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Adapting to Change: Michelle Manire’s Experience with Virtual and Hybrid Events

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Today on Women in Motion, Lee Kantor interviews Michelle Manire, Founder and President of Coast to Coast Conferences and Events. Michelle shares her journey from the hotel industry to establishing her own event planning company. She discusses the challenges of breaking into the market as a woman-owned business and the importance of strategic planning and measurable goals for successful events. Michelle also highlights the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the industry and the shift towards hybrid events, underscoring the value of community, education, and mentorship in achieving long-term success.

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Michelle-ManireMichelle Manire is a highly accomplished professional renowned for her exceptional contributions to the event and hotel industries. Breaking barriers, she was the first woman appointed as the General Manager for two major hotel chains before founding Coast to Coast Conferences & Events in 1994. With three decades of experience, Michelle has been a trailblazer in providing innovative, time-saving solutions, comprehensive conference and event management, and consulting services for clients nationwide.

A distinguished alumna, Michelle graduated from Leadership Long Beach, Goldman Sachs 10ksb, and earned her MDE from the UCLA Anderson School of Management. She is also a Senior Certified Meeting Manager (CMM). In response to the challenges posed by the pandemic in 2020, Michelle swiftly adapted, obtaining certifications in Virtual Event & Meeting Management and Pandemic Meeting and Event Design from the Event Leadership Institute.

In addition to her achievements, Michelle serves on the Advisory Board of Directors for the UC Santa Barbara Client Experience Certification Program and is currently enrolled in the 2024 Tuck Capstone Program. She and her company, Coast to Coast Conferences & Events, recently won the Silver Pyramid Award at the PPAI Expo 2024, recognizing their outstanding contributions to the industry.

Michelle is skilled in simplifying the event planning process through her proprietary systems, which not only save clients time and money but also reflect her commitment to staying at the forefront of industry trends. Passionate about mentorship, Michelle actively guides emerging meeting planners and empowers women business owners.

In 2023, Michelle’s dedication was acknowledged when her company, Coast to Coast Conferences & Events, was honored with the “Supplier of the Year” award from Women’s Business Enterprise Council – West, a testament to her leadership and commitment to excellence.

Michelle has shared her expertise in various speaking capacities, including webinars and panels. Her engaging speaking style, coupled with her love for imparting knowledge, has positioned her as a respected figure in the industry. Michelle continues to leverage her experience to uplift and inspire others, embodying the spirit of a true industry leader.

Connect with Michelle on LinkedIn and follow coast to Coast Conferences and Events on Facebook.

Music Provided by M PATH MUSIC

Transcript-iconThis transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix

 

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studios, it’s time for Women In Motion. Brought to you by WBEC-West. Join forces. Succeed together. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor here, another episode of Women In Motion and this is going to be a good one. But before we get started, it’s important to recognize our sponsor, WBEC-West. Without them, we couldn’t be sharing these important stories. Today on Women In Motion, we have Michelle Manire, and she is the Founder and President of Coast to Coast Conferences and Events. Welcome.

Michelle Manire: Thank you. Glad to be here.

Lee Kantor: I am so excited to learn what you’re up to. Tell us about Coast to Coast Conferences and Events.

Michelle Manire: Wow. Where do I start? It’s a 30 year old company. I’ve been at the helm for the entire time. I’m obviously a woman-owned business. It’s gone through several reiterations from being just exclusively working with Catalina Island, and then our clients really wanted us to work on the mainland with them, and it has grown from there.

Michelle Manire: And we are now on our fourth iteration, and we are Coast to Coast Conferences and Events because we produce conferences and trade shows nationwide. Seventy percent of our clients have been with us multiple years. We are truly strategic partners and game changers for our clients. We’re not, as I say, just event planners, we do the logistics flawlessly, but it really is being a strategic partner and caring about the ROI and enhancing their programs.

Lee Kantor: So, what’s your backstory? How did you get involved in this line of work?

Michelle Manire: You know, I was just thinking about that because I think it started when I was social chair of my sorority, so I was planning events way back then. But I actually never thought of the hotel industry, which was where I started my career. I was taking a year off school and working on Capitol Hill – not school, when I graduated, but taking a year off then I was going to go to law school.

Michelle Manire: And, you know, started working on Capitol Hill and somebody said I would be really great in the hotel business. And I couldn’t think of anything worse because one of my sorority sisters worked at a front desk at a hotel, and I thought, “Oh, that is just so cacky,” and I don’t know why I thought that. But I ended up, you know, what’s the worst case scenario? I gave it a try, and I was in a training program with the Westin Hotels at the Mayflower in Washington, D.C., with eight grads from Cornell, and just really fell in love with it. And I became the first woman general manager for two major hotel chains, Stoker Hotels and Resorts and DoubleTree, and absolutely loved it.

Michelle Manire: How I made that transition was I didn’t want to move anymore. My niche was opening hotel properties so I wouldn’t stay anywhere longer than a year or two. And then, once I landed in California, I went, “You know, I think I want to stick around for a while,” and that’s how Coast to Coast started.

Lee Kantor: Now, when did you start getting involved in event planning and conference planning for other people? Like when you left the hotel then did you just immediately just jump right into that with your own firm?

Michelle Manire: Yes. I wanted to do something, I love the hotel industry, but when you’re a general manager, it’s really where they want to send you. And I turned down five moves, and I said that’s not fair to the company, and I was wanting to stay put for a while. So, I wanted to do something compatible with the hotel industry, because I still work with all the same people that I worked with just on the other side. So, that’s how Coast to Coast was born.

Lee Kantor: So then, you started, I guess, where you were at and you just started doing conferences and events at hotels nearby?

Michelle Manire: No. I mean, we always were national. It really depended on where our clients wanted to go because we had so many repeat clients, they don’t want to go to the same place over and over again, and they usually have rotations, you know, east to west or south to north. So, we decided to, obviously, really develop the nationwide conference and event management side of our business.

Lee Kantor: So, at first you were getting clients just from the existing relationships that you had just accumulated over the years?

Michelle Manire: Yeah. And a lot of our business is referrals, so we’re not stuck in one particular industry. So, we service all industries, and it’s predominantly initially because a lot of our business was referral. But, obviously, we have a marketing agency and we do lead generation, so we do pick up leads and prospects through other sources as well.

Lee Kantor: So, different organizations and groups will come to you and say, “Hey, we’d like to plan an event,” and then you can help them kind of plan location to what’s going to happen and the activities and things like that?

Michelle Manire: So, we do everything related to an event A to Z. I mean, there isn’t anything. We write scripts, we do stage production, we do all the logistics, we source for the venues, everything. The only thing we don’t do is sponsorship sales, because that’s not what we’re good at. But we will help them develop their sponsorship decks. We will manage the sponsors after they have signed. We manage speakers. Like I said, there really isn’t anything that we can’t do in our space.

Lee Kantor: Now, how did you handle the pandemic? Were you doing virtual events?

Michelle Manire: Yeah, so that was really kind of quite surprising when that happened. I mean, you know, we have recessions, 9/11, et cetera. And I’ll never forget, I was in Saint Louis managing a conference the weekend before everything kind of hit. And we heard kind of rumblings that there was something coming down, but it really didn’t affect that conference. I flew back Sunday night, and then we had a conference starting Monday at the L.A. Convention Center for the Mayor of Los Angeles, and it was their investor’s conference.

Michelle Manire: And everything got set up, everybody was checking in, and all of a sudden a lot of the attendees, the bankers and investors, were dropping their badges off at the registration desk and saying we’re leaving. I’m like, “The Mayor’s just about ready to speak, what are you talking about?” And they said they just got an edict from their corporate office to get home, that everything’s being frozen. And that’s when it started.

Michelle Manire: And we thought, “Well, okay. This will be a month, maybe, or two months.” And we start contacting all of our clients and moving them to Q3 and Q4. And it didn’t change. I mean, it just got worse. So, we went, “Okay. How can we be of value to our clients?” And how we could be of value was to learn everything we could related to virtual events. And that was a really big task, a really big learning process. But my team, we all agreed that’s what we needed to do.

Michelle Manire: Unfortunately, there wasn’t anything out there that could walk us through A to Z on virtual events until Event Leadership Institute came up with a certification program, which was about a month after all of this happened, and we just jumped right in both feet and produced trade shows, fundraisers, conferences, you name it through the virtual platform that we had. So, that’s how we survived, and we actually grew over that time because a lot of people just left the industry.

Lee Kantor: Yeah. I mean, it was so disruptive.

Michelle Manire: Yeah, and it still is to this day to be perfectly honest.

Lee Kantor: There’s still ramifications from it.

Michelle Manire: Oh, yeah. I mean, I speak on trends and different things in our industry, and the costs have soared, and 40 percent of the labor force didn’t come back. So, we’re still dealing with shortages of labor all across the board, and that takes twice as long to plan an event now, because it just takes time to get answers from the partners that we need answers from.

Lee Kantor: Now, is one of the unintended consequences of having to go virtual is that now people are also including virtual as part of their kind of conference plans or is it something that’s just gone away?

