Creating Value Beyond the Hype
Discuss upcoming strategy, motivate the team, celebrate recent successes, reward teams for jobs well done, and ensure alignment on annual goals. Every CRO will share that the above agenda for the SKO is critical for team morale and retention.
"Doing what we did last year" isn't really an option for 2025. With the impending US elections this fall, continued inflation concerns, distributed workforces, global considerations, and a great deal of uncertainty, your SKO 2025 is incredibly important. If you are strategic, intentional, and innovative, the right design, development, and delivery could set the tone for a far greater impact.
Beyond a great event, how will you double down on:
1. SKO Keynote and Signed Books
There are several options for how we can work together to create an unforgettable SKO 2025 experience for you and your audience.
Each option includes our SmartContent+™, customizing our thought and practice leadership to the needs of the meeting owner and the audience.
We also work diligently with meeting planners to ensure a smooth and highly immersive experience for the SKO attendees.
60 minutes in duration, David Nour, best-selling author of Relationship Economics®, 3rd Edition (Wiley, 2023), Curve Benders (Wiley, 2021), and Co-Create (St. Martin's Press, 2017), will deliver a highly customized SKO keynote. Our team will create a custom landing page for your attendees to take a relevant content quiz, show the aggregate data in the keynote, and use an interactive polling tool to engage them during the presentation.
Each participant will receive a signed copy of any of Nour's books.
Option One above of an SKO Keynote and Signed Books, plus a member of our creative team to capture the keynote insights visually. This option is incredibly powerful for visual learners as we leave the large boards behind and share digital images for our clients to use however appropriate.
3. Keynote, Signed Book,
Live Visuals and Moderated Panel
Option Two above expanded to include Nour moderating a panel of your customers, partners, company executives, or board members.
We've found panel discussions that are well designed, where each participant is prepped/coached in advance, conducted through a natural conversation, yet a commanding presence to be incredibly impactful.
The panel must address the questions or concerns of the audience members, often answering "What's in it for me?" Although meticulously planned, it should never be scripted and when possible include audience participation.
2. Keynote, Signed Books
and Live Visuals
4. Keynote, Signed Book,
Live Visuals and Breakout Session
An alternative to Option Three is to dive deeper into Nour's SKO Keynote content with a breakout session on his topics.
Whether Relationship Economics, Curve Benders, Co-Create, or a hybrid of his deep expertise in strategic relationships, a hands-on, mini-workshop, allows the audience to immerse themselves in individual and small team exercises.
A set of highly interactive personal development tips, techniques, and best practices bring Nour's content to life, making them uniquely relevant and applicable in the field, long after the SKO.
5. Keynote, Signed Book,
Live Visuals and Webinar Series
An alternative to Option Three above expanded to include a series of six (6) webinars to help the attendees learn more about the relevant implications, internalize the content's impact in their respective roles, and embrace the fundamental changes in aligning buying and selling motions.
The webinar series can also be scheduled leading up to your event to give your attendees a taste and encourage them to amplify their curiosity in the event content.
BONUS: Post-SKO Leadership Retreat / Debrief + Prioritized Pursuits
In our experience, the SKO planning leading up to the actual event, and the post-SKO team meetings make that week particularly stressful and all-encompassing.
A fantastic opportunity would be to re-engage the GTM leadership team with an intentional retreat to debrief what worked, what didn't, how will we improve, and our prioritized pursuits from the SKO.
By giving the leadership team the time and space to soak in their personal perspectives, and team input, this leadership retreat can be particularly impactful in setting the tone for revenue execution in 2025.
Our contribution? Nour Group can moderate this retreat and offer an unforgettable experience with our Learning Sprint - Fly Fishing.
Are You SKO 2025 Ready?
Clarify your vision, optimize your processes, and elevate your capabilities to become a more relationship-centric organization.
Copyright © 2002 - 2025 | The Nour Group, Inc. | All rights reserved.
Top 10 SKO Mistakes
1. Confusing Vision & Direction: Misaligned Initiatives / Strategic Priorities - Lack of clarity and inconsistent efforts often lead to Go-to-Market (GTM) inefficiencies in resource misallocation and delayed decision-making.
2. Lack of Clarity on Bi-Directional Purpose! - Inconsistent messaging, and product and service misalignment degrade the customer experience, delay revenue growth, and erode margins.
3. Too Many Thinkers Without Understandings of the Needs of the Doers! - Unrealistic plans, and lack of feasibility often driven by unrealistic or impractical considerations for in-the-field realities cause frustration and disconnect.
