Every sales kick-off has the same goal: send teams into the year energized, aligned, and ready to perform.
But “motivational” isn’t enough anymore. The best SKOs match speakers to specific business challenges.
Here are five voices: each chosen for a different outcome your team might need in 2026.
Shola Richards
Best For: Rebuilding Trust
What you allow is what will continue. Real kindness takes guts—it requires you to stand in solidarity with others and refuse to let toxic behavior slide.
Why now: Hybrid teams, political tension, generational divides. Trust is fractured in ways most leaders aren’t equipped to handle.
Shola’s framework gives managers practical tools to reset team culture and rebuild psychological safety.
Not soft skills. Survival skills.
Daymond John
Best For: Hustle & Resourcefulness
The Power of Broke is not about having nothing—it is about having nothing to lose. That is when you get creative, resourceful, and relentless.
Why now: Budgets are cut. Headcount is frozen. Your team is being asked to hit bigger numbers with fewer resources.
Daymond’s been there. He built a billion-dollar brand from his mother’s house in Queens. His message isn’t “grind harder.”
It’s “constraints are a competitive advantage.”
Dee Ann Turner
Best For: Talent & Retention
We are not in the chicken business—we are in the people business. Culture is not what you say; it is what you tolerate.
Why now: Your competitors are poaching your best reps. The ones who stay are burned out. Recruiting is expensive; replacing a good seller costs 6–9 months of salary.
Dee Ann built the playbook behind the lowest turnover in fast food.
And shows how any sales org can apply it.
Jesse Itzler
Best For: Culture Reset
Build your LIFE resume, not just your work resume. The experiences you collect matter as much as the achievements you chase.
Why now: Sales teams don’t bond over Slack threads. They bond over shared challenges. Moments that are hard, uncomfortable, and a little ridiculous.
Jesse has built multiple companies on this principle: teams that push through things together sell better together.
His keynotes aren’t lectures.
They’re a jolt.
Victoria Labalme
Best For: Elevating Presence
“Everyone has something that makes them magnetic—but most people bury it under what they think they’re supposed to say.”
Why now: AI can write your emails, summarize your calls, and draft your proposals. What it can’t do is make a buyer trust you.
As automation handles more of the routine, the human stuff – presence, timing, the ability to read a room – becomes the entire game.
Victoria teaches sellers how to stop performing and start connecting.
The Right Speaker for the Right Outcome
An SKO keynote isn’t a reward for attendance. It’s a strategic investment. 45 minutes to shift how your team thinks, feels, or operates for the entire year ahead.
The question isn’t “who’s available?” It’s “what does my team need most right now?”
- Trust is broken → Shola Richards
- Doing more with less → Daymond John
- Talent is walking → Dee Ann Turner
- Culture is stale → Jesse Itzler
- Presence is flat → Victoria Labalme
Ready to book? Just Get In Touch →
We’ll help you match the right voice to your 2026 goals.
