Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Dahlton Bennington. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Dahlton, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. So, one thing many business owners consider is donating a percentage of sales or profits to an organization or cause. We’d love to hear your thoughts and the story behind how and why you chose the cause or organization you donate to.
One of our most exciting new initiatives is supporting the UN’s Sustainable Development goal to offset the carbon footprint of the meetings and incentives we manage. In partnership with Trees4Travel, we’ll use their CO2 Event Calculator to determine how many trees are needed to plant to remove the CO2 emissions. We then sponsor the planting of indigenous trees with the highest environmental impact in areas where they are needed most creating new future forests for our planet, and supporting the welfare of local planting communities. In addition to planting trees, Trees4Travel also combines our tree purchases with certified carbon credits investing in renewable energy projects. The Urban Forestry Network reported a baby sapling will absorb 6kgs of CO2 in its first year, growing to 22kgs per year when it matures to 10 years old, and then continues to do so for its expected lifespan of 150 years. We’re looking forward to it.
Dahlton, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
While owning my own business wasn’t always my dream, It’s become my dream job.
As a small child, I loved to travel and was fascinated by hotels. The dream of owning 13 hotels worldwide led me to study Hotel Management in the US and abroad. My passion for travel and understanding new cultures increased as I learned and discovered more. Now I like to think in a way I do own hotels around the world, for a short about of time without the management/ownership woes.
Education aside, the foundation of my career is 15 years working with one of the largest staffing and recruiting companies in North America honing my craft at first as a meeting planner and in the end leading the Meetings and Incentives department. I learned about motivating people, providing professional development tools and mentoring; became a skilled problem solver skilled at trouble-shooting, pre-emptive planning, and building staff morale. Set strategic initiatives to meet company priorities and led our team to meet them.
My business background has been built in the meeting, incentives, and event planning domain. I understand how to leverage meetings, pull together innovative, targeted agendas, and coordinate the multiple layers of people and logistics needed to stage consistently high-quality memorable corporate events. There is no detail of a meeting that escapes my attention and I have been successful in mobilizing a diverse staff to meet the needs of a sophisticated clientele with ease and with precision.
I founded my company in 2012 to create and execute successful meetings and incentives that motivate, educate and inspire our client’s teams. PROfound Planning is a full-service meeting and incentive management company that advocates for business growth with knowledge, experience, and respect. We partner with our clients to define the goals and objectives of their programs and off-site meetings. We work to find the perfect venue through an intense site selection process, ensuring we set for several varied and viable options. From there we can develop the program, manage all marketing and communication, and manage and fulfill all program elements while providing top-notch on-site leadership. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention we ensure fiscal responsibility with our budgeting process, risk mitigation with extensive program knowledge, and personalized customer/attendee experience which we review and benchmark with survey feedback.
What sets us apart from other companies is our program management. From start to finish, we manage our clients’ meetings and incentives with expertise, industry-leading knowledge, and a single point of contact. From concept, pre-event planning, and on-site management to final billing and evaluations our clients work with me or a senior planner. We like to be considered as an extension of our client’s talent management team and will partner with them in whatever capacity required from just sourcing to full-service management.
I mentioned my dream wasn’t to own my company, and I’ve never considered myself to be entrepreneurial. I feel fortunate to really love what I do, enjoy the work, and be good at it. Throughout my career, I’ve made exceptional friends, colleagues, and mentors who have offered advice, motivation, encouragement, and strength. With their support, PROfound Planning was created, and now flourishing as it grows.
Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?
I attribute a lot of my success and reputation to being an advocate for my vocation and industry and giving back. I’ve always been active in several trade associations Meeting Professional International (MPI), the Society of Incentive Travel Excellence (Site), and the Incentive Research Foundation. A friend and leader within the IRF once told me what they need most was “Wit, Wisdom, Work & Wealth” if I could contribute any of those I’d deliver value to the organization. I now try to contribute all four in all endeavors.
Through my industry involvement, I’ve become known as a key leader and accomplished presenter at industry events and universities promoting the value of meetings, and incentives and a published author for industry publications showcasing destination highlights and their value to drive performance for meeting and incentive planners.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
One of the things I’m most proud of dates back to 2008/2009 when meetings and especially incentives faced a lot of adversity and challenges. In partnership with the IRF, I sought and consolidated executive support for a comprehensive Return on investment study of Spherion’s incentive program as a motivational tool. I worked with academics to study and analyze data on what I believed is a best-in-class incentive, and we published the Anatomy of an Incentive Travel Program (https://theirf.org/research_
Contact Info:
- Website: www.profoundplanning.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dahltonbe/. and https://www.instagram.com/PROfoundPlanning
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/dahlton
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dahlton/ and https://www.linkedin.com/company/profoundplanning/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/dahltonb and https://twitter.com/ProfoundPlanning
Image Credits
Dahlton Bennington