Michelle Manire: No. Actually, what happened, which is kind of interesting, a couple of things I really had thought that did not materialize. One, that there would be smaller regional meetings rather than national meetings. And that hybrid, which is where you have a virtual component and in-person component would be very big when we came back. Well, regional didn’t happen. All the in-person are still national. I mean, there are regionals as well, and our attendance has skyrocketed. But also because of the expense, because you really need two separate teams to do an in-person and you need a team for the virtual, so because of that expense, most clients did not want to do that.

Michelle Manire: But how we conquer that, we either live stream but they are not integrated with the in-person side of it or we record on-demand and then they can sell that product. So, that’s another revenue stream for our clients. But we do, do virtual. In fact, next Tuesday we have a virtual conference for L.A. County for their community meeting.

Lee Kantor: Now, when the pandemic broke, did you find that just people are hungry for this kind of in-person face-to-face, you know, shake someone’s hand, look them in the eye experience that it’s been a while, and now they’re just kind of looking for opportunities to do that kind of interaction?

Michelle Manire: You know, initially there was a lot of safety concern that we had to address. Some people were fine hugging, some were fine fist bumping, some didn’t want to be touched at all. So, we had to take all those considerations into account. And we had to just make sure that all the safety protocols were in place so that the attendees felt comfortable coming out to an in-person event. And then, slowly, that faded away, and now it’s just gangbusters. Like I said, I think all of our conferences that we have done since COVID have probably grown 20 to 50 percent in attendance.

Lee Kantor: Is the attendance for any given one higher, or is it just more people are doing more events, or both?

Michelle Manire: I think both. I think costs are now becoming a really big issue because it’s so expensive. A gallon of coffee, $185. I mean, it’s it’s just really, really tough. And that’s one of our differentiators. We have a track record of saving our clients 15 to 40 percent on the bottom line. And that’s part of our strategic partnership, is that we care about that ROI, so we really work with them on improving that.

Lee Kantor: Now, is your clientele like organizations that are doing events for themselves, or is it like associations or organizations that are doing conferences, or could it even be a trade show where you’re helping, you know, 100 vendors set up in a trade center?

Michelle Manire: So, it’s all of the above. It really is. And a lot of our conferences have an exhibit or trade show connected with it. We have a medical group in June that we’ve had for several years, where they have 200 exhibitors as part of their conference. So that, you tend to see and it’s a really good revenue stream as well, so it’s really across the board.

Lee Kantor: So, you talk a lot about you’re not shying away from the revenue and ROI side of the business, can you talk about is that a point of differentiation for you? Like you’re not just trying to have an event just, hey, we all had a great time, high five. You’re trying to have an event that is strategic and is helping them achieve some sort of an ROI.

Michelle Manire: Absolutely. So, let me just touch base on our process. So, we have the same process for every project, whether it’s a repeat or not. And one of the things I really got tired of hearing when a client would come to us and I go, “Okay. Well, what are your measurable goals for your event?” And they kind of give me a glassy starry eye look and say, “Well, we do it every year.” And I’m like, “But that’s not really a measurable goal. How do you know you’re successful at the end if you don’t have measurable goals?”

Michelle Manire: So, I wrote a proprietary strategic planning guide that we give to our clients prior to coming to the onboarding strategic planning meeting that we have with them and they work with their team on the guide. And ultimately it starts with the why, but where I’m getting them to is their measurable goals. And then, when we do our onboarding strategic planning meeting, we talk about those goals because that truly helps us to know what their goals are so that we stay focused on that. And we’re not going off in different tangents that aren’t going to have the result of them being successful with their goals. So, that happens at every single project that we start, and obviously, we do agendas, we have meetings with them.

Michelle Manire: And I would say another differentiator is our post event report. I really have not seen another event management company do an extensive as we do with the post-event reports. So, we collect all the analytics, the data. Obviously, we do debriefs internally, we do it with the client, we do it with sponsors, we do it with speakers. We really want to get an overall comprehension of what happened in that conference and how we can improve on that year after year. And that saves our clients a lot of time. They’re not going back and going, “Okay. Who did we use? What vendor did we use here? Oh, how did we do here?” I mean, everything is succinct and in one location.

Lee Kantor: So, how do you help your client kind of educate themselves, because they’re obviously not in the conference and event business, but they have an idea that they would like to do one? How do you help them understand certain things are measurable and we can achieve certain outcomes? I would imagine there’s an education portion to this where they don’t know what they don’t know. And you can really help them exceed their expectations if it’s done the right way.

Michelle Manire: Yeah, and we love education. So, we have clients that don’t have a clue, like what you’re saying, don’t know what they don’t know. Or, we have clients, a lot of clients – just one that comes to mind, a film company came to us and was overwhelmed. She was new in her job. And seven weeks prior to their conference, she was over budget. She didn’t have the staff to manage it. So, we took over her conference and we were able to save them 35 percent, even though the contracts were signed, and really saved the day for her. And that’s kind of why we’re game changers.

Michelle Manire: But we really like to educate our clients. Some clients just say just do it and I don’t want to be bothered. We’ll have them approve, obviously, things they need to approve. And then, some want to be in the thick of things. And we’re happy to have either, because it’s fun to educate our clients on what they need to look for, how are we saving them money. And we can walk them through our secrets, if you will, of how we do that. And they have fun too.

Michelle Manire: And we try to get them involved with speaking at their conferences too. We did that a lot in the virtual world, and they were so afraid. And we had to train the speakers because the speakers were used to being in-person and feeding off an audience, and now they were just looking into a camera and that was quite different. But it was fun to take all of our clients through being speakers and being part of their conference. So, those are kind of the fun things that we do.

Lee Kantor: Now, is there some advice or tips you can share for the organization that maybe hasn’t done a conference yet but is considering it? Is there some advice you can share?

Michelle Manire: Yeah. Come see me. Don’t start until we have a conversation. And I just had this conversation at one of our investor’s conference we just did Friday. I spoke with a gal that wanted to do a conference, and, you know, there’s so many factors. I don’t want them to be unsuccessful their first time around. And they really need to develop a budget. They really need to think about do they have the influence that people will come to their conference in-person? There’s just a lot of factors that really need to be taken into consideration before you jump in.

Michelle Manire: It’s very expensive, and I just want to make sure that they know what the output is going to be. And to really work on a zero-based budget, meaning that everything that they take in for that conference has got to pay for that conference. So, if that doesn’t happen, then they’re not ready for a conference.

Lee Kantor: Now, why was it important for you and your firm to become part of WBEC-West?

Michelle Manire: Well, we were woman-owned certified, which was great. I think when people join WBEC-West or get certified, they think immediately corporate contracts are coming. And that doesn’t happen most of the time because most of the corporations already have five-year contracts with other vendors. But to me, what I really enjoyed is mentoring other business owners.

Michelle Manire: I was past Orange County forum chair, and I really enjoyed that. It was bringing what we call WBEs, women-business owners together. And I knew one of my big aha moments as I went through my career is that I didn’t need to reinvent the wheel. I didn’t have to do things myself. I know if I connected to the right person, they’ve already been through what I was struggling with. So, I really wanted to make sure that I was connecting WBEs with each other and making sure that they had the support that they needed to be successful, and that was one of the big things.

Michelle Manire: And I think the other thing is the education, the education is phenomenal both in WBENC and WBEC-West. I just finished a program at Tuck, the MBA school at Dartmouth College, that was a scholarship program. And it just was perfect timing because we were revising our five-year plan and succession plan. So, there’s so much that WBENC and WBEC-West can offer beyond the contracts.

Michelle Manire: The contracts are great, but I collaborate with other WBEs and we do business together. One of the WBEs that I did business with, we signed a $100,000 contract, and she did the marketing side and we did the logistics and the strategic side. So, there’s so much to offer and I love the organization.

Lee Kantor: Is there a story you can share about one of your clients? Obviously don’t name the client, but maybe share the challenge they came to you with and how you were able to help them get to a new level.

Michelle Manire: So, we have a medical client that came to us and they had 25 trade show booths and they had, I think it was 250 attendees, and it was just failing and they didn’t know why it was failing. And so, we sat down with them and we talked about what their process was, et cetera. Well, I go back to measurable goals. They didn’t have any measurable goals. Their attendee satisfaction was poor. They were just kind of shooting from the hip, and you really can’t do that when you’re planning a conference.

Michelle Manire: Your program is very, very important. Are there takeaway tools that the attendees are getting? Is there interaction? Or do you just have a bunch of talking heads, I call them, you know, presenters? And so, we really worked with them on developing the program. We work with them on their sponsorship deck and their exhibitor deck. And three years ago is when we started with them, now it’s a 1,500 person conference and 200 trade shows at trade show booths, and 94 percent satisfaction.

Michelle Manire: So, it’s really just a matter of getting them focused on what their goals are, and then taking the logistics and the things that they shouldn’t be worried about away from their plate and us doing it on their behalf.

Lee Kantor: Now, if somebody wants to learn more, have a more substantive conversation with you or somebody on the team, what is the website? What’s the best way to connect.

Michelle Manire: So, team@ctcconferences.com is a great way. If you want to talk to me personally, I’m happy to take your call as well, and that’s Michelle, M-I-C-H-E-L-L-E, @ctcconferences.com. We do have a website, it’s up but we are redoing it right now, but it’s www.ctcconferences.com. And our phone number is 562-980-7566.

Lee Kantor: Well, Michelle, thank you so much for sharing your story today. You’re doing such important work and we appreciate you.

