We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Dia Bondi a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Dia thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

This is the story of how I saw the idea that became my first book which is a cornerstone of my speaking business.

For years I was helping my clients lowball themselves and I didn’t even know I was doing it, until I went to Auctioneering School- just as a little adventure; something fun to learn. I turned that fun little adventure into an impact hobby and started fundraising auctioneering for non profits in my community.

A few dozen auctions into it, I realized that as a communications coach for high impact leaders and entrepreneurs, I’d been helping my clients craft the most important asks they’d been making in a way that guaranteed we’d leave money and opportunity on the table. I’d been defining our asks based on “what do we think we can get?” which is an honorable and logical question but unfortunately limits the asks to only what WE thought was possible.

But once I saw that if we asked not like business people, but mimicked what auctioneers do on stage or on the auction block, we’d maximize the potential of each ask. I saw that while I don’t want my clients to BE auctioneers, I wanted to borrow what I was learning and help them ASK like auctioneer which means: ask so big you think you’re going to get a no, and then negotiate down.

This is what I was doing on stage in my auctioneering hobby- raising hundreds of thousands of dollars at big and small events. I’d auction off an item by asking until someone in the bidding pool said “no” to the highest ask and then I’d sell the auctioned item to the person who said yes to the price right below.

Now, I know my clients are nearly never in a bidding war for their time or product, but they do have the opportunity to ask so big they think they may be threatening a “no” in response and then land on something that is smaller than the biggest ask, but more than they would have gotten if they’d designed an ask to guarantee a yes.

Why hadn’t I seen this before? Why had I, all the years before, limited the asks we were making to just what WE thought we could get and never really stretching or challenging our assumptions about what was possible.

In that moment I realized that there was more potential if we went for a “no” than asking to get a “yes”, I knew that this flip-flopped approach would be my first book.

How’d it happen? By letting myself see how two totally unrelated worlds (auctioneering and leadership communication) could be combined to make a new approach. This is, in my view the definition of innovation. Making new combinations of known ideas into a new approach.

I was so excited about this approach and soon tested it, and the results were wild! My communications clients were securing bigger deals, better partnerships, and boatloads more dollars. Once I saw it work in the lives and businesses of my clients, I knew it was time to put it on the page.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I am Dia Bondi, a long time leadership communications coach and author of Ask Like an Auctioneer: How To Ask For More and Get It. I help transformational leaders speak powerfully when stakes are high securing hundreds of millions of dollars in decisions and resources for their business and initiatives growing their influence and carving a path for their future.

My core philosophy is that you are your most powerful when you speak from who you truly are which means most of my work is dedicated to helping founders and leaders develop their distinct and unique voice so they can go into these critical communications moments with a voice that rings true and bridges to the needs of the business. I do this work through private coaching, group intensives and speaking at industry and organizational events.

I’m very proud to have helped Rio DeJaneiro win the right to host the 2016 Olympics and of the work i’ve done helping to accelerate the Olympic Movement with other iconic cities.

As a secret asset for influential voices across industries, I love working with leaders who are building something new that will have impact on millions.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

My market is fairly niche. I work with VC backed founders and Executives who recognize that it’s time to lead with a stronger more influential voice. And, these clients rarely turn to the internet to find help doing what I do. Recognizing this, the single most powerful tool to building my reputation in my market has been being really great at what I do. When clients have an experience that shifts something real for them internally on how they personally approach critical communications combined with a real outcome that moves the needle for their business or initiative, that word spreads. One hundred percent of my business, and the most high profile projects have come from word of mouth. In that way, my digital presence is no more than “digital” validation so my clients who hear of me via word of mouth can verify my excellence and authenticity.

Have any books or other resources had a big impact on you?

One of the most important books i’ve read that had an impact on me personally and on how I approach my work is A General Theory of Love by Thomas Lewis , Fari Amini , et al.

This book made it clear to me that recognizing how contagious we can be is critical to owning the power of our leadership voice. It has transformed my approach to using live experiences to deepen relationships and has helped me help my clients to double down on getting clear on their intentions when they enter a high stakes communications moment.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.diabondi.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/stories/diabondia/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dia-bondi/