Biography

Bill Metcalf is first and foremost a "storyteller." For the past 12 years, Bill has traveled the country as the Nation's TechnoMotivator™. He has helped organizations overcome their limiting beliefs about using new technology that have kept them stuck in 20th century thinking. He did that by telling the "story" of new technology in a way that everyone could "get it."

Now he has harnessed the power of new multimedia technology to enable him to tell even more exciting stories - the success stories of your Raving Fans - the people who LOVE what you do. He does not consider himself a marketing expert. He does not have to be. The real experts are YOUR Raving Fans. For who else knows better what you are doing right and what you are doing wrong than your best customers. Now Bill gives them a voice.

It is no mystery why Bill is able to ask such penetrating questions of customers in so many diverse fields. Just consider his background.

Baker Rental Company - Bill operated a small, family-owned property management company for a Polish Jewish immigrant who came to this country without a penny. This was Bill's on-the-job MBA in small business administration! He handled everything for the owner from new construction management, promotion and advertising, hiring and training of property managers - even serving eviction notices in what was then considered a ghetto area. Pretty scary stuff at times. So Bill understands the challenges of small business.

College Professor - Bill's heart was not initially in business. It was in the Theatre where he earned a PhD in Theatre Arts from the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. He loved teaching because it was simply another form of story-telling. But he felt that schools were out of touch with the realities of the working world for actors. So he decided to work professionally to discover the truth.

On-Camera Presenter - For 10 years, Bill was one of the most highly sought-after On-Camera Talents in the Chicago Industrial Film market. He logged over 6,000 hours on camera in over 600 projects from videos, to commercials, to trade shows. During that 10 year period, he was paid so well because he was such a chameleon. One day he could be a very credible surgeon, the next day a farmer, the next day a stay-at-home Dad. He worked for a vast variety of companies. And he therefore had to learn enough each profession so that people believed he was the "Real McCoy." Not that he became an expert in every field. No one could do that. But Bill learned a good deal about a whole lot of industries and professions.

It was during this period that Bill recognized a critical failing in all of these marketing and training efforts. Nearly every video included interviews with satisfied customers. When the cameras were "off," these people were powerful engaging presenters. But once the tape started rolling they became wooded, dull, and, essentially ineffective. Bill knew there had to be a better way to capture these great endorsements. He also realized that multimedia marketing materials were too expensive, took too long to produce, and because of the time and expense, they tended to "shoot for the middle."

That is, these programs had to take the "safe route" and try to be all things to all prospects. Therefore, they were not very effective for the most part. People all believe they are special. They don't want "one-size-fits-all" thinking. They don't "translate" well from one example to their own.

There had to be a way to capture a TON of customer endorsements (rather than one or two); and there had to be a way to do them faster, cheaper, and more effectively - to get to the "heart and passion" of the Raving Fans that showed up in rehearsals, but never made it into the final cut!

TechnoMotivator™ Professional Speaking. As technology and the economy drove major changes in the Industrial Film market, Bill looked to apply his story-telling expertise elsewhere. He discovered professional speaking. At last he found his perfect setting. Only one problem. He had no topic! As an actor he always used someone else's script! But he came under the tutelage of the perfect mentor for Bill, Daniel Burrus, internationally known technology speaker and author of TechnoTrends.

Bill initially thought he would simply be a "mini-Dan Burrus." He even presented Dan's famous interactive TechnoTrends Card Game workshops. But Dan's incredible science background and his analytical mind worked very differently than Bill's. Bill soon discovered that his real value was again in "story telling." There was a huge gap of understanding and knowledge between the techies who designed products and the man on the street who needed to find value in them and use them productively.

Over the next 12 years, Bill became the Nation's TechnoMotivator™, crisscrossing the country teaching REAL people how they could take advantage of technology in their daily lives. Bill's business boomed all the way through the 90's. He was represented by over 40 speakers bureaus. His fee was up to $6,000 a keynote. And in 2000 he did over 50 gigs! Life was good. He had turned the corner as a professional speaker and was destined to have great success.

Since he worked primarily through speakers bureaus, he tended to be a "horizontal" speaker, that is, he did not specialize in one market. Instead, just as in his days of working on-camera, he would speak to doctors one week and plumbers the next about how to profit from the effective use of technology in THEIR field. Each program was carefully customized to make sure it fit the audience's specific needs. So again, Bill knew a little bit about a whole lot of different professions and industries. As he likes to say, "I'm very broad, but a little shallow!"

But while the year 2000 was spectacular, 2001 was quite different. The recession no one wanted to admit to slowed down the speaking business in the spring of 2001. Then the technology stocks took that major dive that literally dumped the wind from our country's economic sails. "Gee, should we hire a technology speaker for our big meeting this year?" Not! Then September 11th came by and literally killed the meetings industry. It is only now showing signs of recovery 4 years later.

Building Unshakable Walls of Belief Marketing Consulting. But each challenge creates new opportunities. In 2001, Bill needed to find new ways to market himself. He put together all he knew about new multimedia technology, combined it with his knowledge gained from years of interviewing people on-camera in so many industries, added in what he learned from 12 years of customizing keynotes, and discovered his new passion of Building Unshakable Walls of Belief.

Over the past several years he has created powerful customer endorsements - Raving Fan Interviews - for a wide variety of organizations, from huge corporations such as Aramark, to individual consultants, to mid-sized businesses. Having created hundreds of these interviews, he has now created a new keynote program that will be the most customized program any speaker ever offered to any audience. Indeed, the Raving Fans of the audience will become the stars of his presentations, as they tell their stories through Bill. This site is full of great examples of those Raving Fan interviews. It also has interviews with Bill's own Raving Fan clients who can share what they have learned about this process that is helping to grow their business.

Bill's journey has a constant through line to it. He is a lifetime learner who loves to discover new ways to do things. He is a master story-teller. And he ties all of his ideas to practical use-them-today ideas that work.

Bill grew up as an Army brat and lived all across the country. He credits that upbringing with a life-long passion for change! He has now lived in the Chicagoland area for over twenty years, currently residing in Oak Park, IL with his wife of 22 years, Melanie; and his three young sons: Harrison, age 12; Jordan, age 11; and Max, age 5. Needless to say, with this young family, Bill plans to work forever! He keeps young by chasing his boys around the soccer fields as an American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) coach. His personal hobby is showing people how to use the same tools he uses for business to create Favorite Family Stories. He just can't seem to separate the story-teller from his life. Perhaps it is time for Bill to help tell your story!