Duncan Stevens Helps Elsevier's Life Science Sales Team Influence More Effectively
With Duncan Stevens, behavioural psychologist, keynote speaker and best-selling author
OUTCOME 1
Global team, one aim
Elsevier’s life science sales team left with a shared way to influence customers and a clear common aim.
OUTCOME 2
Asking beats telling
Sellers began to treat each conversation as a chance to understand the buyer first, not to push harder.
OUTCOME 3
Tools for next call
Simple habits on listening, framing and asking that every seller could try on their next customer call.
THE CHALLENGE
Elsevier wanted its life science sales team influencing customers with more skill and less push.
Selling to life science customers takes patience, credibility and a real grasp of what each buyer needs. Elsevier’s global life science sales team gathered for a sales meeting built to sharpen exactly that, with well-informed customers weighing up plenty of options.
David Mullen, Vice President Global Life Science Sales, invited Duncan to speak. He wanted his team to leave with fresh ways to influence customer conversations and a session that would keep the whole room engaged.
DUNCAN’S SOLUTION
An influence keynote built around Elsevier’s sales conversations, with live participation and practical habits.
Before the meeting, Duncan spoke with David’s team to learn how the sellers work day to day, where customer conversations stall and what they’d want to use straight away.
He built a 45-minute keynote on influence, showing how listening first and asking clearly help customers say yes. On-stage behavioural psychology demonstrations brought each idea to life, and a short Q&A turned them into next steps.
THE RESULT
A sales meeting that drew positive feedback from everyone and a hope to work together again.
David Mullen said everyone in the room had nothing but positive feedback. He called the session thoroughly engaging, said it really hit the mark and hopes there’ll be plenty more chances to work together. In the survey, 97% of the team said they’d recommend Duncan.
The audience survey below shows how the session landed with the people in the room.
Planning a sales meeting where influence matters most? Check Duncan’s availability or explore his Influence and Persuasion keynote.
THOUGHTS FROM DUNCAN
People say yes to those who understand them, so I always start by listening.
Sales teams hear plenty of advice about closing faster, but the best sellers I meet start somewhere else. They get curious about the customer, name what matters to them and then ask in a way that’s easy to agree to. Small changes in wording can change the answer, so I keep every idea simple enough to use on the next call.
Elsevier’s team were warm, sharp and quick to join in, and I’d love to work with them again.
HOW ELSEVIER'S SALES TEAM RATED DUNCAN'S INFLUENCE KEYNOTE
97% of Elsevier’s life science sales team would recommend Duncan, and 96% are extremely or highly likely to use his takeaways. The words they used most to describe the keynote were motivating, practical and fun.
Survey of around 50 members of Elsevier’s global life science sales team, completed straight after the keynote.
LIKELIHOOD TO USE DUNCAN'S TAKEAWAYS
HOW LIKELY ARE YOU TO RECOMMEND DUNCAN
ONE WORD TO DESCRIBE DUNCAN’S KEYNOTE
Want your own sales team influencing customers with more skill? Talk to Duncan about your sales meeting.
SEE WHAT OTHER CLIENTS ARE SAYING ABOUT DUNCAN'S KEYNOTE:
“It is evident that Duncan has a passion for delivering outstanding results and look forward to partnering again!”
Jenny Tsimpouka
Events Co-ordinator, CEO Clubs Greece
“His speech was very motivational and inspirational and the entertainment part was just mind-blowing!”
Tonya Winders
CEO, GAAP Barcelona
“I would highly recommend Duncan to anyone looking for an amazing speaker who can inspire and motivate diverse audiences!”
Natasha Amurao
Event Organiser, Abu Dhabi
“His content was delivered perfectly. Exactly what we were looking for! Actionable takeaways for everybody!”
Ashleigh Goodchild
Director, PM Collective
Popular Keynote Topics
Duncan Stevens is a behavioural psychologist, high performance expert and globally recognised keynote speaker. He inspires and educates leaders and teams at conferences around the world, in person or virtually.
His award-winning keynotes cover high performance, change, collaboration and influence.
Turning High Potential Into High Performance: Duncan’s signature keynote gives leaders the behaviours and mindsets to deliver strategic goals, drive change, inspire teams and strengthen culture.
The High Performing Team Advantage: An inspiring, entertaining keynote that gives teams the tools to collaborate better, drive marginal gains, take ownership and thrive through change.
Practical strategies to navigate uncertainty, overcome resistance, build resilience and create a culture that adapts quickly when things change.
Proven strategies to break down silos, build trust, share ownership and help teams achieve more together than they ever could alone.
How to build a culture where people want to perform at their best, using the 8 Pillars of High Performance Culture.
Built on Duncan’s best-selling book Effective Influence, this talk shows audiences how to build trust, communicate with impact, shape decisions and inspire action.
Let's Work Together.
Duncan’s helped global organisations like Elsevier lift their teams, their culture and their bottom-line results. Let’s do the same for your event.
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