Last week before THE Domain Conference kicked off in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, we had the opportunity to attend the Women’s Meetup organized by NamesCon’s previous event producer, Jodi Chamberlain of 32Events. The two-day event offered nothing short in the way of insights and inspirational messages.
Keynote speaker Roy Assad kicked off the conference with a motivating talk that outlined what real power is in business: decisiveness. He noted that paralysis by analysis is a disease in life, and that continuing to propel yourself forward by simply making decisions will keep us from resting in a precarious “on the fence” position. A wrong decision is better than no decision, as long as you have the courage to keep moving on. Roy also talked about the power of enthusiasm – it’s contagious, he said, the greatest method of persuasion without pressure. “Wear enthusiasm like clothes every morning,” he advised. Other nuggets of wisdom included advice to be gentle in life with others, which came with a hilarious anecdote to “always lather a man before you shave him,” and to spend more time on people, not things. Assad is not only a fountain of quotable quotes himself, but he loves to share them from others as well, and he ended the session with a quote from race car driver Mario Andretti, who said “If everything seems under control, you’re not going fast enough.” Major takeaways: be authentic, take risks, and surround yourself with positive and inspiring people. If life feels too comfortable, you’re not challenging yourself enough!
Durée Ross is a PR professional who shared 7 ways to make your business irresistible to the media.
- Be an industry informant. Offer yourself as a source, insert yourself in the conversation, and share your perspective as an industry leader.
- Relate your product to people. Humanity is what sells, so be sure to personalize the story before you pitch it.
- Provide great visuals. We cannot emphasize this enough! Your smartphone is a tool, use it. Shoot video to offer as B-roll for TV stations, have quality images on hand, and use social channels like YouTube.
- Do not call press conferences. This is not an effective marketing tool unless you have major, major news.
- Know the basics, be prepared. Ensure you’ve done your research, and anticipate reporters’ questions.
- Always be ready. Last minute requests for content often come in from media, so always make yourself available to fulfill those requests.
- Share the wealth. Connect the dots and people, be of service to others, and offer your skills up for the greater good of your business community.
Ron Jackson joined the stage for two enthralling interviews, first with Lori Anne Wardi and secondly with Bobbie Weiner, aka Bloody Mary, both of whom shared their very personal and inspiring success stories.
Mia Hewett was the second keynote speaker on day one, and led a participatory session where attendees learned the value in true listening and authenticity. Many stood up and shared their personal stories and how the exercises had impacted them, which struck a chord with just about everyone in the room.
Jennifer Kaminski shared some useful tools to help you build out your digital profiles, including knowem.com, a site that allows you to check various networking sites’ for available handles and claim them, content saving apps like Pocket, and digital workflow assistant If This Then That.
Other fantastic points came from Linda Janasz, who shared that meditation and a conscious decision to live with gratitude result in higher levels of happiness, Rachel Carr, who emphasized that financial planning and insurance are important keys to building a solid foundation, and Maria Rutkin, who demonstrated how important a quality “elevator pitch” is in securing your business and determining your value.
Thanks to Jodi for putting on a wonderful show, and we look forward to more insightful sessions during our keynote addresses, workshops and breakout sessions at NamesCon 2016!
