Representative Promenade client testimonials follow noting the Speaker name. Client names/employers not posted, most available upon request:
Financial Services, Insurance & Benefits:
Dr. William Danko:
95% of respondents rated his talk either a 9 or 10 of 10, one of the best conference scores.
Julie Bell:
I really enjoyed how relevant this webinar is to almost anyone in the business world. This was my favorite session thus far. The speaker was awesome and engaging. Such good information shared & so relevant! This was an incredible seminar which shared critical COVID-19-related economic feedback in an incredibly clear and concise manner.
Julie Bell was electrifying. I am reading her book. The speakers were amazing and elevated my spirit. I left feeling empowered and ready to make a difference in the world.
I thought Julie did a great job connecting with the group.
Alan Hobson:
I think Alan is probably one of the best speakers we’ve had at these meetings. For where I sat, I haven’t seen that level of engagement at our meetings before. He did have the longest Q&A session we’ve seen and still more questions emerged for him as he signed his books. He really took the time to listen to everybody. I will highly recommend Alan if anyone is looking for a motivational speaker.
Juliet Funt & Ryan Estis:
Juliet and Ryan are both getting rave reviews. They were both a perfect fit for conference and our attendees really valued what they had to say. I think Juliet’s session was the one most people were skeptical about at first, but once they heard talking about it, everyone wanted to attend. Overall great! Thank you again for everything!
Ron Brownstein & Watts Wacker:
It was a huge success..my opinion is that Ron B. is probably the most knowledgeable DC insider on the circuit and a gifted speaker. Watts went over well too. Thanks for your help in match making!
Tim Riesterer:
I first wanted to say how great Tim was last week at … and how much positive feedback we received.
Neal Schaffer:
The scores on content and speaker were the highest I have seen all year. Neal had great insight into how LinkedIn works and how we should use it. Loved this one, so engaging and helpful. Loved this session – I need to do a tone of LinkedIn improvement!
Dr. Marci Rossell:
I thought Marci did a great job and she provided the group with lots to talk about on the golf course later that day. I had a number of our guests tell me specifically that they enjoyed and got value out of her talk. Please extend our thanks to Marci. I look forward to seeing her again in the spring.
She was fabulous. They loved her. She was a perfect addition to our program.
Michele Wucker:
Framed well as an interesting big picture reminder of issues that face us as businesses. What’s our grey rhino!” Excellent presentation! Very timely, thank you! This person is a genius! Great topic and very relevant to what we are all experiencing right now. Perfect topic. Much needed given the current state of affairs.
Kristi Hedges:
Kristi’s evaluations were great — several people wrote in, “wish that her program could have been longer.” As the last presenter, she had a tough spot, but she did a wonderful job connecting with the group and keeping the energy level up.
Thank you again for your assistance in making our event a sensation !!
Both speakers were fabulous and exceeded our expectations. I told both that if they ever needed a customer reference, to let me know.
Alison Levine:
Just wanted to let you know Alison was amazing. I have gotten so much fantastic feedback about her from our group. I really appreciate all of your help to put this together! Thanks so much!
You did an awesome job at our meeting, people are still talking about how amazing it was. I think you would be a great speaker for future meetings, so we will definitely be in touch.
Skip Ahnemann:
Skip did an amazing job! The session was well received and folks felt like it was very relevant and practical. It was a huge effort to make it fit into 2 hours, but Skip was able to do just that. Thanks again.
Dr. Rick Jensen:
How did Rick’s appearances turn out? Rick was amazing in both of his presentations. Great comments…”perhaps the best speaker ever at …”. He was clearly the most prepared and took the most time to get to know our organization and its people before he arrived to speak. Received numerous comments about the quality of our speakers being the best in many years.
Chip Conley:
Chip was the consummate speaker; arrived early, met the key people, had done his homework on us thus was able to weave our potential issues into his overall experiences and presentation. Very approachable and engaged, and interacted with the audience. Enjoyed his session and meeting with him.
Chip Conley – Effusive; great word to use regarding our feelings towards Chip as a speaker. First, the 30 minute prep call beforehand proved invaluable. Not sure if you do that with all your speaker/group match-ups or if it is just a Chip thing. His prep work had multiple benefits; audience endearment, message relevance, thought delivery with humor.
He was early for the meeting which gave us a chance to get everything ready (presentation, audio, etc.) as well as just visit with him for a few minutes. The effort he put in preparing for his engagement with our group, his promptness, and his willingness to visit with everyone, provided all of us involved in the meeting planning to know we had selected the right guy with the right message at the right time; all before he spoke to us!
The onsite comments afterwards were resounding, plentiful and positive.
