What Others Say About Coaching With Sarah
Corporate Workshop/Speaking Testimonials
Private Coaching & 1-Day VIP Intensive Testimonials
Corporate Workshop/Speaking Testimonials
“Brilliant, Successful Executive Women, Engaging, Practical Takeaways…give insight into what our audiences had to say about the presentation by Sarah Hathorn. I had the pleasure of working with Sarah to plan a presentation for a large audience of women that represented technology professionals starting in their career to experienced executive leaders. Sarah spoke on “The Art of Self Promotion to Lead by Design” sharing her secrets to a building a powerful, career enhancing leadership brand. Her presentation gave every individual memorable takeaways to proactively build the brand you want. I can’t wait to work with Sarah again because she was a dynamic speaker, organized, very personable, and responsive to our needs. The Women In Technology organization is forever grateful for the investment of her time and sharing with our audiences. I highly recommend her for any group looking to educate on accelerating your career with an expert certified by the National Speaker Association with strong platform skills.”
Danielle Joiner McPherson
Program Director
Women In Technology
"Sarah Hathorn presented a program called Fast Track Your Career in 2013 for ASTD Atlanta’s Professional Development to share her expertise on executive coaching and career development. She helped focus our group of learning and training professionals, who usually concentrate on developing and growing others, to realize how to position and market our brand to be taken seriously and credibly by executives, colleagues, team members, and peers. She also talked about ways to overcome issues that can hamper success in meeting these challenges.
Her program was full of useful tips for realizing the value you bring to your work, while honing your abilities to frame accomplishments to showcase them and prepare for golden opportunities.
Sarah’s presentation was polished yet still extremely accessible, relatable, and interesting to our audience. I highly recommend her if you are looking to develop your leadership potential, move past excuses and roadblocks, and be coached by one of the best--a positive and effective professional!"
Karen Sieczka
Director of Professional Development
ASTD Atlanta
“Sarah presented to our consulting practice team at a corporate meeting in October 2012. Our consulting practice provides consultative services in health care strategy and operations for health systems, hospitals, post-acute providers, and senior living providers in all 50 states. We were looking for a leadership development speaker and Sarah fit the bill tremendously. Sarah described how each employee has a personal brand and how the personal brand can contribute to the overall company brand. Sarah also incorporated how our company values of Hospitality, Stewardship, Integrity, Respect and Humor play an important role in developing the personal and corporate brand.
I would highly recommend Sarah Hathorn. She was articulate and engaging as a speaker, and very well received by our team. Additionally, Sarah was a pleasure to work with as she developed the specifics of our presentation. She listened intently to the unique needs of our consulting practice and built specific, customized messages to meet our needs. Moreover, she was prompt, decisive and personable throughout the engagement. Sarah was so well received, we anticipate engaging Sarah for some follow-up sessions with other leaders throughout our company.”
Leah Lindgren, MHA
Senior Consultant
Health Dimensions Group
“We were so excited to have Sarah come and talk to our team! We recommend Sarah to all of our clients because of her professionalism and encouraging spirit. She has so much experience in perfecting and improving front stage appearance that has REALLY helped our team put our best foot forward. We know that first impressions are HUGE with our clients. As a result, our team now takes pride in how they dress and present themselves as well as how they present information to our clients for maximized retention of information. Sarah gave us to the tools to be INTENTIONAL in these things that make a BIG difference in our authority with our clients! We have talked about having her come back several times a year to refresh our team on these important principles. You think your team knows it, but they definitely don't!! Thank you Sarah!”
Kerri McDaniel
Training Manager
Scheduling Institute
“Working with Illustra Consulting has given our people the knowledge and expertise to portray a professional image that clearly communicates our corporate brand. Since Sarah has begun her coaching and workshops, we have seen a significant improvement in our employees’ professional presence. The training is educational, inspiring and empowering!”
Larry Evans, CPA
Managing Member
Dixon Hughes Goodman
“Sarah Hathorn, CEO of Illustra Consulting, gave a workshop at Home Depot for our Women’s Affinity group. I was impressed with how she engaged the audience in delivering the material and I found her to be very relevant and focused on business messaging through your professional image. She gave quite a few great examples (from photos and brave audience participants) to make her points. It was evident that she had done her research on our organization in advance and her homework paid off. Bottom line – if you are looking for an event – I would highly recommend Sarah.”
Susan O’Farrell
VP Procurement & Asset Management
The Home Depot
“Sarah Hathorn designed two international webinars for Teradata, covering how to elevate your professional presence, and corporate branding in your overall image to include appearance, behavior and communication skills. Sarah’s style and delivery was excellent. She made the presentation interactive and provided valuable content. The participants loved the question and answer time to solicit specific branding input from Sarah, which demonstrated her expertise. She created a webinar that was not only information-oriented, but the polling questions kept the audience engaged. I definitely recommend Sarah to international organizations who wish to offer professional development courses on image and brand management.”
