Frequently Asked Questions

What does Jim speak on?

In general: 
"Relationship Selling and Leadership Strategies to Grow Your Business and Expand Your Life"
In Sales, Service, Leadership, or Motivation, His main area of expertise is Relationship Selling and Self-Leadership as applied to Business Growth.  He focuses on how to understand yourself & others, deal with people effectively and structure your work or your organization to help both people and profits to grow.  (Jim's specific topics are outlined in the topic descriptions) 

What are his qualifications to speak on these topics?
 

Professional Trainer	Jim has been a top achiever and leader of many organizations over several decades. He has been a professional salesperson since 1970 and he has been a professional trainer since 1974 when he was leading seminars for Nightingale-Conant and for the US Junior Chamber of Commerce in his native state of Arkansas.  He went on to become the Manager in charge of Leadership Training for the Jaycees at their National Headquarters for two years (1975-77).  Since then Jim has conducted his own research worldwide, worked with over two thousand client companies, and for three years (88-91) owned a major interest in a psychological research firm in Arizona.
Sales Trainer	He has sold insurance and been the sales trainer for Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. in their award-winning office in Tulsa, Oklahoma (6 years), as well as building a successful consulting firm (now 28 years of continuous success).  Early in his career he sold mutual funds, automobiles, motorcycles, and even doughnuts!  Jim is the original author of Relationship Selling and has authored five major sales books including a college textbook, plus eight other successful books.
Banker	He was a banker for several years and ultimately became a member of the American Bankers Association's executive faculty (five years).
Volunteer Leader	As a volunteer leader he has been a local, state, and national officer in both the US Jaycees (managing a national field force of 200 volunteers) and later, the National Speakers Association's (NSA) 88-89 National President. He serves on the Board of Visitors of Pepperdine University's Graziadio School of Business & Management and the Board of Directors of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Conejo & Las Virgenes.
National President	As national president of NSA, Jim made a major impact on the future development of the association, especially in the area of professional education, where he designed their Eight Professional Competencies program. He served 10 years on their board of directors.
Convention Chair	Jim personally has chaired eight major conventions ranging in attendance from 250 people up to 1,300 people!  His largest had 225 separate events over a five day period.  He is also a master at conducting board and committee meetings and has even recorded a Nightingale Conant album on the topic, Meeting with Success.

Describe Jim's speaking style.

Jim is one of the most inspiring and sincere speakers you'll ever hear. He is powerful yet very smooth and professional with an underlying playfulness which makes him fun to listen to.  He usually uses PowerPoint slides or other audiovisuals and always involves the audience on some level.  It may be asking them to raise their hands, posing questions they can easily answer, or creating exercises which get them to actively apply what they are learning.  (This depends on the nature of the situation and the goals for the meeting.) 

Audiences frequently comment on Jim's ability to connect with them in his first 30 seconds on the platform.  Nobody leaves his talks bored!  He is also praised often for his understanding of each audience. (See his recent testimonial quotes.) Jim spends many hours studying the group prior to each performance.  

Storytelling is one of Jim's strengths and his background is in conducting training programs.  He can be dynamic, humorous, inspiring or pragmatic with lots of specific "how to's", depending on the needs of the group.  Above all, Jim is always well-prepared and thoroughly professional in his presentations.  

Nobody rolls with the punches better than Jim!  He knows what to do with even the worst emergencies.  During one presentation the entire hotel was evacuated for a fire and Jim reassembled his audience on the steps of a building across the street and continued his presentation in stride!

He changes the style of his talk to fit the occasion, like for a keynote, or a workshop, or executive training or speaking to a group of international guests, with concurrent translation.

Isn't Jim partners with another speaker?

No.  He co-owns a number of companies with various colleagues and is partners with Bill Brooks & Tom Antion in a company called The Professional Speaking Institute (www.professionalspeaker.com). From 1981 to 1985 Jim was partners with Dr. Tony Alessandra and they co-authored a number of still-popular products.  But since 1985 Jim has been the sole owner of Cathcart Institute, Inc. 

I heard Jim long ago.  Doesn't he speak mostly on Motivation?

No, he mostly speaks on Sales and Business Leadership, He is best known for his book and online assessment built around Relationship Selling. He first wrote that book in 1985 and rewrote it in 2002. But in the late 70's and early 80's Jim was a pioneer on " behavioral styles".  He published the top selling cassette album on the topic (with Tony Alessandra).  Then in 1988 his career took on a bold new direction with his purchase of a psychological research firm.  Jim created The Acorn Principle: Know Yourself to Grow Yourself, a four day training for leaders.  This new program was the result of three years of focused research by Jim and a team of researchers.  It teaches decision making, motivation, leadership, self development, and human understanding.  It is now available in a speech or short seminar as well as the full training. This is most often called Leadership: Rethinking Ourselves For A New Era.

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VARIOUS SELLING POINTS  

1.	Veteran Speaker	Jim became a full time speaker in 1977, and has delivered as many as 123 programs in a year ever since.  He currently averages around 50 programs per year.
2.	Psychological Researcher	In December of 1988, Jim invested in a psychological research firm, and acquired the exclusive license to a special technology they had developed.  He then had this crafted into a multifaceted personality assessment for business applications.  Jim translated these discoveries and incorporated them into his presentations and training materials.
3.	Seasoned Professional*	* Meeting planners will tell you that Jim Cathcart is always well prepared, sticks to the time schedule, checks out the facilities and the audio/visual arrangements well in advance, arrives ahead of time, respects his audience, does what he agreed to do in the speaking contract, handles problems with poise, and is flexible enough to meet the audience's needs when the situation changes, while still sticking to the original purpose of the presentation and the time frame he agreed to.
4.	Highly Flexible	Jim is a versatile presenter who can be highly motivating and entertaining, inspirational, down-to-earth and conversational, educational, or collaborative.  He adjusts his style and the format of his presentation to fit the occasion and the size of the audience.  In some presentations he uses computer generated slides and elaborate audio/visuals, including video material.  On other occasions he simply uses a flip chart and open dialogue in a "roll up your sleeves" style.
5.	Depth of Service	Jim understands his audiences better than most speakers because he spends up to ten hours studying the client organization and the members of the audience prior to his speech or seminar.   Jim sends out a detailed Pre-Program Questionnaire which helps him gather the right information and insight into the organization, in fact he was one of the first professional speakers to do so.   Then he reads the product brochures, explores the websites, annual reports and newsletters from the organization to further understand the group.
6.	Tailors his talks	Jim's speeches revolve around the subjects he knows the best.  However, he's able to tailor these to each of his audiences through a thorough study of the client organization in advance of his speech.
7.	Industry Leader	Jim Cathcart joined the National Speakers Association in 1976 when they had only about 200 members.  Today, their membership exceeds 3,700, with 38 chapters in the United States and Canada, and other affiliate organizations around the world.  Elected to their National Board of Directors in 1980, he served on that board for an entire decade.  He was President for 1988-89, and in 1993 received The Cavett Award for a lifetime of service.
8.	Professional Recognition	Jim Cathcart is one of the most award-winning professional speakers in the world! In the year 2001 he received the Golden Gavel Award from the 180,000 members of Toastmasters International. (Former recipients are: Zig Ziglar, Walter Cronkite, Tom Peters, Anthony Robbins, Art Linkletter, and Deepak Chopra.) He has been inducted into the Speaker Hall of Fame,(1985).     Jim has also earned the Certified Speaking Professional (CSP) designation from the National Speakers Association (1981).  These and his other honors place him among the top ten professional speakers in the world.
9.	Multitude of  Clientele	Jim's audiences have been as diverse as:    Medical equipment sales in Europe  Insurance agents in Australia Utility workers in Hong Kong Bankers in Phoenix Accountants in New York City Association executives in Washington, D.C. Real estate agents in Canada Computer users groups in Florida Hotel owners and salespeople in San Francisco Talent agents in Hollywood Navy Top Gun Pilots and Fleet Officers
10.	Programs for Major Organizations	Jim has repeatedly appeared on the annual convention programs of the following organizations: American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) American Society for Training and  Development (ASTD) Meeting Professionals International (MPI) Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) National Speakers Association (NSA)  American Hotel and Lodging Association (AH&LA) Toastmasters International (1995 & 2001) TRAINING conference (5 times)  City Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Million Dollar Round Table
11.	International Clientele	Jim has literally circled the globe (as much as twice in one year), speaking for groups ranging as far as from Scotland to Singapore, from Malaysia to Belgium.  He is accustomed to adjusting to various cultures and language differences, as well as speaking through translators.
12.	Prolific Author	Jim is the author or co-author of: Relationship Selling, The Eight Competencies Of Top Sales Producers, published in 2002, also available as an online self-assessment, in an audio series, on DVD and as an online training course. The Acorn Principle , Finding Your Natural Path For Growth, St.Martin's Press 1998-9-00. Relationship Selling, a trade book published by Putnam/Berkeley; (first printing 1985) The Sales Professional's Idea Guide, by Dartnell, 1996 Speaking Secrets of the Masters, published by Executive Books for Speakers Roundtable in 1995;  Be Your Own Sales Manager, a 1990 trade release through Prentice Hall;  Jim has also been a contributor to the following publications: Insights Into Excellence (book) published by Executive Books; Speaking of Success video series published by Audio Video Campus;  Improving Yourself video library (28 separate programs) published by the Davidson Conference Center of the University of Southern California;  Improvisation University video series published by Universal Video, Inc.;  Relationship Selling Strategies video published and distributed by National Education Training Group.
