• Professional Speaker Hall of Fame

• Global Guru - Top 30 Internet Thought Leaders

• Top 15 Highest-Rated Speakers for Virtual Events

• Top 50 Sales Keynote Speakers

• Top 25 Most Influential Sales Leaders

• Top 100 Motivational Speakers

• Institute for Excellence in Sales Speaker of the Year

• Minnesota Speaker Hall of Fame

• Top Sales Coach Award

• Certified Speaking Professional (CSP)

• Bestselling Book - Awarded Sales Book of the Year

• Inc. Magazine Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist

​​

 

Generative AI Keynote Speaker

Sam’s Mindset Shift™: Generative AI and Your Future keynote helps business leaders and teams understand and apply Generative AI in practical, nontechnical ways across leadership, strategy, communications, marketing, sales, operations, customer experience, productivity, and innovation.

​

Sales Intelligence Keynote Speaker

Sam’s Get the Meeting No One Else Can program teaches sales and business-development professionals how to combine Generative AI, online intelligence, and relevant communication to uncover opportunities, understand decision-makers, and create Authentic Insight and Actionable Intelligence.

​

AI Technology Entrepreneur

Sam creates AI-powered platforms for training, writing, meeting preparation, business intelligence, prospecting, relevant communication, and organizational growth. His premium portfolio includes Know More Prep, Write85, Sales Intel Engine, Industry Intel Engines, SearchLink.ai, IntelLeads.ai, Speaker Intel Engine, and Diamond Speaker Engine.

​

Sam is the co-founder and creator of the Certified AI 360 platform, a business-focused Generative AI training and certification program built on his AI Mindset SHIFT™ methodology. The program issues a recognized credential and digital badge, signaling AI fluency in a job market increasingly shaped by it, and helps professionals across sales, marketing, operations, and leadership adopt and apply Generative AI regardless of technical background.

​

Sam also offers free AI and intelligence tools including YouGotIntel, YouGotPrompts, YouGotMD, YouGotMarkdown, and GPT Follow-Up.​​

​

Hall of Fame Speaker and Industry Recognition

The National Speakers Association inducted Sam Richter into the Professional Speaker Hall of Fame (CPAE), an honor held by fewer than 300 speakers worldwide, and awarded him the Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) designation, reserved for the top professional speakers globally. Sam has been featured in Forbes, CNN, USA Today, and thousands of television, radio, and online publications.

​

Bestselling Author

Sam Richter is the author of the bestselling book Take the Cold Out of Cold Calling, considered the preeminent publication on finding information online and using it for sales success. The book was named "Sales Book of the Year" by the American Association of Inside Sales Professionals, a "USA Book News Winner," and a "Sales Book Awards Silver Medalist," and is now in its twelfth edition. The book established the Know More! methodology that anchors Sam's keynote programs and the entire SBR Worldwide product portfolio.

​

Career Background

For more than six years, Sam served as president of the James J. Hill Center, a not-for-profit business library, where he led the transformation of an eighty-five-year-old private, non-profit business research organization into a nationally renowned institution serving entrepreneurs and small businesses through cutting-edge online resources. Prior to that, Sam spent more than eighteen years in the advertising, public relations, and e-commerce/e-marketing industry, owning his own firm and serving as a creative director, group director, and marketing director for internationally recognized organizations. He has led product launches and strategic marketing programs for companies including Microsoft, Coca-Cola, Major League Baseball, Polaris Industries, and National Geographic.

​

Entrepreneurial Leadership

Sam is a business mentor with the We Invest In You program, and he has been a judge at numerous business plan competitions. Sam was also a finalist for Inc. Magazine’s Entrepreneur of the Year after leading the transformation of the James J. Hill business library into a nationally recognized online business-information resource. Under his leadership, the organization dramatically expanded its reach, technology capabilities, and revenue.

​

Industry Awards

Sam has won regional, national, and international awards across speaking, software, and marketing. He has been inducted into the National Speakers Association Professional Speaker Hall of Fame (CPAE), an honor held by fewer than 300 speakers worldwide, and the Minnesota Professional Speakers Hall of Fame, and he holds the Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) designation, reserved for the top 10 percent of professional speakers globally. His other honors include Best of Show and Gold Awards at major sales and marketing competitions, Webby Awards, a Gold Award at the International Film Festival, a Retail Vision Award, and a Codie Award, often called the "Oscars" of the software industry, for Best E-commerce Software. He is a member of the Business Journal's "Forty Under 40" and a past finalist for Inc. Magazine's Entrepreneur of the Year.

 

Board Service

Sam serves on the Boards of Directors for Brandpoint, one of the world's leading content marketing and earned-media platforms, and Argos Risk, a third-party risk intelligence and business financial-health software platform. He also serves on the board of Mental Health Navigators, a national 501(c)(3) non-profit supporting parents of children experiencing mental health issues, and is an advisor and partner to numerous technology, big data, and sales organizations.

 

Education and Personal

Sam received his B.A. from the University of Minnesota School of Journalism and Mass Communication, where he was twice named Scholastic All-American as a four-year player and also a letter winner on the varsity football team. His postgraduate education includes certificate degrees in Executive Leadership from the University of St. Thomas and in Corporate Boards of Director Ethical Leadership from Saint Mary's University. Sam lives in Minnetonka, Minnesota, with his wife and two children. He enjoys mentoring individuals in his community and volunteering with non-profit organizations, including Mental Health Navigators, where he built the nationally renowned Mental Health Resource Search Engine.