say, diverse. Is there any one thing that connects them in terms of what they’re looking for from you? They’re all looking for different things. One of the things we do as a company is connecting brands with property through partnership or sponsorship – we help to create an experience for the audience. We do everything from mar- keting strategy and PR to sales training and coaching to experiential marketing, which is one of our main focuses. Experiential marketing really engages a brand with poten- tial consumers and it evolves the brand by creating a memo- rable experience. Take, for example, Atlantic Fashion Week. We partnered with Porsche of Halifax and Steele Jaguar – because sexy cars align well with fashion – because it was a perfect fit with Atlantic Fashion Week. We created a unique experience for our clients and for the people in attendance. Being in sales is easy when everything clicks like that. It’s easy when you are providing a solution to problems and helping your clients generate brand awareness and ulti- mately increase their bottom line. What you do clearly goes beyond a keen business sense. You really have to have a genuine sensibility to do what you do. And I really take pride in that. Connecting with people has always been one of my strengths. It’s helped me in school and in sport and in my career. I thrive when meshing minds with people and building those relationships. I value having the opportunity to help my clients by providing them with strategies to be more successful in their businesses. They trust me to put them in a position that is most beneficial to them. And my teammates and other experts in my network who I collaborate with are so amazing – I learn so much from each one of them. How important is your image personally in creating networks like this? I would imagine you would have to do a lot of rubbing elbows. That’s the fun part, David; I really enjoy people. I always compare being in business to playing sports, which is a natural environment for me. You learn how to work best with teammates, how to get the win, how to get the com- petitive edge and how to learn from your losses. Our signature sales training, corporate workshops and keynote presentations are derived from our personal and proven success strategies and experience. We intimately connect with entrepreneurs and business professionals in either one-on- one or group settings to share our exper- tise. I work with a lot of experienced entrepreneurs in creative industries like art and fashion who are amazing talents in their fields, but admittedly, some know little about business and marketing. I’m there to get them out there, to help them with the sales process. I also help entrepreneurs who are asking things like, ‘What do I do when I do get
that meeting with the CEO? How do I conduct myself in a meeting? How do I close with confidence? How do I ask for the business without being salesy or coming across pushy? So in a sense, you’re as much a team player as you are a coach, aren’t you? I like to think so, David. It’s funny, when I went first considered entering the world of entrepreneurship, my vision was part isolation. There’s a lot of work that allows you to hide from the world and I get where people are coming fromwhen they say that it just takes a lot of energy to put yourself out there. But I always tell people my experience: When I did finally share my story and my journey, I saw how it actually helped and guided others who were looking for support or inspira- tion. I’ve been in sports my whole life; I’ve been the captain of the basketball team in high school and at University – lead- ership was always a natural role for me, so I think taking it into the business world is a natural fit for me. I know we’ve touched on it, but the scope of what you do is impressive and your website has it all so wonder- fully laid out. Has there been a lot of learning-as- you-go since you’ve launched The Mesh Media Network? You know, that’;s interesting. I’ve probably had to make fewer adjustments than you’d think. I have great business mentors who share their knowledge with me and I’m grateful for that. It was a leap to go out on my own, but I was so fortunate to be able to get top-quality training from the global brands that I worked for. HSBC and Canon, for instance, had top-quality sales training – as you’d expect. I’ve had training with Mary Jane Copps – “The Phone Lady” – who is an expert in the art of selling on the telephone – so really my skillset is pretty rounded. I share the systems and transferrable skills that I’ve had success with. I consider myself an ‘authentic seller.’ If I know I can’t help you in the exact way you need help, if I don’t believe it’s the right fit, I’ll let you know. My mission is to provide solutions for our client’s problems and if I’m confident we can do that for you, we will. “Connecting with people has always been one of my strengths. It’s helped me in school and in sport and in my career. I thrive when I’m connecting with people…” Your lead creative man, Zac Quinlan, has a solid reputa- tion entering the business world, doesn’t he? Well yes, Zach is extremely talented. He was valedictori- an at Mount Saint Vincent University here in Halifax – and he’s truly a bright go-getter with an entrepreneurial spirit like no one else. He has a degree in public relations; he’s a web developer, a graphic designer, and a digital marketing
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SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2017
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