Merit Kahn (formerly Gest)
Cross between Daniel Goleman, Tony Robbins & Ellen Degeneres... smart, inspiring & funny! Merit combines content, connection & comedy to increase sales, influence leadership & impact communication.
Merit Kahn (formerly Gest), CSP, is the Founder of Merit-based Business, author of Myth Shift: Challenging The Truths That Sabotage Success and creator of The Merit Method: Sales Mastery for Life program.
With more than 20 years of sales, sales management, coaching, training, consulting, writing and speaking experience, Merit has worked with more than 1000 clients across multiple industries with one goal in mind... grow sales and influence.
She is certified in Emotional Intelligence and earned the highest designation in The National Speakers Association, one held by less than 12% of professional speakers worldwide, The Certified Speaking Professional, CSP.
Merit performs stand-up comedy to unwind... because that's not stressful at all!
Your attendees invest their energy, time and money to go to the event. They deserve a high energy, content rich, engaging speaker who understands how to capture attention, inspire people into action and make 'em laugh.
Her presentation style is a blend of content, connection & comedy. All of Merit's work is specifically designed for each unique client.
Merit's work experience and certifications in both Emotional Intelligence and cultural transformation give her a unique perspective for hiring, onboarding, selling and retaining top talent.
Prior to forming Merit-based Sales & Leadership, Merit was the Senior VP of Sales for a nationwide sales training organization and the youngest General Sales Manager for a start-up radio station in the country's third largest market.
In her various roles as a business owner, trainer, coach, consultant and keynote speaker, she has worked with CEOs, business owners, entrepreneurs, sales management teams and professionals across a wide variety of industries including financial services, manufacturing, engineering, professional services, technology and even pest control.
A true adventurer, Merit pulls business and life lessons from her experiences backpacking around the world on her own, bungee jumping, sky diving, ice climbing, scuba diving, paragliding and crashing. She's likely the only person on the planet who's broken a left foot in Israel and a right leg in Croatia, but somehow she's walked away from both with inspiring messages that enable people to create new possibilities in business and life.
LEVEL UP: A BLUEPRINT FOR POSSIBILITY AND OPPORTUNITY
We all want to grow, whether it is our leadership, sales, influence, career or income. At some level, in some area of life that is important to you, it is time to level up. But how?
in this program, inspiration meets humor and how-to. You will learn a three step process to open your mind to new possibilities, expand your thinking and from that mindset, get down to business.
This program is deliberately designed for leaders, professionals, entrepreneurs and sales professionals.
GIVE A SHIFT! GROW SALES. MAKE MORE MONEY.
There are some unquestioned beliefs in business that if left unchecked will sabotage your success no matter how hard you work. They will sabotage you as a leader, sales professional, manager, owner and as an entrepreneur. Its' one thing to believe these myths... but where we get ourselves into trouble is when we act on them. These myths lead to costly mistakes... or Myth-stakes. Letting Myth-stakes drive your business decisions keeps you playing a smaller game. And you're here to play your biggest and best game. Learn how to shift your thinking about the Myth-stakes that impact sales, hiring, leadership, marketing, customer service and employee satisfaction and have your best year yet.
• Discover 3 Myth-stakes about business that sabotage success
• Powerfully shift thinking about each myth to unlock new opportunities
• Clarify your most important actions on to the business decisions relevant to you right now
HOW WE INFLUENCE OTHERS AND WHAT HAS INFLUENCE OVER US
There are three parts to growing our influence; mindset, action, skills. Whether you have to effectively lead a team of people or lead a few teenagers in your household, influence is everyone's job. Before we can effectively influence others, it's critical that we understand the influences that have control over us. In this session, professionals, salespeople, managers, entrepreneurs & owners learn alongside each other the specific mindsets, actions and skills that grow their influence and their business in a non-pushy, non-"sales-y" way.
In this session you will:
• Debunk 3 myths about influence that could be killing your results right now
• Discover how to grow your influence in less than 3 minutes without being pushy
• Learn a influence skill you can use daily
• See yourself as the powerful secret influential weapon that you are
THE ULTIMATE SECRET TO SALES MASTERY
To be effective in your sales role you need good selling skills and you need to be in action. But you need something else before skills and actions will work their magic. You need a solid foundation to layer those proven sales skills on top of so they work for you. The secret to sales mastery is available to you the moment you discover it for yourself.
In this program you will:
• Discover the three elements of long term Sales Mastery
• Identify the three aspects of your Sales Mindset that influence you
• Learn the Mechanics of a proven 5-step Sales Process
• Re-Decide your actions so you reach your goals
MYTHS TOP SALES PERFORMERS DON'T BUY
All you have to do is be someone that people know, like and trust to win business... Sales is a numbers game... Great salespeople are born with the gift of gab... OH PLEASE! Stop the madness, it's killing your sales results. If you still think your prospects have the power, if you think they ask the questions they really want answers to, if you think they truly are blocking out time to think it over... then it's time to set the record straight. You are giving away your power and making your job way too difficult. In this interactive keynote you get the chance to discover the humor in these myths and learn the shift that unlocks the potential for greater possibilities and increased sales.
This is sales like you've never heard it before.
This session is a must if...
• your audience is a mix of new & veteran salespeople
• you want your salespeople to wake up, get back in the game and make things happen
• you want your sales team to stop negotiating deals down
• you want your sales team to go for bigger deals, more margin and bigger market share
TOP FIVE ATTRIBUTES OF EMOTIONALLY INTELLIGENT SALES PROFESSIONALS
This no-nonsense program is as funny as it is direct. It's what people who aspire to be top salespeople need to hear and what accomplished salespeople may do naturally that can be done even more deliberately to stay on top.
Merit delivers the message companies would like to say, but can't and salespeople need to hear, without putting them on the defensive.
Salespeople kill deals every day. Salespeople negotiate pricing before they even hear an objection. Companies spend more than $1500 per salesperson on average and too often it's money out the window. Sales tactics alone don't cut it.
Assess the emotional intelligence of your sales force and uncover the real reasons people don't always use their knowledge, skills and talents to the best of their ability. Discover what top sales professionals have in common and what you can do to crank up your sales effectiveness.
This keynote tells the truth about why salespeople don't sell more, struggle with negotiations and give away their power to prospects.
SATISFACTION: IS IT THE SILENT KILLER OF SUCCESS?
The Rolling Stones Can't Get No Satisfaction and that might just be the key to their incredible success. Does satisfaction lead to stagnation where there is no possibility for momentum? What happens when salespeople are satisfied? Managers? Customer service? C-suite? Satisfaction sounds like something to strive for, but what happens to future progress when you get there? In this lively debate style highly interactive keynote, attendees learn to use the positive aspects of satisfaction without putting the brakes on future results.