Meet Mandi Graziano | Author. Super Fun Public Speaker. Sales Coach. Conference Booker/Contract Negotiator.

We had the good fortune of connecting with Mandi Graziano and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Mandi, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?

Actually, I didn’t really think about it. The business found me. While I was working in corporate life, a client asked me to help to grow her business. She needed a “satellite” director of sales. We met at my kitchen table, came up with a plan, her business grew and a sales coaching business was born. I think it’s tough for entrepreneurs that make the switch from corporate life. You no longer have anyone holding you accountable and no one to bounce ideas off of, that’s where my business helps.

I always knew I’d start a business, I just wasn’t sure what it would look like. My little sister and I always used to regift our household items, clean them up and add a bow, load them up in a wagon, and sell them to our neighbors. I’ve always been obsessed with how business works, why people buy and what makes people interested in coming back for more so it was bound to happen eventually.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?

I have a lot of activities that keep me busy professionally. I get bored easily. Some people say I have “side hustles.” I hate that word. I don’t believe in it. No one asks Ryan Reynolds why he owns a football (American soccer) team, a production company, and is an actor. It’s just a bunch of stuff he does. There’s no “side” to what I do. It’s all Hustle.

Author: Sales Tales: The Hustle, Humor, and Lessons from a Life in Sales. It’s a funny business book that debut at the top of the Amazon charts last October. The book has loads of stories from my time as a hotel salesperson, buyer, and sales coach.

Coaching Company Founder: I founded Facetime Coaching Company in 2007 which was an accidental business I started when a client from my hotel job asked me to help her grow her business. Here I help companies & individuals grow their business through clever sales tactics and quick closing strategies. I started the company before “FaceTime” was a thing and before “Coaching” was a thing. I’ve been thinking about rebranding it all since both are a bit overused these days.

Motivational Speaker/Facilitator: I love a stage. I love to rhyme. I love to make people laugh. Combining all of that together in a fun business conversation about how to build deeper business relationships is my favorite way to talk with groups of people. I don’t like to talk “at” people but love to have fireside chats, panel discussions and lively q/a about the topic of the day.

Vice President Global Accounts, HPN Global: For the last 20+ years I’ve been in the hospitality industry. The first half from 1998 to 2010 I was in hotel leadership roles for Starwood, Hard Rock Hotels, Marriott and Caesars Entertainment. In 2010 I went to “the other side” of the business as a conference broker and became a client of the hotel. I find hotels and venues all over the world for conferences and meetings, scout the properties, negotiate the deal and turn it back over to my clients to plan. If they don’t have a planner then I have a team of people that can plan their meetings for them. Basically, if you have a meeting of more than 10 people, and you need a hotel/venue/cruise for that meeting, I help you find a home.

Co-Host Adventures in Business: This is a LinkedIn Live stream show where we talk to entrepreneurs about their stories and adventures in navigating the tricky waters of business and life. The idea was born when I was on a book tour earlier this year. A business owner came up to me after one of the speeches and told me her gut wrenching, yet inspirational story of how she started her business with her last $11.00. The flood gates opened as so many people that have read my book or hear me speak send me emails or come up to me after to share their very personal and life altering business stories. I didn’t want to be selfish and keep them for myself so in an effort to share these cool stories with the world, my co host Amani Roberts and I created a live stream show on LinkedIn.

What do you think makes you different than others in business?

Knowing and understanding what makes you special is really important. Defining your differentiators is the key to victory. Taking it a step further and allowing those differentiators to take flight will make you unstoppable. I remember early on in my career, a mean old lady said to me: “of course you’re positive with rose-colored glasses, you’re young.” I remember being so angry with her and thought “I can’t wait to find you when I am old and show you that being positive is just who I am and when I am an old lady like you, I’ll be the same rose-colored glasses girl”  And I am. 20+ years later, I am still a wildly positive, enthusiastic human and that is my biggest differentiator in business. Authentic Enthusiasm Is Contagious. You can inspire teams to do things they never knew they could. You can provoke business partners to take leaps they never knew were possible. Being positive may seem cliche and truly living it, being it, thinking it is hard. When you put it into practice, true business magic can happen.

