Speaking & Programs

DiMario & Associates

Coaching. Consulting. Collaboration.

A sample of Keynote Programs and Workshops Available...

Linda DiMario has a well-established reputation in the industry for delivering exciting, thought-provoking and practical programs designed to help participants grow their confidence, expand their resources and get the job done. These programs, and other topics, have been presented at the Arkansas Governor's Conference on Tourism, the Georgia Governor's Tourism Conference, California Travel Industry Association Rural Tourism Conference, Texas Association of CVBs, East Texas Tourism Association,
Puerto Rico CVB, British Association of Cities & Towns, Destination Marketing Association International, Western Association of CVBs and a host of individual CVBs across the country.

Improve Sales Productivity and Increase Business without Spending Another Dime

There are eight hours in an average work day. Approximately one hour is spent in socializing, one and half hours is spent in meetings of one sort or another and one hour is spent completing expense reports, sales reports or doing research for a sales department project. And all this before the inevitable computer problems, unexpected phone calls, a lead that has to be developed today and an endless assortment of distractions that occur throughout the day. Is it any surprise then that when sales people actually do the work for which they were hired, they plunge right in before taking the time to do their homework?

In this highly competitive market place, no hotel, DMO or tourism industry organization can afford to hire qualified sales people and hope for the best. This workshop will demonstrate how easily management can influence a more productive environment, increase business and improve their bottom line – all without spending another dime!

This workshop focuses leadership attention on:

The lost art and science of preparation, pre-call planning and qualifying and their direct link to time management and closing business;
How to eliminate the clutter and manage or minimize the distractions and social challenges that consume sales time, focus and energy;
The advantages of reallocating non-sales related tasks;
Creating a sales database and trace system that works for you, not against you;
How to create and sustain an environment in which sales people flourish and the company achieves their goals;
Develop, coach and manage a holistic sales process guaranteed to improve productivity and deliver better bottom-line results.

Conducted by a thirty year veteran of both hotel and destination sales and marketing, Linda H. DiMario shares her practical experiences, humorous observations, sales expertise and proven on-the-ground applications to deliver a results-driven workshop. Designed to appeal to hoteliers, DMOs, attractions – any tourism organization with a direct sales initiative – the workshop focuses leadership and management attention on a set of proven, tactical techniques that will improve the foundation from which the sales process is launched.

Retreat, Hesitate or Innovate: Choose to Compete!

Every owner, manager or operator has a choice to make when times are as challenging as those that face this economy and our country today. We can retreat, hunker down or keep moving forward.

The history of business, and human events for that matter, reminds us that in the darkest times, those who innovate, those who seek new ways to deliver goods and services, those who design new products, those who try new things, those who see beyond tomorrow and into the future - those are the people and companies who emerge from troubled times not just having survived but better prepared to thrive moving forward.

Calling on the wisdom and audacity of Tom Peters, Larry Bossidy, Ram Charan, Sergio Zyman, Al Ries, Jack Trout, Peter Drucker, Rosabeth Moss Kanter and other business and marketing gurus, this presentation makes the case for innovation. Drawing on an amazing historical context and case studies, the program sets out free or affordable management and marketing strategies that will help tourism companies stay strong, make the most of their existing assets, set the stage for recovery and distinguish themselves from those companies who retreat or just play it safe.

Recently presented to rave reviews as a Luncheon Keynote address at the Arkansas Governor’s Conference on Tourism, this presentation makes an excellent keynote or general session event or interactive workshop.

Powered by comprehensive research and real-world experience, DiMario has ‘been there and done that’. Whether working to position hotels during both boom and bust cycles, turning around sluggish sales and operations or re-establishing destinations after a catastrophic events, DiMario knows the value and rewards of staying upright, focused and even being a little crazy!

Ladies & Gentlemen, the Elephant is in the Room:

Why CVBs Struggle for Respect and What We Can Do About It!

Convention & Visitors Bureaus, or Destination Marketing /Management Organizations (DMOs), have been in business for over 100 years and yet we are still a mystery to all but a few sisters and brothers within the inner circle of the tourism industry. If you get much beyond the cousins, the old joke: ‘Not even my mother knows what I do’ still rings true.

We understand what we do and why. We know the benefits that accrue to our destinations and communities from the fruits of our labor. We can prove the value of our work. We can persuasively articulate what we do to the inner circle of Board and government agencies. So why is it we can’t seem to express what we do and its benefits in terms that resonate? Why is it still relatively easy for governments and funding sources, business leaders and community activists to challenge DMOs and get away with it?

For every DMO that enjoys a healthy and respectful relationship with their government funding source and community, there are five DMOs that are marginalized, politicized or ostracized.

So, what’s the problem and what can we do about it?

With humor and insight combined with real world, front line experience, this presentation identifies the systemic, organizational, political and practical challenges and opportunities facing destination marketing organizations in their effort to be recognized as the industry experts they are, to be funded appropriately, to be judged fairly on their performance and respected as a generator of business and revenues and contributors to their communities.

The presentation explores the interesting, astonishing and outrageous facts, foibles, fables and follies of DMO work:

DMO mission and evolution

Consequences of the DMO non-profit status

Myth of competitive conflicting interests

Government attitudes and platitudes

Common theories employed to diminish the status of DMOs

Role of traditional funding model and why DMOs don’t seek new funding methodologies

Danger of narrow measurements and complicated performance standards

Why connecting the dots between a DMO’s work and the results it produces for a community is not enough.

The presentation concludes with a Call to Action: What We Can Do About It! The Industry’s Top Ten Solutions for Gaining the Stability and Respect We Deserve.