Scott McKain, CSP, CPAE
Recognized authority on how organizations and professionals create distinction in the marketplace and deliver an Ultimate Customer Experience. Inducted into the Sales & Marketing Hall of Fame in 2016.
Price range
- $25,000 - $38,501
Expert
- Agriculture
- Branding
- Business Growth
- Communication
- Corporate Culture
- Customer Service
- Leadership
Experience
- Entertainment
- Finance
- Technology
- Telecommunications
Career
- 43 Years
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About
Scott McKain is the go-to expert for organizations that refuse to blend in.
A bestselling author, business advisor, Hall of Fame speaker, Cavett Award recipient (the highest honor in professional speaking) and one of only a handful in history inducted into the Sales and Marketing Hall of Fame, Scott shows leaders and teams how to win by creating distinction in a noisy, competitive world.From Fortune 500 boardrooms to high-growth startups, his bold, immediately actionable strategies have been delivered on stages in all 50 states and 40 countries. Scott currently serves as the “In Residence Expert on Distinction and Relevance” at High Point University—named America’s “most innovative” university by U.S. News & World Report.
His new book from Wiley is scheduled for January 2026 release: Beyond Distinction: How Leaders Transcend the Turbulence of an AI-Transformed World. His book, ICONIC—a Forbes.com “Top 10 Business Book of the Year”—is the playbook for delivering Ultimate Customer Experiences®, and building a culture people want to be part of. When standing out is no longer enough…Scott McKain shows you how to lead.
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Video Clips
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Topics
BEYOND DISTINCTION: Getting Unstuck and Thriving in a Turbulent, AI-Transformed World
Keynote | Educational | Motivational | Future-Focused
Standing out used to be enough. Not anymore. In today’s volatile, AI-disrupted marketplace, simply being “different” won’t protect you from irrelevance, commoditization, or obsolescence. To grow and lead now, you must go beyond distinction—transcending the competition, turbulence, and rapid change to define the future in your favor.
In this high-impact keynote or workshop, Scott McKain reveals the strategies from his new book, Beyond Distinction: How Leaders Transcend the Turbulence of an AI-Transformed World, showing leaders and teams how to break free from being stuck and position themselves to thrive in the era of AI, accelerating disruption, and rising customer expectations.
Scott blends cutting-edge insights with compelling case studies and a storyteller’s flair to deliver tangible, actionable steps. Your audience will learn how to establish visionary clarity, adapt creatively, communicate with transformative impact, and proactively evolve to meet changing customer demands—before competitors do.
The result? A group that doesn’t just respond to change…they transcend it.
Key Audience Takeaways:
• How to identify and escape the traps of being “stuck” in commoditization, stagnation, or outdated business models
• A clear framework to thrive through turbulence and disruption—rather than merely survive it
• The role of Visionary Clarity in charting a compelling future for your organization and career
• How to harness Adaptive Creativity to innovate in ways competitors can’t match
• The principles of Transformative Communication to connect across cultures, generations, and platforms
• How Proactive Customer Evolution ensures you stay ahead of changing expectations
• Actionable steps to move from standing out…to standing above the rest in your fieldCREATE DISTINCTION: What to Do When “Great” Isn’t Good Enough to Grow Your Business
How can you stand out from your rivals? What does it take to become their preferred choice in a volatile marketplace? In this keynote or workshop, Scott teaches how to create distinction. He will show you how to deliver ultimate customer experiences® to earn customers for life.The most important question we must confront is: “WHY would we get chosen instead of our competition?”In this high-impact keynote, Scott shares distinctive stories from his extensive case studies. He provides the specific action steps that every professional must undertake to stand out and move up. And, he will show you how to avoid commoditization by expanding your innovation.
Scott’s insights on current trends have been globally recognized as cutting edge. His masterful storytelling ability means your attendees will enjoy the speech — and execute the strategies.Your outcome will be an audience prepared to drive business growth by creating distinction — personally and professionally.
