The Magic Behind Sports Broadcasting

What are the things in your life where magic naturally happens? Todd Wall is the Owner and CEO of Hite Digital San Francisco. In this episode, Todd shares insights from his career in sports broadcasting, what led him to transition from broadcast media to digital marketing, and even tells us about the time that Michael Jordan landed at his feet.

🎙️Talking Points:

(01:43) The most interesting part of his sports broadcasting career

(04:16) Lessons from broadcasting

(09:35) The 50-year framework

(30:52) From corporate life to entrepreneurship

🔗Connect with Todd:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tvtoad/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tvtoad/
• Blue Collar Experts Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blue_collar_experts/

‍🔗Connect with Tom Finn:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/therealtomfinn
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/therealtomfinn/
• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@therealtomfinn
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/therealtomfinn/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/therealtomfinn
• Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/therealtomfinn
• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@therealtomfinn

Tom Finn:

Hey there. Welcome to the Talent Empowerment podcast. We're here to help you discover your true purpose and step up your game at work. We're gonna unpack the tools, tactics of successful humans to guide you towards your own purpose, find happiness, and of course, empower your career. I am your purpose-driven little host, Tom Finn. And on the show today, we have a man of many talents, Todd Wall. Todd, welcome to the show.

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Todd Wall:

Hey, how you doing, Tom? Hey, just like I used to say in broadcasting, we're here so we might as well dominate. Let's have some fun.

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Tom Finn:

Yeah, let's get after it. And you heard from Todd himself. He's got a little bit of a background in broadcasting and he honed his skills in the art of personal and brand development through storytelling. Now, thanks to three decades of experience in sports broadcasting, covering major events like the Super Bowl, world cups, NBA and college national championships. He also worked for top tier organizations. like ESPN, Fox Sports, the Dallas Cowboys, and the Dallas Mavericks. So after that, he took a leap of faith to start his own digital marketing agency using the same powerful message formula that has captivated TV audiences for 50 years, which is the crucial role of showing what's at stake and how the hero can either emerge victorious or suffer the agony of defeat. He's the owner of Hype Digital San Francisco and the host of Blue. collar experts as a podcast. He is with us today, and we are absolutely thrilled to have Todd on the show. So let's start with an easy one, Todd. What was the most interesting part of your sports broadcasting career?

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Todd Wall:

Well, so I mean, I've been in so many different environments. I mean, some of, like I said, some of the world's largest stages, but for the years and years, I worked underneath the basket for the Dallas Mavericks. I was underneath the basket for their championship, for Dirk Nowitzki's entire run and career. But I'll tell you the story that people love the most. is one, there's two things I want to tell you. One is you'd be surprised how large those athletes and fast those athletes actually are. The first time Shaquille O'Neal came running down the court towards me and I literally felt his shadow coming on me. I mean, I cringed. And because that dude was not only big, but fast. But the story people love the most is I had a time where Michael Jordan literally landed at my feet. And here I am, I've got a camera on my shoulder, my legs are crossed, and he's landed at my feet. And I've got this moment where time stopped. And it's like Jesus in the hem of his garment. I'm like, do I reach out and touch this guy? And my hand got halfway out. And I'm thinking, oh my gosh. There's a camera up to my left here that was called the game camera. If I reach out and touch him right now, I'm going to be on sports center because I'm just going to reach out and touch this guy. And I'm like, so I'm just, I am here and out. I'm like, I chickened out though. I didn't, I was like, if I touch the hem of his garment, am I going to run faster and jump higher? I don't know, but I hope so. But I chickened out, but that was one of my most memorable moments. Where Michael Jordan landed at my feet, I would like to say the king bowed to me, but no I bowed to the fear of the moment, just mesmerized. 

Tom Finn:

Yeah, well, well, fair enough. And thank you for not reaching out and touching Michael Jordan. I think there is some rule about not touching professional athletes in their field or court of play. Maybe you would have got a hall pass cause you were, there as part of the broadcasting team, but you would have caught a lot of heat from your buddies, later on for, for reaching out and grabbing Michael, but well done. So you're, you're in broadcasting. What did you learn from that space? Cause it's such a unique area that not all of us get to see behind the scenes.

