Stages M&A · Stage Management & Acquisition · Signature Talk Graduates Only
Stages M&A Is Closed Until Your Talk Is Built.
Stages M&A is where I put people who have finished the 120-Day Signature Talk in front of the hosts and organizers I've spent years earning trust with. My booking desk pitches you every day. We cover every placement fee, and you never pay to be on a stage.
It is open to graduates only. If you haven't finished the Signature Talk, you can't enroll, and there are no exceptions. My name goes into every room with you, which is why the talk comes first. Right now, my booking desk is pitching graduates to podcasts and events every day. If you haven't built your talk, none of those pitches are yours.
400+ operators across 50+ industries. Featured in Forbes, Entrepreneur, PIX11, Yahoo Finance, and NBC.
The Hard Part Is Finding the Stage.
Building the talk is the work. Once it's built, you need rooms to give it in, and rooms are hard to find. Hosts and organizers say yes to people they already trust, and trust takes years to build. Most speakers send an application into a pile and wait.
Every organizer carries the same worry. A speaker who runs long, loses the room, or doesn't deliver can break the whole event, and the person who recommended them won't be asked again. So they stay careful, and a new name needs someone standing behind it.
Most people's hardest part about getting on stage is finding the stages.
Finding the stage is the part I solve, and I solve it only for people who have built the talk.
What the Program Does.
Stages M&A stands for Stage Management and Acquisition. We manage your presence on podcasts and stages, and we find and win the placements that fit your talk.
I put you into my network on purpose. You meet leaders, stage managers, and event organizers as peers because I make the introduction. I spent most of my career building those relationships, and you don't have to build them from scratch.
When an organizer hears you came through my program, they already know what to expect. They don't have to grill you, and you don't have to wait years for a relationship to do its work.
In my words: “The stage was never the point. The point is the room, and who's standing next to the stage.”
What We Do.
Daily booking.
My booking desk at Shaan Rais Media and PR pitches you every day to podcasts that have released an episode in the last 60 days and to events with open speaker applications. Each pitch opens with a specific recent episode, gives the host two or three angles shaped for that audience, and links your media kit.
Your media kit.
A branded kit built for you, so a host sees who you are and what you'll bring before they reply.
Placements.
Podcast guest spots, podcast co-hosting, VIP dinners, keynotes at events, and television spots.
Stage craft.
Coaching on tenacity, inflection, pauses, presence, and how to move on stage. You learn to introduce your idea like a lawyer would, with command. Some things in speaking only a speaker can teach, because only a speaker has them.
One talk, tailored to every room.
You bring one talk, one story, and one main thesis. We shape how you frame it around what each organizer wants their audience to walk away with. That's how people come to remember you.
Coaching for the road.
Rest, protecting your voice, time zones, and what to skip the night before a talk.
Every placement fee covered.
When a placement costs money, we pay it. You never pay for a placement.
How It Works.
1. The talk.
You finish the 120-Day Signature Talk. This is the starting line, and I don't skip it. I have to know the talk I'm putting my name behind. There is no other way in.
2. The proof.
You practice the talk on video and role-play it. When schedules allow, tell it to me in person, because a talk needs performance and body language to match the words. I want to see you stand and deliver.
3. The first rooms.
You start on podcasts. From there you move up to VIP dinners, which are small rooms with serious people, and then to keynotes, depending on your speaking background. Nobody gets put on a big stage before they've said the talk to a live audience.
4. The climb.
Bookings come in waves. The first month moves fast and builds early momentum, then the pace settles while the next round gets set. We coach you through each wave.
Who Does the Work.
I open the doors, and I decide who walks through them. I vet every speaker I introduce, and I coach your delivery myself. My booking desk handles the daily pitching, media kits, and logistics, so you can spend your time on the talk.
My name travels into every room, so nobody gets introduced before the talk has been heard. It only takes ten seconds to lose what took ten years to build, and I don't roll dice with it.
What Clients Have Built.
Every speaker below finished the Signature Talk before I introduced them to a room.
Josh Waxman,“Play the Right Game.”
Josh, co-founder of Infinite Capital Solutions, finished his Signature Talk and moved into Stages M&A. In his first month, he booked three to four podcasts and two to three stages. His first round includes a keynote at Tim Storey's Lead With Love Mastermind, speaking slots at VIP dinners in New York and Las Vegas, and a featured guest seat on Office Hours. The host of Success Story with Scott D. Clary said yes to his pitch.
Captain Melinda Zisser.
An active Boeing 737 captain and check airman with 30+ years in the cockpit, and the founder of Financial Flight Path. The host of The Aviation Business Podcast said yes to her pitch and skipped the pre-call.
Results vary. Individual results depend on the talk, the market, and the client's participation.
Book Your Positioning CallWhat we do for me, we do for clients.
Shaan RaisYou Don't Have a Marketing Problem, You Have a Positioning ProblemLaw of Attraction Secrets with Natasha Graziano
Shaan RaisThe Kid From Harlem Who Built a $3M Business OrganicallyOmar Elattar
Shaan RaisHow Anyone Can Monetize a Personal BrandDropping Bombs with Brad Lea- Shaan RaisEntrepreneurs on Fire with John Lee Dumas
- Elora TranYour Biggest Breakdowns Can Become Your Biggest BreakthroughsLaw of Attraction Secrets with Natasha Graziano
Josh WaxmanBuilding Billions with Brandon Dawson- Gianna MiceliOn the Aspire stage
- Gianna MiceliOn the Aspire stage
Your Stage Itinerary
The first round built for Josh Waxman: New York, Las Vegas and Scottsdale, fall 2026.