Michelle Manire: Great. Well, thank you, Lee. Thank you for your time.

Lee Kantor: All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on Women In Motion.

 

BRX Pro Tip: Steal from Hip Hop

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BRX Pro Tip: Steal from Hip Hop

Stone Payton : Welcome back to Business RadioX Pro Tips. Stone Payton, Lee Kantor here with you. Lee, we talk a lot about collaboration, I enjoy collaborating. What are your thoughts these days on collaborating effectively?

Lee Kantor: I think that we should be taking a lesson from the musicians out there, the people in hip hop and in other genres of music. They do a great job of collaborating amongst each other, and this introduces their music to a whole different group of music fans. And I think that that’s something that you as a business owner can do as well, especially if you have a business radio show or a Business RadioX studio partner. I think it’s a great way to get new eyes and ears on the work that you’re doing, so I would recommend that you start thinking about your business in this way.

Lee Kantor: The first thing I would do is identify complementary groups and organizations and then start reaching out to them to explore ways that you can collaborate to introduce each of your audiences to each other. I mean, if you’re doing a podcast, you can reach out to other podcasters and be on each other’s shows. You can interview them. They can interview you. If there’s another business group out there, you can kind of figure out ways that you can join forces. They can – you can interview their leadership. They can have you speak or they can introduce your content to their members.

Lee Kantor: There’s lots of ways to collaborate. There’s lots of ways that you can be helping each other. If you go into this kind of with an open heart and an open mind, you could be doing joint meetups together in real life; you know, invite all your friends and family and fans and they can do the same thing. And you can do a joint meetup of just networking, or you can do a joint, a meetup where there’s education and you can bring a bunch of subject matter experts on a variety of topics that you’re good at, and your collaborators are good at. So use your imagination and figure out ways to work with other stakeholders that are in your niche

BRX Pro Tip: Create a Get To Do List

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BRX Pro Tip: Create a Get To Do List

Stone Payton: [00:00:00] Welcome back to Business RadioX Pro Tips. Lee Kantor and Stone Payton here with you. Lee, I know in my day-to-day work, I make a lot of lists, a list of priorities, to-do list, that kind of thing. But your counsel is to craft a get-to-do list.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:18] Yeah. I think if you reframe a half-to-do list into a get-to-do list, it’s kind of a change in mindset. Instead of trying to force your will into the universe, how about try just accepting what is happening to you with some humility and appreciation? And instead of thinking, I have to wait – like here’s something. Instead of thinking I have to wait in this long line, you can reframe it into, I get to work on my patience and practice mindfulness as I wait in this long line.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:52] Like, it isn’t – some of these things that you’re kind of feeling victim to and feeling like this is not fair or it’s sabotaging you, if you reframe this into looking at what is the gift that this opportunity is giving you, I think you’re going to find a lot more happiness and a lot less stress.

Bridging the Gap: How Community Engagement is Revitalizing the Trades for Young People

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In this episode of Women in Motion, Lee Kantor talks with Brianna Birdwell from EID Solutions. Brianna shares her journey from e-commerce to leading a professional services company focused on environmental sustainability, construction management, and people development. She discusses the challenges of being a woman in a male-dominated industry and her role in asset recovery, particularly in the utility sector. Brianna also highlights her commitment to community impact through the San Diego Competitive Edge Program, which provides workforce development and mentorship for young people entering the construction industry.

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Brianna-BirdwellBrianna Birdwell is the President and CEO of EID Solutions, a certified woman-owned and LGBT-certified professional services firm based in San Diego, California. With two decades of entrepreneurial experience, Brianna has built a reputation for delivering innovative and sustainable solutions across diverse sectors. Her expertise spans IT asset disposition (ITAD), investment recovery, sustainability consulting, construction management, and business development.

Under Brianna’s leadership, EID Solutions is known for its commitment to ethical practices, transparency, and delivering customized, environmentally responsible services. Her mission is to empower organizations by optimizing waste management, improving operational efficiency, and minimizing environmental impact. While sustainability is at the heart of EID Solutions, the firm also excels in construction management, effectively bridging the gap between sustainable practices and seamless project execution.

Brianna’s background in business development and workforce training highlights her dedication to fostering growth for both clients and the communities she serves. Passionate about making meaningful impacts, she emphasizes workforce development to uplift the communities in which EID Solutions operates.

Her leadership goes beyond daily operations as she actively engages with clients to tackle complex challenges. With an approach that harmonizes business objectives and environmental stewardship, Brianna ensures that EID Solutions consistently stands out in the professional services industry.

Follow EID Solutions on LinkedIn.

Music Provided by M PATH MUSIC

Transcript-iconThis transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix

 

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studios, it’s time for Women In Motion. Brought to you by WBEC-West. Join forces. Succeed together. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor here, another episode of Women In Motion and this is going to be a good one. But before we get started, it’s important to recognize our sponsor, WBEC-West. Without them, we couldn’t be sharing these important stories. Today on Women In Motion, we have Brianna Birdwell with EID Solutions. Welcome.

Brianna Birdwell: Good morning. Welcome. Thank you. Thanks for having me.

Lee Kantor: Well, I’m so excited to get caught up and learn. For the folks who aren’t familiar, can you share a little bit about EID Solutions? How are you serving folks?

Brianna Birdwell: Well, Lee, thanks for asking. EID Solutions is a multifaceted professional services company. Now, multifaceted is kind of a big word, we manage everything from environmental sustainability to construction management, even all the way up to people development. So, those are a few of the services that we offer as a whole.

Lee Kantor: So, what’s your backstory? How did you get involved in this line of work?

Brianna Birdwell: Well, back in 2005, after I had just completed graduating dive school to be a commercial diver, I know in a women’s industry, you don’t see a lot of women out there in the dive industry, but I had my goal set on becoming a diver. And lo and behold, Katrina had just happened, so when I completed my training, I asked my instructor, I got all these job offers coming from New Orleans, and he said don’t do it. He said, they’re breaking people out too soon, meaning they were putting them in the water without enough training and people were dying.

Brianna Birdwell: So, I had to adjust quickly. Living in San Diego, of course, we all know it’s expensive here. I had to adjust quickly to determine what I was going to do to stay in San Diego, so I started hustling, I guess, is a good word for it. My brother had mentioned something about eBay, and so I started developing myself on eBay and learning what that was and e-commerce as a whole. And I put an ad on Craigslist and I said let me help you sell your items on Craigslist. And I had zero experience, so I sat behind a desk in my garage for about three years working with a business partner way before smartphones, where he would call and he’d ask me, What is the value of this? How do we sell it?

Brianna Birdwell: And about three years of that, I really developed a skillset that I could walk into any organization, and I could point out their entire assets, and then I could show them how to recover all the value from those assets after they deemed those assets no longer useful. And I just kept following down that trail until I turned it into a business.

Brianna Birdwell: My first business was Pro Transactions. We did that for a while really successfully, but I could only get so far. So, I decided to go consult for businesses and to support them doing what I was doing. And in that, I worked in a nationwide company where I learned to train and develop people all over the nation on how to do what I do, which is recover value, and I did that for four years.

Brianna Birdwell: And then, I met with my current business partner, Karl Miller, and he mentioned that they had a lot of challenges as it relates to managing meter recycling or managing transformer recycling. What do they do with all of these assets once they’ve completed their use? So, I stepped in and said let’s start a business. But I don’t want to start a business anymore just to make money. I want to start a business that I can actually make a difference in the community.

Brianna Birdwell: And Karl had mentioned that he had a program called the San Diego Competitive Edge Program, which was a workforce development initiative here in San Diego meant to diversify the workforce here on the construction sites in San Diego, as well as bring in some youth. And then, lo and behold, EID Solutions was created out of that meeting. And we’ve just been hitting the ground running with supporting all sorts of organizations with their sustainability initiatives, investment recovery, as well as construction management, project management, QA, QC. As well as now I get to lead their San Diego Competitive Edge Program, which I think is the biggest goal I could have ever reached was to be able to make a difference in the community, and I’m there now making that difference.

Lee Kantor: Now, how is it different doing this type of asset disposition work at the level you’re doing it now compared to, you know, when you were doing it at the eBay level when you first started, is it philosophically similar? It’s just you have different resources you use?

Brianna Birdwell: It’s not philosophically similar. It’s wildly different. I’ll give you an example. On eBay, my assets were selling between $100 and 500 all the way up to $1,000 each. Now, we’re looking at assets where I walk in and advise on projects. A company will say, “What do I do with all these meters?” And I said, “Well, this is worth $2.5 million.” Of course, I’m the only woman standing there, and they look at me like I got three heads and telling me this is not possible. So, I give them a name of a company that will support them with it, with their project, and they call them.

Brianna Birdwell: So, they call me back the next week and they say, “Well, they’re going to give us this $2 million.” And I said, “Well, I know.” And they said, “Yeah, but you’re not getting the big picture.” And I said, “Well, what’s the big picture?” They said, “Well, we already put 5 million in set aside in an escrow account to have to recycle this product, and you’re telling us now it’s worth something.” So, it was a $7 million upside. The value of the equipment and the size and scale has grown from being an eBay, e-commerce person to now a large scale investment recovery organization.

Lee Kantor: But the activity that you’re doing in terms of assessing the value, is that similar in any way? I mean, I’m sure you’re looking at different places to find the value for these assets, but is it kind of similar in any way at all?

Brianna Birdwell: It’s similar to some sense. We know that all equipment has value in my world. I look at everything all the way down to what’s the value of the equipment as a raw commodity. So, it’s similar but not similar in the sense, one side is investment recovery recycling and one side is investment recovery reuse. So, there are some distinct differences in the material.

Lee Kantor: And they’re hiring you because you have an expertise of being this kind of high level matchmaker when it comes to assets like that?

Brianna Birdwell: High level matchmaker and high level investment recovery vision. So, a project we’re working on right now in Austin, we’re decommissioning two transformers. And most companies look at this product and they go, “Get this out of my space. It’s a problem for me.” And I say, “Well, I could turn this problem into a $100,000. Let me show you how.”

Lee Kantor: So, the people who own the asset, they’re not even aware, like they don’t know what they don’t know. But you can come in kind of with fresh eyes and see what they see, but just in a totally different way.

Brianna Birdwell: Exactly. I’m looking all the way down to the commodity level of what is in a transformer. I know that transformer has a coil. That coil is made out of X amount of copper. I know that copper is $4 to 6 a pound. So, how can we recover that value to offset having to rent the crane to actually lift that transformer and put it onto a vehicle? So, I support them in offsetting the cost by identifying all of the present value in the equipment.

Lee Kantor: And then, you also have to have the resources that can execute kind of your vision on how to get rid of it or to repurpose it?

Brianna Birdwell: Exactly. And we can provide the resources to perform the work or we can simply advise on how to get the work done.

Lee Kantor: Now, when you were starting out, was there any challenges coming into a project? Like you said, you entered into a room and you’re telling them you’re sitting on $2 million and they’re looking at you like, you know, what are you talking about? This can’t be possible. Any challenges on having to educate people on things that you see, you know, crystal clear?

Brianna Birdwell: Well, some of the challenges that I interact with daily is when some larger organizations look at their waste management strategies, I’ve been told that’s so low on our budget line item that it doesn’t even matter to us. And that’s when I have to pull in, if it doesn’t matter to you, I could definitely make 5 million here, and you could take all that 5 million and put it back into your community. Now, would that matter to them?

Brianna Birdwell: And so, I have to pose them with those questions of, you know, if it doesn’t really matter to you, how can it matter to someone else? And that’s one of the hurdles that I have to get over with organizations, as well as being a woman in this industry, there’s not a lot of women waving the flag of, hey, let me just get in there and get dirty and show you exactly what you can do with this. There’s not a lot of women around me that are fighting this battle with these organizations the way that I’m kind of interacting with them.

Lee Kantor: Well, it sounds like you can clearly see something of value where they’ve kind of dismissed it as something that’s not a value. I mean, you can go in and say, I’ll take this off your hands, you know, like you’re doing them a favor, and then do what you do. But you’re going in with a heart of service and saying, look, I’m going to help you get the most out of this if you can just open your mind and listen to me.

Brianna Birdwell: Right. When I first started out, Lee, I would just drive around to the local nonprofits and recycling centers here in San Diego. And back then it was the wild, wild west. I mean, there were no contracts. You could buy equipment for $0.50 a pound and turn around and sell all of that equipment for $5,000 each, just each asset on the pallet. And so, early on, all I did was drive around and talk to folks and say, “Well, you’re going to send this over to the recycling yard, what are they going to pay you for it?” And they pay them pennies on the pounds. And I say, “Well, you know that pallet is worth 10,000, give it to me and I’ll be back next week with a check.”

Brianna Birdwell: And so, for a long time, people just did the right thing because there was money at the end of the agreement. Now, I’m really pressing to do the right thing so that we can take that money and make a difference in the community.

Lee Kantor: And when you’re talking to them, how open to this are they? Because it sounds like a big mindset shift that they really have to see things in a different way to really appreciate all the value you’re bringing to them.

Brianna Birdwell: So, what was the question again, Lee?

Lee Kantor: How do you kind of communicate this, because I would think this is a mindset shift for them. They’re seeing this as something that has little or no value and is even a hassle in some ways, where you’re giving them this gift, so how to kind of educate in that manner?

Brianna Birdwell: The mindset shift really comes with getting connected to, well, what kind of difference does that organization want to make? And how can I align myself with their goals and their visions, and then support them by identifying areas where they could recover value so that they can make that type of difference?

Lee Kantor: Now, is there a story you can share where you kind of blew them away that this was something that just – I know you mentioned one earlier, but I don’t know if you have another one that is – go ahead.

Brianna Birdwell: That was probably my biggest one because it took me all of about 20 minutes to produce. So, that’s when I early on realized in my career that it couldn’t be just about making money anymore because it was so simple. It’s so simple for me to identify and show organizations how to recover this value, that it now has to be about making a difference. So, shifting their mindset is getting connected to what kind of difference does that organization want to make.

Lee Kantor: Now, are there certain industries or certain types of companies that they’re just kind of sitting on gold and they don’t know it?

Brianna Birdwell: Well, I work a lot with the utilities. And in the utilities, a lot of those jobs are multi-million dollar projects. And so, when they look at having to decommission something, it always occurs as just get that junk out of here because we’re focused on building the project. We’re not focused on dealing with the aftermath of a previous project.

Lee Kantor: And then, is this falling in the hands of the sustainability folks at the organization?

Brianna Birdwell: It sure does. I talked to a lot of sustainability folks. One project that we did here locally in San Diego, we identified their vegetation waste. So, they had a vegetation waste goal of being completely landfill diversion by 2030, and they’re currently sitting at 50 percent. So, they engaged with us and they said, “Can you look at this challenge and what can we do here?”

Brianna Birdwell: So, my team engaged with every community in San Diego that dealt with any sort of vegetation mass, so they would take it and recycle it and turn it into compost so they could give it back to the community. So, our team went out, located those vendors, and then presented them to the clients so that the client could then determine what other vendors do we want to associate ourselves with so that we can divert this vegetation waste from the landfill. So, that’s one project.

Lee Kantor: Now, in your business, I would imagine you have a lot of partnerships with a variety of different organizations. How do you kind of identify the ones that are kind of aligned from a value standpoint with yourself and your team?

Brianna Birdwell: Well, I talk to everybody about sustainability and investment recovery and doing the right thing, and then how to invest all of that investment recovery back into our community so that we can continue the difference with those assets. Does that kind of answer the question?

Lee Kantor: Well, I’m just trying to get an idea because I would imagine in the world that you’re in, there’s some people that you would want to work with and some that maybe aren’t philosophically aligned with you and your mission. And then, you’ve done a great job of identifying certain groups that you work with that are really collaborators in the sense that you have a deeper relationship than maybe a transactional relationship with them.

Brianna Birdwell: Yeah, that’s definitely going to be the sustainability departments of every organization. Those are my key targets. I know that I can make a difference with those folks. And then, it really takes the other key stakeholders to buy-in on the difference that we can develop. So, it’s definitely the sustainability departments of all organizations.

Lee Kantor: Now, you mentioned the importance of kind of giving back to your community, can you talk about some of the relationships you have when it comes to mentoring and to helping kind of that next generation?

Brianna Birdwell: Yes. So, one key role that I play is being a facilitator for the San Diego Competitive Edge Program, and we source 20 candidates annually from the community, and we put them through paid training for six weeks. We provide breakfast and lunch. We’re giving them a tech package. We’re giving them PPE. And we’re training and developing them to be able to go out and work on construction sites.

Brianna Birdwell: And my role in the program, in the training development is specifically geared towards their soft skills. A lot of the folks that I interact with, they may not have had mentorship growing up. They may not know what direction that they want to go in. And there’s a lot of confidence building that I put into training and development with the candidates so that they can go into an interview and say, “You know what? I’m the right person for this job. You need to hire me. When can I start?”

Brianna Birdwell: Folks that I interact with, their interpretation of a job is I’ll do whatever I can do. I just need to make money. And I’m squarely focused on how do I get you to do what you want to do so that you’re happy to show up to work? Because I could teach anyone to swing a hammer, but who are they going to be at the end of the hammer when they show up at work? And the Competitive Edge Program is the way that I have found to be able to give back to my community and make a significant difference in young people’s lives.

Lee Kantor: Now, do you find that young people are kind of looking for these types of opportunities, or is it a struggle to find the right young person to be part of the program?

Brianna Birdwell: It’s kind of both. It’s hard to find the candidate, specifically because they don’t know what they don’t know. They see all these people out on construction sites, and then they say, “Well, I wonder how they do that.” But we don’t have people at home talking about the trades as a viable source of income and, really, a career trajectory for these folks, then nothing’s going to shift. So, we go out and talk to folks all day long about what it would look like to work in the trades and the difference that this type of career could make in their life and their family’s life, so on and so forth. It’s a trickle down effect when you support someone getting into a role that can turn into a career.

Brianna Birdwell: The biggest challenge that we faced was a lot of folks think that this program is too good to be true. That they’re going to pay me and they’re going to give me breakfast and lunch, and they’re going to have me sit there for six weeks and learn. And I just have to show up with integrity and just pay attention, and I’m going to get a job. A lot of folks don’t want to believe that that could be true, but that is the case.

Lee Kantor: So, when they’re done with the program in six weeks, they’re hirable? There’ll be opportunities for them to get work?