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Todd Wall:

There's a lot of things I learned from broadcasting because, you know, you've heard of the armchair quarterback, right? You know, just where the, the guy who sits back in his chair, maybe he's got something propped up on his belly. He's got a remote in his hand and he's so enthralled in that game. And really the thing I love about it, he's, he feels so empowered by that game that he feels smarter than the quarterback. He feels smarter than the coach. smarter than the GM. You'll see those videos on YouTube where people will, after a big game, they'll actually throw something at their television. They're so into this story, and they feel, they're like, how stupid is that quarterback? You didn't see the guy open. This is ridiculous. What I love about broadcasting, that empowerment comes directly from the story that is being told to that person. And there's a formula and a format that has been used for the last 50 years that enables that armchair quarterback to have that feeling. Because if you're in the arena, it's a whole different feeling. It's, I mean, it's fast paced. I mean, it's chaotic. You're like, where do I look? Do I look here? Do I look there? Do I listen to this? Do I listen to that? I mean, a lot of these arenas are so loud. I mean, they're louder than a jet engine. Mark Cuban used to, cause he used to pump in extra sound. He used to get fined every single game because the audible level was louder than a jet engine. And he prided himself on that because it was the whole mantra of rowdy, proud and loud. And that, which is the Dallas Mavericks mantra. And, you know, so, when you're there in person, it's chaos. You don't know what to look and what to do, yet on the flip side, that guy that's sitting on the couch, he knows exactly what's going on. He knows the story, he sees what's going on. He sees the sweat running down their face. He sees not only the big picture, but also the detailed picture. In some ways, that's also a view when you're running a business, you need to see the both the big picture and the fine detailed picture, but you need to see those in proportion. So that story that's being given to that armchair quarterback is also being told in that proper proportion of, you know, it's 90% big picture or medium picture and not the blimp, you know, because that's only a brief view. But then it's that game camera where you see all the factors in play. on a consistent basis, but then you go into that tight shot and you come in and out of that tight shot or you see the detailed picture. But if you stayed in that tight shot, you get disoriented and you get confused if you go too detailed in your view of your business and your view of your situation. So really the majority of that view has to be in that, kind of that what we call the game camera, camera one, that game camera, which is. all the players in the screen, and you're able to see everything all at once happening right in front of you. But even beyond that, there's actually a formula at play that on my podcast, I interviewed the producer for the Dallas Mavericks. And I said, Dave, because his name was Dave, I said, Dave, tell me. When you go in and out of every commercial break and you start every single show, what do y'all do? He goes, pshh, you know, I don't know why you wanna know this, but, you know, because when you're in it, when you're in the thick of it, you do these specific things every single time. You don't realize how powerful they are. And that's what it was like for me, Tom, for 30 years doing television. You're just in the thick of it. You don't realize the power of what you're doing. until you step back from it, and that's where that transition was for me, I stepped back from broadcasting, went into straight communication coaching, and then ultimately into a digital marketing agency. But recognizing those specific things that work in that environment, they also work in another environment. If it's true there, then it's also true here. And so we analyzed. What is that consistent framework? And that's what we're using with our clients on a consistent basis.

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Tom Finn:

Well, we're going to get into your career transition. We're going to get into all the things about digital marketing, but before we go there, help us understand what that 50 year framework looks like. Can you break it down for us into bite-sized pieces so we can understand what they're doing in broadcast media and what that looks like and translating it into business.

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Todd Wall:

I love talking about this because I feel this is almost an anti agency model because once you learn this model, you'll see this every single game you watch. And I always say, once you know it and see it, you're becoming a better communicator every single game you watch. Therefore, when your wife says, you know, when she gives you a hard time about watching that game is something, Hey, babe, this is career development. This is personal development right now. So I'm, I'm, I'm examining the model and becoming a better communicator. So, so yeah, so let, so do you want to walk through the elements? Okay.

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Tom Finn:

I want to walk through it. Let's go through the elements. This is a 50 year history of broadcasting that they use the same game plan over and over and over again to bring and draw the audience in to create actually empowerment within the audience so that they feel attached to the game in more ways than one, they feel a part of the game, they feel passion towards the game and thus they pay with their eyeballs and their wallet  in marketing dollars. And we're able to continue this, this wheel of fortune, so to speak in media and sports, et cetera. Can't wait to hear all about it. So hit us with the first principle.

