Yoke van Dam

Pitch in a way that Michael Jordan would say yes

Strategic selling tips for speakers, trainers and coaches by Yoke van Dam

Do you get overwhelmed when you are pitching against competitors for a speaking or training gig?
Do you want to run away the moment others step into the ring?
If you are a speaker, trainer or coach you are probably excellent at your craft. You’ve spent your 10 000 hours in developing stage presence, finding your voice and developing excellent content of value.

Why do we cringe when we hear the word: “new business development” or sales?

When Nike was losing money in the 80’s something urgently had to be done. And a Business developer, Sonny Vaccaro employed serious strategies to win a big brand ambassador for Nike (Michael Jordan).


Yoke van Dam has been called the Kintsugi Queen because of her ability to join, repair and transform teams into something quite wonderful.
Her work is like Kintsugi, the Japanese art form that mends broken pottery with gold.. Her tried and tested high-performance processes have seen even the most under-performing and fractured teams join together and become stronger and more remarkable.
• She works with leaders who want to effectively articulate and communicate their vision so that their teams buy into it, and are prepared to follow them to hell and back to make sure that vision is achieved.
• She also works with new, untested leaders who need a strong foundational roadmap of how to work with and lead teams to successful outcomes.
She has recently returned back from running a 3 day Exco workshop on Women in leadership in Dubai.
If she is not advising, speaking or coaching in South Africa, you can also find her doing work abroad online or in person hiking up a mountain, or having a glass of wine with her husband Etienne.

PSASA -10 ways to remain professional when your clients are driving you nuts

As speakers, trainers and coaches we are faced with the dilemma. Remain professional at all times, be the facilitator, the guide, the coach. We are always the Gandalf never the Frodo.

We get triggered by the dilemmas our clients are faced with, and often they can trigger you when they take their time in signing a deal or decide to ask for 4 quotes.

How can you build a growth mindset in your speaking practice, that will allow the flexibility of feedback and enhance relationships with your clients.

Yoke van Dam has been called the Kintsugi Queen because of her ability to join, repair and transform teams into something quite wonderful
Her work is like Kintsugi, the Japanese art form that mends broken pottery with gold. Yoke works with teams that may have become disjointed, to reconnect and find their flow again. This approach helps leaders stay optimistic when they encounter flaws and missteps in their organisations leading them to the gold at the “end of the rainbow”.

As a qualified behavioural change coach with verifiable in-the-field-experience (2000 team members trained, 2300 + hours training, 450+ coaching hours) she’s eminently suited to uncover the real issues holding your team back.

Her hard-won experience (15 years) and tried and tested high-performance processes have seen even the most under-performing and fractured teams join together and become stronger and more remarkable.

She is the founder at Y-Connect a Professional member at PSASA and when she’s not speaking, training or coaching you can find her hiking up a mountain, having a glass of wine with her husband Etienne or jumping into a waterfall