Ryan Estis

Ryan Estis has more than 20 years of experience as a top-performing sales professional and leader. As the former chief strategy officer for the McCann Worldgroup advertising agency NAS, he brings a fresh perspective to business events. As a keynote speaker, Ryan is known for his innovative ideas on leading change, improving sales effectiveness, and preparing for the future of work. He was recently recognized as one of “the best keynote speakers ever heard” by Meetings & Conventions magazine alongside Tony Robbins, Bill Gates, Colin Powell and Mike Ditka.

Ryan delivers keynote speeches, courses and online learning with an emphasis on actionable content designed to elevate business performance. His curriculum emphasizes emerging trends influencing leadership effectiveness, sales performance and customer experience. Ryan helps participants prepare to thrive in today’s ultra-competitive, hyper-connected business environment. Ryan supports the world’s leading brands, including Liberty Mutual, Darden Restaurants, Goodyear, the Dallas Cowboys, Medtronic, ECCO USA and Blue Cross Blue Shield. He is a faculty member for the Institute of Management Studies, a member of the SmartBrief on Workforce Advisory Board and a certified Human Capital Strategist.

Ryan and his team publish original research featuring client case studies to expand the live event experience. He is also the author of a popular blog on business performance. His writing has been featured in Inc., Forbes, Entrepreneur, FastCompany, SmartBrief, Business News Network, Crain’s Business, and Yahoo Business.

Ryan is an Ohio University graduate who resides in downtown Minneapolis. When he’s not traveling to speaking engagements around the world, Ryan enjoys down time with family and friends, practicing yoga and cheering on his beloved Minnesota Timberwolves.

Sell Your Way Forward: Driving Sales Growth in the New Economy

You can grow a business in any economy, however, attacking this defining moment in the short term and capturing the opportunity will require a resilient mindset, shift in go to market strategy and a compelling value proposition. The time is now!

During this interactive, virtual experience Ryan Estis will leverage both his proprietary research and personal experience growing a business through crisis and uncertainty. Ryan will review lessons learned and provide very specific and actionable insight producers can leverage right now to create more qualified opportunities and drive sales growth.

This customized, interactive, virtual experience will reveal the exact playbook Ryan used to grow his own business 10 consecutive years which has proven to provide a distinct competitive advantaged to thousands of sales professionals across categories, inside the world’s best brands. Every producer participating will receive a complimentary copy of our eBook, Adapt & Thrive.

Get ready to thrive in this next normal.

Learning Objectives

• Pivot back to a performance mindset
• Cultivate emotional resilience amid uncertainty
• Stay in the “learning lane” to achieve breakthroughs
• Win with an emphasis on “total client experience”
• Solidify your value proposition and engagement to meet customers where they are

• Pre-call plan and conduct your own “growth audit”
• A game plan for capturing opportunity and accelerating growth right now

Lead Your Way Forward: Resilient Leadership for the New Economy

For an entire generation of business leaders the actions they take now and in the months ahead will define them and their companies. Navigating this defining moment in the short term and preparing to capture opportunity in the long term will require a healthy mindset, critical decision making and strong relationships.

During this interactive, virtual experience Ryan Estis will leverage both his proprietary research and personal experience leading a business through crisis and uncertainty. Ryan will review lessons learned and provide very specific and actionable insight participants can leverage to respond to the short-term challenges and create momentum to capitalize over time.

This customized, interactive, virtual experience will provide leaders the continuing education they need to thrive in this next normal, and every leader participating will receive a complimentary copy of our eBook, Adapt & Thrive.

Learning Objectives

• Downturn psychology and the window of opportunity
• The character traits of a “Futuremaker” & making the future happen
• Coaching mindset and emotional resilience amid uncertainty
• Drivers of engagement and emotional commitment
• Keys to effective leadership communication during a crisis
• True North leadership questions that create impact

Passion on Purpose: Turning Corporate Culture Into a Competitive Advantage

This keynote reviews how to cultivate a high-engagement, high-performance work culture. As we prepare for the next growth cycle in business, leaders need to understand the needs and expectations of the modern workforce. Ryan pushes back on conventional thinking with new research and case studies from category-leading companies that succeed at maximizing human potential and elevating performance.