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Todd Wall:

Because ultimately, getting people to your customer to open the wall, that's really what we're aiming at. So to understand it, you first have to understand when it didn't work. So because sports didn't used to be big on television. That's how I know that this formula works. So in 1960, ABC Sports bought the rights to air college football nationally. But the problem was, why should someone in Texas care about what's going on with somebody in Ohio? And no one was watching, the ratings were low. And a guy by the name of Rune Arledge wrote a memo, that was the predecessor to the email, to the executives of ABC, and he said, hey, I know the ratings aren't good right now, we're doing everything we can, but. I have recognized something when I'm on site at these games. And I'd like to experiment with something new. And he said, when I'm at these games, it's the weirdest thing. Groups of people are gathering. behind their vehicles and they're pulling out these barbecues and they're putting paint on their face and they're getting all excited. They're calling these things tailgates because they're at the tailgate of their car. It's the weirdest thing and what if we started showing that? What if we started showing that audience and that group of people and the excitement they have beforehand. And so that's step number one that emerged from that. And it is connecting with your audience's hope of glory, the excitement they feel. And so in modern day, so I actually live in Dallas and I worked for the Texas Rangers forever and ever. And so every broadcast starts this way. It's a beautiful day at the ballpark here in Arlington. It's a bright and sunny day. You see the fans coming through the turnstile with the excitement of a opportunity for victory. every single game starts that way. No matter what the sport is, you connect with the audience's hope of glory. So how that translates to your business is what is your customer looking for? What is their aspirational identity, like Donald Miller puts it? What is their happily ever after? And are you talking about that on the front end? There's so much thought into what is your hook statement? Your hook statement is, What does it look like? And how do you talk about it? So that's the first element you'll see in every single, every single broadcast. Have you heard of that? Have you seen, heard those exact words over and over again, Tom?

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Tom Finn:

Exact words over and over again. Beautiful day. Great to be here. Fans are everywhere. It's amazing. Look at this gal and this guy and this Jersey and, oh, it is good. And wait until our team wins the match. Right. It’s pronounced and it's prominent. And I think you're, you're right on it. So we've got phase one, attach ourselves to the audience, connect with the audience. Use that tailgate philosophy.

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Todd Wall:

That's exactly right. You know, from a business perspective, Tom, you know, it's the flip side communication messages. Hey, do you want a business where your customers are just pounding down your door? Is that what, you know, is that the picture you're looking for? Where you have to say no to people? That's the hope of what every business is looking for.

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Tom Finn:

Yeah, beautifully said. So now how do we transition from that opening statement in broadcasting to drawing us in?

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Todd Wall:

Every you'll see this in every movie you watch and in every game the very next thing they're going to talk about and that you Must talk about as a business is the problem at hand Here's what they don't do is they don't say we've got the best team to put on the field all you know, we've got This x number of all-stars and all pro players. That's not what they lead with They lead with the problem that is at hand. It's a beautiful day at the ballpark today, but today we've got the dreaded Yankees and murderers row. And this'll age me. And we've got CC Sabathia on the hill with his dreaded fastball. That's a problem. You've got the best hitters in the game and the best pitcher in the game on the mound. this is a problem that's at hand. Donald, there's actually aspects to this if we really wanna nerd out on this. Donald Miller really breaks this down in Story Brand. He said there's a literal problem, there's how that problem feels, and then there's why this is a right versus wrong scenario. So we're up against the Yankees. It's a, this is a frustrating daunting task. You can feel going up against murderers row. It's a scary sight, but it's outright wrong that they can, we can let them come into our house and push us around. You heard that message before?

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Tom Finn:

Oh yeah, yeah, they're not coming into this house and pushing us around. Doesn't matter what city you're in, that's what you're hearing.

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Todd Wall:

Yep, it is outright wrong. I like how Donald Miller puts that. It's a right versus wrong scenario. And so if we talk about our customer's problem, here's the literal problem, how it feels, and why it's a right versus wrong scenario. And even just in these first two segments, you see how commentators on television, they're not reading scripts. They're walking through these segments. And I don't need to know the specific words. I just need to talk about the literal problem, how it feels and why this is a right versus wrong scenario. If I understand that framework and that format. then I just have to be me. And you'll see that from the commentators in live sports, they're just being themselves. They're not reading scripts and you can't see that they're looking or reading across the lines and reading the tele.