Before
During
4. Confuse Motivation with Inspiration! - Motivation is fundamentally intrinsic, driven by specific needs, goals, or desires to achieve external rewards. Typically action-oriented it's often temporary and requires constant reinforcement to maintain. Conversely, inspiration is an emotional upliftment or experience triggered by external factors. This sense of awakening to new possibilities can have an enduring impact.
5. 100 lbs. Bag of Content into a 1 Lbs. Box – No Connective Tissue! - Participants become overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information, leading to cognitive fatigue and reduced retention of critical points. Without clear connections between agenda items, the event feels disjointed, fragmented, and ineffective.
6. Create an Event (vs. a Development Process) - Most SKOs are typically intensive learning events where participants are exposed to new concepts, skills, or information with short-term exposure. Behavior changes and material impact on the business come from a development process focused on adaptability, mastery, and long-term growth.
7. Content is Not Actionable (Elevator Ride!) - Lack of practical application of shared ideas creates frustrated and disengaged audiences. The perceived wasted time and missed opportunities reduce impact, decrease credibility and trust, and limit learning and growth.
After
8. No Follow Through - Process vs. Follow-Up - a Transaction! - Transactional follow-up is short-term, task-oriented, and limited in its scope. Follow through, often a long-term commitment, is holistic and process-oriented to ensure continuous improvement, sustained results, and material impact.
9. No Real or Material Metrics or Milestones – Return on Objectives! - Ambiguity caused by undefined or opaque metrics and milestones conveys a lack of focus, unclear objectives, and mixed messages. Lack of accountability, challenges in "single source of the truth" tracking, no performance benchmarks, or the ability to identify gaps reduce motivation and engagement.
10. Impact from the Application of the SKO Content - Lack of sales performance, no lasting enhancement in sales skills and knowledge, misalignment of strategic priorities, decreased motivation and morale, degraded customer relationships, and lack of any measurable business outcomes often prove the SKO less than efficient or effective in its desired impact on the business.
How We Help
Nour Group SKO Offerings
As presented for the Sales Community - Home of the CRO, we believe many organizations make similar mistakes in their 3D (Design, Development, Delivery) capabilities. We've outlined the Top 10 Mistakes with their lasting impact on the business, delineated in the Before - During - After phases of your planning, execution and follow through efforts.
Strategic. Intentional. Innovative.
Design. Development. Delivery.
Before. During. After.
1. Assess Your Attendees and Create Custom Mini-Experiences - Lack of clarity and inconsistent efforts often lead to Go-to-Market (GTM) inefficiencies in resource misallocation and delayed decision-making.
2. Create a Forum for Content Discussions – SxSW Session Voting! - Inconsistent messaging, and product and service misalignment degrade the customer experience, delay revenue growth, and erode margins.
3. Ask Attendees for the Top Three (3) Outcomes Most Impactful for Them! - Unrealistic plans, and lack of feasibility often driven by unrealistic or impractical considerations for in-the-field realities cause frustration and disconnect.
Before
During
4. Balance External + Internal Thought AND Practice Leaders - Motivation is fundamentally intrinsic, driven by specific needs, goals, or desires to achieve external rewards. Typically action-oriented it's often temporary and requires constant reinforcement to maintain. Conversely, inspiration is an emotional upliftment or experience triggered by external factors. This sense of awakening to new possibilities can have an enduring impact.
5. Less is More; Create Opportunities for Visual Storytelling + Informal Interactions - Participants become overwhelmed by the sheer volume of information, leading to cognitive fatigue and reduced retention of critical points. Without clear connections between agenda items, the event feels disjointed, fragmented, and ineffective.
6. Save The Date – Incorporate Key Ideas into a Development Path (QBRs) - Most SKOs are typically intensive learning events where participants are exposed to new concepts, skills, or information with short-term exposure. Behavior changes and material impact on the business come from a development process focused on adaptability, mastery, and long-term growth.
7. More Conversations; Less Presentations – with One Page “Go Implement” - Lack of practical application of shared ideas creates frustrated and disengaged audiences. The perceived wasted time and missed opportunities reduce impact, decrease credibility and trust, and limit learning and growth.
After
8. Invite Content Presenters Back into the Field for Regular Updates - Transactional follow-up is short-term, task-oriented, and limited in its scope. Follow through, often a long-term commitment, is holistic and process-oriented to ensure continuous improvement, sustained results, and material impact.
9. Hold Your Field Leaders Accountable for Follow Through Cadence - Ambiguity caused by undefined or opaque metrics and milestones conveys a lack of focus, unclear objectives, and mixed messages. Lack of accountability, challenges in "single source of the truth" tracking, no performance benchmarks, or the ability to identify gaps reduce motivation and engagement.
