Testimonials
“Jim’s appearance was nothing less than the perfect commencement to launch a product and a company in such a very impressive way. His experience coupled with his distinctive presentation was a custom fit for our client’s audience. Jim tailored his presentation around our client’s company, their core values and objectives at hand, while lending very personal anecdotes that complimented the overall meeting theme and messaging of the product. After Jim’s presentation, he maintained a very approachable nature, indulging our group by honoring requested photos and autograph signings with true class and kindness.” The Westfield Group
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“We were challenged to move our sales teams from individual business units to central locations. We asked Jim to draw parallels from his athletic and business success on winning teams and Jim exceeded our expectations with a thoughtful message on winning through his brilliant storytelling and sales experience.” Regional Vice President, Crossmark
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“Your story is a great one but your message was even better. We have received all positive feedback from the team today on your speech. It really resonated with the group which is exactly what we wanted. I loved your book! We will be distributing your Gold Medal Strategies book to my team to help reinforce and keep the sustainability of your message.” VP Strategic Grocery Kimberly-Clark Corporation
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“We had the pleasure of having Jim Craig speak for our sales organization I was impressed by many aspects of Jim’s talk. I was overwhelmed with how many hours of investment in preplanning and doing research on our company and team Jim put into the event. I had never seen this type of pre-work from any previous speaker.
Jim was spot on with the way that he identified with many of the challenges we face and was able to draw so many fitting analogies to his business and professional sports. He maintained great energy and passion in his presentation. It was clear that he actually cares about our company and people he works with and it came through in his keynote. Jim had a great summary of the key action points and led our team down a path of success.
I continue to get great feedback from my sales professionals and managers!!!” VP, Sales, Sanofi
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“Jim Craig could entertain an audience for hours purely telling stories about the 1980 Gold Medal Team but he raises the bar in his presentations by integrating his Gold Medal Strategies. He shares ideas for success pulled from his unique experience and achievement. It should be noted that Jimmy still puts forth Olympic effort. After having his flight directed to Tyler, TX, he hired a car service and drove 5 hours through a torrential storm to Austin making his scheduled appearance. He is a class act from start to finish.” President, NRF Capital Markets
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“I had extremely high expectations for Jim’s presentation. I have hired and witnessed hundreds of keynote addresses in my career. Jim was by far the best. He took the time to profile our organization and understand our future vision. His delivery was flawless and there was not one individual out of the 200 attendees that did not leave with multiple compliments and a renewed sense of pride in themselves and others.” Sr. Vice President, National Sales, Multi-Financial Securities Corporation
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“From the moment you finished speaking Tuesday afternoon, straight through Thursday’s departures, our employees raved about your presentation. In particular, they were amazed by the fact that you knew so much about our company, they could relate your experiences to them as sales people. It made a huge a difference.” Member of Board of Directors, Welch Allyn, Inc.
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“I’ve been a financial advisor for over 30 years and I have never been more inspired by the speech that Jim Craig gave to our group. Jim provided me with the energy and vision to understand that my job is to grow and protect people’s legacies.” Financial Advisor, Janus
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“Jim Craig addressed a meeting of the BP Refining and Marketing IT&S leadership team in London, the annual assembly of our top-hundred leaders. We are always seeking to improve and optimize teamwork, and we brought Jim in to entertain, inspire, educate and challenge our group. He did all of that and more, and the response from our team has been immensely positive and enthusiastic. Many of the BP colleagues in the room hailed from countries against which Jim and his teammates had competed in the 1980 Olympics – and Jim easily tapped into the room’s collective competitiveness and expectation to win. BP is thrilled with the job Jim did. Any organization focused on and committed to improvement and optimum teamwork can benefit greatly from Jim Craig’s message, the lessons he delivers, and the enthusiasm and energy he elicits from his audience.” CIO America’s Fuels, BP America INC.
