It’s true that “everyone lives by selling something,” and this is especially so for retailers. Whether you are operating a start-up or a mega merger, Canadian business owners face the same issues. How do you stay competitive, grow sales, forecast demand for products and services, retain staff, and provide extraordinary customer service? The retail experts at the National Speakers Bureau can provide you with the tools of the trade for a successful business operation. They offer their perspectives on the successes, failures, turbulence and ongoing changes to the business landscape. Through tailored presentations, our speakers address your specific needs, challenges and opportunities, and help you achieve outstanding results.

Dianne Buckner  

Tom Blake  

Business Journalist Most Requested Topics - Inside Venture - Business & The Media - Managing HR Turbulence:    Employee Retention for    Canadian Businesses - Opportunities for Female    Entrepreneurs

Articulate, straightforward and funny, Dianne Buckner is host of the award-winning CBC weekly series Venture, Canada's most popular business program. The show provides Dianne the opportunity to see Canadian businesses from the inside. Learn from Dianne's 'Back to the Floor' Venture series where Canada's top bosses left their luxurious offices to sweat it out alongside their employees. Learn valuable lessons about things leaders forgot, or never knew in the first place. After all, in the high-pressured executive's job, it's easy to lose touch with the day-to-day sales and marketing operations of a successful company. And, after hitting the frontlines, every participant makes immediate changes.

Tracking business by following the real-life drama of commerce as it unfolds, Buckner covers everything from two-man start-ups to mega mergers. As host of Venture, she is uniquely qualified to offer perspective on success, failure, turbulence and the ongoing changes in the business landscape.

Rave Reviews
“Thank you again for your wonderful presentation yesterday. It was just the right mix of information, inspiration and entertainment … we collected evaluations from our audience, and you should know you scored 4/4 on 99% of the responses. So the audience really felt they benefited from your talk as well.”

WESBC

Sales and Motivation Expert Most Requested Topics - Winning Organizations - Knock Your Socks Off    Service  - Sharing the Lead - Personal Profit Culture

Tom Blake is one of North America's most energetic motivational speakers, business consultants and sales management professionals. Tom believes in The Power of People. With consulting, coaching and training they can help grow your business, your organization and your people… in perfect balance. Over the years Tom has been involved in the creation of a number of dynamic and inspiring presentations that achieve outstanding results. 

Prior to founding his consulting and training business, Tom was with Procter & Gamble as National Sales Manager and a member of the company’s Management Committee. Accomplishments at P&G included the highest people development results over four years, development of a National Part-Time Sales Organization that is recognized as “World Class” and has been implemented in 15 countries, Team Leader for the creation and implementation of Customer Business Teams and the successful integration of the sales and merchandising programs of three companies. Furthermore, Tom Blake tailors his presentation to meet your specific needs, challenges and opportunities.

Rave Reviews
“You delivered the most outstanding learning program 
 last week! The Direct Sales Vend Food Service sales 
 team has never been so energized, all thanks to (you). 
 Your passion to make people successful and your 
 incredible ability to teach and coach people was 
 remarkable! I enjoyed every minute of this learning 
 program! The feedback from the group was extremely 
 positive and everybody was more than impressed by the 
 quality of the material and what they learned.”

Frito-Lay

Peter van Stolk 

Chris Emery & Larry Finnson 

President and CEO Jones Soda Most Requested Topics - Guerrilla PR: Grabbing    Attention on a Low Budget - Grounding a Brand:     Consumer Loyalty from    the Ground Up - Marketing to the Youth    Market

Peter van Stolk's corporate mandate: “Sell soda, make money, make a difference and have fun!”

Marketing maverick Peter van Stolk has a unique, interactive approach to grounding his products, an intense connection to his consumers and an uncanny ability to predict trends. He entered the highly competitive beverage industry, learned the rules and then promptly rejected them. Peter has been able to attract attention by setting his products apart from the rest and developing an emotional bond with his customers. This bond has attracted the attention of the New York Times, CNN, People Magazine and INC. magazine amongst many others. This is a guy who's 'WhoopAss Canned Ham' flavoured soda made it to the hands of the Late Night with David Letterman show, and ended up earning 30 times it's value per bottle as a result... 