Brianna Birdwell: Yes, that is true. At the end of the program – not at the end of the program, but during the program, we sit them down with our contractor partners here in San Diego, and they get an opportunity to interview them. And I think right now we’re running 65 percent of the candidates that did our program this year have been placed within the trades, within other construction companies.

Lee Kantor: Wow. I mean, I would imagine for you it must be frustrating being this kind of best kept secret.

Brianna Birdwell: Yes and no. The challenge that we’re faced with after we train and develop these young people is that we have to make sure that there’s jobs there for them when they complete the program. Because nothing worse than boosting someone’s ego and getting them all the way up to the plate and then there’s no one even pitching, so they’re kind of left with, “Well, now what?”

Brianna Birdwell: So, we continue our mentorship far beyond a year, and we’re engaging with the candidates of the program every week to check in on them, to see how they’re doing, are there any struggles that they’re facing that we could support them overcoming, or are they not happy in their current role, would they like a new role. I believe the ongoing mentorship and community aspect of this program really pulls for something unique here in San Diego.

Brianna Birdwell: I was talking with a contractor, a utility company in California, and they said, “Well, how do you do this program?” And I said, “Well, we just enroll our community in hiring these candidates, and we enroll our community in leading the program.” And the woman said to me, “Well, how do you get them to do it?” And I said, “It’s just a good idea.” We just set forth a good idea here, and we have everyone hire from our good idea. There’s no contracts. There’s no you have to do this by this date. It’s just a good idea.

Lee Kantor: Yeah. I mean, it makes so much sense. They’re training their people, basically. You’re training them for them to get them into their business with the right attitude and the right skills they need to be successful in their business, that they’re helping to craft the curriculum for them. I mean, it just makes sense.

Brianna Birdwell: Correct. This is our third year that we’ve produced the program and next year will be our fourth. And the first year was a little rough. They paid an outside company to come in and lead it, and it was upwards of $18,000 a candidate. We’ve brought that down to $8,000 a candidate, because my perspective on it was, well, if this is a community program, why don’t we have the community lead it? And if X company says, “Well, I’m looking for this type of candidate,” I say, “Well, come on in and why don’t you teach a full day curriculum on your job, on what your expectations are. And, one, give you an opportunity to engage with the candidates and it’s like a full interview session. And, two, you can prepare them for being ready to work on your job site, so there’s no, well, what am I doing here kind of thing.

Brianna Birdwell: So, the community engagement, I think, by far has been one of my biggest successes in the program because we have a financial literacy expert come in and do a program, and then we have well-being, and then I lead all personal development. So, it’s really just a good idea.

Lee Kantor: Yeah, and that’s the beauty of doing it with the community’s help, you’re not doing it for them, you’re doing it with them. So, they’re getting input and authorship and they’re more invested in the outcome, so it’s a win-win-win all the way around.

Brianna Birdwell: Correct. And the beauty about it is now that my partner, Karl Miller with Jingoli Power, they’re EPC, so now any new jobs any new work that we get anywhere in the United States, we get to host a Competitive Edge Program there, sourcing from their community there. And then, above and beyond that, we can write into our subcontractor agreements that if you’d like to work with us and be our subcontractor, we’d like you to take one or two of the graduates.

Lee Kantor: Right. So, it just kind of builds upon itself.

Brianna Birdwell: Correct. It’s really beautiful. And I’m really proud of my partners for putting this program together and allowing me the opportunity to be able to facilitate and lead and make a difference in the community.

Lee Kantor: Well, the power of the community is real. And speaking of community, why was it important for you to become part of the WBEC-West community?

Brianna Birdwell: Funny story, so, Lee, some time ago, probably about 2016, Jaymee Lomax came by. She had been working at SDG&E during that period, came by to one of my offices and said, “Hey, why aren’t you registered as a woman-owned business?” And I said, “Nah, that’s not for me. My business is doing great. I don’t need that.” So, she invited me to participate in a program with SDG&E on elevating your business. And it was, I think, maybe a six or ten week program where we would meet one day a week for a full day and just go over curriculum on how to run your business better.

Brianna Birdwell: Out of that, I got up there to pitch my business, Lee, and I couldn’t even tell people what I did. I just was like, “I sell stuff for folks. Yeah, just technology. I just sell things.” And I couldn’t articulate for myself what was really authentically there, which was the difference I really wanted to make with people around their investment recovery initiatives. And most folks didn’t even have investment recovery initiatives. So, through that class, I developed myself enough to be able to give my pitch.

Brianna Birdwell: And I walked back to the back of the classroom at the time and I said, “Jaymee, all right. I’m joining this organization. I could see that I need development, and I can see that I need my community.” And my first conference, she gave me a pass to the first conference. And I got so much business out of that conference. And I was like, how could this be the best kept secret and I’m just now learning about it? So, of course, I signed up right away, became a member, and it’s been so amazing since then.

Brianna Birdwell: There’s so much empowerment at these conferences where everyone’s got your back. I could just throw a stone and find a professional that I need to do X just within this network. And it really supports me in focusing on my own development. And now, how can I now give that back to other women who may not have their voice the way that I didn’t have my voice standing up in front of that room the first day.

Lee Kantor: Now, what do you need more of? How can we help you?

Brianna Birdwell: I think, you know, doing this podcast is one thing, just getting our voice out there. And just keep doing what you’re doing to empower women, because I’m meeting so many more women in the space, really, that I could align my values with, that we could joint venture on projects, and we’ll just keep growing.

Lee Kantor: Now, before we wrap, any advice for that emerging entrepreneur out there?

Brianna Birdwell: For the emerging entrepreneur, my son asked me this question just yesterday. He said, “Mom, what am I going to major in college?” as we were driving by the campus here. And I said, you know, “Do what makes you happy. What makes you happy?” And he’s like, “Math.” I was like, “Well then, do math. But don’t do anything just for money.” It can’t be about the money. It’s really got to be about what difference are you going to make, and what do you love to do. Because if you do what you love to do, then somebody is going to pay you, so just keep doing what you love to do.

Lee Kantor: Before we wrap, what is the best way to connect with you? If somebody wants to learn more, have a more substantive conversation with you or somebody on your team, what is the way to do that? Is there a website? Is there a way to connect?

Brianna Birdwell: Sure, yeah. You can visit our website at www.eidsolutions.com. There is a contact link at the bottom of the page there, you can reach out to us. Or you can email me directly at brianna.birdwell@eidsolutions.com, and I’d be happy to speak with you.

Lee Kantor: Well, thank you so much for sharing your story today. You’re doing such important work and we appreciate you.

Brianna Birdwell: Thank you, Lee. I appreciate the time.

Lee Kantor: All right. This is Lee Kantor, we’ll see you all next time on Women In Motion.

 

From IT Sales to Acting: Mastering the Art of Authentic Communication

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On today’s Sandy Springs Business Radio, Lee Kantor and Rachel Simon chat with Laura Doman, a former IT sales professional turned actor. Laura now helps corporate leaders improve their on-camera presence and communication skills. The discussion covers Laura’s career transition, the importance of authenticity in leadership, and practical tips for effective communication. Laura emphasizes active listening, personal storytelling, and embracing vulnerability to build trust and engagement. She also addresses overcoming camera anxiety and the significance of dynamic delivery in video content, particularly on platforms like LinkedIn.

Laura-Doman-logo

Laura-DomanLaura Doman is a former tech industry sales exec turned actress, voice over artist, author, and public speaker. She appears regularly in films, TV, commercials, corporate industrials, and print, and voices everything from commercials to corporate and training videos to animated characters for film.

Additionally, Laura coaches business professionals and entrepreneurs who need to become more comfortable and charismatic on camera themselves for videos, Zoom presentations, and other online appearances. Her On Camera Confidence program integrates the best of business sales practices and entertainment techniques to help her clients create videos that “stop the scroll.”

Connect with Laura on LinkedIn, X and Facebook.

Transcript-iconThis transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix.

 

TRANSCRIPT

Intro 00:00:07 Broadcasting live from the Business Radio studios in Sandy Springs, Georgia. It’s time for Sandy Springs Business Radio. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor 00:00:24 Lee Kantor here with Rachel Simon in another episode of Sandy Springs Business Radio. And this one is brought to you by Connect the Dots Digital. When you’re ready to leverage LinkedIn to meet your business goals, go to Connect the Dots dot digital. Rachel, what a show we got planned for today.

Rachel Simon 00:00:42 Yeah, we’re going to have a fun conversation. I’m really happy to have actually a friend of mine joining us today that we met through good old fashioned networking. So always fun when you get to meet your, you know, networking and LinkedIn pals in person. But I’m very happy to welcome Laura Doman here to join us. Hi, Laura.

Laura Doman 00:01:03 Hi, Rachel. Thank you so much for having me.

Rachel Simon 00:01:06 we’re thrilled to have you here. And you have such a fun story. So let’s start with your background. So you used to be a IT sales professional, and you transitioned into professional acting, helping corporate leaders show up on camera with confidence.

Rachel Simon 00:01:24 So tell us a little bit about how do you get from point A to point B?