Stan Phelps:
Stan did a very nice job. He kept the group engaged and had a very interactive session. We had a good session. Thanks so much for your great help with this. You are terrific, as always. Please know Mike, that I feel working with you is the real treat! You are a pleasure to do business with. You have sent us some great speakers. Your flexibility and responsiveness are unrivaled.
Jeff Conley:
Mike, thanks for all your help providing us with an excellent speaker, Jeff, who obviously did his homework. I believe his topic was very relevant and connected with team members. I want to thank you for your professionalism in helping us find the right speaker in the right price range. I look forward to working with you in the future.
Steve McClatchy:
Steve did a great job for our event. He is very high energy and gave us specific tips to take back to our office to make us more productive in a proactive way. Thanks for working with us on finding a great speaker for Sales Circle and Steve was very well received by the group!
Healthcare:
Susan Dentzer, Mary Matalin, Dean Kamen:
Susan Dentzer was such a delight (again) last week. So amenable, so pleasant, such grace and charm. She is such a pleasure to work with. And it was lovely to meet Mary Matalin…a very real person, no airs, no pretense. I really enjoyed them.
Dean Kamen was the ultimate success. I just finished tabulating surveys and he was the clear top choice with a score of 4.9 out of 5…and with MANY write in comments about how much folks liked and appreciated his presentation. He twisted the end of stories into something either poignant or funny or self-deprecating. He was clearly the favorite speaker of the 2-day event. And as I was taking him to his car, he was stopped by many folks who wanted to have a private word with him. I was thrilled.
Thank you for all your help once again making me look good with the keynote speakers. I am deeply grateful.
Sr. Manager, Major Pharmacy Benefit Management Firm
Pernille Spiers-Lopez:
It was such a delight to meet Pernille and to have her join us. Our CEO, staff, board members, etc. who had a chance to meet her personally have said the most wonderful things about her. We still have some attendee feedback rolling in and I just have to share the positive comments that have been submitted so far via survey:
“She had a wonderful presentation. Very good choice in speakers.”
“Great speaker and very well presented.”
“She inspired courage to face challenges both known and unknown with the same vigor. Trust yourself and capabilities and invite collaboration.”
Susan Keane Baker:
I thought the guest speaker was terrific! She had practical activities that we can put into action to improve our customer service and move towards our Quality goal. The format was just the right amount of information and length of time spent. It makes me proud to work at Ardent.
She was EXCELLENT. I could have heard her all day.
Chris Laubach:
Thanks Mike – Chris did a fabulous job and kept everyone literally in their seats to the very end, which we all appreciate.
Blake Leeper:
Yes, I had dinner with Blake and Steve Thursday night. Blake was a hit at our meeting Friday, our employees loved him. Thanks for all your help.
Dr. Brad Nieder:
Wanted to say how much I enjoyed your session the other evening. I haven’t seen my husband laugh like that in a long time. For one who has been in healthcare for over 40 years, it has become a bit grim recently and this session was well done and much needed.
Retail:
Marcus Lemonis:
Well, have to say Marcus was a huge hit. He was an exceptional speaker and super well received. Very engaging – right up there with … – probably tied as our all-time best ever speaker.
Spencer West:
I wanted to take the time to say a big THANK YOU to YOU for the amazing presentation you gave to the …. team. I can’t tell you how many people have called me, emailed me and told me in person how inspired and energized they were after hearing you speak. There were so many incredible moments in your speech that resonated with our field leaders and our focus for the conference, so thank you for bringing it all together with your message – what an extraordinary end to the week.
Alan Hobson:
I and many others thought the speech was amazing and inspirational. I am not ashamed to say I was moved to tears on a number of occasions. I currently have three friends that are battling different forms of cancer. They are all fighters much like you. I have attended a number of these conferences and have been moved by others, but not to the extent that I was yesterday.
We were all moved by your story, your energy and were intrigued by your commitment to us in the form of upfront time to learn about who we are. You became an example we used throughout the rest of our meeting of how preparation makes all the difference, a rallying cry for how we could accelerate our success if our customer-facing associates put the same amount of time and effort into getting to know their customers and prospects.
I could not be more satisfied with the outcome and the impression you made on the Enterprise Team. Even the most cynical Sales Professionals in our group were moved, touched and rallied by your presentation.
Robert O’Neill:
We are still getting very positive comments on Rob O’Neill. He did an excellent job.
Josh Linkner:
We had a wonderful retreat. I think Josh did an excellent job of crafting his presentation to speak directly to us – and even put himself “on our team” which I really appreciated! There were many many great and positive comments at dinner last night and during the other presentations yesterday afternoon. Thank you so much for giving us a great kickoff.
