Do You Recognize These Sales Celebrities?

We won’t go as far as comparing it to the Oscars, but XANT’s Accelerate 16 was a star-studded affair.

Attendees laughed with “Saturday Night Live” legend Kevin Nealon, jammed out with Rock & Roll Hall of Famers Lynyrd Skynyrd and even grabbed a few photos with Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump impersonators.

Lynyrd Skynyrd performs at Accelerate 16 and Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton impersonators meet with guests.

The event also featured spellbinding keynotes and information-packed breakout sessions led by an impressive array of sales celebrities and thought leaders.

Wednesday’s keynotes

The conference started off with a bang as XANT CEO Dave Elkington discussed the new sales revolution.  

Dave invited Apttus CEO Kirk Krappe onstage to discuss the success his organization has had since adopting XANT technology.

Later, Tony Rodoni, EVP at Salesforce, and Param Kahlon, GM at Microsoft, both educated audience members on the future of sales and how innovative technologies are enabling sellers to engage with buyers better than ever before.

Tony Rodoni and Param Kahlon

After the general sessions, Accelerate attendees had the chance to grab some reading material from XANT President Ken Krogue and The Bridge Group President Trish Bertuzzi.

Ken Krogue and Trish Bertuzzi sign copies of their books.

Both Ken and Trish recently published books focused on sales development and the rise of inside sales. They chatted with attendees and signed copies of their books.

Thursday’s keynotes

Olympian Vince Poscente

On Thursday morning, XANT CMO Mick Hollison introduced a whole new batch of energetic speakers.

Olympic skier Vince Poscente shared his story and the importance of resiliency in the face of difficulty and disappointment.

Following Vince, Stephen M.R. Covey, author of The SPEED of Trust and son of the late Stephen R. Covey, spoke about the importance of building trust in sales and business.

Eric Siegel, founder of Predictive Analytics World, delivered a keynote on the nature of predictive analytics and its broad applications in business and the sales space.

The keynote sessions also included a Women in Technology panel featuring prominent leaders in sales and technology.

Sarah Buhr, Dafina Toncheva, Emily Borders and Heather Zynczak

Heather Zynczak, chief marketing officer at Domo, Emily Borders, principal at Highwire Public Relations, and Dafina Toncheva, partner at U.S. Venture Partners, were joined by TechCrunch reporter Sarah Buhr in a lively discussion on the power of diversity in the workplace.

Breakout sessions

Following the keynotes, Accelerate attendees could choose between more than 30 breakout sessions on a wide variety of topics.

ExecVision Chief Revenue Officer Steve Richard led a breakout discussion on improving conversion rates and sales coaching, while AA-ISP’s Bob Perkins joined Trish, Ken, Lori Richardson, of Score More Sales, and Amanda Holmes, of Chet Holmes International, to examine the role of research, training and social media in inside sales.

Ken Krogue, Lori Richardson, Bob Perkins, Amanda Holmes and Trish Bertuzzi

Attendees also enjoyed rubbing shoulders with other high-profile sales leaders, such as Anneke Seley, the legendary sales author and CEO of Reality Works.

Executive Summit

At Accelerate 16, XANT hosted a series of presentations designed for executives called the Executive Summit.

Members of the XANT leadership team — Jim Steele, Dan Freund and David Rudnitsky — led group discussions along with other notable sales celebrities like Mike Bosworth, sales author and trainer, and Thomas Winter, senior director of Cisco’s worldwide sales organization.

Thanks to all attendees and speakers, Accelerate 16 was the best XANT customer conference yet. We’re already looking forward to next year’s event.

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