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gugliaro stage and was seriously impressed with how fluidly the day ’ s itinerary flowed and how organized Robin ’ s team was . From color-coded T-shirts and awesome signage to strategic traffic funneling , the behind-the-scenes people helped attendees focus their attention and energy on the material being presented rather than on the struggle associated with navigating a new space .
If you ’ ve been to a lot of bootcamps like I have , then you know that some flow better than others . For example , I ’ ve been to a few where the people operating it try to fit too much into a small time frame , which essentially runs their attendees into the ground . By the time their day is over , the attendees can ’ t even think about networking ; they just drag themselves back to their hotel and crawl into bed . But this bootcamp was a far cry from that . There was a tight schedule that was adhered to , but there were also designated times for relaxing . Heck , there was even a pub crawl !
Additionally , there was an app called “ Attendee Hub ,” which contained the daily itinerary , list of speakers with descriptions , a list of sponsors , and a constant feed you could check during breakout sessions and comment . The inclusion of this app demonstrated that Robin and her team knew their tech-savvy demographic and tried to make our lives as easy as possible .
While I give serious kudos to Robin , her lineup of speakers , and her team , I can ’ t help but talk about the result of my own breakout session — not because I want to steal the spotlight ( which I ’ ll admit that I often do ), but because it exemplifies how much this bootcamp and its message shifted my perspective .
Here ’ s a little backstory . Every week , I send out a Weekend Reading email to my clients and my employees . While writing the one I was meant to send out the week prior to this bootcamp , I was mulling over the phrase “ Content Is King ” and the fact that the brilliant foresight espoused in Gates ’ intention when he originally wrote those words is lost , now that it has become a blasé commodity . As I started my own article , I felt like a hypocrite . How can I tell my clients that they need to share personal and honest stories in order to create riveting content when I ’ m not doing the same ? So I dropped all pretenses and wrote my no-bullshit reality .
I wrote about how I feel heartbreakingly guilty for missing out on time with my wife and kids when I ’ m away on business and the feelings of failure associated with that . I wrote about the times I ’ ve returned home from the office in tears after hearing complaint after complaint from employees that I bend over backward to please . I wrote about feeling like a terrible husband , father , boss , and friend more than a handful of times . You see , I knew that this Weekend Reading would either be the best email I ’ d ever written or the worst , but I was willing to take that chance in order to relate with even just one person out there who might be feeling the same way .
So when I stood up to speak to that crowd of listeners at the bootcamp , I spoke from the heart and told my own story . I didn ’ t even make a sales pitch at the end , but I still had more people come up and talk to me after the presentation ended than I ’ d ever had before . In keeping with Robin ’ s message , “ The Allure of the Story ” might have made me more nervous about my speech , but it ultimately resonated better with the at-
tendees . I ’ m telling you guys , people want you to be real . They want you to be honest .
If you want an even better example of honesty and realness , then you should look to the ringmaster herself . I ’ ve had the good fortune of knowing Robin for nearly a decade now , and it ’ s been a pleasure watching her grow into the marketing powerhouse that she is . She jampacks her membership with the best bang for your buck , and she never fails to put her money where her mouth is . I ’ d even go as far as to say that she has reinvented sales and marketing in her specific niche by being a straight-shooter , demanding that the members she helps know their numbers and employing people on her team to help them win and win right . The foresight required to put on a bootcamp of this magnitude — one as informative , organized , effective , honest , and downright fun as it was — can only stem from a brain as fast-working and efficient as Robin ’ s . While the old adage “ Go join the circus ” is typically used as an insult , after attending the 12th Annual Sales and Marketing Bootcamp , I found a circus and a story that I definitely want to be a part of in the years to come . n
Shaun Buck CEO of The Newsletter Pro