Customer Service
In a world where customers are more demanding than ever, meeting their expectations and creating exceptional customer service experiences are vital to any organization’s success. The Sweeney Agency will help you find the best Customer Service Speaker for your event by providing you with all the information you need to make the right decision.
About
Click here to receive your Customized List of the Best Speakers on Sales
Our Sales Speakers have used their knowledge to adapt and create actionable and engaging presentations on how organizations can pivot to embrace the opportunities presented by the pandemic.
Ranging from Virtual Keynotes to Fireside chats, all with interactive elements, let our Sales Speakers help your 2021 Sales Conference.
We work with some of the best Sales Speakers in the speaking world and asked them all the same question:
What is your number 1 sales tip?
Here’s how they answered:
Saying “yes” implies a course of positive action. The predictable expletive, “No!” can fill up our time and energy because saying “no” is
frequently a commitment to an unproductive struggle that reinforces helplessness and inertia.
Responding positively to problems is the prerequisite to overcoming bad things that occur so we can break down our challenges and move forward.
People thrive on challenges, and are the winners who get things done.
Scott McKain is a Dynamic Speaker on Innovation, Sales & Customer Service.
2. The 80/20 Rule – Tim Sanders
Some great advice we received from Tim Sanders, VP of Customer Insights for Upwork just after starting The Sweeney Agency:
“Don’t think about sales or closing deals, just position yourself so that whenever you can help someone you help them, without any expectations. 20% of the people you help you’ll never hear from again, but that won’t matter because you will certainly hear back from the other 80%. They will remember you and your incredible help and that will create such great relationships
that you will build both a great business and a great life.”
Tim Sanders is a renowned Communication and Leadership Speaker.
3. A Vision of the Future – Ryan Estis
Communicating compassionately, consistently, confidently and courageously is precisely what is required during a crisis. Our research has found that two of the biggest drivers of engagement and commitment from employees are confidence in their senior leadership and confidence in the future of the
organization.
Now is the time to model scenarios to create a long-term plan and vision for your business, fully aware that you will be agile enough to adapt when new information is available or the landscape suddenly changes.
Ryan Estis speaks on Business Performance, Leadership and Sales.
4. Be Indiana Jones – Sterling Hawkins
At the climax of Indiana Jones & The Holy Grail, the Nazis are turned to dust after selected a gem studded chalice they believe to be the Holy Grail. Indy chooses a simple wooden cup that is in fact the true Holy Grail.
In the context of business, most of us scramble to have the “right” message on social media or want to make things look a certain way. The same optics that make the false grail so beautiful.
This is a powerful lesson: the substance of something, is ultimately infinitely more important than what it looks like. Optics may present a short term gain but will always lose in the long run and at a macro level.
5. Ask Open-Ended Questions – Diana Kander
Your customers’ natural inclination is to be nice, not honest. Open-ended questions give your potential customers the option to respond very honestly and to fully explain the problems they’re
facing (that your product may or may not solve).
Ask leading questions that broadcast the answer you want to hear, such as:
- “Are you…”
- “Will you…”
- “Won’t you…”
- “Didn’t you…”
- “Can’t you…”
Diana Kander is an Entrepreneur, Author, and Speaker on Innovation.
Get in touch to book your next great sales speaker.
Lior Arussy
Leading Global Expert on Customer Experience & Customer-Centric Transformation
About
Lior Arussy: Customer Experience Strategist | Founder of Strativity Group | Speaker on Change and Employee Engagement
Make Change Matter to Customers and Employees
Lior Arussy helps leaders close that gap. As the founder of Strativity Group, he connects customer strategy to the actions employees take and the value customers experience. The Sweeney Agency
Why Book Lior Arussy?
Lior brings a practitioner’s view of change. He has worked with organizations on customer experience and employee engagement, and he shows audiences why a new strategy succeeds only when people can make it real in their work.
His keynotes challenge leaders to look beyond slogans and technology investments. Lior focuses on what customers value and how employees can deliver it consistently.
What Makes Lior Different?
- Experience helping organizations change customer and employee experiences
- A direct connection between culture, execution, and business results
- A human perspective on how AI is changing customer expectations
- Ideas that speak to leaders and customer-facing teams
- An emphasis on making change visible in everyday behaviour
Why Is Lior Right for Your Audience?
Lior is a strong fit for leadership conferences, customer experience events, sales and service meetings, and organizations working through transformation. He is particularly relevant when a team has an ambitious customer strategy but needs greater commitment and consistency across the organization.
Book Lior when your audience needs to:
- Build more valuable, lasting customer relationships
- Connect employee engagement to customer experience
- Respond to changing expectations in the AI era
- Turn a customer strategy into daily decisions and actions
- Strengthen adaptability during ongoing change
- Create a culture that supports exceptional performance
Audience Takeaways
Attendees will leave:
- Clearer about what makes a customer experience valuable
- Ready to identify gaps between their promise and their delivery
- Better able to involve employees in making change work
- Equipped to examine where digital tools help or hinder human connection
- Motivated to take ownership of the experience they create
Keynote Programs
The One and Only: The Gen AI-Empowered Customer
Lior explores how generative AI is changing customer expectations and the ways people engage with brands. He asks organizations to reconsider how they create relevant value for customers who expect more individual attention and choice.
Customer Experience as an Engine for Growth
Lior examines how organizations can make customer relationships a source of lasting business value. Drawing on successes and setbacks from real organizations, he connects customer strategy to execution and growth.
Change Resilience: The New Core Competence
Lior focuses on the human side of transformation and how organizations can become more capable of adapting as change continues. Ideal for teams facing a major strategic shift or repeated disruption. The Sweeney Agency
Why Contact The Sweeney Agency Now?
Tell us about the gap between your organization’s customer promise and what people experience. We’ll help you assess which of Lior’s programs fits your event, discuss customization, and confirm his availability and current fee.
Is Lior Right for Your Event?
Tell us about your audience, the change you are trying to make, and the customer or employee outcome you want. We’ll help you assess Lior’s fit and plan the next step.
To check availability and fee of this speaker, call 1-866-727-7555 or email [email protected].
Jay Baer
Hall of Fame Keynote Speaker and Best-selling Author on Customer Experience, Customer Service, Business Growth, and Marketing, and Event Emcee & Host
About
Jay Baer: Hall of Fame Keynote Speaker | Customer Experience and Business Growth Expert | Bestselling Author
Give Customers a Reason to Choose You—and Come Back
Jay Baer helps leaders answer that question. A researcher, advisor, and entrepreneur focused on customer experience, he turns changing expectations into practical actions teams can use to win and keep customers. The Sweeney Agency
Why Book Jay Baer?
Jay connects customer experience directly to growth. He makes the case that speed, clarity, kindness, and human connection influence whether people buy, return, and recommend a business.
His keynotes combine research, business examples, and humour with actions audiences can take back to their teams.
What Makes Jay Different?
- Extensive experience advising brands on marketing and customer experience
- Research-driven insights translated into clear business actions
- Humour and stories that make the message memorable
- Relevant ideas for leaders, sales, service, and marketing teams
- Programs that can be customized to the organization and its customers
Why Is Jay Right for Your Audience?
Jay is a strong fit for leadership conferences, customer experience events, sales meetings, association conventions, and client-facing teams. He is especially valuable when an organization wants to turn good service intentions into a more distinctive and consistent customer experience.