Laura Doman 00:01:28 Yeah, it’s a bit of a right turn in there, isn’t there? Well, you start off with somebody who loves two very different things business and entertainment. I was the kid that was always putting on the shows, and I was behind the mic in high school reading the morning announcements. But I love business, and my parents weren’t crazy about any kind of a career in the entertainment industry. In fact, they went so far as saying, we’re not putting you through college to be an actor. So I followed the business route and I enjoyed it. I always liked tech and I liked sales, marketing, finance, and I put it all together and I did that for a number of years. But on the side, if I ever could sneak out of a sales meeting, I was doing a commercial or I was doing, you know, a little film role in the weekends, I would be doing some stage.

Laura Doman 00:02:19 The big turn happened when I had my first child. I thought that I would be traveling around with a little kid on my back and no problem. And reality hit because I had a travel job ten states. There was no way I was going to ever be home, and I just decided I’m going to be a stay at home mom. And which I did, and I did other work on the side. But when it came time to realize it, I got a lot of ambition left over. I want to do something. I want my own business. I decided, you know, I think I’m going to follow my passion. I’m going to turn things on the head. Instead of having all my theatrical flair supporting a sales career, I’m going to have that business acumen supporting an entertainment career. So I launched into acting on screen, followed by voiceover. And then when I realized that there are a lot of business people out there who need to use videos and to show up as uniquely human and be engaging and get comfortable, oh, there we go.

Laura Doman 00:03:14 Brainstorm. Let’s see what I can do to help them too.

Rachel Simon 00:03:17 That’s I love that story. And I think that, you know, it’s interesting when you kind of let your passions, but also the things you’re really good at kind of help push you down a certain path. And obviously, you know, our listeners can tell you’ve got a great voice we can hear, you know, you could absolutely picture you, and I always listen for commercials of like, could that be Laura on there? so yeah, it’s great. I know you’re going to share lots of good tips for the audience today. So let’s talk about why it’s so important for leaders, for business leaders to be able to show up authentically. And we use that word, you know, in the online space all the time, and sometimes it has lost a little bit of its meaning. But realistically, why is it so important to be able to show up and be able to connect with your target market?

Laura Doman 00:04:10 Well, I think essentially everybody’s BBS meters have ratcheted up ten levels or more.

Laura Doman 00:04:17 We are inundated with all kinds of schemes and scams and come ons, people we don’t know telling us, oh, our LinkedIn profile needs help and our SEO is failing and this or that. And the other thing, and there are very few true professionals like yourself who can really help people. And people are on the defense. They are not sure what is real, what isn’t. You see all kinds of things being done with technology. You see, I what is written by human, what is authentically coming from somebody else. And so we have our guards up. We don’t know what’s true and what isn’t. Now, what are some of the best ways to show that you are a real person. That is through video. There’s also the audio component. Now some people will say, I is getting awfully good with AI voices, but they yet cannot show that human spirit behind it. The emotion, the connection to the material, to the person who’s sitting, let’s say, right across the table from you.

Laura Doman 00:05:17 But on video, and I think LinkedIn shows this better than anything else. That is how you’re going to really forge a relationship. That’s how you’re going to communicate. And it’s not just outward facing to your leads or your clients, but it’s even inward to your own employees. Let’s say that you are a corporate executive, and you have a staff, and you are trying to get them to adopt some new initiatives, or there’s a change of mission. They don’t want to see a talking head, somebody who seems disconnected. They’re just up in their ivory tower. They have no idea what it’s like for us. But if you know how to use video properly and show that you’re a real human being with real concerns, and you do care for them, and I certainly hope that they do. That comes across in the same thing is true whether you’re dealing with the outside world or with people in your own work area.

Lee Kantor 00:06:10 Now, in your work in sales, can you explain maybe some of the low hanging fruit or the tactics that you use, like to bridge acting and communicating as an actor that a sales person might be able to utilize when they’re talking to a prospect or a customer?

Laura Doman 00:06:29 Oh, absolutely.

Laura Doman 00:06:30 Because the fear and the anxiety permeate, no matter what type of public speaking you’re doing. And face it, when you’re in sales, that’s publicly speaking to another human being or a group of people. So how do you come across as a real person and not somebody who’s just going to be very, very stiff and and disconnected? First of all, relate to the other person. Now when you’re in sales, hopefully you’ve done a little bit of homework and you understand the company and you understand the business and the role they have? Talk to them from their perspective. What are the problems that they are facing? What are the challenges? And most people love anybody who listens. Asking good questions is always paramount. And then you take in what they’re saying and you could capitalize it and offer some suggestions. Now, when I was with IBM, we learned the art of the consultative sale. That’s not your used car salesman saying buy this, buy that, buy, buy, buy, buy, buy. It’s listening to where somebody is seeing where they want to go.

Laura Doman 00:07:31 And maybe there is a way that we can help you go and bridge from one to the other. So I would say careful listening. Talk to somebody else. And when you are talking to somebody, really listen. Don’t think about the next thing you’re about to say. Look at their eyes. Get some cues, don’t be fake and say, oh, I see a picture of the family there, or let’s talk about sports. I mean, that’s a nice way to start off, but the real connection is when you get to understand why you’re meeting and you let them know you understand that too.

Rachel Simon 00:08:04 I would imagine, too, that like the ability again as a using the acting skills to pick up on non-verbal cues can be very informative in those conversations as well.

Laura Doman 00:08:15 Acting is reacting. That’s really all it is. They don’t want somebody going out there just performing and they’re all in their own head and it’s over the top. Just like when you’re talking to an individual or group of people, they don’t want presentational.

Laura Doman 00:08:32 The goal is to be more conversational, which is where everything is going in voiceover right now, so that you feel like you’re hearing somebody talking to you like a best friend. And again, you’re listening and you’re caring, so you’re not so much concerned with yourself. You’re focused in on the message. You don’t worry so much whether you’re talking to a person in sales or whether you’re going to be doing a voiceover or putting together a video and you’re on camera. Do not worry about how do I look? How do I sound? you know, worrying about me. Me? Me. What am I going to say next? React to what they have to say and might take you off to a different tangent, but you might find it much more effective.

Lee Kantor 00:09:13 Now, is that kind of a mistake? You see, maybe younger people or newer people to sales make is they’re so focused on memorizing every feature and that the product or service has that they’re just kind of focused in on that rather than doing that active listening and understanding the problem that your prospect has.

Lee Kantor 00:09:32 So you can possibly provide a solution rather than just kind of spew out a bunch of facts and figures.

Laura Doman 00:09:39 If we want somebody to regurgitated, we can just program Rosie the robot set her off, and she could probably say it very articulately and just as quickly as you want. Or you could pick up a brochure and see the same thing. I can read what’s in front of me. Just like people, If you’re ever giving a presentation, please do not put the words on the slides and read from the slides. Nobody likes being read to unless maybe you’re five years old and there’s a fairy tale involved there. It doesn’t work. You have to put it in your own experience. So whether you’re talking to a sales prospect or people you don’t even know who’ll be watching you, take the information and think about it. How I can serve you. This is your issue. Now let me repackage it. But don’t go reading down a whole list. And as far as memorization, that’s helpful when you’re training so you really understand what your company’s products and services are.

Laura Doman 00:10:30 But you’ll be so busy trying to remember every single word that you’re going to lose connection with the person. You’re going to lose the context that it makes sense. And all it is does sound like is a long, long recitation. In fact, I would even say for actors, when you have super long monologues and you are self taping an audition, which is the way it works in film and TV these days. You can hold that script, know it very, very well if you want to memorize it, fine, but you can still speak from your own experience and have your eyes glanced to make sure you’re following along and you haven’t missed an important point that is true. Whether you’re going to be talking to somebody across the table and you have your papers, you can look down, oh, look. Yeah, see, this is what we have and you can point to it. Or if you’re giving a presentation that you’re going to be able to speak from your knowledge and just refer to a few key phrases up there, or have something on hand that you can look at as well.

Rachel Simon 00:11:26 Let’s no, that’s really helpful. And I think it’s so important to kind of again, remember that we’re trying to build trust in those conversations. And so if you’re just worrying about saying the next thing that you’re supposed to say that does not, does not help build that, the the level of trust that you need to get to that. Yes. I want to shift a little bit to, to the leaders. And, you know, when you’re working with your your clients, your C levels who want to show up better, what is the barrier? What is scaring them about video or just being more confident when speaking?

Laura Doman 00:12:09 Well, it depends on the individual and where they’re coming from. And you’d be surprised by how many executives have forgotten the art of in-person networking and conversation. and you have to keep that in mind when you’re speaking on camera as well. I think a lot of them think that I have these bullet points to cover, and they forget about showing the human element. Sometimes they’re more focused on getting all the words right instead of with the meaning.

Laura Doman 00:12:37 And maybe they are nervous. And so you have people who use a lot of filler words, and you could tell what they are by generation, like, like, like before that you had, you know, you know, every other word. And before that was

Rachel Simon 00:12:51 Mine is so.

Laura Doman 00:12:54 So that I know there’s all kinds of stuff you could throw in, and it’s a matter of slowing down if you really want to be effective. Take your time. Have you noticed I’m using pauses? Most people, like even hunting, are going to lean and say. Now what? You don’t have to be overly dramatic, but don’t get all those words out in a spew. Nobody needs a torrent thrown at them. Give people time to process it. You can also vary your pacing and even your volume. A lot of executives are afraid to allow their personal stuff, their emotion, to come through. People love to see the human being behind the facade, especially if you’re in a position of power, which is why you’re going to see.

