
Kevin Kelly
Kevin Kelly is an internationally acclaimed speaker, best-selling author, Execution, Leadership, Sales, Motivation, Change and Entrepreneurial Success expert. He consults with such companies as Microsoft, most recently developing a unique video series for their Worldwide Partner Community; and speaks about his expertise in his keynotes, masterclasses and training modules at conferences throughout Europe, the Middle East, Asia and the Americas.
Kevin Kelly's Videos
What Kevin Kelly's Clients Say
"Kevin Kelly understands how vital attention is to sales performance. From the attention, your team gives to the most important prospect and client details to the attention that they earn from the efforts. Kevin’s keynote is sure to give your sales team-high Return On Attention!"
"He managed to increase the energy level in the room after a long day of information. Personally, I like the fast change between storytelling and engaging the audience. I was impressed with his ability to ‘sense’ the mood in the room."
"Kevin was the perfect speaker for our audience of insurance agents at our Sales Conference in Sorrento, Italy. He energized the crowd, captured our attention and motivated us with humor and anecdotes. He articulated a strategy for each individual."
"Thank you for an entertaining and content rich workshop. In addition to engaging our people……you delivered some valuable messages that resonated cross culturally in our marketplace."
"Working with Kevin was a pleasure. He delivered 3 excellent sessions at a recent Microsoft event to an audience of approx. 250 people which all scored extremely highly and compared to 5 other speakers delivering, was regarded by the audience as the best speaker. He captivated the delegates throughout the sessions with interactivity, energy and humour. I would welcome the opportunity to work with Kevin again."
"Kevin was engaging, entertaining and importantly gave some real takeaways that could be used immediately. Understanding customer’s DNA resonated particularly well"
"Kevin Kelly spoke at our Thought Leaders Conference, an event hosted by Investec Bank. He is a motivation speaker par excellence and brings very practical value to our audience of CEO’s. ‘Basics before Buzz’ which was his subject, did exactly what was on the tin and I would recommend Kevin to any organisation that wishes to exceptionalise their service and retain their customers."
"Energetic, dynamic and curiously captivating. 75 minutes disappeared in a heartbeat with Kevin engaging a multi-cultural group of sales and business distributors from across EMEA, challenging and inspiring them to think differently. His messages were absolutely on point and perfectly in sync with our own priorities, I could not have hoped for a better or more aligned finish to a great meeting!"
"Working with Kevin on our Xceptional Execution Video series was a fantastic experience. He is passionate, committed, creative and cooperative. The feedback was excellent. Meanwhile his 92.5% speaker satisfaction rating at the World Partner Conference in July 2015 speaks for itself."
"As Closing Speaker, Kevin gave the audience an abundance of energy, enthusiasm and practical take-away messaging that our members can immediately apply to their lives."
"Kevin has unbelievable energy and enthusiasm. His positive thinking is infectious and entertaining. Kevin take on sales motivation is different."
"Kevin commanded a high level of audience participation and adapted his motivational keynote to fit perfectly into the overall theme of our trade launch."
"It was great to go through the review process driven by you in the talk. We oftentimes forget what we should be doing due to being immersed in our daily routine. I am very much inspired by your high energy, people sensitivity and drive to be Xceptionalized!"
"We asked Kevin to handle the coveted spot closing out our MDRT Experience meeting in Seoul, Korea this year. Kevin gave the audience an abundance of energy, enthusiasm and practical take-away messaging that our members can immediately apply to their lives. I would definitely urge any organization to consider utilizing Kevin Kelly on their program."
"At WOM-Latam, we seek to give our audiences the opportunity of sharing real world experiences and ideas, and provide support to companies seeking to transcend their challenges and reach their goals. In this sense, I have to tell you that your session has been clear, dynamic, engaging and highly inspirational for all the attendees, both conceptually and in terms of practical solutions. Your excellent material contained information very relevant to our customers, with excellent examples and has been oriented at the right level for the audience. It has been a great pleasure working with you and I hope we can do it again in the near future."
"My expectations for Kevin’s presentation were extremely high and even at that, he exceeded every hope I had when I invited him to speak to our retail sales team. I have never witnessed a room full of people hanging on one person’s words for such a length of time. Kevin has a true & rare talent and the feedback so far has been extremely positive and the team is most energetic. I am confident that even the most cynical and unmotivated person could not have helped but be inspired in some shape or form. Most enjoyable & beneficial, Go raibh mile maith agat."
"We invited Kevin to speak at one our senior management sessions in New York to help us engage and focus on the year ahead. Kevin has to be one of the most enthusiastic professionals I have had the pleasure to work with. He excludes passion for his subject and has the ability to engage his audience from the moment he steps into the room."
"Very lively, interactive presentation, well balanced with to the point detailed and scientifically backed-up information. Spot on presentation when it concerns xceptional execution now. Good speaker which can keep the attention of its audience easily focussed for a one and a half hours presentation."
Available for
Languages:
- English
Kevin Kelly's 2025 Biography
About Kevin Kelly
Kevin began his business apprenticeship in the family shop in the West of Ireland at the tender age of six. From there, he developed an intense interest in human behaviour. After graduating with a Marketing degree, he worked in several companies in Sales and Leadership roles enjoying massive success both in Ireland and abroad. In 1990, honouring his entrepreneurial DNA, he set up his own company, Advanced Marketing.
To date, he has written five books and produced three Cd’s. His first “How? When you don’t know how” was a mega best seller in his homeland. In the book he challenged himself to write a best seller, even though his academic record in English was consistently “D” standard. His last book “Do!” was described by Tom Peters as the book he’d loved to have written.
In the past thirty years, he has addressed audiences across the world from Korea to Columbia, and San Francisco to Hong Kong on Sales and Leadership.
Staying true to his Irish roots, he is a master storyteller. His stories are drawn from his “normal” experiences around the world from begging on the streets in Melbourne to serving customers at the tender age of six in his home shop. He extracts from these a blueprint for a new type of leadership and sales approach.
He passionately believes that everybody is a potential teacher and by integrating this belief, a leader can transform the company culture. As an individual, you can transform your life.
Kevin’s keynotes consistently deliver an interactive conversation that engages, informs, inspires and empowers attendees.
In his consultancy, he has broken Sales records across industries and cultures. From advising Microsoft Worldwide Partner Community on Xceptional Selling to marketing construction equipment, Kevin has sold them all. Over the years he has led many teams to fundraising success. Thus far raising over €1m for projects here and abroad.
Kevin lives on the Wild Atlantic way with his wife, Deirdre and young son Conor. He is a passionate Liverpool FC supporter. At the weekend you will find him on the football pitch where he trains underage soccer and football teams. Nothing apart from watching Conor play soccer and GAA gives Kevin more satisfaction than delivering results for his clients.
Kevin Kelly's 2025 Talks & Topics
Theme
Sales – Communication
BEST AUDIENCE: Corporate events, Associations, Annual Conferences, Sales/Leadership Meetings and Toastmasters.
BACKGROUND: We are living in a new era. In our hyper connected world, more and more people have never felt so disconnected. Your target customer/employee are potentially distracted, low on trust, disengaged and vulnerable.
Meanwhile, AI has been a great equaliser allowing everyone access to knowledge instantaneously. Knowledge is no longer a differential.
It is time for a new approach – more CCO – Chief Caring Officer and less CEO – Chief Executive Officer.
Xceptional Communication does not require you to be the next JFK – only the best possible version of yourself.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- Misleading myths about Xceptional Communicators.
- Triple A Framework.
- How to build rapport with the dissenting voice in the meeting?
- How to read the room and act accordingly?
- Why you should listen for, as opposed to tell stories?
- HERO framework to creating a compelling pitch.
- Core belief that underpins Xceptional Communication.
Themes
SALES PERSUASION NEGOTIATION
Best Audience:
Corporate events, Associations, Annual Conferences, Sales Meetings.
Fact:
We are living in an attention deficit market. It is still possible to connect and persuade – here’s how.
Key takeaways:
- An appreciation of the power of Attention.
- The secret strategy to consistently breaking sales records?
- Moving beyond Networking – embracing a six-letter word to build your business.
- How to convert dissenting voices into positive advocates?
- What’s your story? The Art of Co-creation
- How to build friendships, not customer relationships.
Theme
LEADERSHIP
Best Audience:
Corporate events, Associations, Annual Conferences, Leadership Meetings.
Fact:
The two biggest challenges that keep Leaders awake at night are employee retention and attraction. Worldwide engagement figures range from single digits to 30%. The billions spent on training worldwide has failed to move the dial. We need to re-imagine leadership in a changing world – here’s how.
Key takeaways:
- Lead like you live it – get high on HI.
- How to learn faster than the speed of change. ECBYT – where the student is the teacher.
- Leverage the power of attention.
- Transform into a CCO, Chief Caring Officer – not a CEO.
- Leadership without Lighthouses and Businesses without Customers.
- Beware of the Idea Killer & Dream Big.
Theme
MOTIVATION INSPIRATION ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Best Audience:
Corporate events, Associations, Annual Conferences, Sales and Leadership Meetings.
Fact:
More and more people are demanding more from their life and moving away from the mundane. Here’s how to live life now.
Key takeaways:
- Pay attention – the best investment of your life.
- Beware of the Idea Killer and the knowledge myth.
- Failure = Feedback.
- The art of Xceptional Execution.
- Follow your Flow and transcend all challenges.
- How to build a Unicorn with no idea?
According to Gallup Daily tracking, 32% of employees in the U.S. are engaged while worldwide, 87% are switched off! A 2017 study by Aon Hewitt mirrors the findings showing that less than one quarter of employees are highly engaged. Meanwhile trust in CEO’s recorded its biggest drop –down 12% according to Edelman. A new strategy is required.
In this keynote, Kevin highlights how to mirror the mindset, attitudes and success strategies of the outstanding Xceptionalists interviewed for his book “Do: the Pursuit of Xceptional Execution.”
From these exclusive interviews and over two decades experience working with companies, Kevin distils the attributes of the modern manager/director/leader. From the Co- Founder of the Talking Tom app who went from eight cofounders with no clear business idea to being sold for one billion dollars in 2016 to an asthma sufferer who is currently teaching the world how to breathe, Kevin reveals their leadership secrets.
Takeaways:
- Leadership Challenge
- The Deluded Employee? The ultra informed customer. The Disconnected Leader.
- AA+ five keys to enhancing engagement levels.
- Authentic Attention the drug to engage internal and external customer?
- How to lead with a story and make your message stick?
- Self awareness described by Stanford Business Advisory Committee as the attribute a leader should develop. How YOU are the key to building a high trust culture. The ability to learn…..from everyone from the cleaner to the Guru.
- VV+ – the importance of doing/executing a co-created vision underpinned by values
The latest research shows that the average attention span of a goldfish is 9 seconds, a human being – 8 seconds. In the past you had to deal with a single decision maker – now there tends to be multiple influencers in the process. All told, engaging your target audience and building brand loyalty has become an extreme challenge.
Drawing on over three decades of developing business strategies that succeed, Kevin highlights the power of the story. The good news is you don’t need to be a gifted Seanchai (Irish storyteller) or a Hollywood scriptwriter to develop a message that sticks.
Takeaways:
- Just how distracted are we – Attention Deficit Society breakdown.
- The science behind successful storytelling.
- HERO – the key elements of a compelling story?
- Flow….and let it flow.
- Everyone and every organisation has a story. #whatsyourstory.
- Story Success Stories – how to tell your story in a hashtag?
By attending Kevin’s interactive session, participants will leave empowered, inspired with a blueprint to craft a compelling story.
Kevin Kelly's Latest Books

DO! the pursuit of xceptional execution

Basics before Buzz

Life: A trip towards trust

How? When You Don't Know How
Articles & Podcasts
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