Book Jay when your audience needs to:
- Respond to customers more effectively
- Build loyalty as expectations rise
- Balance AI and automation with human connection
- Make communication easier to understand
- Give customers a reason to talk about the brand
- Connect service improvements to business growth
Audience Takeaways
Attendees will leave:
- More aware of where customer expectations are changing
- Ready to identify friction in the customer journey
- Equipped to improve speed, clarity, and kindness in key interactions
- Better able to choose when a human touch matters most
- Motivated to create experiences customers remember and recommend
Keynote Programs
Human.Kind: How to Keep It Real and Win in This Age of Automation
Jay explores how organizations can use technology while preserving the personal connections customers value. Ideal for leaders deciding how AI and human service should work together.
The New Loyalty Landscape: Customer Experience in the Age of AI
Drawing on customer research, Jay examines how AI is changing expectations for responsiveness, communication, and connection. Ideal for customer experience and strategy events.
Quick. Clear. Kind.: The 3 Unbreakable Rules of Customer Loyalty
Jay gives audiences a simple lens for improving crucial customer interactions: respond quickly, communicate clearly, and treat people with kindness. Ideal for sales, service, and companywide meetings.
Ignite a Word of Mouth Wave
Jay shows how a distinctive customer experience can give people a story worth sharing. Ideal for marketing and leadership audiences that want customer advocacy to become a stronger source of growth. The Sweeney Agency
Why Contact The Sweeney Agency Now?
Tell us where your customer experience is falling short—or where you see an opportunity to stand out. We’ll help you choose Jay’s most relevant program, discuss customization, and confirm his availability and current fee.
Is Jay Right for Your Event?
Tell us about your audience, your customer experience priorities, and what you want people to do differently after the keynote. We’ll help you assess Jay’s fit and plan the next step.
To check availability and fee of this speaker, call 1-866-727-7555 or email [email protected].
Jeanne Bliss
Top Keynote Speaker on Customer Service, Besting-selling Author
About
Jeanne Bliss helps companies and people become the best version of themselves. She guides them to define, build and live the behaviors and actions that will fuse customers to them, and ultimately create deep and memorable relationships. Creating these deeper relationships has been Jeanne’s singular mission for over 35 years.
Often referred to as the “Godmother of Customer Experience,” she is one of the foremost experts on customer-centric leadership. She pioneered the role of the Chief Customer Officer, holding the first ever CCO role at Lands’ End, Microsoft, Coldwell Banker and Allstate Corporations. Reporting to each company’s CEO, she moved the customer to the strategic agenda, redirecting priorities to create transformational changes to each brands’ customer experience. She has driven achievement of 95 percent loyalty rates, improving customer experiences across 50,000-person organizations.
Her ability to effectively guide leaders and companies to earn customer-driven growth is based on these experiences as a practitioner for over 35 years working across organizations to unite the C-Suite and organizational silos; as well as guiding over 20,000 leaders around the world to understand that improving lives should be their most important strategic vision.
Jeanne is the Founder and President of CustomerBliss, and the Co-Founder of The Customer Experience Professionals Association, and she has delivered over 2,000 speeches and workshops for nearly every business vertical in B2B and C2B companies on how to build the roadmap toward these deep and genuine customer experiences that earn passionate advocates both inside and outside of your business.
Jeanne is also a Bestselling Author of Chief Customer Officer, Would You Do that To Your Mother?, and Chief Customer Officer 2.0.
Book Your Next Great Speaker in 5 Easy Steps
5 Tips to Book your Next Great Speaker
About
Did last year's speaker knock your socks off? Not sure where to go next? Let our team of experienced professionals help you find your next great speaker.
Here's a quick guide to help you get started:
Find A Theme
Decide on a theme or topic for your event.
Going through a period of transition? Looking to shake up your creative? Building trust within your teams? We have great speakers on all of those topics.
Having trouble? Check out our IDEA GENERATOR for inspiration.
Get in Touch
Get in touch with your Event Date & Theme.
We will ask you some key questions to find the perfect speaker for your live or virtual event.
We pride ourselves on our personal touch. We are small team of dedicated professionals with over 20 years experience. When you call us, you speak to us directly... and quickly.
Shortlist
By now, we have a great idea of what you are looking for and will send you a shortlist of exceptional speakers.
Each speaker will be vetted with YOUR event in mind, along with our personal thoughts on how that speaker can inspire your attendees.
Let's talk
From the shortlist, you've narrowed it down to two great speakers. Let's discuss your needs to help make the final decision.
With over 20 years experience, you can trust us to provide all of the information you need to choose the right speaker.
We work with you to find the best format for your presentation, including live streams, Q&A sessions and even follow up programs to ensure maximum engagement for your key stakeholders.
The Details
We will facilitate a call with your leadership team & our speaker to do a deep dive into your business to make sure their presentation really hits home.
As trusted experts, you can rest easy knowing our experience will guide you every step of the way.
get in touch
Get in touch to book your next great speaker.
About
Kevin Brown: Creator of The Hero Effect® | Bestselling Author | Speaker on Leadership and Customer Experience
Why Book Kevin Brown?
Kevin brings the message to life through stories and business experience. As part of the leadership team that helped grow SERVPRO into a major franchise brand, he saw how culture, customer loyalty, and individual commitment work together. His keynotes give audiences a memorable reason to show up at their best when it matters most.
Why Is Kevin Brown Right for Your Audience?
Kevin is a strong fit for leadership conferences, franchise meetings, sales kickoffs, customer service events, and company gatherings. He is especially valuable when an organization wants employees at every level to feel responsible for the experience they create for customers and colleagues.
Book Kevin when your audience needs to:
- Take greater ownership of daily actions and results
- Strengthen customer relationships through personal service
- Build a culture where people look for ways to help
- Connect individual purpose with organizational goals
- Turn stated values into visible behavior
- Leave energized and ready to make a positive difference
Audience Takeaways
Attendees will leave:
- Clearer on how small actions shape a customer’s experience
- Ready to take responsibility for the moments they can influence
- More aware of the difference between meeting expectations and exceeding them
- Equipped to build stronger relationships with customers and teammates
- Motivated to follow through on what they say matters
Keynote Programs
The Hero Effect®: Being Your Best When It Matters the Most
Kevin’s signature keynote shows how people in any role can create meaningful moments for those they serve and work beside. Ideal for broad employee, sales, and customer experience audiences.
The Hero Effect® for Leaders: Creating a Culture of Extraordinary
Kevin focuses his message on leaders who want to help people perform at their best. Drawing on his executive experience, he explores how to build commitment, connect personal and organizational goals, and develop others. Ideal for management and leadership events.
If It Matters, Prove It!™
Kevin challenges teams to close the gap between good intentions and consistent action. Ideal for audiences that need stronger accountability, follow-through, and visible progress toward their goals.
Is Kevin Brown Right for Your Event?
Tell us about your audience, the experience you want people to create, and what you want them to do differently after the event. We can help select Kevin’s most relevant program, discuss customization, and confirm his availability and fee.
Contact The Sweeney Agency 1-866-727-7555 or [email protected] for more information on this speaker.
About
David Brownlee: Customer Experience Expert | Bestselling Author | Speaker on Rockstar Customer Service
Why Book David Brownlee?
David pairs those tools with an energetic, approachable style and years of experience coaching business owners and executives. His presentations make customer experience everyone’s responsibility, with ideas that teams can put to work in their next interaction.
Why Is David Brownlee Right for Your Audience?
David is a strong fit for customer service conferences, sales meetings, franchise events, and company gatherings. He is especially valuable when an organization wants a more consistent customer experience across locations, teams, or channels.