Rave Reviews
“The presentation was phenomenal! Peter van Stolk was a hit. We’ve heard so much great feedback already. We usually have people sneaking out by 1:30 but everyone stayed put and we had to turn people away.”

Canadian Public Relations Society

Owners Of Famed Clodhoppers Candy Most Requested Topics - Sales and Marketing:    Package & Persistence    Pays Off - Product, Price, Promotion,    Package, Place … and People - The Sweet Success of    Entrepreneurship - Personality Sells the Product

Chris Emery & Larry Finnson, developed a multi-million dollar success story in the competitive candy industry.

Their youthful, dynamic energy and never-say-die attitude have helped them plough through near bankruptcy, nail-biting investor relations meetings and getting in with the big guys like Wal-Mart, Dairy Queen, and most recently Good Humor-Breyers ice cream. As a result, their Kraves Candy Company has been ranked among the Top Ten Food Companies in Canada by Food in Canada Magazine and they’ve experienced a 1,000% increase in gross income in their first 3 yrs of business.

Chris and Larry have been lauded for their sales 
and marketing techniques, with Clodhoppers’ packaging makeover and promotion being featured in Profit and Marketing magazines as a marketing & packaging success story. 

Rave Reviews
"Excellent presentation. Completely engaging, informative and fun. A welcome change..."

"Good blend of their story with marketing insights. Very entertaining. Obvious enjoyment of their business approach and deserving of their success. Great use of video clips to deliver a tremendous marketing story."

Canadian Marketing Association

Steve Saldebus  

Rex Murphy 

Creator of Modrobes Clothing, Designer, Entrepreneur, and  Anti-conformist Most Requested Topics - The "Accidental" Success    of Modrobes - “I Want You In My Pants”:    Lessons from a Guerrilla    Marketer

As a university graduate, Steve Saldebus made a conscious decision not to be a “suit”. He started his campus clothing line and called it Modrobes meaning modern, casual, loose fitting garments. He now 'clothes the modern world' with Modrobes as one of Canada's coolest fashion shops.

For Steve it’s about doing something new, knowing your client and giving them what they want. It’s about working hard, making mistakes and learning as you go. It’s about speaking to your customer in a unique way, not conforming to industry “standards”, but always following your gut. "We make a big point out of the fact that we're young, we're Canadian, we don't take any money from the banks, and we're not a regular clothing company like the GAP."   

Steve Saldebus and Modrobes have been featured in Marketing Magazine, Profit Magazine, Strategy Magazine and on CBC’s Venture amongst many others.  

Social Commentator and Editorial Journalist Most Requested Topics - Cross Canada & USA Retail    Checkup with Rex Murphy - Business and the Media:    Communicating in an Age    of Clamour - Fragile Loyalties, Intense    Commitments: the Art of    Being Canadian

Rex Murphy's Point of View is sharp, provocative and pointed. A Rhodes scholar, Rex Murphy went to Oxford University (along with U.S. President Bill Clinton). Since that time, Rex Murphy’s work has appeared in all media across the country. Described as The National’s ‘star opinion-jockey’, Rex presents informed, entertaining and fiercely witty commentary on current events and noteworthy subjects.

His endearing style on air and on the platform showcases a sarcastic intellect and deep insight into issues affecting all Canadian individuals and businesses. Graced with his own brand of persuasion, no one walks away not knowing exactly what Rex Murphy thinks.

Rave Reviews
"I found every point you made to be insightful, consistent with both our marketing experience and what we see going on in the world around us and, above all else, your comments were extraordinarily helpful. In addition to the superb content of your presentation, it was a joy for all of us to hear ideas presented so articulately. I can assure you that your observations on our brand and those of multi-national competitors will serve as valuable guidance as we take our business forward."

A&W Food Services of Canada, Inc.