Laura Doman 00:13:40 And I hate to bring it up because we just finished the selection political season where they are going to show their real people, just like you and me. Whatever it is, hopefully it’s real and not Contrived a people like to see the real human being, and they feel then that this is somebody I can relate to. If you’re talking about authenticity, about being genuine, about being human, you want to be a little vulnerable. Now, that doesn’t mean you have to share your secrets with your spouse or any of the major problems you’re dealing with, but you can just kind of say, yeah, like I was talking to my daughter or we just saw this movie, little things like that. Don’t be afraid to be a real human being, because especially with the younger generations, they want somebody that they can trust. You know, you say the know, like and trust. Sometimes that trust has to come first before they want to get to know you, before they decide they like you, and whether or not you’re credible in their minds.

Rachel Simon 00:14:37 That’s so interesting. Do you think that there’s any, challenge, again, with leaders getting so concerned about making sure they’re hitting all their corporate communication talking points? Because I know it The larger you get in a, you know, size company, the more control often marketing wants over the the messaging, but then it kind of makes it harder to personalize and make more engaging.

Laura Doman 00:15:06 And that’s where I would say throwing a little personality. If you’ve got somebody who’s got a natural sense of humor, as long as it’s good natured and well-intentioned, a little humor can be quite disarming. You do have to get your talking points in. And I was, in fact, speaking to a group of executives back last spring, and it was very much on this subject. Don’t be afraid to put in a little personal story. don’t be afraid to call out other people in a positive way. Give credit to those who are supporting you. They often work ignored or they’re relegated to the back. And maybe they are the credits at the final bottom of some story.

Laura Doman 00:15:47 But say, look, for example, let’s talk about John and what he’s done to bring his department from 10%, up to 12% greater efficiency. Or I want you to hear the story of, you know, Eloise who joined us, and now look where she is. Recognize your people. That’s also a sign of good management. But bring them into the conversation. They don’t have to be physically on the call with you or on the video with you, but let them know that they’re included and there for other people will see that you do care about your people, whether you’re an employee or a client, and that you’re thinking beyond yourself. And you can still include all those talking points. Just keep them there in front of you. But don’t be afraid of thinking. I only have ten minutes and I’m going to be in and out like that and boom, that’s the end they’re going to see of me. That’s that’s not good. Take the time, especially with these younger generations.

Lee Kantor 00:16:39 Now, what challenges your next client having right now where you’re the best solution for them? Is it that they have a talk they have to give? Is it they just had a talk and it didn’t go the way they wanted.

Lee Kantor 00:16:51 Like, what is kind of the mindset right before they hire you?

Laura Doman 00:16:56 I see people coming to me for all different reasons. And I’ll just give you one example, a small business owner who needs to be on social media and needs to promote, let’s say, her business, but doesn’t have a great budget to do it. What I would do is, first of all, saying, I can walk you from soup to nuts. If you ever have done any videos before, let’s take a look at what you’ve got. How can that be improved? What are you doing right? What? You know, maybe we want to tweak a little bit and then find out. How comfortable are you on social media? How comfortable are you in front of the camera? Do you need to know how to set it up for yourself? Do you know basic editing? There are ways of being able to do this very inexpensively, and while there’s some outstanding video production companies out there, you don’t need to spend a fortune.

Laura Doman 00:17:42 In fact, the best videos going on right now are the short vertical ones that you see in stories or reels, and these are 60 to 90s. They can even be only 10s. I prove my point by creating a video series I call mom isms. There are these little sayings when you walk into a gift shop and you see them on towels and cocktail napkin, silly things like and I act them out like I’m a mom in the kitchen making a chocolate cake, and I’ll look up at the camera and say, good moms let you lick the beater. Great moms turn them off first. It gives you a chuckle, but it makes you memorable and it doesn’t have to be very long. So whatever their strength or weakness is, we can work around that. They don’t even have to be the person speaking on camera. They don’t even have to be the person on camera. But if they are, then I’m going to help them figure out what is your core message and how can we get it across in a unique, memorable way? Because 80% of all content out there pretty much is video, or at least that’s what people are watching.

Laura Doman 00:18:42 LinkedIn has its own video feed now of vertical. If you’re going and wondering why we’re not seeing more television shows in movies. That is because most people in the Gen Z and even young millennial are going to YouTube for their content, and they’re going to Instagram and they’re going to TikTok. And guess what? If you’re making up something that’s memorable and interesting, that’s what they will see. That’s what they will remember. The commercials, the ads I’m in tend to be humorous because they want to grab people’s attention. So I will help people understand that when you’re making a video, you have to hit it right out of the gate. You’ve got 3 or 4 seconds, maybe tops, to get their attention. It doesn’t have to be whiz bang, but you’ve got to get right to what they are wanting to know at the very, very beginning. And people need to learn how to do it. You also have to look like you’re comfortable on camera. So there are a lot of people who just say, like my sister, oh my gosh, I don’t even want to be on a zoom call.

Laura Doman 00:19:41 I sit there with the camera off and I hope they don’t call on me. There are ways of getting comfortable beforehand with the food, the beverages that you’re drinking or not drinking. how you can even relax into your body with some exercises, vocal warmups? There are all kinds of things like that. And then understanding how to use the camera itself. A lot of people want to know, how is that different from just talking, let’s say, to Rachel across here. Well, small is big when you’re looking on camera. Take a look at your movie theater where somebody’s face fills up the whole screen, and you never know what they’re going to see you on. It could be a cell phone. It could be a giant TV screen. So I help people understand the media and be able to conquer any problems they might have, like using filler words and stumbling, shifting weight, not knowing where they should be looking. moving out of frame so I can take them anywhere and then I can. I love to focus on dynamic delivery, how to really be able to pace yourself, how to make people lean in and listen.

Laura Doman 00:20:43 Not just what you say. That how you say it. So it’s bringing a lot of acting techniques right to the business world.

Rachel Simon 00:20:51 Yeah. The there’s so many things that you said, I mean, to unpack there. So, you know, I love the tips of hitting it out of the gate because so many people start their video and go, hi, it’s me, Rachel Simon with blah blah, blah. And like, you’re wasting people’s attention, right? Just get into the topic. but I know for myself personally, like video is challenging. It is not my favorite medium. looking at this iPhone camera is it’s not so easy.

Rachel Simon 00:21:24 To like, where exactly am I supposed to look? It is not that easy nor intuitive now for for our generation, not for our kids. They know what they’re doing. so just being able to have those tips can be, I can imagine is tremendously useful.

Laura Doman 00:21:42 Yeah. Can I give you one tip for everybody out there that will save you a lot of aggravation when you are talking to the camera, talk to one person because it’s a very intimate environment.

Laura Doman 00:21:55 Usually you are watching a video on your own and you are seeing somebody close up, and if you talk to somebody like they’re sitting in front of you and it’s a friend or somebody who’s really supportive of you, you’re going to come across so much better than if you were just speaking from a script and just getting the words out. You could tell the difference in the tone. There’s warmth and emotion versus, all right, this is what I’m going to cover and I can’t wait to be done. That kind of attitude.

Rachel Simon 00:22:20 That’s a really good tip. That’s a really good tip. I do want to ask your opinion on the videos on LinkedIn because I, and if you’re not aware of what we’re talking about on your mobile app, there’s a video tab now. So similar again to vertical videos you can scroll through. I personally have found them to be tremendously dull, and not and there’s a lot of like, this is a day in the life of a project manager, blah blah blah. what do you think of those videos? And, like, how can we improve them?

Laura Doman 00:22:53 Well, they’re not going to stop the scroll, are they? I just go past them and if I see too many of them, I’m not going to want to bother with that video feed.

Laura Doman 00:23:01 But if I see something where somebody is doing something different and unusual and they get to the point and they tell me something I want to know within a few seconds that made my time worthwhile, because we only have so much time. And personally, I like to gather information or I want to be entertained. I just don’t need somebody who’s just dithering about what they had for dinner. I mean, that’s one reason I have my mom isms out there, and I hope they make the feed because it’s just like a quick little laugh. Boom. And five seconds later you’re on your way. They are.

Rachel Simon 00:23:31 Entertaining. I will watch the ones if I recognize a friend who’s on there, but most of them so far have been uninspiring, to say the least.

Lee Kantor 00:23:39 Now, do you have a feel for how many videos a person should be releasing and what rhythm should they be releasing them?

Laura Doman 00:23:46 It depends on what they’re doing it for. now, if you want to grow your LinkedIn presence, Rachel’s the expert, and she might just tell you that you want to be posting or at least appearing online on LinkedIn at least three times a week, 2 to 3, whatever you could do if you can only do once a week, fine.

Laura Doman 00:24:06 Don’t scare yourself, or put yourself with a bar so high that you’ll never attain it. Or worse, never even get started. You do what’s comfortable. Now, if the important thing is to do it consistently and to have a regular schedule. So if you only want to do like one longer video maybe once a month, that’s fine. If you want to do a short video once a week or once every two weeks, that’s okay too. But know what you’re going to be speaking about. Set yourself a schedule and your audience will know to look for you. The other thing I would tell people is to keep a YouTube channel handy. It is an enormous repository for everything you’re doing, you could create your playlist. And furthermore, YouTube is the number two search engine after Google. Incidentally, Google owns YouTube and they will find you both for short and for long videos there. And it’s a way to repurpose your content. So if it’s scary to put out a video and you only want to do it, let’s say once a week, once every two weeks, know that it can be used in multiple places and you don’t have to reshoot it.