Book David when your audience needs to:
- Build rapport quickly with new customers
- Handle complaints with greater confidence and empathy
- Turn difficult interactions into opportunities to earn trust
- Strengthen customer loyalty and repeat business
- Generate more referrals through better service
- Give front-line teams practical habits they can use immediately
Audience Takeaways
Attendees will leave:
- Ready to make a stronger first impression with customers
- Equipped to listen and respond more effectively when someone is upset
- Clearer on how everyday service choices influence loyalty
- Able to identify ways to improve their organization’s customer experience
- Motivated to create interactions customers remember and recommend
Keynote Programs
Rockstar Customer Service
David asks audiences to consider how they would treat a favorite celebrity as a customer—and how to bring that same attention and care to every interaction. He shares practical ways to build rapport, use empathy, and create a more memorable service experience. Ideal for front-line, sales, and customer-facing teams.
Customer Service Success: The 6 Keys to Deliver a World-Class Experience
David presents a straightforward approach to improving service, resolving customer issues, and encouraging customers to return and recommend the business. Ideal for leaders and teams seeking a shared approach to customer experience.
Is David Brownlee Right for Your Event?
Tell us about your audience, the customer interactions you want to improve, and what you want people to do differently after the event. We can help choose David’s most relevant keynote, discuss customization, and confirm his availability and fee.
Contact The Sweeney Agency 1-866-727-7555 or [email protected] for more information on this speaker.
Colette Carlson
Author & Motivational Speaker on Human Behaviour and Communications
About
Colette Carlson: Human Behavior Expert | CPAE Speaker Hall of Fame | Leadership & Communication Expert | Creator of The Human Edge™
The Human Edge™
Colette Carlson helps leaders and teams strengthen the human skills technology can't replicate—trust, empathy, presence, resilience and influence.
A Human Behavior Expert and CPAE Speaker Hall of Fame inductee, Colette combines research, humor, storytelling and highly interactive experiences to help people communicate more effectively, collaborate more deeply and perform at their best.
Why Book Colette Carlson?
Colette addresses one of today's biggest workplace challenges: people are more connected technologically, yet often more disconnected personally.
She shows leaders, teams and sales professionals how stronger human connection translates into greater trust, engagement, collaboration and performance.
Her presentations are energetic, funny and highly practical. Audiences don't simply listen—they participate, connect and leave with strategies they can immediately put into action.
What Makes Colette Different?
- CPAE Speaker Hall of Fame inductee
- Certified Speaking Professional (CSP)
- Master's Degree in Human Behavior
- More than 20 years working with organizations worldwide
- Trusted by organizations including Microsoft, FedEx, Costco, Procter & Gamble and Fidelity
- Combines humor, storytelling, research and audience interaction
- Conducts extensive pre-event research and audience interviews
- Deeply customizes her presentation to the organization, audience and event objectives
Why Is Colette Right for Your Audience?
Colette is an excellent choice when organizations need people to communicate better, build trust and strengthen the relationships that drive results.
She is particularly effective for leadership conferences, sales meetings, corporate events, association conferences and organizations experiencing change.
Book Colette when your audience needs to:
- Build stronger relationships and trust
- Communicate with greater influence
- Collaborate more effectively across teams and silos
- Strengthen resilience during change
- Create greater engagement and belonging
- Connect across different generations and working styles
- Protect the human advantage in an increasingly AI-driven workplace
Audience Takeaways
Attendees will leave:
- Better equipped to build trust quickly
- More intentional about how they communicate and connect
- Ready to strengthen collaboration across teams
- Better able to navigate difficult conversations
- More resilient when facing change and uncertainty
- Equipped with practical strategies they can immediately apply
- Energized to bring greater humanity to the way they lead and work
Keynote Programs
The Human Edge™ Because Influence Begins With Connection, Not Code
In a world increasingly shaped by technology and AI, Colette shows audiences why human connection has become a critical competitive advantage.
She explores how trust, empathy, presence and emotional intelligence strengthen leadership, teamwork and performance—and gives audiences practical ways to put those skills into action.
Ideal for leadership conferences, corporate meetings and organizations navigating the future of work.
Impactful Leadership
Great leadership isn't simply about communicating information. It's about creating the trust and connection that inspire people to act.
Colette helps leaders communicate with greater clarity, listen more effectively, strengthen relationships and create cultures where people feel seen, valued and motivated to contribute.
Ideal for leadership meetings, management conferences and organizations focused on culture and engagement.
Sales Success
Customers have more information, more choices and more technology than ever before. What still differentiates great salespeople is their ability to create genuine human connection.
Colette shows sales professionals how to build trust, listen more effectively, strengthen relationships and communicate in ways that create greater influence.
Ideal for sales kickoffs, national sales meetings and customer-facing teams.
Why Contact The Sweeney Agency Now?
The right keynote needs to do more than entertain your audience. It needs to connect directly to the challenges they are facing.
Colette is particularly committed to customization, conducting discovery conversations and audience interviews so her presentation feels relevant to the people in the room.
Contact us to:
- Confirm Colette's availability and current fee
- Identify the keynote that best supports your objectives
- Discuss customization around your audience and organization
- Explore keynote, workshop and interactive formats
- Receive comparable recommendations if another speaker may be a stronger fit
Contact The Sweeney Agency to discuss booking Colette Carlson.
About
Click Here to Receive Your Customized List of Speaker Ideas
Virtual Events can:
- Reach a wider audience
- Offer a great experience at a much lower cost
- Create long term impact with recorded elements that allow for content to be watched over a period of time
- Have an increased impact over time, as viewers re-watch, discuss and connect over social media and other channels
And, most importantly: offer the ability for inspiring and impactful presentations to connect in a one-on-one way, directly to the attendee.
WHO is your audience?
Who are your virtual event attendees? Are they across a specific group within your organization, or are you serving clients across a wide range of levels? Determining who you are speaking to will help you determine a format for your event that will captivate your audience.
WHAT is your key message?
Are you focusing on change? Innovation? Leadership?
Creating a single focus or mission will allow you to hone in on the type of speaker(s) you need to engage your audience and help event producers to format the event into a dynamic program that balances inspiration with information and audience interaction.
WHAT type of event suits your audience?
- Virtual Conference
- Webinar
- Hybrid Event
Virtual event technology has come a long way over the last few months, offering a huge range of different options from pre-recorded webinars, to multi-day virtual conferences, to hybrid events with some attendees in the audience while the event is live streamed.
OUR ADVICE
A COMBINATION of live and pre-recorded elements will allow your virtual event to run smoothly and stay on time.
Many of our clients are also opting for multi-day virtual conferences with shorter segments spaced over a few days.
This allows some flexibility for attendees in different time zones and accommodates different teleworking situations for attendees, allowing them to tune in when it is convenient.
WHERE? It’s all about Tech.
Virtual meeting technology has exploded over the last few months as teleworking became the norm.
Consider your needs:
- Interactive elements like breakout rooms, polls & Q&A
- Seamless blend of live & pre-recorded elements
- Ability to replay segments
- Live tech support
If you plan for rain, it’s likely the sun will shine…
Tech isn’t perfect so don’t forget to test, rehearse and have a back up plan ready to go for your virtual event.
Pro Tip: Think of a virtual presentation like a podcast. Viewers can view the content multiple times and refer back to it.
WHEN? A Date… or Dates?
As we have all noticed, our attention spans for meeting in real life versus meeting online are a lot longer.
When deciding on a date, consider spreading your virtual event out over a few days, with a variety of speakers, interactive elements and information.
The benefits of a multi-day format:
- Viewers watch content fresh for a short period every day
- Allows attendees in different time zones to stay on top of the content
- Attendees can review & re-engage with content
Virtual Event Checklist:
Is your event?
- Interactive?
- Informative?
- Able to be rewatched?
