Week  

Innovation in Facilitation with Samme Allen We have the great pleasure of speaking with Samme Allen today! Samme has been in the meetings and events industry for many years. She is the Founder and CEO of ConferenceEmcees.   Samme has a fascinating and inspiring story to tell! In this episode, she shares her story and talks about what she is doing to help people reduce their carbon footprint. She also gets into believing in yourself and moving forward and illustrates the importance of honesty and the power of building relationships. We hope you'll enjoy listening to today’s captivating conversation with Samme Allen! Samme’s story Samme has been a meeting professional for most of her career. Her background is in sales, and she fell into events while living in Hong Kong and working for a publishing company. She started working as an event planner when the publishing company asked her to work with one of their clients- to run a charity event and a golf day. It went well, and after that, Samme and her team worked with other clients, including the British Chamber of Commerce in China. Moving back to the UK  After moving back to the UK, Samme continued to dabble in the periphery of the events world. She moved to London in 2008 and wanted to get more into events. Her recruitment company suggested that she stay with them and work in recruitment. That was a valuable journey for her because it got her involved with MPI.  Iconic venues Samme has worked with some of the most iconic venues in the UK, including the Barbican Centre in London.  Professional moderating Samme got a call from a company called Audience, asking her to facilitate a meeting for one of their pharmaceutical clients. She refused because it was not in the event industry. They pushed, however, and eventually convinced her to do it. That started her journey into professional moderating. Sammeallen.Com Samme invented Sammeallen.Com, and she had the privilege of hosting MPI’s European meeting and events conference a few times. She was in a great space because, for the first time, she was booked out for the following year- 2020. She was about to host an event in Florida when the world turned upside down. In three weeks, she lost all her bookings.  Pivoting to virtual Samme had to figure out how to survive and thrive. So she joined an online event design course on Zoom. At the time, she did not believe in online events, but the course convinced her otherwise. It changed everything and gave her the confidence to pivot to virtual.  The best year She started doing online events, and they took off! She ended up having her best year ever, financially!  Reaching out Throughout the pandemic, she reached out to her clients to find out how they were and keep the communication lines open. Good things One of the good things that came out of the pandemic was ConferenceEmcees.Com. Samme wanted to grow her business without hurting the planet. She also wanted a community where like-minded individuals could inspire one another, and she wanted to gain experience. Barriers Her barriers to growing ConferenceEmcees.Com were self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and the sudden loss of her father right before the conference was due to happen. ConferenceEmcees With the help and support of associates from her network, the ConferenceEmcees experience happened organically, and they self-launched in September 2020. The ConferenceEmcees experience  ConferenceEmcees is the first-ever global network of professional conference emcees, moderators, and facilitators. Their goal is to put the right person for the right client in the right location. They aim to remove pain points while ensuring that they are part of the carbon footprint solution and not part of the carbon problem.  Education ConferenceEmcees is providing education about reducing the carbon footprint. They have an incredible collection already, including a piece on diversity. They launched officially in January 2022. They currently have 36 associates and continue to grow. Selecting members  Samme has a background in recruitment. That helps her select the right members for her organization.  Support Samme would like to support her community of independent associates, help them track their carbon footprints, and provide opportunities to avoid having to travel long distances. Inclusivity You cannot have a successful business without bringing everybody to the table. It's not just about including more women. It's about including more people of every creed, color, ethnicity, and sexual orientation.  Women Samme urges people to actually do something to help women become more successful instead of just liking them on LinkedIn or patting them on the back. One of her action points for 2022 is championing women going through difficult times.  Leadership Samme would like to see leadership become more diverse and action orientated. Her focus is on staying inclusive with male leaders, learning from them, and figuring out what everyone can do better together.  Connect with Eric On LinkedIn On Facebook On Instagram On Website Connect with Samme Allen On Website On LinkedIn On email: samme@conferenceemcees.com 