Planning your next meeting, annual conference or association convention? You goal is for an inspired and engaged audience ready to take action with tangible value from the meeting experience. That’s what Scott McKain delivers.Key Audience Takeaways:
• The ability to avoid the mistakes of commoditization
• Improved results from learning the specific steps to create distinction
• Improved appreciation of the importance of personal responsibility in organizational growth
• Expanded skills and thinking on the important issue of innovation
• Enhanced clarity about goals and organizational direction
• Knowledge of communication approaches that transcend generational differences
• Discovery of the specific steps required to deliver superior experiences for customersTHE ULTIMATE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE®: Delivering What Customers REALLY Want
There is a stunning difference between what customers want and what most organizations offer. And, as Scott McKain’s research proves, this widening gulf creates dissatisfaction, distrust, and –worst of all for any business — disloyalty.What customers really want today is a superior client experience. Certainly, they want good service, a great product, and a competitive price. However, what creates client loyalty is a connection through personalization, differentiation, and emotion.A critical question for you is: What is the ultimate experience that a customer could have as they do business with your organization? Scott McKain has vast experience and cutting-edge strategies on how to create distinction and deliver ultimate customer experiences®.Your participants will discover what it takes to produce undying loyalty and endless referrals. By sharing specifics and stories from the iconic companies within Scott’s portfolio of case studies, you’ll discover how to deliver ultimate experiences to both internal and external customers.If you’re planning your next meeting, conference or convention, you want your audience to be inspired and engaged. You want them to leave prepared to take action and deliver tangible value. This program will specifically show them how to engage distinctively to expand customer loyalty and enhance business growth.Key Audience Takeaways:
• The five steps of an Ultimate Customer Experience
• Why the experience – and not service – generates loyalty; and what you need to do to create it
• The information you need to personalize the experience, in order to intensify the customer’s commitment to your organization
• The Six Disconnections Between Organizations and Customers — and how to bridge the gaps so you can engage distinctivelyICONIC How Organizations and Leaders Attain, Sustain, and Regain the Ultimate Level of Distinction
In a changing marketplace, how do you create the highest level of distinction so that you don’t get left behind? (Professionally or personally?) This keynote answers the critical question: What is an iconic organization or leader? And, it will clearly reveal how you can attain, sustain, or regain that status.Being distinctive in the marketplace used to be the pinnacle of success. In today’s global marketplace, that mountain is significantly more difficult to climb. Add the pervasive presence of social media and the competition for attention is more intense than ever before.Merely standing out is more challenging than ever. It now has less impact on sustained growth. Today, to become a compelling company, leader, or brand on a positive trajectory, one must attain iconic status.Scott will share fresh stories on iconic professionals and organizations. You’ll learn there are only two factors upon which customers and employees judge your organization. He will reveal unique examples like the millionaire chimney sweep. You’ll learn about the single-store steakhouse in a mid-sized city that has higher revenue than New York City’s famed Tavern on the Green.What is the outcome of this keynote presentation? You and your organization will be ready to achieve iconic status through sound research and practical wisdom.Planning your next meeting, annual conference or association convention? It’s not enough for your audience to be inspired and engaged. They must leave ready to take action from the tangible value of their ultimate experience. That’s what Scott McKain delivers like no one else.Key Audience Takeaways:
• The Five Factors of Iconic Performance
• The ONLY two factors upon which customers will judge you
• Why much of what you’ve heard – like “under promise/over deliver,” “defense wins championships,” “sell harder” – does not work in today’s marketplace of multiple generations and cultures.
• Improved results from learning the required steps for Iconic performance
• Expanded appreciation of the importance of personal responsibility in team success
• Advanced skills and thinking on the important issue of improving processes
• Enhanced precision about goals and organizational directionTHE ICONIC SALES PROFESSIONAL: How to Stand Out and Win in a Hyper-competitive Marketplace
Most organizations are selling customers and prospects exactly like their competitors. As Scott McKain’s research reveals, part of the reason is that organizations have not thoroughly educated their sales professionals. Many salespeople have not specifically learned how to emphasize the differences required to make their product or service the superior choice. In this program, Scott reveals the specific steps to win sales in a hyper-competitive marketplace.Scott relates unique stories from iconic companies and professionals from his portfolio of client case studies. He provides the strategies and tactics required to deliver iconic sales performance.Attendees of this high-impact keynote presentation will learn what it takes to sell distinctively.Scott’s insights on current trends in sales have been globally recognized as cutting edge. His masterful storytelling ability means your attendees will enjoy the speech. His vast experience and insight mean that they will execute his sales strategies.If you’re planning your next sales meeting, conference or convention, you want your audience to depart inspired and engaged. The outcome of this sales-focused keynote from Scott McKain will be an audience that is motivated, focused, and prepared to drive sales growth.Key Audience Takeaways:
• Sell the differences that make you a preferred choice
• Four strategies to sell uniquely from your competition
• How to transcend transaction and develop loyal relationships for more sales
• The six key disconnections between sales professionals and their customers
• Learn that we are chosen for our uniqueness – not our similarities -
Testimonials
3 people have recommended this speaker
“Scott McKain fit our program perfectly and he adapted it to us very well. We will definitely have him back again. All of the sales reps LOVED it and wanted to hear more from him.”
“The response from our agents has been fantastic and you definitely have built a loyal following with our group.”
“The only speaker in the history of our company to have received a perfect score from EVERY attendee at our most important global partners event. We’ve booked the leading speakers in the world. Scott McKain received the highest ratings of all.”