WHY? Pandemic 2020
Just because you are online instead of in person, it doesn’t mean you are missing out on connection.
Using the technology that we have become so accustomed to over the last few months, our keynote speakers have the ability to connect to your viewers one-on-one, in a way that was impossible in live events.
FIND YOUR WHY…
What do you want the audience to leave thinking at the end of the presentation?
Apply this question to all the presentations and segments in your event to create a cohesive, impactful virtual event.
HOW? Virtual Event Checklist
To wrap it all up
- TECH: Find the right tech platform & don’t forget to test drive before your event
- AGENDA: Use a mix of live and pre-recorded segments, mixed with interactive elements, to ensure a smooth flow of events & audience engagement
- ANTICIPATION: Build up your event with emails, teasers and sneak peeks into what content will be offered
- NETWORKING: Create and encourage online chat functions, an event specific hashtag or even a dedicated event page to allow attendees to network virtually. Maximize the networking opportunities offered by your tech platform.
- EXTEND YOUR IMPACT: A dedicated social media page is a great place for attendees to connect after an event to discuss ideas and implement some of the learnings from the event.
Offer a password protected, limited time recording of keynote presentations to continue the conversation long after the virtual event has ended.
Continue the conversation with post-event touch points like emails or questions based on the key presentations.
To find a GREAT Speaker for your Virtual event, get in touch.
About
Get Your Customized List of Speaker Ideas
Simply fill out the form below and we will be in touch with a customized list of ideas for your event.
It's that simple.
James H. Gilmore
Co-Author of The Experience Economy: Work Is Theater and Every Business A Stage, Speaker on Strategy and Customer Service
About
James H. Gilmore specializes in provoking executives to think more richly and constructively about growth and innovation. Combining imaginative business thinking with practical analytical tools - Jim excels at helping businesses conceive new ways of understanding customer needs and adding value in the marketplace. To direct new strategic thinking and foster greater corporate ingenuity, Jim leverages insightful frameworks drawn from his world-renowned expertise in three innovation disciplines:
First, Jim challenges organizations to think beyond goods and services as a means to overcome commoditization - and engage customers with truly new forms of output. His highly influential work, The Experience Economy: Work is Theatre & Every Business a Stage, now published in fifteen languages - literally wrote the book that spawned worldwide attention in experience design, experiential marketing, and customer experience management. Gilmore's thinking on the subject is unparalleled in terms of challenging businesses to explicitly create value in two customer currencies: the importance of their time and the desire to achieve personal transformations.
The second innovation area in which Jim assists businesses is in mass customizing products and processes. He is co-editor of Markets of One: Creating Customer-unique Value through Mass Customization, which addresses how to best pursue customized offerings in the face of increasingly fragmented markets. Jim challenges businesses to go beyond mere customer satisfaction (the gap between what customers expect and what they perceive they get) - to focus on the new innovation metric of customer sacrifice (the gap between what customers settle for and what they want exactly) in uncovering new innovation opportunities. Not limited in any way to consumer businesses, Gilmore argues this metric in particular holds the key to creating value in B2B relationships.
The third arena of innovation directs businesses to consider a whole new consumer sensibility in today's marketplace - namely the desire for authenticity. Jim's most recent book, Authenticity: What Consumers Really Want, outlines how authenticity must be managed as a distinct business discipline if any innovation is to find a receptive buyer. Here Jim addresses ways for businesses to innovate that go beyond appeals to availability, cost, and quality - outlining the deliberate steps needed to gain the perception of authenticity and a reputation as real.
Jim has worked across a wide array of industries. His work in experience innovation has included helping a number of hospitality clients, technology firms, equipment manufacturers, restaurant chains, and medical care businesses. He has helped both goods manufacturers and service providers incorporate principles of mass customization into their operations. Jim's work in helping organizations render authenticity has primarily focused on travel and tourism, real estate development, and urban renewal.
Jim is co-founder of Strategic Horizons LLP and a Batten Fellow and Adjunct Lecturer at the Darden Graduate School of Business at the University of Virginia. He is a graduate of The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, an alumnus of Procter & Gamble, and before co-founding Strategic Horizons LLP was head of CSC Consulting's Process Innovation practice.
Jeffrey Gitomer
Author of The New York Times bestsellers The Sales Bible and The Little Red Book of Selling, Jeffrey offers expert advice on understanding your customers and increasing your sales
About
Jeffrey Gitomer is a creative, on-the-edge, writer and speaker whose expertise on sales, customer loyalty, and personal development is world renowned. He is known for presentations, seminars and keynote addresses that are funny, insightful, and in your face. Jeffrey gives audiences information they can take out in the street one minute after the seminar is over and turn it into money.
Jeffrey Gitomer is the author of The New York Times best sellers The Sales Bible, The Little Red Book of Selling, The Little Black Book of Connections, and The Little Gold Book of YES! Attitude. Most of his books have been number one best sellers on Amazon.com and have appeared on major best-seller lists more than 500 times and have sold millions of copies worldwide.
Jeffrey gives public and corporate seminars, runs annual sales meetings, and conducts live and virtual training programs on selling, YES! Attitude, trust, customer loyalty, and personal development. His customers include Coca-Cola, US Foodservice, Caterpillar, BMW, Verizon, MacGregor Golf, Hilton, General Motors, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, AmeriPride, NCR, IBM, Comcast Cable, Time Warner, Liberty Mutual, Principal Financial, Wells Fargo Bank, BlueCross BlueShield, Carlsberg, Mutual of Omaha, AC Neilsen, Northwestern Mutual, Church Mutual Insurance, MetLife, Sports Authority, GlaxoSmithKline, The New York Post, and hundreds of others.
Jeffrey's syndicated column, Sales Moves, appears in scores of business journals and newspapers in the United States and Europe, and is read by more than four million people every week. His WOW website, Gitomer.com, gets thousands of hits per week from readers and seminar attendees. His state-of-the-art presence on the web and e-commerce ability has set the standard among peers, and has won huge praise and acceptance from customers.
Sylvie di Giusto
Former Corporate Executive, Inspiring Keynote Speaker on Power of Choice, EI in Sales and Leadership
About
Sylvie di Giusto: Former Corporate Executive | Author of The Image of Leadership | Speaker on Emotional Intelligence and the Power of Choice
Why Book Sylvie di Giusto?
Sylvie’s presentations bring emotional intelligence into specific leadership, sales, and customer situations. Her immersive style helps audiences notice choices they may otherwise make on autopilot and consider how to act with greater intention.
Why Is Sylvie di Giusto Right for Your Audience?
Sylvie is a strong fit for leadership conferences, sales kickoffs, customer experience events, and professional development programs. She is especially relevant when an organization wants its people to build trust quickly and represent its values consistently.
Book Sylvie when your audience needs to:
- Make more intentional choices in important interactions
- Build credibility with customers and colleagues
- Strengthen emotional intelligence in leadership and sales
- Understand how first impressions influence relationships
- Communicate individual value with confidence
- Keep human connection central as technology changes work
Audience Takeaways
Attendees will leave:
- More aware of the signals they send in person and online
- Better able to pause and choose a constructive response
- Ready to align their behavior with the impression they want to make
- Clearer on the strengths that distinguish them professionally
- Equipped to build trust through more thoughtful interactions
Keynote Programs
The Power of Choice
Sylvie explores how small, intentional decisions in appearance, behavior, communication, and relationships affect larger outcomes. Ideal for leadership, sales, and company-wide audiences.
Forever Human
Sylvie examines how leaders and professionals can preserve trust and meaningful connection as AI and automation reshape interactions. Ideal for audiences navigating a technology-driven workplace.