Wed, Oct 7 · 6:00 to 9:00pm ETConfirmed
New York City
Ad Week VIP Dinner Experience: you speak
Catch NYC, with special guests David Meltzer, Jorge Masvidal, Kim Perell, Stephen Scoggins, Lou Diamond Phillips and Marshall Faulk.
Mon, Oct 12 · 10:00am to 5:00pm PTConfirmed
Las Vegas
Stirling Club Mastermind with Rob Gill
A full-day private mastermind at The Stirling Club, hosted by Rob Gill and David Meltzer.
Mon, Oct 12 · 6:00 to 9:00pm PTConfirmed
Las Vegas
Office Hours VIP Dinner: you speak
At The Stirling Club, with David Meltzer and featured talent from the Office Hours TV show.
Tue, Oct 13 · alternate: Tue, Nov 10Reserved
Las Vegas
Office Hours, Season 11: featured guest
A 20-minute featured guest segment at the Sirius XM Studio at the Wynn Las Vegas. Each panelist interviews you on their episode.
Sat, Oct 17 to Sun, Oct 18Confirmed
Scottsdale
Keynote: Tim Storey's Lead With Love Mastermind
Keynote speaker. Session time to follow.
Dates and times being finalizedTimes to come
Next up
Natasha Graziano
The team is locking the times now, with full details in a separate note as soon as they're set.
The Part That's Up to You.
You show up ready. You've practiced the talk until it's yours, you arrive on time, and you take the prep call seriously. Your name travels with mine into every room, and a bad night on stage costs us both.
You look after yourself. A full calendar of rooms will wear you down if you let it, so you get coaching on rest, your voice, hydration, and travel from the start.
You also say yes to the climb. You'll start smaller than you'd like and move up as the talk proves itself in front of people.
Who It's For.
I built Stages M&A for people who have finished the 120-Day Signature Talk and rehearsed it until it holds. You want the right people to hear your talk, and you'd rather be introduced than apply. You're ready to be coached on delivery, and you know a stage is a place to compel, not a place to pitch.
It isn't for you if you haven't built your talk. I can't enroll you, and I don't make exceptions. Start with the 120-Day Signature Talk and come back. This is not for the weak. It also isn't for you if you want a platform to sell from the lectern, or if you can't take direction on how you deliver.
If you've done the work, you're already in the circle. This page is the next door. If you haven't, you're looking at the circle from the outside, and the way in is the Signature Talk.
Start Where Every Speaker Starts.
Josh finished the Signature Talk before I introduced him to a single room. That's where your talk gets built. When it's done and rehearsed, come back and ask about Stages M&A.
Start With the 120-Day Signature TalkI Built My Name in These Rooms.
I'm an Evidence-Based Executive Coach with three master's degrees: an MS in I/O Psychology, an MA in Organizational Development and Change, and an MEd in Leadership Development. I'm completing a PhD and an EdD. Jack Welch mentored me at the Jack Welch Management Institute from 2018 to 2020.
Organizers and fellow speakers tell it better than I can:
When I saw Shaan speak today, I was riveted.
Gloria Mayfield Banks
We made the decision that Shaan needed to close the event... He delivered on every single level.
David MichaelCEO, Lead With Love
He was one of the best speakers here.
Tim Storey
He commanded an entire room with strong, wealthy, powerful individuals.
Tanner NatzkeAspire Charlotte VIP dinner
The Investment.
Stages M&A is a premium engagement built to run through a full year. We cover every placement fee. We go over the investment in your first conversation, which comes after the Signature Talk.
Before You Ask.
Can I join without the 120-Day Signature Talk?
No. I put my name behind every person I introduce, and I don't introduce a talk I haven't heard. You can't apply around it or buy around it. Finish the Signature Talk, then ask.
Does finishing the Signature Talk get me in automatically?
It makes you eligible to ask. Before anyone is introduced, the talk has to be rehearsed and delivered live, and I decide who I put my name behind.
Will I be on a big stage right away?
No. You start on podcasts, move to VIP dinners, and graduate to keynotes as your speaking background and results allow.
Can you promise a specific number of bookings?
No. Placements depend on your talk, the fit, and the decisions of hosts and organizers. We promise the work, which is the daily pitching, the introductions, the media kit, and the coaching. Josh's first month is one example, not a guarantee.
Do I pay for placements?
No. When a placement costs money, we pay it.
What if I've never spoken on a stage?
That's fine, as long as you've finished the Signature Talk. You start on podcasts and build from there.
Do I have to travel?
Podcasts are recorded from wherever you are. Many dinners and keynotes are in person, and you get coaching on handling the road.
Who makes the introductions?
I do, personally.
You've Done the Hard Part. Now Take It to the Room.
If you've finished the Signature Talk, ask about Stages M&A. We'll confirm your talk is ready, tell you which rooms fit it, and tell you honestly whether this is the right next step.
Haven't built your talk yet? Start with the 120-Day Signature Talk. When it's done, come back and ask.
Results vary. Outcomes depend on each client's talk, market, and participation, and on the decisions of hosts and event organizers. Results described on this page are not a guarantee of future results.