Relentless with Natasha Miller We are thrilled to be speaking with a fabulous entrepreneur today! Natasha Miller is the CEO of Entire Productions and a three times Inc. 5000 recipient. Natasha has just launched a book called Relentless: Homeless Teen to Achieving the Entrepreneur Dream. It tells the story of her life.  Natasha is joining us today to tell her unique story and share her experiences, ideas, and perceptions. She also offers some valuable nuggets of advice for growing your business. We hope you enjoy listening to today’s insightful conversation with Natasha Miller! Bio: Natasha Miller isn’t your average CEO. She sits at the helm of Entire Productions, the go-to experience design, event, and entertainment production company in San Francisco, and has been on the Inc. 5000 list of fastest-growing companies in America for three years in a row. Natasha’s passion and commitment to giving back drive her invariable contributions and participation with numerous charitable organizations. She is also performing as a jazz vocalist and a trained classical violinist. Natasha is a proud graduate of Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses. She has studied entrepreneurship at the Harvard Business School and MIT, and she is a member of The Recording Academy (Grammys), ASCAP, SF Travel, and Meeting Professionals International (MPI). She resides in San Francisco, CA, where she is a member and on the board of EO (Entrepreneurs’ Organization). Natasha’s story Natasha grew up in Iowa in the mid-80s. She learned to play the violin when she was young. Then she became a passionate vocalist. Music saved Natasha’s life and propelled her into her future! She earned a Fulbright Scholarship to study the violin, and she has been involved in entrepreneurial endeavors with music since the age of fifteen. Her core business is a San Francisco-based entertainment production company called Entire Productions.  Natasha has a twenty-six-year-old daughter who she adores! From an abandoned teen to achieving her dream When she was sixteen, Natasha landed up in a youth shelter for homeless kids on Christmas day. At the time, she was studying the violin with a college professor. Natasha always advocated for herself and made things happen. Even when she had bookings, she could not turn down performance work, so she would book other artists to take her place. That ultimately grew into her booking jazz and classical ensembles for corporate and social special events.  She found herself in the meetings and events industry many years later, after she expanded into dance bands, DJs, aerialists, and cigar bars, and she did all the planning.  Support In the homeless shelter, Natasha had people supporting her with her issues and helping her onto a track that would be good for her after leaving. As a musician, she had the support of her conductor, her violin instructor, and some others who recognized her gifts and talent. However, she knew that no one would come to save her, so she had to save herself. Mentors Over the last twenty years, Natasha has realized that she needs mentors, advisors, and outside help to give her a different perspective and reveal her blind spots. Since seeking that out, her world has cracked open! Proud of her accomplishments Natasha attended three different colleges on Fulbright Scholarships, but she never graduated because she moved to San Francisco. She is proud of what she has accomplished without having a college degree! The Grammys After being taken to the Grammys, Natasha realized that she could become a voting member of the organization that puts on the Grammys. Even though she has not yet won a Grammy award, she hopes to enter the Audible version of her book for consideration.   Natasha’s book Natasha wanted her book to sweep readers away and take them on a journey- almost like a fictional read. The book tells the story of her recollection of what happened in her life. It is a good read, and what Natasha lived through is very interesting! You will enjoy the book, especially if you’re an entrepreneur or struggling to get from where you are to where you want to be! Leading with values Natasha’s organization focuses on five core values. The one they talk about the most is the pursuit of excellence, not perfection. Working in pursuit of excellence ensures that they always have enough bandwidth to cope with any challenges that might arise with the events they produce.  Natasha’s team Another core value is that her team is self-managed. Natasha gives the team the ability to make decisions based on their own experiences and watching how she does things.  Being scrappy Being scrappy is another core value. Being scrappy means that they work bootstrapped on a shoestring budget, and they don’t take equity from anyone else. They don’t frivolously spend other people’s money, and they give their clients an incredible amount of value.  