When planning for a conference or business-related event, a keynote speaker can be the linchpin that can help your gathering transform into an unforgettable experience. Keynote speakers have the power to captivate audiences, inspire change, and even leave an impact that lasts long after the event has ended. However, finding the right keynote speaker is no easy feat. It requires careful consideration of various factors to ensure that the speaker not only aligns with your event's objectives but also resonates with your audience on a profound level.

In the fast-paced world of sales, where every interaction is a chance to win or lose a customer, one crucial element often stands out as a game-changer: feedback. It's no secret that customer indecision can be a formidable obstacle for salespeople, but getting to the heart of “why” or “how” a sale was won or lost (due to indecision or otherwise) is an important part of the sales training process.

Whether or not you are actively pursuing public speaking as a full-time career, dabbling in it, or even considering the possibility, there is one unequivocal truth: being a public speaker is hard. Now, don’t get us wrong…there are much more difficult things in life than getting up in front of an audience and captivating them with a full-on performance (ok, that actually does sound kind of difficult), but that doesn’t mean the life of a public speaker doesn’t come with some challenges. With that said, the Kirkpatrick Agency has put together a list of 4 “must-haves” when navigating the competitive, busy, and yet super exciting world of public speaking.

As “doer-sellers,” professional services partners are responsible for not just delivering services but also the entire business-development process. As “rainmakers,” they must build awareness of their expertise in the market to generate demand, identify and close new client business, deliver the work to the client, and then renew and expand the relationship over time.

But there is a growing problem with this long-standing practice: Clients are much less loyal to firms and partners than they once were. Competition for business among professional services firms is intensifying, which has cast in sharp relief the troubling gap in the ability of high performers and core performers to bring in work.

Generative AI is like a magic trick. Applied to the right use cases, used with the right intent and the right guardrails, it yields amazing results. AI can shorten the playing field and accelerate all types of work. Rarely can generative AI score the touchdown…complete a somewhat difficult function.

In the evolving world of B2B sales, success is often a game of inches, with wins against competitors by the smallest of margins. Customers are overloaded with choices and information and decisions are stalling out at alarming rates, with more than half of deals being lost to no decision. Today's sales professionals must possess a repertoire of fundamental skills to stand out against competitors and win more often. With that in mind, here are 5 base-level skills every salesperson should master.

If you’re an event planner, you’ve probably spent countless hours scouring the Internet, researching public speakers to book for a conference, workshop, or other gathering. But if you’re new to booking public speakers, you might be a little overwhelmed by all the options available — especially considering the different categories of speakers that exist. But fret not; below is a quick guide to understanding the various speaker types out there and how they can impact your event.

One of the most important qualities represented in leaders is their ability to make decisions. The challenge is that many are afraid.

They’re afraid of responsibility. They’re afraid to fail. They’re afraid of disappointment. So, what do they do? They play it safe. They make decisions that produce incremental outcomes.

But is that what your business needs?

I learned how to lead in the Marine Corps. Our leadership curriculum was centered on decision-making, more particularly on how to take calculated, measured risks so you can find the advantage in any scenario. What was the goal? To find the advantage and win.

As consumers we are used to engaging with AI-driven technology when it comes to trying to solve customer service issues — oftentimes whether we like it or not. But what about the world of B2B sales, where human interaction remains necessary - especially when it comes to addressing customer indecision? In this blog, we set out to offer some insight and predictions of how artificial intelligence may impact the emotional intelligence necessary for salespeople to help customers navigate the high-stakes world of B2B buying.