Rest assured we’re very happy with your responsiveness and service, and will certainly look to Promenade in the future for our speaker’s needs.
Jon Dorenbos:
Hey Mike, John Dorenbos did a fantastic job! People really enjoyed hearing from him and his message fit great into our overall agenda. Dinner the night before went well too.
Logistics:
Alistair Croll:
Not only was Alistair the best-received speaker we’ve had in some time, but he was an absolute pleasure to work with. His subject matter knowledge was extensive, and his rapport with the audience generated a really terrific response. He provided excellent context, too, bringing a big topic into specific focus for our industry and attendees.
Manufacturing/Agribusiness:
Scott Parazynski:
Scott’s presentation and VIP meet and greet were a huge hit! Everyone was so engaged throughout, and guests were chatting about him after. Clients were impressed with him and happy with how it fit into the program week!
For us, Scott was incredibly easy to work with and so interesting and kind. We hope he felt the same working with us. Thank you for your assistance and prompt replies throughout the planning process as well. You’ll be our first call for future speaking needs!
Peter Zeihan:
Peter’s presentation was entertaining and well-received. I heard a lot of positives onsite and it was, as expected, a different spin on the world than our audience is used to hearing. I am so grateful for all your help facilitating Peter’s participation in our event.
I can promise we have never closed an event with such a dynamic presentation nor have we heard such rave reviews.
Hospitality:
Ben Nemtin:
He was one of the best we have ever had!! Thanks!!
Rohit Talwar:
Rohit was indeed very well received. Our publisher considered him one of the top 2 speakers we’ve ever had. He was the perfect complement to the speakers that preceded him, and his message was informative, provocative, and mesmerizing. It was also great to have his book at hand for each delegate.
Beau Lotto:
“I heard it went well. The president and his wife stopped me and said it was so incredible and inspirational.” He (Beau Lotto) was very well-received. One attendee told me that his presentation was worth his entire trip from Denver.
Brian Solis:
Here’s feedback from the CFO “Brian, I loved it….and there were a lot of great conversations following your presentation! It was definitely extremely thought provoking. In fact one of our key suppliers told us they use the concept of micro moments. Thanks again for a great keynote!! I will hopefully get an opportunity to see you speak again in the future.”
Alan Hobson:
Alan spoke at our corporate sales meeting and immediately transformed us with the gripping tale of his three self-guided expeditions to climb Mount Everest and his greatest challenge of overcoming cancer. I was amazed at how thoroughly he studied our organization. As a result, he was able to link our business practices, principles and challenges with his real world experiences and make them relevant to everyone in the room.
Alan was simply brilliant at telling his inspiring story. Our entire organization could share in the excitement of his journey to the summit and quickly grasped how his experience relates to our business and culture.
Technology:
Henna Pryor:
This session validated my journey in leadership and self-discovery! I plan to get her book and follow her work. I really enjoyed this keynote and hope to do the same one day because it’s a risk worth taking!
Bring her back. Glad I stayed for last session!
Thank you!!! I needed to hear this message to start making more moves that I’ve been scared to do. I really appreciate it!
Absolutely loved your presentation today it was such a great closer to the conference!
Amy Webb:
Amazing closing, thanks for wonderful event. Very relevant to consider the implication of these advancements in technology. So Eye Opening! Awesome. thanks for the open source material. Amy is an amazing speaker. I would love to attend more sessions presented by her. Amy did a great job presenting future options or trends. Lively and well organized application.
Amy Webb was great. Her session was interesting and dynamic. Extremely insightful and the best presentation of the entire session.
It is very important for us to know what is coming as we are so buried with being behind compared to the reality of the speed and pace the world of research is pushing out there. Great to hear this to plan for the future in our roles. Mind-blowing content – things I haven’t thought about. Thank you for the valuable experience and I find your approach inspirational!
She was the best speaker I saw at this conference. She did a tremendous job. So very fascinating – best session of the conference! Stopped my 11 year old daughter in her tracks and she had to listen in. Excellent brilliant speaker, professional, great style in discussing issues. Extremely interesting and relevant great way to end a conference well done fantastic speaker and content! eye-opening! would love to see more of these dynamic speakers in future sessions. She is EXCELLENT!
Liz & Mollie:
It was such a pleasure having them and the event was very well received by our members. A whopping 99% of those who completed the post event survey responded that they were satisfied with the event. 96% agreed that the event added value to their membership, so a huge success overall!
Bonin Bough:
I thought he really knocked it out of the park. Energized, humorous, his content was eye-opening and relevant, and his anecdotes were both personal and insightful. He hung out a lot of the day, which I really appreciated. He also seemed to make himself accessible to attendees!