Recruiting Recruiting people is challenging! People generally put on a facade for interviews. So it is hard to find out what their real values are. It takes intuition, a gut reaction, and experience to choose the best candidates. Managing the team Natasha does not work day-to-day in her business with clients. Right now, she is a visionary and a strategist for entire productions, so she is not solely responsible for marketing and sales. She is responsible for managing her team, but they are mature and self-managed, so it is not a heavy lift. Using technology to boost revenue and profit Natasha is technologically interested. She feels that technology shows a return on investment. Her internal team produced and designed all the technology for her latest book launch summit on the ExVo platform, apart from the switcher (the one that brings people on and off the stage). She sometimes uses third-party vendors to help with the broadcast quality of big studio events, but for the most part, everything gets done in-house. People and processes Natasha has all the right people and processes in place, so she does not need to know about everything going on in her business. Getting ARR (Annual Recurrent Revenue) in the meetings and events industry Entire Productions has been around for a long time. It is known and trusted within the industry for producing excellent events, so they have several recurring clients. They also attract many new clients when their events get seen on social media. They have two divisions, so they have a lot of high volume with the artists, talent, and entertainment they put out and a smaller amount with their full-production events.  Big numbers  People spend about ten percent of their budget on entertainment. So when big numbers run through Natasha’s company- to pay for catering, for example, they try not to pass that through, and they also try not to be the bank. That is how they managed to run a five million ARR business. Growing a business and working on it rather than in it Have all your systems and processes down so that they are very efficient. Then, put them in a manual, and make a video explaining it. That will free you from having to train people as you scale and grow your company. Remember that your systems will change as you grow. Delegating  If you are one person with one employee, start thinking about how to delegate and share what you know. Remember that it is not good business practice for one individual to hold on to all the knowledge about a business. Thriving despite hardships Natasha feels lucky because she did not take her hardships and make them worse or turn to alcohol or drugs. Even when she felt sad or depressed, she always had a positive attitude, creativity, and an insatiable thirst for learning. She learned that once you reach a positive place, you need to stamp it as a milestone. Then, when the next bad thing happens, you know it will pass, and you won’t let it affect you.  Be relentless  We all have to be resilient. But to get to where you want to go, you have to be relentless.   Connect with Eric On LinkedIn On Facebook On Instagram On Website Connect with Natasha Miller On Website On LinkedIn On Facebook On Instagram

We are delighted to be speaking with a legend today! Jack Daly is a phenomenal individual! He is known worldwide as a subject matter expert in the sales side of the house and as a business person who knows how to scale companies. About eight years ago, Jack wrote a book called Hyper Sales Growth which sold tremendously when it came out and continues to sell exceptionally well today.  A few weeks ago, Jack went to market with his latest book, Jack Daly’s Life by Design. It is the tenth book he has written and a project he has wanted to do for several years for various reasons.  We are thrilled to have Jack back on the show today! In this episode, he tells his story and talks about his new book. He shares his experiences and discusses the importance of being disciplined. He also explains how to maintain a positive mindset and the importance of knowing what your personal values are! We hope you enjoy listening to our amazingly inspiring conversation with Jack Daly! Bio: Jack Daly is a leading sales speaker and trainer with over 30 years of sales and executive experience. Jack’s track record is a testament to his real-world knowledge and extensive expertise in sales and sales management. He started his professional journey at the CPA firm, Arthur Andersen, and rose to the CEO level of several corporations, building six companies into national firms along the way, two of which he subsequently sold to the Wall Street firms of Solomon Brothers and First Boston. In addition to his comprehensive professional background, Jack holds a BS in Accounting, as well as an MBA, and was a Captain in the U.S. Army. Jack Daly is an Amazon Best Selling Author and has written and contributed to many books, including Hyper Sales Growth and The Sales Playbook for Hyper Sales Growth. Jack is a 15-time Ironman competitor and has completed over 93 marathons in 50 states and on seven continents. He achieves these goals and lives life to the fullest by following his own Life by Design techniques. