Today we’d like to introduce you to Beth Standlee.
Beth, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I have been in sales most of my life. I got very involved with family entertainment in 1994 and helped re-open the Bronco Bowl. I served in an outside sales role and did quite a bit of work developing team building for companies and birthday parties. I also work in North Dallas at Fun Fest, a bowling based entertainment venue where we held 75-100 birthday parties per week and 40-70 company and group events per month.
I went on to work as a national sales director for a large chain of centers and finally sold capital equipment in the entertainment industry. In 2005, I had that entrepreneurial seizure that Gerber refers in in E-Myth Revisited and decided people we buying capital equipment from me because I was going onsite and training them how to use that equipment to sell more events!
In May of 2005 TrainerTainment was born. I believed that we could inspire young people, business owners, and leaders in the Family Entertainment industry by training them how to deliver great guest service. We’ve been hiring, training, establishing orientation programs, setting up sales offices with long term support, and providing complete business coaching offerings for 12 years! We’ve helped open more than 50 locations across North America.
We speak at many local, state, national, and international events annually. We believe in FUN (being, having, & promoting), We believe in being in service to others. We believe in intentional learning (we think it would be arrogant to think we could be a great teaching company if we weren’t voracious learners.) We believe in high performance and everyone that works for our company or is a client must take initiative.
I think we have the BEST people in our organization. They are passionate about helping others. They wind up mentoring the teams they touch. Our coaches/trainers live in TX, FL, WA, and OH. Much of the coaching that we provide is done virtually using ZOOM meetings, drop box, and Google sheets. The way our company is designed would not have been possible pre-technology. Last year we spent more than 300 days in the field working directly at a client site or attending a trade show or education event.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Of course, it hasn’t been smooth. We deal with people. Struggles, for me personally, learning to lead.
It’s easy to work with the client. Learning to grow the team has been where are the lessons are. It’s tough to bring people into the organization and give them what they need to succeed.
We’ve had to learn how to make the virtual thing work. Getting very clear about the kind of team member that can thrive in a virtual environment has made a big difference in our ability to grow.
In a small company, each team member winds up wearing multiple hats. Once we got clearer about the roles in the company and the accountability that falls under each role it became easier to manage the focus. AND we learned that if you were wearing multiple hats that when you said YES to one role you were clearly saying NO to another. That has helped us all to manage our own expectations.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with TrainerTainment – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
We grow people and their businesses. We do that through training and coaching. We have a tremendous specialty with event sales training. And we also provide business coaching with leadership teams. Our sales and business coaching programs provide the teams we serve with one to one weekly meetings that are held virtually, as well as onsite quarterly and annual planning days.
We also help open new centers and do a great deal of hiring by utilizing a custom job fair/audition process for front line teams.
We are known for providing Fun Training with Serious Results. We have the opportunity to speak at a number of local, state, national, and international education events. We also put on 4 conferences per year locally in the DFW area that focus on Business development, Leadership, Sales, & Guest Service.
I think that what I am most proud of is the team that we have assembled and the difference we seem to be making in the world. It is an absolute thrill to see even one person when the “get it!” It’s like a light comes on and you know they are going to lead better, sell better, provide a greater level of service. It is pure JOY!
I think what sets us apart from others is that we are NOT a consulting firm. We are a training company. We build systems, processes, and programs that can live long after we’ve provide the training or the service. With that said, our trainers and coaches have a ton of industry experience and so they are able to consult if needed. But we are a training company first with a proven process that is centered around the word GROW. We like to think that when we connect with a potential client we 1. Get what they need and we do that through listening to them. 2. We Recommend a solution that is best for their unique business. 3. We Optimize those recommendations by working together with their team to produce results. 4. We WIN… We celebrate the success of the client and plan for what’s next!
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
We plan to grow and to expand into other areas of hospitality including restaurants and hotels.
I dream of a training center here in the local market.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.trainertainment.net
- Phone: 817.886.4840
- Email: beth@trainertainment.net
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TrainerTainment/
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