Last night she was home with her hairless cats. Today she walked through the doors at VidSummit. Here's what happened after that phone call. The night before, I called Emily, my director of sales, at 8:30 at night. "Pack your bags, my friend. I think you're coming to Dallas." Her version: "I was sitting in my chair with my hairless cats in my lap when my boss texted me and said, hey, do you want to come to VidSummit?" "And he said, I have this crazy idea. Get on a plane." She got on the plane. Then I sat down with my buddy Cliff Ravenscraft and asked for his honest opinion on this series. "I love the authenticity. I love the transparency. I love the vulnerability. It's something about just checking in, seeing somebody who's working towards a goal and being open about the process." We don't know where this show is gonna go. But we're on a road, and hopefully it leads to 3,000 people at our conference. Emily worked the conference. Hopefully we'll get some great sponsorships out of it. Here's to spontaneous adventures. Then at dinner a crazy idea came up: what if we sewed a bunch of these Road to 3,000 episodes together into one longer video? Is that even worth doing? Reply "Yes" or "No" and tell me why 👇 The weekly number is at the end. Press Start: The Road to 3,000. #SocialMediaExaminer# #SMMW27# #RoadTo3000# #VidSummit#

I flew my sales director to Dallas with a few hours' notice. No meetings booked. Just a hunch. I was at VidSummit, looking at all the big sponsors we've never been able to land for Social Media Marketing World. And I thought, if I want the big brands, and they're here, I may as well get Emily out here. So I called her. Less than 48 hours later we're sitting on a couch, freaking exhausted. I asked her how many sponsors she spoke to. "I probably spoke to all of them. Or at least 25 different companies." How does she do it? "I do a lot of research. I understand the industry. And I'm also very well connected." People pull up her LinkedIn and find they know 42 of the same people. Even I got a little door to open. I was kind to a couple of people at the Canon booth. When I came back, they recognized my face. Then I asked the real question. What's the likelihood we get at least one sponsor out of this? "Oh, definitely more than one sponsor." While I'm trying to get 3,000 people to my conference, I'm also chasing the sponsors we've never had. Do you think the trip was wise? Reply "Yes" or tell me what you'd have done instead 👇 Press Start: The Road to 3,000. #SocialMediaExaminer# #SMMW27# #EventMarketing# #Sponsorship#

I flew to someone else's conference to learn. By the end of the first night I was on the phone telling my sales director to get on a plane. Here's what happened. I'm at VidSummit, my friend Derral Eves' event, sitting in my hotel room asking myself, why am I here? The honest answer: I have room to grow. Better hooks. Better stories. Creating content on the fly. Then I noticed what they have that I don't. TikTok. YouTube. Meta. All sponsoring. Old Navy had a line of people waiting for a free jacket they could get customized on the spot. I would love to have those companies at Social Media Marketing World. For whatever reason, we just haven't been able to get them. So at 8:30 at night I called Emily, my director of sales, in California. "If you're up for a little adventure..." "Of course. I'm always up for an adventure." "Pack your bags, my friend. I think you're coming to Dallas." Her answer: "I was just telling my husband I'm going to meet my neighbor tomorrow night. I don't think I'm meeting my neighbor tomorrow night." If I want the big brands, and they're all here, I may as well get my sales director here too. Would you make that kind of impulse move? Reply "Yes" or tell me why I'm crazy 👇 Press Start: The Road to 3,000. #SocialMediaExaminer# #SMMW27# #EventMarketing# #Sponsorship#