Susan Baxley
Director of Community Relations
Teradata Corporation
“Sarah possesses a wealth of knowledge on executive presence topics and was able to assist us in our corporate rebranding strategy. She delivered a powerful message on visual impact, networking and non-verbal communications skills in an engaging manner. Our international sales force left the seminar inspired and ready to practice her visual and non-verbal techniques to build credibility. As a result of Sarah’s workshop we have noticed our team stepping up their professional image and improved client relationships. I highly recommend Sarah and hope to have her return again soon to assist us in strengthening our corporate brand presence.”
Brian Wholley
VP, Global Sales
Genesis Biosciences
“I was thrilled. All of the responses were great – they loved Sarah and the presentation. She did a great job of catering to the audience and making the material relevant to everyone across all levels of the organization. They especially liked the powerful take-home tool, and the training (Women’s Leadership Network Presentation: Lead by Design: Creating Your Authentic Leadership Brand) is useful for all areas of our organization. The content also translates well to women’s leadership divisions, and we definitely want to use Sarah again.”
Linda Bergman
Regional RE Manager
McDonald’s Corporation
“I have seen many people either be passed over or lose a job simply because of their image. The sad part is that no one ever tells these people that their image is the problem. Sarah Hathorn has a unique ability to address this sensitive issue by providing image consulting in such a positive and constructive manner that it has an immediate affect on people’s lives. Image is important no matter who you are. I highly recommend individuals and companies utilize her expertise.”
Kevin Scherm
On-Site Solutions Director – Weatherford
National Oilwell Varco
“Sarah’s presentation was wonderful! After the meeting, one of the participants said ‘Sarah’s presentation was just what I needed to be at my professional best next week when I present a proposal to our management team.’ Her talk was inspiring, educational, and enlightening!"
Dave O’Farrell
Chairperson
SHRM South Atlanta GEM Chapter
"Sarah, thank you so much for taking the time to share highly valuable content in your “Strategies to Strut Your Stuff to Success” presentation for the Gwinnett Leadership Organization for Women. The feedback from the women was fabulous! Everyone loved the interaction, the presentation and you. You are a very talented facilitator and know how to engage the participants for deeper learning. Thanks for inspiring us all!"
Rachel Jeffers
Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce
“Thank you for the presentation to the Bain & Company Women’s Group. Your presentation sparked conversation about how to assess and realize our own personal and corporate brand messages. You helped to make our event successful!”
Sunshine Yin
Bain & Company
“Sarah is an engaging, lively speaker who provides straightforward, insightful information touched with humor and goodwill that benefits many. Even those of us who think we may all ready already have a polished, professional image, can pick up a few helpful tips on personal branding. A must hear for anyone venturing out into the professional world.”
Carol Collandra RN, CCM
2009 CMSA-ATL Speaker Committee
Private Coaching & 1-Day VIP Intensive Testimonials
“As a Director I worked with Sarah to up-level my professional presence. She shared with me a variety of ways to leverage my personal brand and attributes to communicate with impact, poise and confidence. As a result of working with Sarah I have increased my professional presence and visibility among senior leaders, and understand how to create a visual impact that best represents my position and my personal brand. It was amazing to see how the little things resulted in a big difference using Sarah’s easy step-by-step methods. As a result of this journey I now feel more confident in my overall presence. I highly recommend working with Sarah to create an authentic presence that communicates professionalism, expertise and with impact.”
Sandy Allred
Senior Director, Organizational Effectiveness
McKesson
“As a platinum client I have been working with Sarah over the past year. She is extremely talented. I wish every woman could experience her knowledge because being confident in your presence is a true gift every woman should receive and Sarah helps change female top leaders’ lives. I have loved working with Sarah over this past year and have had great success with her on my journey. If you are looking for a high-level professional coach who provides great value for the investment for your personal and professional growth, a partner who believes in you and makes you think BIG every step of the journey.”
Jo Kirchner
CEO & President
Primrose Schools
“Sarah Hathorn made me feel six inches taller thanks to a new sense of self confidence after our 1-Day VIP Intensive Session. She listened to my challenges, designed a customized program for me, and gave me a detailed action plan and numerous tips so I could continue to work on professional development on my own. Now I communicate with impact and leverage my three V's – visible, vocal and valuable – for greater success. I own a strong, confident, and commanding presence that makes all the difference in my career. It was definitely worth my investment.”
Jennie Helderman
Author
My experience with Sarah Hathorn’s Private Platinum Coaching Program was definitely worth the time and investment. Sarah provided me with immediate access and was a very positive force in moving me forward to realize my ultimate potential with higher industry visibility.
But before working with Sarah I felt stuck. I was working hard without getting noticed, and it seemed that everyone else’s ideas were being regarded as better than mind.
During an entire VIP Day we mapped out my 5-year strategy and set annual, monthly, and quarterly goals to keep me on track. The entire time was devoted to working on exactly what I needed to do. It was very intensive, but extremely thought-provoking. Now I’ve increased my visibility online and offline and I get out there and express myself with a crystal clear career vision. Working with Sarah enhanced my self-awareness, helped me define my personal brand and leadership legacy, taught me to believe in my vision, and helped me achieve a healthier work/life balance.
