Sales kickoff speaker · Leadership offsites
A sales kickoff speaker for what happens after the kickoff
What changes after the kickoff?
Friday energy. Monday nothing changed. Mike Simmons gives a sales kickoff keynote built around how your team thinks about the work. The room leaves with a shared language, so managers and reps run the same play on Monday. Add a Whiteboard Session or Accountability Sprints when you want help carrying it further.
The problem
Why Monday looks the same.
The kickoff lands. People clap. The slides go into a shared drive.
Then Monday arrives. The forecast call looks the same. The 1:1s look the same. Each manager heard a different message, so each team runs a different play.
That is not a speaker problem or a people problem. It is a plan problem. Nobody decided what should be different after the event, who owns it, or how anyone would know.
What Mike delivers
Start with the keynote. Add what fits.
The keynote stands on its own. The Whiteboard Session and Accountability Sprints are optional add-ons. Add one, both, or neither.
The keynote
25 to 55 minutes, virtual or in person. One message, built around how your team thinks about the work. The room leaves with a shared language, not just a good feeling.
Want the thinking behind it? See how Sales is a Thinking Process™ works.
Attendees say they leave able to:
- Define issues and understand the whole of a problem.
- Gain leadership support for solutions.
- Explain the what, why, how, and cost of implementing problem-based solutions.
Optional add-on: The Whiteboard Session (From Clarity to Action)
Up to 90 minutes with up to 10 leaders. What you said and what they heard are rarely the same. We get them aligned and leave with who will do what by when. Session summary and recording delivered within 48 hours.
Optional add-on: Accountability Sprints
Your managers carry the message after I leave. The real work happens in the sprints that follow, with clarity on who will do what by when. We check in at 30, 60 and 90 days against the numbers your team already tracks.
Learn. Think. Act.™ The keynote is where the team learns. Add a Whiteboard Session when leaders need to think it through together, and Accountability Sprints when managers need to carry it into action.
Who it's for
Built for teams that need Monday to change.
- CROs, VPs of Sales and revenue leaders planning a sales or revenue kickoff
- CEOs and leadership teams planning an offsite
- Companies from 90 to 9,000+ employees in a moment of change
- Teams whose last kickoff was a great day that changed nothing
Proof
Who has he done it for?
"Such a fun experience working with you. The audience really enjoyed the message and the introduction of the models and way of thinking you presented. The Marketing Ops Community thanks you!"
"Mike has a way of getting clarity out of a team that we couldn't get on our own. He doesn't tell us what to think. He gets us to think the same thing."
"Mike excelled at being able to incorporate data, wisdom, advice, humor and anecdotes into an engaging and beneficial discussion. Really good at being able to connect with the audience, ask questions and relate to real world events."
"Mike takes a simple “analog” technique and shows the value with clients that most people are not using. Valuable and he shared a story of helping a client make a breakthrough! Bravo Mike!"
"I really appreciated the simplicity I found you presenting. … I love the way we can interact w[ith] an audience using a whiteboard - capturing their ideas and returning to prior points instead of slides. … Thank you for bringing us back to the power of an actual whiteboard to create a whole different experience than is currently happening in virtual spaces."
Trusted by
Microsoft · Intel · Google · Siemens · Lockheed Martin · The Walt Disney Company · HSBC · MIT
Formats and logistics
How it works
- Keynotes, 25 to 55 minutes: virtual or in person, for rooms from 50 to 2,000.
- Workshops, half or full day: for teams of 10 to 50.
- Whiteboard Sessions: up to 90 minutes with up to 10 leaders, with a summary and recording within 48 hours. Add Accountability Sprints to carry it into action.
- Retreats and offsite facilitation: multi-day, in person preferred.
Mike typically books speaking 6 to 8 weeks out.
Fees depend on the work. We scope it together on the call.
Watch
See how Mike thinks at the whiteboard.
FAQ
Questions planners ask
What should happen after a sales kickoff?
Turn the kickoff message into two or three priorities your managers reinforce in the meetings they already run, then check them at 30, 60 and 90 days. The real work happens in the sprints that follow, with clarity on who will do what by when, applying Learn. Think. Act.™
How do you measure the ROI of a sales kickoff?
Decide before the event what should be different on Monday. Write it down as two or three behaviors with an owner and a date. Then measure at 30, 60 and 90 days against numbers you already track, such as pipeline health and the forecast. If nothing was defined before the kickoff, there is nothing to measure after it.
How is this different from a motivational keynote?
Energy is a byproduct. The job is a Monday move: a shared language, a plan your team owns, and a way of working that still runs when I am not in the room. Stories without that are a 48-hour spike.
Do you work with leadership offsites, not just sales kickoffs?
Yes. The keynote is built for sales and revenue kickoffs, leadership offsites, associations, and conferences. For leadership teams of up to 10, the Whiteboard Session works on its own or paired with a keynote. Multi-day retreat and offsite facilitation is also available, in person preferred.
How far ahead should we book a sales kickoff speaker?
I typically book speaking 6 to 8 weeks out. Start with a 25-minute availability call to confirm fit, format, and schedule.
Planning a kickoff? Plan for Monday too.
Book a 25-minute speaking call to confirm fit, format, and schedule. Bring your event date and the one thing you want to be different 90 days later.
Book a Speaking Call →Not planning an event? Book a Clarity Call
Mike Simmons
25+ years as a revenue leader at UPS, SmartForce (Skillsoft) and O'Reilly Media, where I helped grow ARR 2.6X to $80M+. I help leaders find clarity and take the next logical step. Creator of Sales is a Thinking Process™.