10. Measure Material Skills, Knowledge, and Behavior Changes Throughout The Year! - Lack of sales performance, no lasting enhancement in sales skills and knowledge, misalignment of strategic priorities, decreased motivation and morale, degraded customer relationships, and lack of any measurable business outcomes often prove the SKO less than efficient or effective in its desired impact on the business.
For over two decades, the Nour Group team has advised, coached, and helped create exceptional SKO experiences for global revenue leaders. Having served in various P&L roles, we understand how to balance go-to-market (GTM) demands with logistical, financial, and bandwidth constraints.
Below are examples of how SKO owners and planners have leveraged the Nour Group's expertise to create memorable experiences and lasting impact on their business.
Think of this list as your playbook to think and lead differently for SKO 2025.
Harnessing the power of your solution, unique data, and foray into AI, can help your clients build new digital businesses and fuel material enterprise growth.
If your solution is the key for them to outcompete, it will only achieve its transformative value when you set a clear strategy, align your culture, and elevate your capabilities to meet the execution, delivery challenges, and opportunities of 2025.
Empower your team with the relationship-centric strategies they need to thrive in 2025
Keynotes by bestselling author and executive coach, David Nour, that transform your organization's growth strategy and fuel unparalleled success and resilience.
"Nour brings incredible insights to push you to think and lead differently."
KC CHOI, EVP AND HEAD OF GLOBAL B2B MOBILE
SAMSUNG
"Nour has spoken at SKOs and other marquis events for my last two companies, both virtually and in-person. He consistently goes above and beyond in customizing his content, delivers them with conviction, and leaves every audience wanting more. Highly recommend."
BILL HOGAN
CHIEF REVENUE OFFICER
CYBERMAXX
Sample SKO Clients
In a technology-driven world where transactional interactions have become the norm, true success lies in the depth, not breadth, of our relationships.
Leaders, it's time to refocus: Nour's insights will guide your teams to nurture genuine connections, shifting from fleeting interactions to lasting, strategic relationships in this age of hybrid relationships.
Through Nour's impactful talks and bestselling books, he has guided countless professionals in technology, professional services, hospitality, insurance, financial services, and other industries to foster deeper relationships and achieve sustainable growth in their markets.
Keynote Topics and Outcomes
In a post-pandemic world with ongoing economic and geopolitical uncertainty, thriving means leveraging deep business relationships. Dive into Relationship Economics® and discover how to transform everyday contacts into valuable partnerships. You'll gain insights from two decades of research on fostering hybrid relationships and growth strategies, setting you apart in a relationship-focused business landscape.
Outcome:
Master the art of building impactful, lasting business relationships that drive revenue growth.
Relationship Economics®
Curve Benders
Increasing competition, slowing sales cycles, and lower yield on traditional tactics all suggest that the future of work demands strategic relationships for non-linear growth. Understand the disruptive forces reshaping our work and life, and embrace the power of "Curve Benders" for transformative growth. Through this session, learn how to navigate challenges, understand role dynamics, and forge relationships that can redefine your growth trajectory.
Outcome:
Harness the potential of strategic relationships for exponential growth.
The Co-Create Effect
Balance and evolution in a world of macroeconomic headwinds and rapid AI-driven technology change hinge on co-creation and strategic collaborations. Rather than aiming to be the smartest, the key is innovative collaboration. Delve into the tools and processes of co-creation and recognize the significance of internal and external strategic relationships amidst disruption.
Outcome:
Elevate your relevance and impact through co-creation.
Each keynote is highly customized to meet the needs/theme of the event.
Empowering Transformative Impactful
David Nour has been guiding organizations to harness the power of strategic business relationships for over two decades.
As a trusted advisor, bestselling author of 12 books, and thought leader who has delved deep into the essence of relationship-centric growth, he believes it's not sufficient to just build connections. Revenue teams need the insight, understanding, and actionable strategies to transform everyday contacts into lasting, impactful business relationships.
Keynotes
Estimated audience members - from ballrooms to boardrooms!
Breakout sessions/mini workshops
Moderated panels of customers, partners, execs, boards/ investors
FROM 2012 TO 2024
Nour Looks Forward to Working with You!
Complete the form to request a call with David Nour.
Chat with Nour to discuss your specific goals, areas of focus for customized keynote.
Book Nour. Plan your customized keynote to energize your team and impact your 2025 strategies and results!
Nour Looks Forward to Working with You!
Complete the form to request a call with David Nour.
Chat with Nour to discuss your specific goals, areas of focus for customized keynote.
Book Nour. Plan your customized keynote to energize your team and impact your 2025 strategies and results!