Discover Your Fair Advantage
Sylvie helps participants identify the strengths and experiences that make their contribution distinct, then communicate that value more confidently. Ideal for professional development and sales events.
You Have 7 Seconds. Make Them Count!
Sylvie shows how first impressions form and how people can make more conscious choices in those early moments. Ideal for customer-facing teams, leaders, and relationship builders.
Is Sylvie di Giusto Right for Your Event?
Tell us about your audience, the interactions that matter most to it, and the impression you want people to leave. We can help choose Sylvie’s most relevant program, discuss format and customization, and confirm her availability and fee.
Contact The Sweeney Agency 1-866-727-7555 or [email protected] for more information on this speaker.
Amanda Gore
CEO of The Joy Project, Communication & Performance Expert, Author and Huffington Post Columnist
About
Amanda Gore is an Australian living in the USA. An author, USA Hall of Fame speaker, business woman, CEO of The Joy Project and a Huffington Post Columnist, she has won many awards, including Educator of the Year and Keynote Speaker of the Year from the National Speakers Association.
She works with organizations of different sizes to help boost engagement of teams, create cultures of joy and joyful people, manage change fatigue and bring humanity back into leadership and work.
With the rise of mental health issues, Amanda believes that joy is the antidote to burnout and has been shown to increase productivity, sales, and well-being. In her presentations, she blends humor, science, and life experience to teach practical tools and skills for personal and organizational growth. She focuses on helping people feel good about themselves which leads to positive changes in all areas.
Originally a physical therapist with a major in psychology, Amanda blends research in neuroscience, epigenetics, positive psychology, quantum physics and emotional intelligence with funny stories to help organizations achieve better performance by aligning with values and mission and creating joyful workplaces and people. Through her funny, interactive and engaging presentations, Amanda breaks down barriers, opens hearts and minds, and inspires people to action.
Her presentations are funny, energetic, entertaining, and engaging, and she is dedicated to inspiring and facilitating lasting change while people laugh and learn.
Click Here to Watch Amanda's Virtual Presentation
Scott Greenberg
Business Motivational Speaker Helps Leaders & Franchisees Engage Employees, Serve Customers and Grow their Business
About
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Talks about customer service, management, and employee engagement, and how the human factor drives bottom-line results in business.
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Audiences learn how to operate in a way that makes the most impact on customers and colleagues and ultimately, the most money, your culture must excel in three critical areas: the way people think, the way they lead, and the way they serve.
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Author of The Wealthy Franchisee: Game-Changing Steps to Becoming a Thriving Franchise Superstar
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Past clients include: McDonalds, Great Clips, Anytime Fitness, GNC, Wyndham Hotel Group, National Shoes Retailers Association, Re/MAX, Lyft, Columbia Sports Wear, Principal Financial Group, National Property Management Association.
At the core of every thriving business lie the human elements of leadership, culture, and employee engagement. Scott Greenberg is the catalyst for a new kind of business transformation—one that balances the scales between strategic prowess and human empathy, the interconnectedness of profit and people.
Author of Stop the SHIFT SHOW and The Wealthy Franchisee, Scott delves into the human factors of business that directly impact performance. He helps leaders think at a higher level with a peak performance mindset that keeps emotions in check and yields the clearest, most productive perspective possible for business growth. He helps them lead more effectively so they can hire, train and develop their teams into a high-performance workforce. Improving business from the inside out, he co-created an innovative management diagnostic and leadership tool, 30-Second Leadership™, that enhances employee mindset, skillset and performance.
As a former multi-unit, international award-winning franchise owner for best management and customer service, Scott’s programs are a harmonious blend of wit, business acumen and human-centric leadership. He stands at the intersection of hard strategy and emotional intelligence, offering a holistic approach to business transformation that is practical and relatable.
Scott’s books, keynotes and online trainings aim to elevate not just the metrics, but the people behind them. As a sought-after author and international speaker, Scott ignites audiences with engaging, high-energy and customized programs that leave audience members with proven strategies and long-lasting inspiration. He is the expert organizations call on to boost performance and elevate their teams.
Sally Hogshead
Branding and innovation expert, author of Radical Careering, one of advertising’s most celebrated thinkers.
About
Sally Hogshead: Hall of Fame Speaker | Creator of the Fascinate® Test | Speaker on Branding and Differentiation
Why Book Sally Hogshead?
Her energetic, interactive presentations turn that insight into practical action. Audiences learn to recognize the qualities that make them distinctive, express those qualities with confidence, and create stronger connections with customers and colleagues.
Why Is Sally Hogshead Right for Your Audience?
Sally is a strong fit for sales meetings, marketing conferences, leadership events, and organizations refining their customer experience or employer brand. Her message is especially relevant when a team needs to explain its value clearly in a crowded market.
Book Sally when your audience needs to:
- Identify what makes its people, products, or brand distinctive
- Make a more memorable first impression
- Communicate value with greater clarity and confidence
- Build stronger connections with customers and colleagues
- Move beyond generic claims in sales and marketing
- Use individual strengths to contribute more effectively
Audience Takeaways
Attendees will leave:
- Clearer on how others perceive their strongest qualities
- Better able to describe the value they bring
- Ready to make introductions that spark useful conversations
- Equipped to spot opportunities for differentiation
- Motivated to apply their strengths in everyday interactions
Keynote Programs
How to Fascinate: From First Impressions to Lasting Value
Sally shows audiences how to use their distinctive strengths to capture attention, earn trust, and communicate value. Ideal for leadership, professional development, and sales events.
Captivate Your Customer: How Fascinating Companies Win the Moment
Sally explores how brands can become more memorable and create stronger customer connections. Ideal for marketing, customer experience, and business growth audiences.
The 9-Second Fascination Statement: How to Introduce Yourself with Value
In this interactive session, participants work on a concise introduction that expresses what makes them valuable. Ideal for sales teams, networking events, and professionals building their personal brands.
Is Sally Hogshead Right for Your Event?
Tell us about your audience, the impression you want to make, and the message you want people to remember. We can help select a relevant program, discuss customization, and confirm Sally’s availability and fee.
Contact The Sweeney Agency 1-866-727-7555 or [email protected] for more information on this speaker.
David Horsager
Author, Global Trust Expert, and Speaker on Leadership, Customer Service, Innovation and Sales
About
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David is a leading authority on leadership, customer service, innovation and sales and how TRUST is the common thread that weaves success into every business relationship and endeavour.
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Teaches audiences an actionable framework they can use immediately to build trust and solve their biggest challenges
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Inventor of The Enterprise Trust Index™, director of the annual study—The Trust Outlook™, and national bestselling author of The Trust Edge.
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Past clients include: FedEx, IBM, MDRT, Nationwide, New York Yankees, Pfizer, Toyota, Verizon
Click Here to Watch David's Virtual Presentation
David Horsager, MA, CSP, CPAE is the CEO of Trust Edge Leadership Institute, national best-selling author of The Trust Edge, inventor of the Enterprise Trust Index™, and director of one of the nation’s foremost trust studies: The Trust Outlook™. David is a leading authority on leadership, customer service, innovation and sales.
His work has been featured in prominent publications such as Fast Company, Forbes, The Huffington Post and The Wall Street Journal. David has advised leaders and delivered life-changing presentations on six continents - with audiences ranging everywhere from FedEx, Toyota and global governments to the New York Yankees and the Department of Homeland Security.
Phil M. Jones
About Phil M. Jones – Bestselling Author and Speaker on Persuasion, Influence, and Sales
About
Phil M. Jones: Bestselling Author of Exactly What to Say® | Speaker on Sales, Influence and Persuasive Communication
Why Book Phil M. Jones?