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Jack currently resides in San Clemente, California. Jack’s story On six different occasions, between the ages of 26 and 46, Jack sketched out a business plan and convinced others to join him. They grew those companies in the US to become national firms, two of which were sold to Wall Street.  For the last 25 years, Jack has been touring the world as a professional speaker and helping people grow their businesses.  Endurance racing Jack has run many marathons. A few months back, he completed his hundredth. He has also done fifteen full and several half Iron Man competitions. US Army Jack joined the ROTC (Reserve Officers' Training Corps) when he was in college. Even though he has a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree, the courses that made the most difference in his adult life were those related to the military. They taught him to be disciplined, focused, goal-oriented, and responsible and gave him insight into communications skills, systems, and processes. How leaders are built  As an adult, Jack has been fortunate to visit all the military schools to see how leaders get built. Measuring Jack measures everything! He has been at it for over sixty years. Every year, he adds a few more things relative to his life as it evolves. He enjoys making year-to-year comparisons as he grows and matures.  Discipline  You need to be disciplined in how you invest and spend your time and what you do with it. A positive mindset Jack has faced many challenges in his life. He uses the mantra: “Focus on that which you have control over” to help him stay upbeat in attitude.  Discussions Before Jack lost his wife to cancer, he had discussions with her about how he should take her passing and how he should behave afterward. They decided that he should hug the memories and then craft a plan for his future.  Going forward Jack’s military training taught him to do his best and keep on focusing forward.  The tenth-fastest-growing company in the US In 1998, Jack owned the tenth-fastest-growing company in the US. One year later, he had to let 240 people go in one day. It was terrible, but he focused on the few people he had left and re-built the company. A happy life Jack is now re-married to a client he has known for more than twenty years. He is living a happy life!  Good advice When he was thirteen, Jack interviewed fifty successful people and asked them for advice. One of the things they told him was to be focused, not to try to do too many things, and set a date for getting them done. Then, they advised him to measure everything and share it with others to pressure himself. He has detailed that process in his new book, and he has also included blank templates for people to use to design their lives.  A less than ideal life Jack has observed many who are successful in businesses but have lived less than ideal personal lives. A successful life Jack can only help those who know what they want, so he challenges you, the listener, to define and measure what a successful life means to you. Jack Daly’s Life by Design  Jack wrote the book Jack Daly’s Life by Design for anyone who wants to lead an exceptional life. He also wrote it as a legacy for his kids and his grandkids. An important message from Jack  A chapter in Jack’s bo explains that you are never too old. Even though he is 73 years old and has lived an exceptional life, he believes that his best years are still ahead of him! Personal values You need to know your values to design your way to success. Jack’s book starts by asking readers if they know what their personal values are. That is because the definition of success is personal, and it differs for every individual. Marathons Jack ran his first marathon when he was 46 years old. After that, he ran one a year for the next ten years. He has subsequently joined a club that runs marathons in all fifty states, and he now aspires to run a marathon in all seven continents! Fun projects Jack wants to live for another 52 years! He has some fun projects ahead of him that include a tour around the world doing workshops to help people create a life plan for themselves, writing children’s books, and teaching kids how to become entrepreneurs. He also has a website called Jack Daly’s Life By Design.Com. Connect with Eric On LinkedIn On Facebook On Instagram On Website Connect with Jack Daly On his website   Jack Daly’s Life By Design.Com  Books mentioned: Hyper Sales Growth by Jack Daly