Sarah’s positive coaching methodology stretched me to think bigger about the possibilities while overcoming the kinds of self-limiting belief systems that hold many leaders back. She challenged and supported me so that I could feel the confidence and trust in yourself that comes from breaking out of the comfort zone to realize your full potential. Each week Sarah would come to me with focus, energy, and inspiration and shed light on new possibilities and different angles and solutions. She illuminated my blind spots to help me break out of my old mindset habits. I started implementing specific strategies and techniques to strengthen my weaknesses and stop letting myself be influenced in negative ways by others.
I have definitely stepped into my power and would have never done this on my own. Looking forward I know that instead of just working hard and treading water I have a dynamic plan and an insightful strategy. I can design and define my own career destiny, and that is a life-changing feeling, both personally and professionally.
John Bonanno
Vice President
Crescent Resources LLC
Dr. Cliff Brown
Babylon Dental Care
West Babylon, New York
www.babylondentalcare.com
"I got so much out of the day. Just having lunch was worth the whole trip down. I highly recommend you come down and spend the day with Sarah"
Dr. Justin Ahoyt
Ahoyt Family Dental
Plainfield, Illinois
www.ahoytfamilydental.com
"The main take-aways I got from today were really the way I communicate with my staff, brand management - understanding that everything matters. And the most of all, playing a big game."
Dr. Kevin Lilly
Lilly Family Dentistry
Sioux City, Iowa
www.lillyfamilydentistry.com
"Sarah really helped me define what I want our brand to be and what that means across the different facets of how I look, how the staff looks, what the office looks like and even to the website."
Dr. Dan Beninato
Premier Dental
Omaha, Nebraska
www.premiersmile.com
"The best thing I got out of today was how to better deal with my team.....And I can't wait to get back and start implementing what I learned."
Dr. Peter Norris
All Smiles Dentistry
Houston, Texas
www.allsmilesdentist.com/
"Part of becoming more successful is to learn the habits of successful business owners. And we talked quite a bit about how they present themselves and how they focus. And I need to be one of those people."
Dr. Patti Bradley
Lake Oconee Dentistry
Greensboro, Georgia
www.lakeoconeedental.com/
"It was an intense day, but for me it was a blast! It was thought provoking. Much more than just clothes, it was the entire brand. From the website, to Twitter and Facebook to what you wear and what you want your message to be"
Dr. Rebecca Bye
The Bye Center for Periodontics & Implants
Hagerstown, Maryland
www.periodonticsandimplants.com
"We talked a lot about how my job as a visionary is to really help the team become more of leaders in each department"
Dr. William Caldon
High Peaks Dental
Plattsburgh, New York
www.highpeaksdental.com
"Sarah told us all the things that we can do and should to to look better and increase our image and brand to look more professional."
Dr. Michael Sullivan
Beacon Dental Center
Charlevoix, Michigan
www.beacondentalcenter.com/
"By spending the day with Sarah, I was able to get a grasp on some of the brand attributes that I would like to exude myself"
Spending a 1-Day Intensive session with Sarah was absolutely incredible. During several hours of creative brainstorming together she gave me all the image and branding tools that I needed to substantially increase my practice.
Among other things, Sarah did a valuable critique of my marketing, including my website and use of social media, and her perceptions and feedback were right-on. Then she laid out clear steps for me to take to get better results in those areas, while teaching me about the right kinds of branding tools I could use to start seeing a real impact in both my online and offline presence.
Sarah’s strong corporate background and experience with managing hundreds of people in a high profile organization was another huge bonus for me in terms of learning how to develop more cooperative and productive teams. She also showed me some really interesting ways to find and train the best people so I can build my human capital for long-term sustainability.
I highly recommend Sarah and her 1-Day sessions to anyone who wants to get amazing advice on their brand or professional presence, or who wants to know what it’s like to experience very high level coaching and business consulting.
Thanks, Sarah, for sharing your experience and expertise and helping me grow my business.
Dr. Jesse Chai
Bradford Dental
Ontario Canada
www.bradfordfamilydentist.ca/
"As a dentist and business owner, I have three top priorities right now that Sarah Hathorn’s consulting helped me clarify and focus on with fresh new strategies. I want to paint a vision of how I want my practice to develop and where I want it to go. I want to inspire my team to help meet benchmarks that will make that happen, and I want to create a positive workplace culture and a supportive environment that builds morale and brings out everyone’s best performance. To ensure that I have the most productive team and people who share and reflect my vision, I have to recruit, hire, develop, and retain top talent.
Those may be tall orders, but I know that if I can accomplish those three primary objectives I will be on my way to swiftly increasing my business and revenues. During our 1-Day Intensive VIP session we strategized everything from my fan page and social media marketing to ways to communicate my brand and image through the appearance, behavior, and communication skills of my staff. Sarah showed me how to plan ahead for the growing pains that come from running a larger practice, and how to take proactive steps to make sure than it keeps growing in a profitable way."
Dr. Michael Barnett
Stoney Brook Dental Care
Louisville, Kentucky
www.stonybrookdentalcare.com