Sarita Maybin:
Sarita was a pleasure to work with:
Was great with our VIPs/Advisory Board members at special reception, took the time to speak with clients of all types, had great stage presence. We saw lots of positive social media posts during her presentation.
Lindsay McGregor:
It was so nice meeting you today Mike (and putting face to name/voice). I have gotten such great reviews from several leaders and actually just was cc’d on an email just a little while ago from …. saying ” Just finished the leadership event… great event. The material was great… I believe it connected with the team.. at least it did with me… and Lindsay was great”
Ross Shafer:
Ross was wonderful. We heard things like “best speaker I’ve ever had at …!” Thanks for all of your help in getting Ross lined up for us with such limited notice and for getting him to us through the snowstorm.
Chef Graham Elliot:
Graham was so personable and accommodating. The participants really love him. They got a lot of hands-on time and demo time. It was great.
Mark Levin (multiple years):
He really did a great job, as he always has. Thanks for asking and thank you for all your help coordinating.
He was a superstar. Everyone loved him. Thank you for your assistance with this engagement.
Menny Barzilay:
Best data privacy lesson ever. Thanks. It was insightful, clearly articulated and concluded nicely with some relevant food for thought. Great start to the conference! Fantastic session, would like to see more of this speaker. Great speaker to start off – very relatable and engaging. Awesome real time examples and well-structured talk! The speaker has a vast wealth of knowledge and was very engaging. One of the best presentations I have attended this week. This was a GREAT presentation by Menny. Equally made me smile and laugh.
Consulting/Professional Services:
Vince Papale:
We thoroughly enjoyed having Vince Papale speak at our annual conference. Vince’s vibrant personality and enthusiasm made it very easy to connect with our audience of privately held business owners. As one of the largest accounting firms in the country, we are continually looking for ways to differentiate ourselves. Having Vince speak to our clients, it reemphasized that we ‘look beyond the numbers’ for our clients to provide motivation and guidance to improve their business and family life. Vince did a brilliant
job of demonstrating the parallels between the team sport of football and running a privately held business. The feedback we received from the audience was 100% positive. We appreciated the contribution to the success of our event; a number of clients commented that it was our best conference ever.
Education, Professional Societies and Non-Profits:
Sheena Iyengar:
Great session! Excellent session! Best of all presentations throughout both days. Very engaging.
What a joy! Captivating speaker…could have listened to her for another hour!
Wow, I really enjoyed this last presenter. She seemed to know so much and had great examples. I would love to hear her speak again at another conference! Thanks! This one made me think and that is always worthwhile. I will definitely take a deeper dive into the subject matter as a result of this presentation. Sheena did an amazing job with her virtual presentation. She was very engaging and provided a lot of great information. I will be able to use the information she provided right away in my job as a database analyst.
Sheena was such an inspiring speaker! LOVED this session and would welcome to see her again in the near future.
Excellent – immediately went looking for other materials from the speaker. Ability to respond appropriately to audience is good rather than excellent only because of format constraints.
Robyn Hatcher:
There were actual new thoughts I had about this keynote. This is so rare for me. I loved it
Robyn hit on so many topics I’ve been hearing lately! I especially loved the idea that we are fully capable of creating change for ourselves. We truly just need to believe in ourselves. Try her value vault idea!! It works!
Such an inspiring presentation. Felt that Robyn was talking to me.
She was amazing, she explained concepts I was familiar with already but shined a new and very informative light and perspective on it. I felt so inspired by her
Sarita Maybin:
Sarita was great. Everyone enjoyed her presentation. … Sarita provided an excellent balance to some heavy topics. She also provided great ways for our faculty and staff to move forward in a positive manner. Exactly what we were hoping.
Thank you for your dynamite keynote at the Community College in San Diego. Our audience raved and it was the perfect high energy note to end our conference on. I knew you’d be great and you exceed my expectations. I hope to work with you again soon!
Jan Masaoka:
She was terrific. Totally on point, funny and got the message across quite well. It was great to work with her.
Kelly McDonald:
Thank you for your excellent contributions to our kick-off evening. As I shared that night, the reviews were good! And people referenced your talk several times the next day. You made a positive impression and informed our discourse. Just as we hoped.
Rod Paige:
We received lots of positive feedback. I thought he was an excellent speaker – poised, interesting, etc.
Will Allen:
Will Allen’s visit was terrific! We have lots of very motivated students who now have some concrete guidance on how to move forward on their sustainable food projects. They plan on coming down to the Growing Power facility this spring for training.