Today, we are happy to be speaking with the legendary John Ruhlin! John is the founder of Giftology, and he is full of energy and great ideas! In this episode, John tells his fascinating story and talks about how he created Giftology. He explains how he developed the understanding of giving personal gifts and shares his best marketing and sales referral tool. He also discusses why you should focus on your inner circle and why he wrote the book Giftology. We hope you enjoy listening to today's enlightening conversation with John Ruhlin! JOHN RUHLIN BIO:  John Ruhlin is the world’s leading authority in maximizing customer loyalty through radical generosity. He is the founder and author of Gift·ology and has been featured in Fox News, Forbes, Fast Company, Inc, and the New York Times. While becoming the #1 performer out of 1.5 million sales reps for one of the world’s most recognizable brands, John developed a system of using generosity to gain access to elite clients and generate thousands of referrals. He and his firm now help automate this process for individuals and organizations like UBS, Raymond James, DR Horton, Keller Williams, the Chicago Cubs, and Caesar’s Palace. John and the Gift·ology team can help any individual turn their clients into their own personal sales force to drive exponential growth. John’s story John grew up in a modest family on a farm in a small town in Ohio. He learned, early on, that if he wanted something, he had to work for it. John did very well at school and wanted to become a doctor or a chiropractor. But his life and plans changed after he started dating a girl whose father, Paul, was a generous rain-making attorney. Mentorship Paul showed up in unusual ways for his relationships. That inspired John to want to be just like him at sixty. John was interning with Cutco, selling knives to pay for med school. He was not good at selling, and after he pitched to Paul, Paul offered to help him hit his goals.  Relationships Paul taught John that everything boiled down to relationships. Paul explained that if you take care of the family in business, everything else takes care of itself. That struck a chord with John. He started to mimic Paul in his relationships and sent some expensive knives to some CEOs he wanted to meet with as gifts. After pitching the CEO of a large insurance company, John walked out with an order for 1,000 knife sets! Number 1 distributer Cutco has worked with about 2,000,000 sales reps over 70 years. John became their number one distributor in the entire global history of the company by using the idea of giftology!  Giftology Giftology is about building relationships. If you want referrals, deal flow, or employee retention, you need to inspire people to want to advocate on your behalf. The best marketing sales referral tool  John learned early on that if you go all-in and show something in your relationships, it will come back to you a hundred-fold. He found it one of the best marketing sales referral tools on the planet!  All over the world John now owns a consulting agency that teaches people how to do giftology. He also writes books and speaks about it all over the world.  The core of his business The core of John’s business is teaching people how to love relationships thoughtfully and at scale, while moving people emotionally. What John discovered about gifts  John discovered that it does not help to send people a gift with your logo on it. It is better to send them something personal with their name on it.  A recipe for building relationships John noticed that there was a recipe for building relationships with giftology. For it to work, you have to follow the recipe to the letter because every tiny detail and every intention counts. We were designed to want to reciprocate and do nice things for people who do things for us with no strings attached. Kindness, generosity, and love Everyone wants to be appreciated, acknowledged, and loved. The companies crushing it all lead with kindness, generosity, and love. They care for their employees and clients and invest in them. The inner-circle John believes that the inner circle matters just as much as the person writing the checks because those people influence the decisions. A six-figure deal John closed a six-figure deal with a basketball team because he treated the inner circle the same as he treated the CEO.  Event planners John treats event planners like gold because they have gone out of their way at times to become sales reps for his brand.  Show up repetitively and consistently When you move from being passively loyal to being actively loyal and show up repetitively and consistently for a relationship because you want to, not because you have to, the relationship will flourish. John’s book, Giftology John wrote the book to spread the idea of giftology to others. He also wanted to drive credibility, have a global impact, and be the first one in the leadership space to talk about using gratitude and generosity to grow relationships and revenue. He has sold 110,000 copies in the last six years, and it changed everything for him! Covid Covid has shifted the priorities of many, but humans still need to connect. So although Covid made John realize that he can have an impact from afar, he still enjoys appearing on a big stage once or twice a month, shaking hands with people, and signing books.   Connect with Eric On LinkedIn On Facebook On Instagram On Website   Connect with John Ruhlin On LinkedIn Books mentioned: Giftology: The Art and Science of Using Gifts to Cut Through the Noise, Increase Referrals, and Strengthen Client Retention, by John Ruhlin Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook, by Gary Vaynerchuk Save Your Asks: Evolve Your Networking Currencies. Grow Your Influence. Triple Your Business, by Chris Tuff