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“His legacy, passion, and sincerity all come together so genuinely that audience can’t help but to be inspired. He is an incredible story teller who uses his achievements and insight to captivate the crowd and really deliver a topical and meaningful speech. You can tell Jim does his homework and knows his audience. It was an honor having him speak at our event.” Director, Advisor Solutions Group, JANUS
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“From the opening music to the thunderous applause and cheers, Jim’s keynote presentation was on target and inspirational. He easily transferred his experience as a gold medal winning 1980 USA Olympic Hockey Team member into real-world, every day motivation for our sales team, touting the benefits of hard work, accountability, and believing in the team. Jim’s words continue to inspire and motivate months later. Jim, thanks for setting the right tone for a successful sales meeting and for a successful sales year!” Director of Marketing, Training & Development, CardioNet
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“Thank you again for making such a powerful and lasting impression on our US Sales organization. Your critical role in a most important moment in our country’s history was only surpassed by your presentation. You touched everyone with your passion and insight; you resonated with all through your relevant messaging and intimate approach. You left my team completely energized and full of possibilities. I thank you for far exceeding my high expectations.” Pfizer Consumer Healthcare, President
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“Jim’s speech was great. I think it applied to everyone, not just sports fan because he had multiple messages for the audience. I heard many positive comments following his speech from people at DSI as well as random people in my breakout sessions. During the photo op, he was very cordial and engaging and this was the same at dinner.” Manager, Training Operations, SPBT Meeting
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“Jim, “thank you” doesn’t seem enough to describe the gratefulness we feel about your impact on our National Sales Meeting last week in Albuquerque. Of course it was great to meet you, and spend time with an American sports icon…
However, the thing that means the most to me is that you took the time to get to know Healthpoint, individually and as a company…our culture… and that you challenged leadership, as well as the sales force, to look at things in a different way. As a company, we have made it through some tough times over the past few years, and it would be easy to sit back and enjoy the calmer waters we have, but that is not what will lead us to long term success. Jim, you provided a good jolt of perspective for us, and helped us better understand that we need to pull greatness out of each other, to help us sustain the success we are having; not take it for granted.
Thank you also for showing us a bit of who you are, and not just the American sports icon. I enjoyed hearing about your success in print sales, taking a territory from $300K to $50 Million plus; about your parents, being a part of a large Irish catholic family, your daughter’s hockey team and more. These are all things that helped me and our group, not only see you as the guy on the 1980 Olympic Gold Medal stand, but as a guy we can relate to…a guy who came from little, like a lot of us, and made success happen. Thank you for inspiring us to live a life that will leave a legacy as you are.
I look forward to working with you again Jim. Until then, I sincerely wish you and yours well.” Associate Director of Sales Operations, Healthpoint
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“If you are looking for a bolt of lightning to energize and focus your sales teams, hire Jim Craig. Jim spent half a day with the Bausch & Lomb Vision Care sales force at the launch meeting for our new contact lens PureVision 2 HD. His General Session talk was riveting but more importantly his background in business as well as in hockey enabled him to combine sports and work analogies seamlessly. The effect is that every member of the Team from Sales Rep to Vice President got the messages of owning your job, building a taste for winning, and the value of personally committing to a team objective. Jim then spent time with the regional sales leadership signing autographs and memorabilia while giving them some powerful tips on coaching and getting the best out their organizations. With every group and discussion his authentic excitement was evident and he created not one, but dozens of individual experiences that our sales folks will never forget . The feedback we have gotten in the two weeks since the meeting has been tremendous and the launch is off to one of our fastest starts ever. Jim’s high energy dead on message clearly helped.” President , Bausch & Lomb Vision Care N. America
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“Just want to thank you for speaking at our National Sales Meeting. Your enthusiasm and powerful message served as a great close to our meeting. I also wanted to thank you for taking the time to schedule the “pre speech” conference call with me. Your interest in my teams philosophy and how your presentation could be customized to fit my objectives was very helpful. The positive feedback from my team made it clear that you did your homework, understood our organization, and crafted a meaningful message tailored to our audience of sales people.
From the very beginning of your presentation you had an impact. The intro gave most goose bumps. Your strong message about shaking off the “entitled” nature some senior salespeople sometimes feel was on point. Finally, your willingness to spend extra time meeting and greeting our people made the whole experience memorable and worthwhile for all. Thanks to you we ended our National Meeting with a feeling that “together we will all go far”.” Business Development Group, Wells Fargo Advisors
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“Your speech was right on. Sharing your experiences as a player on the 1980 Gold Model Olympic Team not only addressed personal achievement within the complex running’s of a team sport, but spoke directly to the importance of believing in something larger than oneself and coming together to achieve a shared goal. The feedback we received was all positive and the attendees appreciated your warm and open demeanor. Lastly, your preparation and attention to detail–traits no doubt learned as an elite Olympic athlete–helped bring it all full circle.” Complex Business Development Officer, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney
Below is a list of testimonials from a range of companies in different industries that Jim has spoken for, click on the links to read more:
