You want to be inspired? Kim Duke will inspire you.

You want to be entertained? Kim Duke will entertain you.

You want to be enlightened? Kim Duke will enlighten you.

You want a famous diva quote? Kim Duke will reel off a Dolly Parton zinger.

Jack Dagley, for Business Edge
dmonton’s Kim Duke has set out to shake the foundations of the once-boring business of business coaching.

You want to be shocked? Kim Duke will shock you.

The electrifying Duke, founder, owner and top diva of The Sales Divas, an Edmonton-based organization that specializes in business coaching with a funny bone, will do just about anything to get you to listen up – except bore you.

And to think she hails from a sleepy Saskatchewan hamlet . . .

What was your dream as a child?

“I really wanted to be a famous writer because, in Plunkett, Sask., there’s not that much to do. It’s a three-street, blink-or-miss-it town. The town had a tiny library and the bookmobile would come in the summer time. That was exciting. To this day, I’m still a voracious reader. I love reading. I thought that was my destiny. I’m still working on that. Rudyard Kipling is probably my favourite author. I was named after one of his books (Kim). I’m currently writing two manuscripts, one of which is about my childhood in Plunkett. The other one is kind of a memoir.”

Who has been your mentor or life coach?

“There have been so many different people who have stepped up to the plate, depending on the circumstances. I have a very strong support system of family and friends in my life. A strong role model for me in business is my friend Linda Varzari. I think a lot of my mentors have been in the books I’ve read. Two people that come to mind are Maya Angelou and Eleanor Roosevelt.”



What was your inspiration for leaving a successful television ad sales career to start Sales Divas?

“The entrepreneurial feeling was a sort of slow burn. The whole entrepreneurial feeling became so overwhelming that I couldn’t go to bed at night or I’d wake up at three o’clock in the morning bursting with ideas. There’s a great quote from Eleanor Roosevelt: ‘You must do the thing that you think you cannot do.’ ”

How did you feel in October of 2001 when you finally made the decision to leave your job as sales manager of CBC-TV Edmonton to become a full-time entrepreneur?

“I felt great. I won’t allow fear to rule my life. When people ask me why I left CBC Edmonton, I say it had nothing to do with CBC. I wanted to be like Wayne Gretzky. I wanted to leave while I was on top. I just felt like my wings were touching the wall. I’d grown and I needed to expand more. I also felt that, even at the level of sales I was in, many, many people had a great fear about selling. And I really love helping people. I know that sounds terribly corny, but, ultimately, that’s what it comes down to.”

What’s a sales diva?

“You’re talkin’ to her. A sales diva takes the philosophy of selling very seriously and teaches it with a lot of energy and joy. It’s common sense with a twist. I take a lot of these standard philosophies and filter it out because a lot of the older sales training is outdated and people are looking for something new and fresh. They don’t want the ‘black binder’ seminar where they turn to Page 1 and they’re bored.”

What’s fresh about your approach to teaching?

“My whole focus in a seminar is to have people feel high-energy and step out of their comfort zone with some strange exercises, but there’s always a method behind the madness. Probably, the reputation that I have is having people walk out feeling extremely motivated and knowing they were able to put their fears on the table. I’m not there to attack them. I’m there to help them. In the past two years that I’ve been doing sales training, the effect on people has been almost immediate. Selling is about communicating with people, finding out what they’re wanting and asking questions. I find that too many people are telling instead of selling.”

How do you capture an audience as a keynote speaker?

“I’m a bit of a goof. I use a variety of methods, everything from wearing a tiara or using a feather boa. I like to freak people out a little bit and stretch the comfort zone. It’s not like they come in and they think this is going to be a fluff sales seminar. It’s definitely not that. My reputation was not built on fluff. I’ve sold millions of dollars in my career. You can ask a silly question and you’re not going to be shot down. I find people really start to open up, especially when they start to laugh. That’s when information really starts to seep into them. I’ll get people’s attention with crazy props and get them to do exercises and have them make things out of paper clips or work with balloons. At first, they’re probably thinking: ‘What the hell is this? Why am I dancing to James Brown at 9 o’clock in the morning?’ It’s stretching your comfort zone.”

Do people complain when you put ‘stretch marks,’ as you put it, on their brains?

“No, they don’t. I find that people who are maybe a little bit shy or have never been in selling before or have a very straight-laced style are initially a little bit resistant. But I find they’re the ones you see the stretch marks on because they just go with it.”

Why do people need to be like television news star Barbra Walters?

“A lot of sales people talk too much when they’re selling, but you need to listen. Barbra Walters is famous for asking really creative questions that resonate with people. Barbra was a very large mentor in my life in that she was the first woman to earn a million dollars as an anchor. When I was a kid, she had an interview with (actress) Katherine Hepburn. She asked her what kind of a tree she would be, which was a most bizarre question. Katherine Hepburn actually began to cry and said she would be a willow. Katherine Hepburn stood up, bent to the ground and got back up again. She said: ‘I want to be able to bend with life, bend with resiliency.’ ”

What kind of a tree would you be?

“(Laughter) You know what? I would be a willow because I am resilient and I’m not going to crack like the mighty oak. In life, I just feel that it’s not just about surviving, but thriving.”

Describe your life’s philosophy?

“I can’t help burning myself and my attitudes into what I teach. Because life is not just about making money. It’s about people. It’s about developing relationships. It’s about being true to yourself and having integrity. “I walk away from my seminars just as energized as the other people.”

What’s your vision for your company?

“I envision providing training and keynote speaking internationally, franchising the company across Canada, moving into more keynote speaking and also developing many other revenue streams from CDs, books and things like that. I think one of the biggest struggles when you’re an entrepreneur is to have the patience to just let things grow naturally as they should.

“Sometimes, I tend to be a bit of a pusher. I want to make things happen right now. As (actress-author) Carrie Fisher once said: ‘Instant gratification doesn’t come fast enough.’ ”

With information overload, e-mail, voice mail, etc., what’s the key to getting people’s attention?

“Curiosity. It’s always about curiosity. You have to stand out. If you’re just doing what everybody else is doing, you’re average and you won’t stand out. Who ends up standing out? It’s the person who in the subject line (of an e-mail) has been creative or said something fun. Your life is not about being a follower.”

What’s the best advice you’d offer a young person embarking on a business career?

“Be true to yourself. It doesn’t matter what career you’re going into, it’s all about integrity and knowing your strengths and weaknesses. For an entrepreneur, it’s about seeking and attracting clients that best suit you. If you turn yourself into a pretzel to suit your clients, I believe that’s a recipe for failure. And not to give up. As Dolly Parton once said: ‘If you want the rainbows, you’ve got to put up with a little rain.’ ”

What’s the greatest obstacle you’ve had to overcome?

“Me. I think a lot of people will say things like: ‘I don’t have enough time, I don’t have enough staff.’ But I think that, deep down, we are our own biggest obstacle. If I’m going through a tough time or frustrated with something, ultimately it comes down to me putting myself as an obstacle in my own path. It’s when you realize that you’re standing in your own way, that you can step aside. I believe I’m totally responsible for my own life, both good and bad.”

What in your mind makes a great leader?

“Someone who listens and inspires. The leaders I admire most are Maya Angelou (the American poet, author, actor and singer) and, on an Alberta level, (WestJet CEO) Clive Beddoe. Maya Angelou is my idea of the Renaissance woman, what I am always striving to be. I also belong to a women’s investment group called The Money Bags. Several years ago, we bought some shares with Clive simply because I believe in the WestJet philosophy.”

How do you deal with stress?

“I don’t believe in having a high tolerance for stress. It’s something I believe you have to nip in the bud early on. For me, it’s allowing balance in my life, spending lots of time with my boyfriend Rob, my dog Macy, going for walks and allowing myself to read and write non-business material. I also have two little nieces aged seven and four who bring perspective to my life.”

What’s your most prized personal possession?

“Curiously, for a sales woman, I’m not attached to much. For me, it’s really about people. But if I think about it, I did have a fire in my home years ago and never grabbed one thing. That was the most important thing. But my most prized possession is a feathered quilt my mom made me years ago from feathers that my grandmother had kept.”

What do you see in your life’s crystal ball?

“I see a lot of laughter, a lot of growth, a lot of risk. You know, I really want to exit this planet as a dried-up old sponge. That’s my goal. I want to be able to have nothing left inside of me, knowing I gave it all.”

IN PROFILE: Kim Duke
* Born/raised/age: Plunkett, Sask.; 36.
* Occupation: Founder/owner, The Sales Divas.
* Education: University of Saskatchewan (pre-journalism), Lethbridge Community College (communications, arts and advertising sales).
* Career: The Sales Divas became a full-time business for Duke in October 2001, after a 15-year career as a media sales professional. She has worked for both CTV and CBC affiliates in Alberta and was sales manager of CBC-TV Edmonton before changing careers.
* Role models: Eleanor Roosevelt, Maya Angelou, Clive Beddoe.
* Passions: Writing, reading, famous quotations.

IN PROFILE: Kim Duke
* Top Diva: Owner Kim Duke.
* Profile: The Sales Divas provides corporate and individual training programs, including customized
corporate seminars, sales training, business coaching and inspirational speaking. Duke also works with other training professionals who provide training in areas other than sales, such as entrepreneur training, media plan development, stress management and life coaching.
* Diva sales tip of the month: Don’t be average. Custom-design a thank- you card that suits your company and add a personal note on the card in your handwriting and hand write the address on the envelope.
* Website: www.salesdivas.com
* Address: 101-9812 73rd Ave., Edmonton, T6E 1B6.
* Phone/Fax: 780-432-3903, toll-free 1-866-932-3903; 780-435-2874.