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Tom Finn:

All right. Okay, so we follow the format of literal problem, how it feels and the right versus wrong story. And they actually use that in contextual phases of their discussion throughout the broadcast of the sporting event, is that right?

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Todd Wall:

They're just being themselves because they're following the format. Yeah, they're continually going back to it. There's actually five steps, five parts to this framework. Those are just the first two, and they begin everything. But that's the core element of it, the hope of their glory, talk about the problem. But that third part of it is to amplify the stakes. So Rune Arlige, He's also most known for a show he created, which was the predecessor to ESPN, which, you know, old guys will recognize is called the wide world of sports. Do you remember that?

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Tom Finn:

Yes.

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Todd Wall:

Do you remember what their famous line that they're, they're known for? It was on the open of every show with that big booming voice. It's trivia question. I know I'm putting you on the spot.

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Tom Finn:

No, I don't remember it.

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Todd Wall:

It is the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. You remember that line?

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Tom Finn:

Vaguely, yes.

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Todd Wall:

So us old guys will, you know, as this picture of this guy tumbling down the mountain in skis and it's just this big crash, but he amplified what's at stake. And if you go to the movies and you, or you turn on Netflix and you start watching a movie, If they don't introduce a problem and what's at stake within the first 10 minutes, you're gonna move on to something else. The same is true with sports and talking about your business. We have to give people a reason to be engaged, reminding them of what's at stake so they can move past status quo and engage in action. So, so, and you'll see this in television all the time, I mean, in sports all the time. One, have you ever noticed that there's always a play clock, play clock?

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Tom Finn:

Always.

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Todd Wall:

Always. Why is that? Because if they don't get this playoff, Oh, they're going to run out of time and they're going to lose something. There's something at stake in every single moment. They're constantly reminding them.

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Tom Finn:

Yeah, quick, quick rabbit hole. We've got to go down. So baseball introduced the play clock this year for the first time. They made some other changes. They increased the size of the base. A few other things you can't do a shift, which creates more offense, et cetera. But the play clock absolutely love it because baseball used to take so long. And as a fan. I've always loved baseball. It's always been one of my favorite sports to watch, but it's just so painful sometimes and, and now it's quicker. I know that there's a play clock, a pitch clock in this particular sense. I know that they can't shift against particular batters that the batter actually has a chance to hit the ball and play it is wildly more entertaining. And this is 2023 baseball season. They put this in play for what's, what's your take on baseball and the use of the clock.

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Todd Wall:

Well, imagine being, so I'm in Texas, so imagine being in 110 degree heat. I once did an 18 hour game with those pitchers, taking their time, adjusting their hat, adjusting the uniform, making sure they're all, doing their little shimmy, making sure they're set, and then stepping off the mound. Oh, I wasn't set, I wasn't set. And just like the, you know. high maintenance prima donnas. I love it because it forces them to execute. And within today's swipe economy, the games have to get faster. And, you know, for the last 15 years, you know, working these games, you know, over 15 years, but that's always been the topic. And even you should hear the dialogue on the headset of even of the broadcast of camera operators chiming in, come on, come on, come on, get on with it, get on with it, just pitch. And that's even the camera operators. How much worse is the audience who has the ability to walk into the other room?

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Tom Finn:

That's right.

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Todd Wall:

So I think it's important. And as business owners, it helps us understand the importance of that fast pace, that attention economy. So if you're doing a video online, You can't just get on and just meander. You gotta get to the point. You've gotta get to the problem. Talk about their hope and their glory. You gotta talk about what's at stake as quick as possible. You know one of my pet peeves is when people will do a live and they'll just sit here, I'm just waiting for more people to get on. Just waiting. So, oh, a few more. Few more people. Oh, hey, Steve, how you doing? We're just waiting for a few more people. How many people do you lose while you're trying to gather your little audience there? Most people watch the recording, by the way. So that's just, that's a free tidbit. Ha ha.

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Tom Finn:

All right, well now we're gonna go back to our regularly scheduled programming. We've gone through item one, we've gone through item two, we've gone through item three, on to core principle number four.

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Todd Wall:

And this is my favorite one. Number four, because this is the substance of how do we need to tell stories. So every game is what I call observational indirect communication. That sounds complicated.

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Tom Finn:

That's a lot.

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Todd Wall:

But when you see it, you'll see exactly why I describe it that way. Every replay that comes up, there's a play-by-play commentator and a color commentator. The play-by-play guy says, look, this is what just happened. And the color commentator comes in and adds color to it. He gives an analysis of it. So they're giving the observation of the moment. And then the color commentator comes on and says, now, if they'll just do this, then this can occur. It's not the communication like, like with your parents where they're pointing their finger at you and you've got to do this because they're not talking directly to the coach. Coach can't hear them. But they're just painting the picture of what just occurred. And they're saying, but now if they can do this, then they can do this. So how that lays out, let's say you just got a phone with a client and you pop on. online or you turn on your video and you say, look, I just got off the phone with my client. They were dealing with 123. And we recognize that if they can do XYZ, then 123 can actually occur differently, or then they can get the outcome that they're looking for. And so it's this format and this framework of not talking at people, not being blowhards, but describing a situation and offering an alternative reaction or action that creates an alternative outcome. And so I think that's one of the most important because we love replace, but what if we also did that in our business? What if that was the substance of how we communicated in the videos we do for our business or online? whatsoever. Have you recognize that replay replay model and how it just, it kind of just draws you in.

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Tom Finn:

Yeah, I guess I can articulate it this way in saying, if then statements within your business, if you implement my product, my service, the way that I think, if you implement that, then this amazing outcome is going to happen for your organization and for you personally. If you don't implement my product, my service, whatever it is that is my magic, ooh, then, dark days are ahead, my friend.

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Todd Wall:

That's right.

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Tom Finn:

Very dark days.

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Todd Wall:

Very dark days. You are exactly right. I mean, social proof is so important. That's where the storytelling aspect of it comes. I try to get as many of my clients to tell stories about both the positive and negative outcomes of working with them. That's why people go and look on Google reviews and read that paragraph. How much greater would it be if you were actually telling that story again?

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Tom Finn:

Yeah, well said. So now we've hit one, connect with the audience. We've got the hope of glory and problem at hand. We know that we need to amplify the stakes. We know that we've got some if-then statements that need to be incorporated to show various viewpoints. And now we're on to item number five.

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Todd Wall:

Item number five is the most, ultimately it is the vital one, most vital because people forget it the most. It's the easiest to forget. It is, you'll see this in television when they'll say, stay tuned for more, or stick with us till after the commercials, or after the replay they'll say, let's see what they do next. It is the call to action. If you're doing this on social media, on video, you have to say, hey, if you're interested in this, DM me, let's talk about it. I wanna hear your story. Or click the link for more. You've heard that a million times. There has to be a call to action. I have one, a guy who's a now client, he's a real estate investor and he was... He was just doing a live and that's what caught my attention. He was doing this live where he was showing this, this house that he was building. And he's like talking about how he's able to get, you know, low on income people into these houses and become homeowners for the first time. And I sent him a direct message and I said, hey, don't forget to ask people to, to give them a call to action. And he goes, oh, okay, I'll try that. His very next video, he got three clients. just because he remembered to say, hey, DM me, let's talk about it. It's just that simple. But we have to, on your website, it's surprising how many websites don't have a call to action. You have to spur people into action, or else, because status quo is just too easy. It's comfortable, it's warm. It's a warm, fuzzy blanket. That's why the stakes are so important. And then we have to follow that up with a clear, clear call to action.

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Tom Finn:

Love it. So fifth and final solution here in terms of 50 year roadmap of broadcasting is some sort of call to action. What is the behavior change that you want a human to make, whether it's, stay tuned for more, come back after the commercials, click the link, DM me directly. Those are all the things we should be thinking about.

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Todd Wall:

Absolutely. People need leadership. And so you have to lead them down that path and show them how easy it is. If it feels complicated, they're not gonna do it. Their brain doesn't have enough bandwidth to figure out something complicated. They need very clear, simplistic steps on what to do next. Just click the link. It's not look me up. Doesn't that feel more complicated?

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Tom Finn:

It does, click the link’s pretty easy.

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Todd Wall:

It's click the link. That's right. DM me. Whatever it is, you have to simplify the call to action. So if they feel like there's a million steps, they're going to go to somebody else.