13.	Widely Known	Jim's works have appeared in major magazines in over 100 different fields throughout the world.  His products are being sold by Nightingale-Conant Corporation, Leading Authorities Press, Dartnell, Prentice Hall Publishers, Putnam Publishing Group, National Education Training Group, St. Martin's Press, University of Southern California, Video Education Network, US Learning, Inc., Managers Edge, The American Bankers Association, and The American Society of Association Executives.
14.	Magazines and Publications	Jim has been featured on the covers of Sound Selling, The Selling Advantage, Master Salesmanship, PayTech, The Toastmaster and in feature articles in such publications as Meetings & Conventions magazine, Successful Meetings magazine, the Training & Development Journal, and Association Management magazine.
15.	Customized Publications	Jim has created custom products published by others exclusively for their membership.  These include two special reports for the American Bankers Association; a video entitled Exceeding Your Members' Expectations published by ASAE in 1989; Relationship Selling, a video program published by Ford Motor Credit Corporation, and more.
16.	A leading author with Nightingale-Conant Corporation	The world's largest publisher of self-development and business related audio programs is Nightingale-Conant Corporation of Chicago.  Jim Cathcart has had  several products with them as follows: Relationship Strategies audio cassette album, over 70,000 albums sold. Meeting with Success audio cassette album. SuperStar Selling audio cassette album.  Win Through Relationships video program. Million Dollar Sales Strategy video program. Sound Selling audio magazine, two editions.
17.	Veteran Meeting Planner	Jim knows how to run meetings. He has been the Convention Chairman for five major conventions for the National Speakers Association, in 1982, in Newport Beach; Chicago; and Dallas, and 1991&93 in Phoenix.  In addition, Jim has coordinated conventions for a division of General Electric, 600 people in Hawaii, and served on convention committees for a number of organizations. On top of all of this, he has done a great deal of planning, organizing and coordination of small meetings ranging from ten people to a couple of hundred.  An added bonus is that Jim has recorded a cassette album entitled Meeting with Success which teaches many of the principles he has learned in coordinating meetings, hiring and working with speakers, conducting discussions, handling parliamentary procedure, handling board of directors' meetings and other types of meetings.
18.	Travel Negotiable	Jim always prorates travel between his engagements. First class travel is requested, but since some airfares can get outrageously expensive, Jim remains flexible and will in extreme cases use frequent flyer upgrades or alternate carriers in order to reduce the overall travel expense to the client. He typically quotes an inclusive "travel fee" for ease of advance payment and budgeting.
19.	Wide Network of Friends and Colleagues	Jim knows and is known by most of the world's top speakers on a personal and/or a professional basis.  He can speak with authority on how many of their messages interface with his. If you have their book, Jim probably has their home phone number.
20.	Conducts Interactive Live Online training for Sales Professionals and Executives	Jim conducts some of his programs on the interactive online learning system from his office to yours. These trainings are also conducted both in California and on-site for clients.  (Call for details and save up to 60% off Jim's regular fees.)
21.	Professional Staff	Jim's staff has been professionally trained to support both agents/bureaus and meeting planners through The National Speakers Association and personal coaching by Jim. SpeakersOffice, Inc. is owned and operated by Holli Catchpole, who has been managing speakers offices since before most well-known speakers were in this business. Clients and speakers bureaus agree that SpeakersOffice, Inc. is the best in the business when it comes to supporting their needs and coordinating details.
22.	Constant Improvement	Jim is constantly exploring the human condition and practicing what he preaches.  He hosts a discussion series called Sherwood Roundtable. He attends conventions such as: The Institute for Noetic Sciences, The American Society for Training & Development, Speakers Roundtable, Training and Presentations Annual Conferences, National Speakers Association, and he has even participated in numerous ropes courses (Adventure learning), the "fire walk experience", etc.  In his spare time he rides his sport-touring motorcycle all over the US and Europe and constantly meets with colleagues to compare ideas.  What this means to audiences is that Jim can get along well with anyone from "good old boys", to hard nosed executives or sophisticated psychologists.