Phil makes his ideas immediately useful. He works through language audiences can apply in sales conversations, leadership meetings, customer interactions, and follow-ups. His presentations can be tailored to the situations your audience faces every day.
Why Is Phil M. Jones Right for Your Audience?
Phil is a strong fit for sales kickoffs, leadership conferences, customer-facing teams, and company events where important conversations affect performance. He is especially valuable when talented people know their products or goals but need more confidence and precision in what they say next.
Book Phil when your audience needs to:
- Ask questions that open productive conversations
- Respond more effectively to hesitation and objections
- Explain value without overwhelming a customer
- Guide discussions toward a clear next step
- Give feedback and create buy-in with greater care
- Make everyday communication more intentional
Audience Takeaways
Attendees will leave:
- More aware of how small word choices affect a conversation
- Equipped with phrases and questions they can adapt to their work
- Better prepared for common sales or leadership objections
- Ready to make requests and next steps clearer
- Focused on improving the conversations that matter most to their results
Keynote Programs
Exactly What to Say® – The Magic Words for Influence and Impact
Phil’s signature keynote explores how the words people choose can change the direction of a conversation. He applies examples from his bestselling book to the audience’s business situations, helping participants approach important discussions with greater confidence and purpose. Ideal for sales, leadership, and broad business audiences.
Exactly What to Say® When Your Customer Is More Informed Than Ever
Today’s customers arrive with research, comparisons, and questions. Phil helps sales and client-facing professionals use language that acknowledges that knowledge, builds trust, and guides a decision without sounding pushy. Ideal for sales and customer success events.
Lead With Language: Exactly What to Say® to Inspire Action
Phil focuses on the conversations leaders use to create clarity, ownership, and momentum. He offers practical ways to frame feedback, address resistance, and invite people into action. Ideal for management and leadership conferences.
Is Phil M. Jones Right for Your Event?
Tell us which conversations your audience finds most challenging and what outcomes you want to improve. We can help choose Phil’s most relevant program, discuss customization, and confirm his availability and fee.
Contact The Sweeney Agency 1-866-727-7555 or [email protected] for more information on this speaker.
Brett King
Author of Bank 2.0 and speaker on financial services and the customer experience
About
Brett King: Founder of Moven | Bestselling Author of Bank 4.0 and Branch Tomorrow | Speaker on the Future of Banking
Why Book Brett King?
His keynotes challenge audiences to look beyond today’s products and channels. Brett examines how artificial intelligence, changing customer behavior, and new competitors could reshape financial services—and what institutions should consider as they plan for that future.
Why Is Brett King Right for Your Audience?
Brett is a strong fit for banking conferences, credit union meetings, fintech events, payments forums, and leadership gatherings in financial services. He is especially relevant when executives need to test assumptions about branches, digital experiences, and the role of AI in serving customers.
Book Brett when your audience needs to:
- Understand forces changing the future of banking and payments
- Examine how AI could reshape financial services
- Reconsider the role of branches and traditional channels
- Learn from the rise of mobile banking and fintech challengers
- Anticipate changing customer expectations
- Start a strategic conversation about what to build next
Audience Takeaways
Attendees will leave:
- Clearer on the trends challenging established banking models
- Better able to question assumptions about where and how banking happens
- More aware of the opportunities and risks in AI-driven services
- Ready to discuss how customer behavior should shape future offerings
- Equipped with questions to guide their next strategic decisions
Keynote Programs
Towards Bank 5.0: The Algorithmic Bank
Brett explores how AI could change banking operations, security, and the customer experience in the decades ahead. Ideal for banking leaders, technology teams, and fintech audiences.
Branch Today, Gone Tomorrow: The End of Branch Banking as We Know It
Drawing on research behind Branch Tomorrow, Brett examines the changing role of branches as digital-first financial services grow. Ideal for banks and credit unions reconsidering their distribution strategy.
The Rise of the Challengers: How Neo-Banks Changed the Rules and How the Industry Responded
Brett reviews the emergence of digital challengers and the responses of established institutions. Ideal for executives weighing competitive threats and opportunities to adapt.
Optimal Humanity: Smart Economies & Emerging Solutions
Brett widens the lens beyond banking to explore how AI and other major developments could affect economies and society. Ideal for executive and cross-industry audiences seeking a broader view of the future.
Is Brett King Right for Your Event?
Tell us about your audience, the financial services questions it is facing, and the decisions you want the keynote to inform. We can help select Brett’s most relevant program, discuss customization, and confirm his availability and fee.
Contact The Sweeney Agency 1-866-727-7555 or [email protected] for more information on this speaker.
Doug Lipp
Former Head Trainer Walt Disney University and author of The Changing Face of Today’s Customer. Customer service speaker.
About
Doug Lipp: Former Head of Training at Disney University | Author of Disney U | Speaker on Culture and Customer Service
Why Book Doug Lipp?
Doug brings those lessons into the challenges other organizations face. Through stories and practical examples, he helps audiences examine how leaders reinforce culture, how teams deliver on a brand promise, and why continuous improvement matters long after a training session ends.
Why Is Doug Lipp Right for Your Audience?
Doug is a strong fit for leadership conferences, customer experience events, franchise meetings, and company gatherings. He is especially valuable when an organization wants its stated values to show up more reliably in everyday decisions and customer interactions.
Book Doug when your audience needs to:
- Build a culture that employees can understand and put into practice
- Improve consistency across customer touchpoints
- Connect employee development with service quality
- Reinforce values through leaders’ daily actions
- Encourage teamwork across roles and departments
- Learn from setbacks and keep improving
Audience Takeaways
Attendees will leave:
- Clearer on the role leaders play in shaping culture
- Better able to connect training with on-the-job behavior
- Ready to identify gaps between a brand promise and the customer experience
- Equipped to recognize small opportunities to improve service
- Motivated to take ownership of the experience they create
Keynote Programs
Lessons from Disney U: The Wonderful World of an Enduring Brand
Doug draws on his Disney University experience to show how shared values, employee development, and leadership behavior can support a lasting brand. Ideal for broad leadership and company audiences.
Organizational Culture: It’s More Than a Coat of Paint
Doug examines what it takes to make culture visible in decisions and actions across an organization. Ideal for executives, managers, and teams working to strengthen engagement and performance.
The Magic of Exceptional Customer Service
Doug explores the practices behind a service culture that customers remember, with lessons organizations can adapt to their own people and operations. Ideal for customer experience, hospitality, retail, and franchise audiences.
Even Monkeys Fall from Trees: Learn from Mistakes and Embrace Change
Doug shows how teams can respond to setbacks, challenge established habits, and make room for new ideas. Ideal for organizations navigating change or seeking continuous improvement.
Is Doug Lipp Right for Your Event?
Tell us about your audience, the culture or customer experience you want to strengthen, and the actions you want people to take after the event. We can help choose Doug’s most relevant program, discuss customization, and confirm his availability and fee.
Contact The Sweeney Agency 1-866-727-7555 or [email protected] for more information on this speaker.
Scott McKain
Best-selling Author and Dynamic Speaker on Sales, Innovation & Customer Service
About
Scott McKain: Author of ICONIC | Hall of Fame Speaker | Expert on Distinction and Customer Experience
Why Book Scott McKain?
Scott connects strategy with the choices employees make in sales, service, and leadership. His customized keynotes help audiences identify where they are becoming too similar to competitors and what they can do to stay relevant as customer expectations change.
Why Is Scott McKain Right for Your Audience?
Scott is a strong fit for leadership conferences, sales meetings, customer experience events, and industry gatherings. He is especially valuable when an organization competes in a crowded market or wants to strengthen customer loyalty beyond price and product features.