What are some of the biggest lessons you’ve learned along the way?

Here are 6 lessons I’ve learned along the way:

Trust my gut and listen to the “pink flags”. If we ignore the pink flags they eventually become red flags. Red flags become emergencies and emergencies are a big disruption to your business. This came into focus for me in 2015. I was diagnosed with severe anxiety disorder. Apparently, I have had the disorder my whole life but with some body chemistry changes, it rose to the surface. I ignored the signs for years. It finally caught up to me and took a full year to untangle it. Pay attention to the pink flags so you don’t end up in the ER as much as I did in 2015.

The best salespeople are good listeners and educators. I always want my clients to feel they are heard and feel like they’ve learned something from each of our interactions. I want to learn something from them and each person to which I interact.

Find A Way: It’s important to always “find a way” to get it done. My dad used to always say t “just find a way” and I translate that to kick, claw, scratch and be scrappy to get it done. The effort is everything and putting in that extra effort is the difference between the warriors and the wimps.

Making time for yourself and firing clients is OK. I used to take every business opportunity that came my way and now I am thoughtful about collaborations. I don’t have to work with assholes and no longer work with people that give me pain in the guts or make me sad. Life is too short for a bad business relationship. I audit my clients and ask them to audit me. If we are not serving each other anymore it’s OK to fire each other.

When you look for the good you’ll find it. When you look for the bad, you’ll find it. It’s more fun to find the good than to roll down a ruminating brain trail of all the things that could go wrong.

Laughter is medicine. I find humor in everything. Silliness and fun is there, you just have to keep your antennae up and look for it. Everything is an SNL skit to me. Sometimes I will allow myself to create the “what if” stories of the funniest thing that could arise from the situation. It makes tough situations more palpable and it stimulates creativity. This is probably the biggest thread that weaves between all of my businesses is humor and fun. People remember you when you’re clever. Today, for example, I sent my client a gong. They opened a new office and as an office warming gift, I gave them a gong. That’s way more fun than flowers or brownies or a fruit basket.

What do you want people to know about working with you?

I want people to know that when they work with me they will be heard, they will laugh, they will learn and they will find something in themselves they didn’t know they had. I will help them find a way to illuminate that beautiful skill set in their business life.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?

Ooooh, I love this question. It would have to be a week because there’s just too much to do in a weekend. Day 1: Wake up, spin class at Pure Indoor Cycling in little Italy, wander to Little Italy Farmer’s Market, home for a shower and then some pool time at our house in San Carlos. An evening walk through Balboa Park at golden hour, then Panama 66 for a drink and nibble, home to bed early.

Day 2: Bayshore Bike Path-I love this flat 24 mile ride that covers the 5 cities surrounding downtown San Diego Bay. My friend Andy from the Bike Coalition actually created an annual ride called “Bike The Bay’ Where you do this exact ride but ride over the Coronado bridge. It’s magic. If it isn’t bike the bay weekend, we’d ride starting at convention center and then end in Coronado and take the ferry back. Grab a beer at Carnitas Snack Shack on the water and then maybe a bite at Portside Pier.

On some of the other days I love the outdoor yoga that San Diego has to offer, the walk from the coaster in Mission Beach to the law street patch of grass for a sunset is rad and a nice 5 mile people watching stroll. Grabbing a beer and a sausage at Fathom in Shelter Island is ALWAYS a good idea and then a walk before or after on Shelter Island makes that extra order of lumpia worth it all.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?

WOW. Can I mention a bunch? Thank you to Angela Johnson for nominating me. She runs a rad graphic design marketing firm here in San Diego and I learn something from her every time we interact.

Most importantly, my husband, Scooter gets the credit.  He truly supports me in all my endeavors. He is my biggest cheerleader and always wears a “Buy My Wife’s Book” t-shirt every time we travel. He had it made as a surprise when we went on a trip recently. Having a partner who lets you do “your thang” even though it’s not his “thang” is really important and I am so lucky to have him.

Website: www.mandigraziano.com

Instagram: @mandi_graziano

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mandigraziano/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi4xtdxqZWuNLrTRNV1NwLQ

Other: TikTok: mandigraziano