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Tom Finn:

Well done, Todd. That is incredibly helpful. I think we understand the playbook, how it matches to sports and broadcasting, but more importantly, how it matches to business and how we can market ourselves and our business in new ways. You took a leap of faith on a particular day to leave broadcasting and go your own path, go carve that path yourself in terms of communication and marketing. Tell me about the day you decided to leave that cushy. fuzzy corporate blanket and move down this path of being your own your own boss.

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Todd Wall:

Absolutely. I initially transitioned into communication coaching. It was actually an injury that took me out of it. From years of having that 30 pound camera on my shoulder, my final season with the Dallas Cowboys. I actually couldn't feel my left leg, but I was committed to the full season. And I limped up and down that field for an entire season as I had something pinched in my back that just cut off feeling to my whole left leg. And I remember I got chastised online because Cuz when you lose feeling your left leg, it's pretty painful too. And I remember the ball was on the other side of the field and I sat down on the edge of the field and I put my camera on my leg. And I was just kind of taking a deep breath and kind of collecting myself. what I wasn't paying attention to was the kicker was warming up right in front of me and It happened to be a key pivotal moment at that point because it's into the game I wouldn't be that tired unless it was into the game and And so the cameras Unbeknownst to me started shooting That kicker and then here I am just you know, just you know you know, beaten on the side of the field, just sitting there. And people started taking screenshots and sending it to me online. So my phone starts blowing up and I go, Ooh, I guess I better move. So it was, it was at that transition. I got through the season, you know, got the medical care that I needed, but then I recognized, you know, that the skill set can also translate into other things and start analyzing the process because, you know, because when you're, when you're deep in whatever you're good at, it's just instinct. You just do it. You just naturally do that. That magic just naturally happens. You know, in that that's those skills that are developed over a long period of time. And, and so I started analyzing it and actually I was actually in a mastermind. with a guy, Michael Burt, Coach Burt. And he said, you know that thing that you think, because television was something I never really bragged about. It was just, I clocked in, I clocked out. I thought it was kind of cool, but I never really talked about it. Because I was a pastor for 10 years, I also had an insurance agency. And so I never really talked about television because it was, strangely I always thought, that's just kind of the blue collar side of me. It's just, I wanna be, much more than that is the way I viewed it. I had this negative view of it. And Coach Burt said, you know, that thing that you hide often is your superpower. You just don't even realize it. And that took me aback for a minute. And then I recognized, you know, if I'm ever in a cocktail party or any get together and I mention what I do, I don't say I'm an insurance agent. And I wouldn't even say back in the day, I wouldn't say I was a pastor because both of those things kind of bore people. It kind of takes them back, but I'd say, yeah, I work for ESPN, Fox Sports, and Dallas Cowboys. They go, oh, really? Interesting, tell me. And they lean into it. And so the encouragement is what are those things in your life that you think people aren't interested in, but when you mention them, they just sort of lean into. And... So I recognized that and I went back to the drawing board and I started recognizing what are the elements of this that make this magic occur and just started making lists and frameworks and formats. Because I recognized Troy Eggman, Joe Buck, they're not reading off a teleprompter, they're just being themselves. And so in real, you know, if I can be real transparent, I also was coming out of a 10-year period where I was hiding. I had a period of grief where, you know, I just wanted to just, that's when I did insurance. I just was just doing my job, doing the nine to five, executing at a high level, but no one knew about it. I was just kind of hiding under a rock, licking my wounds. But that transition point of coming out of broadcast was also kind of the transition point of coming back to who I knew I needed to be. And it was that process of being brave again and learning how to be public, learning that it's okay to be public, learning to trust the process. Seth Godin is an author that I absolutely love. And a friend of mine sent me a book that really inspired me and he said, Artists have to make art, but art is never perfect. And so you have to get comfortable with just shipping imperfect art. Just ship the art, just send it out. And that next stage of that, and where I'm helping people now is recognizing that thing that you thought is just mundane, that also makes you an expert. You are the expert that people need. You're the expert that people recognize, even if your negative dialogue is telling you you're not the imposter syndrome, you are the expert. and you have to step into that authority, that position, that identity, and let go of the fear and just ship imperfect art.

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Tom Finn:

Yeah, well said. Ship imperfect art. Move the needle for yourself. Be the expert and have confidence in everything that is you, even if you see it as a blue collar period of your life. That may be the most interesting thing to others. And just for the record, Todd, insurance can be sexy. I mean, come on, man. I mean, everybody loves a good insurance salesman.