Book Scott when your audience needs to:
- Explain clearly why customers should choose them
- Stand out in a crowded or changing market
- Improve the experiences that build customer loyalty
- Communicate distinctive value in sales conversations
- Align leadership and culture with the brand promise
- Adapt as technology changes customer expectations
Audience Takeaways
Attendees will leave:
- Clearer on what makes their organization valuable to customers
- Better able to spot gaps between promised and delivered experiences
- Ready to identify moments that strengthen trust and loyalty
- Equipped to communicate differences that matter to buyers
- Focused on actions that help their organization remain relevant
Keynote Programs
Beyond Distinction
Scott’s current flagship keynote helps leaders examine whether their organization remains meaningful to its customers. He connects clear purpose, adaptation, communication, and the customer experience to lasting relevance. Ideal for executive and industry audiences navigating change.
Create Distinction
Scott shows organizations how to identify and express value that sets them apart. Ideal for sales and business audiences competing in markets where buyers see similar offerings.
ICONIC
Drawing on his book, Scott explores how leaders build and sustain a culture that reinforces what makes an organization distinctive. Ideal for leadership teams focused on consistency and long-term performance.
The Ultimate Customer Experience®
Scott examines the moments customers remember and how teams can turn those moments into stronger relationships. Ideal for service, customer experience, and retention-focused events.
Is Scott McKain Right for Your Event?
Tell us about your audience, your competitive landscape, and the customer experience you want to improve. We can help select Scott’s most relevant program, discuss customization, and confirm his availability and fee.
Contact The Sweeney Agency 1-866-727-7555 or [email protected] for more information on this speaker.
About
Blake Morgan was called “The Queen of CX” by Meta. She is a customer experience futurist and author of three books on customer experience. Her newest book is called “8 Laws of Customer-Focused Leadership: The New Rules For Building Business Around Today’s Customer” coming out July of 2024. Her bestselling second book is called “The Customer Of The Future: 10 Guiding Principles For Winning Tomorrow’s Business” (HarperCollins), identified by Business Insider as one of the top 20 books executives are reading. In 2021 the book won a top 5 spot on Book Authority’s list of the “Top 100 Future Of Technology Books of All-Time.”
She was called one of the top 40 female keynote speakers by Real Leaders Magazine. Blake is a guest lecturer at Columbia University, the University of California, San Diego as well as adjunct faculty at the Rutgers executive education MBA program. She has worked with companies like Coca-Cola, AT&T, The Federal Reserve Bank and many more. Blake contributes to Forbes and is the host of The Modern Customer Podcast.
She lives in the Southern California with her husband, their two children and two dogs.
Mark Sanborn
International Speaker and Best-selling Author of 8 Books on Leadership Development and Team Building.
About
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Mark talks about how leaders can lead best with clarity, intention and consistent action.
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Audiences leave with specific advice on three essential areas of focus for leaders in today's world - culture, inspiration and emotion - and the tools to create powerful changes within their organizations.
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Mark Sanborn has been called one of the top leadership experts by GlobalGurus.org. He is also a best-selling author and a member of the the Speakers Hall of Fame.
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Past clients include: Costco, Enterprise Rent-a-Car, FedEx, Harley-Davidson, Cisco, KPMG, Morton’s of Chicago, New York Life, RE/MAX, ServiceMaster, ESPN, GM, IBM, Avnet, Sandvik and John Deere.
Mark Sanborn is the president of Sanborn & Associates, Inc., an idea lab for leadership development and turning the ordinary into the extraordinary. Mark is an international best-selling author and noted expert on leadership, team building, customer service and change. GlobalGurus.org lists Mark as one of the top leadership experts in the world.
Mark has given over 2,600 presentations in every state and 14 countries. He has authored eight books and more than two dozen videos and audio training programs. His programs are taught by Crestcom International in 90 countries and he is an adjunct professor at the University of Memphis.
Mark’s book, The Fred Factor: How Passion in Your Work and Life Can Turn the Ordinary Into the Extraordinary is an international best-seller and was on the New York Times, Business Week and Wall Street Journal best-seller lists. His other books include 1) You Don’t Need a Title to be a Leader: How Anyone, Anywhere Can Make a Positive Difference, 2) The Encore Effect: How to Achieve Remarkable Performance in Anything You Do, 3) Up, Down or Sideways: How to Succeed When Times are Good, Bad or In Between, 4) Fred 2.0: New Ideas on How to Keep Delivering Extraordinary Results and 5) The Potential Principle: A Proven System for Closing the Gap Between How Good You Are and How Good You Could Be and his newest 6) The Intention Imperative: 3 Essential Changes That Will Make You a Successful Leader Today (anticipated release, Oct 2019).
Mark is a member of the Speaker Hall of Fame, a member of the exclusive Speakers Roundtable representing 20 of the top speakers in the country today and a past president of the National Speakers Association.
Mark’s list of clients includes Costco, Enterprise Rent-a-Car, FedEx, Harley-Davidson, Cisco, KPMG, Morton’s of Chicago, New York Life, RE/MAX, ServiceMaster, ESPN, GM, IBM, Avnet, Sandvik and John Deere.
“We each know how good we have become,” Mark says, “but none of us knows how good we can be. One of the most exciting opportunities we get each day is to pursue our potential.” Mark Sanborn challenges his audiences with this message and provides insights for extraordinary living.
He lives in Highlands Ranch, Colorado with his wife Darla and sons Hunter and Jackson.
Ken Schmidt
Authentic Leadership and Customer Loyalty Expert; Senior Role in Harley-Davidson Turnaround; and Author, Make Some Noise: The Unconventional Road to Dominance
About
It’s an impersonal world, where so many products and services are seen as easily-replaced, indistinct commodities. Whether you stand out or get lost in the crowd is a choice. A mindset. Ken Schmidt faced those same challenges himself and gained acclaim for his role in the extraordinary turnaround of the legendary Harley-Davidson Motor Company. That transformation was based on a change in mindset and a focus on answering three key strategic questions. While times have changed, what humans want and need from the businesses they buy from and work for hasn’t.
In his high-energy speeches, Ken inspires companies and individuals to shift their thinking and ride a path to success by becoming memorable – not for what they do or what they make, but for how they connect with people.
Ken is author of Make Some Noise: The Unconventional Road to Dominance. He’s also host of the Tailgating with Geniuses podcast and co-founder of Torque Sessions Leadership Training. In all of his endeavors, Ken brings an unconventional perspective that helps organizations and individuals reframe how they engage with their marketplace.
Ken Schmidt’s career in the motorcycle industry began in 1985 as a specialist in corporate positioning and media relations for the then-struggling Harley-Davidson. He was tasked with helping the company restore its image, improve its competitiveness, and create demand for its motorcycles. Within a few short years, sales of Harley-Davidson motorcycles skyrocketed, and the company returned to prominence as one of the most respected, profitable, and frequently reported-on companies in the world.
In 1990, Ken became director of Harley-Davidson’s corporate and financial communications, serving as its primary spokesperson to the media and the financial communities. He frequently appeared in mainstream and business media to offer insights on nontraditional communications, customer attraction, and brand-building. His expertise and success at Harley-Davidson ultimately led to consulting assignments and speaking invitations from all over the world.
In 1997, Ken left Harley-Davidson to take an ownership position with a highly successful Chicago-based marketing firm, VSA Partners. In addition to Harley-Davidson, VSA served a virtual who’s who of the world’s best-known brands. In 1999, he sold his portion of VSA to start his own business, Ken Schmidt Company, to combine two of his greatest passions, motorcycling and speaking. He uses motorcycles as a metaphor to expose people to proven ideas and concepts they’ve likely never imagined.