To win in today’s market, you need a healthy organization: tuned-in employees, authentic leadership, open communication and trust. Leaders are called to cultivate the kind of workplace where people come first and performance and profit follow.

Most organizations leave too many opportunities on the table and waste a huge amount of their people’s potential. This keynote offers practical advice to help you reverse that trend.

After this keynote, audiences and organizations will understands what it takes to elevate engagement, unleash human potential and compete to win in the new world of work.

Learning Objectives

• Embrace change in the new economy.
• Learn from global workforce trends and forecasting from our research portfolio.

• Build high-trust, high-value relationships.
• Connect employees to a shared vision and set of values.
• Effectively use emerging technology to improve communication, culture and work life.

The Brand Experience: Accelerating Business Growth Through Remarkable Experiences

This keynote focuses on how you can elevate the relationships you have with your most important stakeholders: your customers. Ryan teaches organizations how to create remarkable experiences and earn customers for life. Customer expectations have changed. For buyers, an alternative choice is usually just a click away. Today, customers want an experience, and the best brands step up and deliver, consistently. This keynote examines how category leading companies start with their people, aligning employees around a common mission and empowering them to create memorable customer experiences.

Ryan explores current trends and shares standout customer stories from his portfolio of case studies. He will demonstrate how technology and social connectedness are influencing consumers’ thinking and changing the way we engage with a brand. He helps participants shift their thinking and emerge with new ideas about both customer and employee relationships that will impact the business.

The outcome of this keynote will be an audience prepared to capture employee commitment and customer loyalty to drive business growth.

Learning Objectives

• Learn global workforce trends from our research portfolio.
• Understand how to capture your unique How Advantage.
• Explore what it means to be a chief experience officer.
• Examine the importance of brand evangelism.
• Understand the impact of social connections and technology on the brand

experience.

Adapt & Thrive Preparing to Win In a 2025 World

This keynote presentation will prepare entrepreneurs and business owners to thrive in today’s increasingly connected, competitive business environment. Ryan challenges conventional business growth practices and explores progressive techniques and technology that pace with the evolving needs of today’s entrepreneur.

We are navigating a landscape with unprecedented disruption, elevated customer expectations and constant change. Our proprietary research proves that traditional leadership practices are giving way to a more connected, collaborative and flexible approach to managing people and business performance.

This interactive keynote will deliver new ideas and actionable insights that attendees can leverage immediately to jumpstart innovation, elevate performance and improve profitable growth.

Learning Objectives

• Understand the “Futuremaker” mindset required to embrace and lead

change.

• Discover four actionable insights from our research for progressive small

business owners.

• Develop understanding on the evolution and opportunity associated with

elevated customer expectations.

• Hear case studies on how progressive small businesses are proving

disruptive and preparing to win in a 2025 world.

• Walk away with an action plan to address the most critical next steps in your

business performance and growth.

Unleash Your Inner Superhero Keys to Achieving Breakthrough Performance

This keynote helps attendees tap into their deep reservoir of potential and unleash their unique capability into the world. Ryan helps people see new opportunity through techniques that remove the barriers of fear, doubt and uncertainty that threaten to inhibit performance.

This important message introduces key insights about productivity and performance. Ryan coaches the audience through embracing change to achieve more meaning, mastery and momentum in their work life. He introduces several real-life superheroes, examples of the incredible results you can expect when you embrace your own potential.

The keynote serves as a call to action for those who are looking for fulfillment from their work and are determined to achieve their full potential. Participants will emerge better prepared to become their very best and achieve their next big, breakthrough moment.

The outcome of this keynote will be an audience inspired to take action and become the very best version of themselves.

Learning Opportunities

• Learn how to leverage change as a catalyst for growth and success.
• Discover transformation techniques designed to unleash peak performance and become your very best.

• Find out the keys to building high-trust, high-value relationships.
• Explore the superhero ethos: “Be humble. Stay hungry. Always hustle.”