Laura Doman 00:25:11 Just when you post it on LinkedIn, you’re going to give it a business slant. When you’re going to be putting it on TikTok, you’re going to give it more of an entertainment one. It’s geared to your audience, wherever they might be.

Lee Kantor 00:25:22 Now, when you’re saying long and short, what is kind of the time window of long and what’s the time window of short?

Laura Doman 00:25:27 Typically long would be anything that’s more than one minute. I think short videos pretty much now have kind of bled into that. Short videos have always been considered under one minute because that’s how, let’s say, Instagram would cap it. You only had one minute to create a vertical short video. Now they’re extending it to 90s. So a long video is typically, let’s say, a couple minutes to ever long. You want it, but just keep in mind that you don’t want to make anything overly long, because if you want to do well, and if you want your videos to be pushed out, be aware of the analytics.

Laura Doman 00:26:03 And the analytics look good when people see as much of that video as possible. All of it if you can. And if you could take a big subject and divide them up into two shorter videos, each one will get more eyeballs. You’ll have more consistency and presence, and chances are people will watch it to the end. Furthermore, if you make them very short and people are interested, the thing will recycle and you’re going to get extra numbers where somebody might have end up watching it 2 or 3 times. So it’s a matter of what you’re trying to explain, and each type fits a particular purpose.

Rachel Simon 00:26:38 Yeah, nothing is like a.

Laura Doman 00:26:41 One size fits all.

Rachel Simon 00:26:42 Well, that’s true, but I was going to say nothing makes me kind of just keep scrolling on LinkedIn than if I see a video of just somebody talking and the timestamp is three, 4 or 5 minutes long, like, no, I’m not gonna watch it.

Laura Doman 00:26:55 Our attention spans are way too long, which is why I’ve been experimenting to see how short I can get it, to still make it valuable without a sounding rushed, because I tend to pack a lot of value into things.

Laura Doman 00:27:05 And I’ve looked over some of my older stuff for one minute videos and it’s like I’m just, you know, spitting it all out. And I probably could have broken that into 2 or 3 instead and taken more time and had more fun with it.

Rachel Simon 00:27:16 But the trends change over time, right? And, you know, the functionality changes. So now we have, you know, automatic, captions on LinkedIn that we didn’t used to have auto captions. You know, the other thing I get, oh, God, I keep saying, you know, now I’m like, so aware of it. not double captioning your videos as well, because that is very distracting.

Laura Doman 00:27:41 It is. It’s double vision visioning, that’s for certain. In fact, I was just uploading a video last night to LinkedIn. And make sure you always turn off that captions. Now, I personally prefer captioning it outside of LinkedIn or outside of a tool, just because I’m a stickler for accuracy. And I don’t like to see some of these automatic captioning tools, misspelling people’s names or taking a word wrong.

Laura Doman 00:28:05 And there are so many great tools out there. In fact, for my super short ones, I’ll even use Instagram because I can use different styles or cap cut is great.

Rachel Simon 00:28:13 Yeah, I use Instagram if I do a video because I like the look of the captions on there, and then just I don’t post it on Instagram because I don’t do much on there, but we’ll download it and then upload it to LinkedIn.

Laura Doman 00:28:24 That is the trick. If you’re going to use Instagram or TikTok or anything else for that kind of captioning, download it before you post it so you don’t get their watermark. But they have fun little stickers and little gifts that you could put in there. They even had a font for Halloween. So when I had a Halloween themed Theme video. It looks spooky.

Rachel Simon 00:28:43 Yeah, I mean, it is a lot easier to make nice looking videos today than even 2 or 3 years ago, I think.

Laura Doman 00:28:52 Absolutely. And just keep in mind how people will look at it on their phones, or if they’re going to be putting it on the desktop, make sure that it still translates well for the mobile device.

Laura Doman 00:29:03 So if you’re going to be creating a video, it’s very important to have an attractive thumbnail. That’s a picture that’s like a placeholder for it and a title, and you want to use keywords, but you want to make it attention grabbing and make the words. If you’re having words, show up on that thumbnail large so people can see it at a glance. And don’t overdo it with too many words on a thumbnail.

Rachel Simon 00:29:27 And you can create that thumbnail in Canva or something.

Laura Doman 00:29:29 Absolutely. That’s what I do. Or you can even grab a screenshot of a video, use that and then overlay it with some text.

Rachel Simon 00:29:37 That’s a great tip. Great tip. well, we covered a lot of ground here. Lots of really fantastic tips and guidance for again showing up more confidently. The video video is not going to go anywhere. I think we’re only going to see more and more, focus and dependence on video content, for many, many reasons. But the trust factor, I think is, is a big one of those, reasons to expedite that relationship with our audience.

Rachel Simon 00:30:09 So thank you for all of your tips.

Laura Doman 00:30:11 My pleasure. Thank you for having me.

Lee Kantor 00:30:14 Now, if somebody wants to learn more, have a more substantive conversation with you. Is there a website? Is there a best way to connect? There sure.

Laura Doman 00:30:21 Is. My website is Laura Domain.com. they can also find me on LinkedIn at Laura Domin and I even have a YouTube channel. Laura Domin so I try to go for consistency here.

Lee Kantor 00:30:35 And that’s dumb and dumb. And like.

Laura Doman 00:30:38 Roman. Yeah, like Roman with a D. Very good. Yeah. LA radio man and I even have a free offer if anybody would like to have that. if you go to my website and you can even do at the end of law Domain.com slash consulting, or you can find it on the tabs if you just go to the main website, I’m offering a couple of things. One, you can download a PDF of my top ten tips for looking great on camera for being dynamic. And also, if you’ve got a question or you just like to explore and see how I can help you, I am offering a free 15 minute consult.

Laura Doman 00:31:14 We can assess the current video, talk about something you’re dealing with or whatever you like, even about the acting and voiceover industry.

Rachel Simon 00:31:21 That’s great. And those are two fantastic resources I would highly encourage people to take advantage of, and I love the idea of being able to come to you with a video and say, what worked here, what didn’t work, and how can I improve it?

Lee Kantor 00:31:36 Now, Rachel, usually we do a LinkedIn tip. Do you think we got one in there or. Sure. I mean, we talked a lot of video.

Rachel Simon 00:31:43 We got a lot. I would suggest my tip is, challenge yourself to try video if you’ve never done it before. We all have these studios in our hands with our, you know, mobile phones. And, I’ll make a deal. I’ll do it if you do it. Because I don’t love making videos, but I will make a video. so I’m going to challenge the audience to do it as well. And if you do, tag me on LinkedIn, right.

Lee Kantor 00:32:09 They tag you, and then you’ll make another one. Right?

Rachel Simon 00:32:12 I’ll just keep doing it.

Lee Kantor 00:32:12 Keep doing it until you keep tagging her or.

Laura Doman 00:32:15 Tag me and I’ll nudge her.

Lee Kantor 00:32:17 There you go. Good stuff. Well, thank you, Laura, for sharing your story today. You’re doing such important work, and we appreciate you.

Laura Doman 00:32:23 Oh, thank you so much.

Lee Kantor 00:32:24 All right. This is Lee Kantor for Rachel Simon. We’ll see you all next time on Sandy Springs Business Radio.

About Your Host

Rachel-SimonRachel Simon is the CEO & Founder of Connect the Dots Digital. She helps B2B companies close more business by leveraging the power of LinkedIn.

Rachel works with professionals, both individuals and teams, to position their authentic brand on LinkedIn so they can connect organically with ideal clients, attract the best talent, and stand out as a leader in their industry.

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Connect with Rachel on LinkedIn.

BRX Pro Tip: 4 Habits That Separate Doers from Dreamers

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BRX Pro Tip: 4 Habits That Separate Doers from Dreamers

Stone Payton: [00:00:00] And we are back with Business RadioX Pro Tips. Lee Kantor and Stone Payton here with you. Lee, let’s talk about some of the key habits that really separate the doers from the dreamers.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:09] Yeah. This is something that I read recently from Bill Gates. And I thought that it had a lot of relevance for the folks that we deal with and a lot of the entrepreneurs or the aspirational entrepreneurs that we run into on a regular basis. What Bill Gates said that four habits that separate doers from dreamers. Number one is, doers cultivate curiosity. There has never been an easier time to learn new things. Right now we have access to so much information. So, you should be always kind of nurturing that side of your brain. It’s just keep learning new things.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:44] Another thing that doers do that dreamers don’t is that, they empower the people around them. Great leaders watch the back of their community. It’s not about me. It’s about we. Another thing doers do is doers delegate their weaknesses. So, they try to focus on their super powers and then they delegate the rest. And that’s why it’s critical in any community to have great teammates whose strengths are your weaknesses so that the whole community can benefit and move forward.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:15] And, finally, doers focus on the things that matter most. They’re great at prioritizing. They are great at identifying what that most important thing is that their unique talents should be focusing on. And getting that done should be their focus every single day. Those are four tips or four habits that might help you move from dreamer to doer.

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