After all he has accomplished, Ken remains committed to his philosophy of standing out, taking risks, and having fun in both his personal and professional life. He says, “Never do what’s expected, make yourself as noticeably different as possible, and have a lot more fun than you’re supposed to.”
Ross Shafer
Emmy Award-Winning Network Talk Show Host, Best-selling Author, and Hilarious Change Expert
About
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Ross talks about how professional and personal success follows from one's commitment to being accountable--when we are the architect of our own life, we will have more time, money and happiness.
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Audiences learn that they can no longer blame “government regulation,” “the economy” or “the competition” – or “changes in management" -- for their discontent. Focus on what you can control. Personal growth and opportunity always emerge from realizing that nobody cares more about your career and success than YOU do. Be accountable – and you won’t have to wait for anybody to elevate your position in work and life.
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6-time Emmy Award Winning TV host, comedian, and writer; Author of 9 Business Books & Entrepreneur
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Past clients include: ACE Hardware, Aflac, Hilton Hotels, Hyundai, iPipeline
As a popular headline comedian and 6-Time Emmy Award winning TV host, Ross Shafer has been a lifelong student of human nature. He says, “I have been eternally fascinated by the laughter and tears business.”
To date, Ross has hosted (5) network TV shows, (Match Game on ABC, Love me, Love Me Not on USA, The Late Show on FOX, Days End on ABC, and Almost Live on NBC).
As a serial entrepreneur, Ross has rescued (23) businesses from bankruptcy and turned them around for a tidy profit. To that end, he has leveraged his business savvy to write and produce (14) Human Resource training films on Customer Service, Motivation, Leadership, and Peer Pressure, and has authored (11) books; Cook- Like-A-Stud, Nobody Moved Your Cheese, Customer Empathy, The Customer Shouts Back, Are You Relevant? No More Customer Friction, Grab More Market Share, Absolutely Necessary (coauthored with Michael Burger), Behave Like a Startup, Success, It’s on You, and Rattled (co-authored with Allison Dalvit).
Today, Ross is the funniest and most sought after corporate keynote speakers on the subjects of Customer Friction, Personal Growth, Reinvention, Resilience, and Market Relevance.
Ross is the beaming father of three children and “Papa” to four grandchildren.
Click Here to Watch Ross' Virtual Presentation
About
Andrew Sobel is the leading authority on the strategies and skills required to earn lifelong client loyalty and build trusted client partnerships. The most widely published author in the world on this topic, he has written four acclaimed, bestselling books on business relationships: Power Questions, All for One, Making Rain, and Clients for Life. His newest book, Power Questions, shows how to use powerful, thought-provoking questions to win new business, build relationships and influence others. He has also published over 100 articles and contributed chapters to four books on leadership, strategy, and marketing. All for One was voted one of the top 10 sales and marketing books of the decade by a major marketing publication.
Andrew has worked for more than 30 years as both a strategy advisor to senior management and an executive educator and coach. Many of the world`s leading companies number among Andrew`s clients. These include established public companies such as Citigroup, WPP, Xerox, Experian, Hess, Cognizant, UBS, and Lloyds Banking Group; and also many privately held professional service firms, including Booz Allen Hamilton, Towers Watson, Bain & Company, Booz & Company, Spencer Stuart, Fulbright & Jaworski, Ernst & Young, Deloitte, and many others.
His articles and work have been featured in a variety of publications including USA Today, The New York Times, Business Week, the Harvard Business Review, Strategy+Business, and Advertising Age, and he has appeared on numerous television programs such as ABC`s World News This Morning and the Fox Strategy Room. One of his articles, "The Beatles Principles," was featured in major newspapers and media in over 20 countries around the world.
A former Senior Vice President and Country Managing Director with Gemini Consulting (formerly the MAC Group), Andrew lived and worked in Europe for 13 years and speaks four languages. He graduated from Middlebury College with honors and earned his MBA from Dartmouth`s Tuck School. He is president of Andrew Sobel Advisors and Executive Director of the Client Leadership Forum, a best practices consortium of international services firms. Andrew has been married for 30 years and has three children.
Simone Sweeney
Former Fortune 100 Executive, Keynote Speaker on Marketing and Retail
About
Simone Sweeney is a globally recognized retail strategist and executive coach with over 25 years of experience shaping some of the world’s most iconic retail brands—including Apple, The LEGO Group, and Motorola. A visionary leader with a rare blend of creative insight and operational rigor, Simone helps businesses reimagine what’s possible in physical retail—and then delivers it, at scale.
With a career spanning more than 60 countries, Simone has led retail expansion and transformation for multinationals across North America, Europe, Asia, and Latin America. At Apple, she spearheaded consumer engagement and experience strategies for over 100 stores across 11 countries, driving market-leading product launches and new store openings. At LEGO, she masterminded the global retail development strategy, scaling the brand’s store footprint to 1,000 locations and pioneering immersive in-store concepts that fueled rapid growth and brand love—particularly in key markets like China, the Middle East, and Mexico.
Simone’s work at Motorola saw her launch over 400 branded stores and shop-in-shops across 18 countries, while managing field merchandisers and marketers in 28 markets. She truly understands the complexity of delivering best in class brand and product engagement while maintaining consistency and maximizing revenue. Her career is a masterclass in strategic execution, local market adaptation, and the power of in-store storytelling to drive consumer loyalty.
Today, Simone combines her retail expertise with her passion for leadership and human development. As an executive coach and consultant, she partners with organizations to not only build compelling retail programs—but also to grow the people who lead them. Her keynotes weave together insights on global retail trends, innovation, and leadership—leaving audiences inspired and equipped to evolve.
Hamish Taylor
Award-winning CEO and Global Keynote Speaker on Entrenching the Customer in the Heart of All Activities by Creating The Customer Promise
About
Hamish Taylor has a CV that the Times describes as “takes some beating.” His energetic, thought-provoking and humorous keynotes are based on a rare combination of real stories - and a fantastic ability to inspire audiences with tailored advice and practical tools. Regularly featured in broadcast media, today Hamish acts as an advisor to some of the world’s largest companies (and even Governments) - assisting with specific innovation projects, customer focus and/or people leadership.
Hamish is an award-winning CEO whose career has taken him from the international consumer goods giant Procter & Gamble, consultancy firm Price Waterhouse and British Airways - to become CEO of the channel tunnel railway Eurostar, and then CEO of Sainsbury’s Bank… all before he was 40! In all cases, he left behind a record of significant business growth triggered by a willingness to challenge the normal way of doing things - so much so that his advice and assistance is now sought by organizations all over the world in many different industries.
As the self appointed “chief dumming down officer” in each of his roles, his approach is simple - but highly effective in delivering breakthroughs.
- The first thing that has to change is the way you look at your customers (both internal and external) - if you look at your customers the same way, you will get the same answers and keep doing the same things
- Secondly, you need to use your customer insights to create a new leadership tool - a simple “customer promise” as a platform for ALL future activity that puts customer benefit at the heart. Your customer doesn’t care about what you do, but about how they benefit as a result of what you do - so use this as your key purpose
- Thirdly, you must look to other environments and industries if you want breakthrough ideas - for product, service, process, leadership and much more. The Inspired Leaders Network dubbed Hamish the “Master thief” due to his track record in this area
- Concentrate your major energy on changing the way you engage with the team that will deliver the customer promise
Hamish’s keynotes will demonstrate the major breakthroughs that can be achieved by changing your approach. Hamish’s message can be tailored to a variety of topics and levels within an organization.