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Todd Wall:

I mean, just like Shakira, these hips don't lie. I mean, these hips don't lie.

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Tom Finn:

Oh man, I love it. Look, Todd, so you, you go from broadcasting, you get into it to sort of communication coaching. You've launched this digital marketing agency  which I'd love to learn a little bit about, we don't have a ton of time, but I'd, I'd love to learn what you do at Hite Digital and how that's helping others.

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Todd Wall:

You know, where we're helping people right now really comes out of the problem with the economy right now, with this recession we're about, we're kind of tiptoeing into. No one knows exactly how deep it's going to be. But here's where we really recognized what we needed to respond to as a company, is we had a big block of business that were real estate investors. And then as the interest rate went up... a big group of them fell off. We recognize there's two types of businesses, and we needed to empower one and recognize one and empower the other one. Of these two types of real estate investors, there was those gunslingers who just, their margins were so big, they didn't care before, but when the margins started shrinking, all of a sudden they started getting jittery and pointing fingers and blaming everybody else. Then there was those, as the interest rates started going up, as the crisis started increasing, they were calm because they were lead magnets. They were experts in their field and people recognized it. And so in that process, we recognized... This is what needs to happen within this recession coming up. In today's crowded market, with the recession looming, the ones who are able to stand out with authority as an expert in their industry are the ones that are going to be the ones left standing at the end of the day. And so we began the process of, yeah, we do traditional, help people be seen on Google with Google ads, PPC, Facebook ads, and SEO so that people can find their website. We do all that traditional stuff. But we kicked it up a notch with my television background. And we've begun programs with helping people do podcasts, with helping people express themselves more clearly in video so that they can get out in the arena where the fight needs to be fought. But it feels so daunting to do that. And so we've developed these frameworks like the 50-year formula and our cocktail party social model that we have that to so that it shrinks the execution gap so that it becomes just a fill in the blank system. So they're not having to figure out what do I do? What do I say? You just be you. You be natural. You're already the expert. You already know what to say. What the funny thing we often say is, you know, if Joe Buck and if these all these TV professionals, If they have a television producer in their ear and they're highly trained on how to communicate and how to talk, if they've got a producer in their ear, why shouldn't Steve the Roofer also have someone in his ear saying, say this, now say this, now say this? Great. We're going to go edit that and we're going to help you post it. It's just that simple.

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Tom Finn:

I love it. And we're going to leave it right there. Todd, fabulous overview of communication, fabulous overview of 50 years of broadcasting. Thanks for boiling that down into 30 minutes. And, and loved hearing about what you're doing to help others in this digital world, make people more presentable, put their face out in the universe and give them the confidence to be themselves. So thank you for doing that great work. If somebody wanted to find you, where can they go ahead and do that?

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Todd Wall:

I think where my addiction is, is on Instagram, and we have blue collar experts. That's where our podcast is, blue underscore collar underscore experts. And then TV Toad is my personal Instagram. And TV Toad came about from the Dallas Cowboys, because I was a middle-aged dude. I wasn't on social media, but the Cowboys came to us and they said, hey, we want to hashtags and that because that's when it was new and they said we want you to get a Instagram account and start taking pictures on the sideline and you know put this hashtag on and It developed into a whole monster where people would yell my Instagram name from the sideline Mostly because one of my assignments was to shoot the cheerleaders. I Kind of think it was about me, but some people think it was about them. So but I don't know we'll see.

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Tom Finn:

Yeah, maybe history will tell that story differently than you do, but that's wonderful. So we'll, we'll check you out on Instagram. We'll put that in the show notes and we'll get everybody funneled towards you there. Todd, thanks for coming on the show, man. This was enlightening and I love hearing the message about how business and broadcasting match. 

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So we'll, we'll check you out on Instagram. We'll put that in the show notes and we'll get everybody funneled towards you there. Todd, thanks for coming on the show, man. This was enlightening and I love hearing the message about how business and broadcasting match.

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Todd Wall:

Thanks, buddy.

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Tom Finn:

And thank you for joining the Talent Empowerment podcast. We hope you're discovering your true calling, have figured out your dream career and are living your best life. Get ready to dive back into all things, career and happiness on the next episode. We'll see you then.

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