Speaking & workshops
What if your team could see complex opportunities the way your competitors can't?
Merrick Walford brings over 30 years of real commercial experience into the room — and leaves audiences with a fundamentally different way of thinking about complex deals.
Conference keynote
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Company workshop
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Bulk book Q&A session
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Conference keynote · Company workshop · Bulk book Q&A session ·
Talk topics
Three example conversations that can change how teams think.
Complex opportunities deserve their own focus
Most sales teams apply the same process to every opportunity regardless of complexity. This talk makes the case that complex opportunities are a different discipline entirely — and gives audiences a clear framework for approaching them differently from day one.
Best for: Sales teams, commercial managers, business development leads
Influencing: as subtle as it is effective
The biggest lever in any complex deal isn't price or product — it's influence, applied early. This talk explores how the most critical decisions are made long before the proposal lands, and what teams can do to shape the outcome from the very first conversation.
Best for: Senior sales professionals, business development teams, leadership teams
Contract award: the real work starts now
Winning the contract is not the finish line. Complex contracts have enormous scope to grow and become more profitable — if you know where to look and how to act. This talk reframes contract award as the beginning of the commercial opportunity, not the end.
Best for: Account managers, contract managers, sales and delivery teams
How Merrick works
From keynote to full-day workshop — built around your audience.
Conference keynote
A focused 45 to 60-minute session designed to shift thinking and leave the audience with something concrete to take away.
Company workshop
A half-day or full-day session for commercial and sales teams. Practical, discussion-based, and tailored to your specific challenges. Not death by PowerPoint.
Bulk book Q&A session
Buy the book for your team and Merrick joins for a dedicated Q&A. See below for how this works.
Buy ten or more copies of Selling is More Than Sales for your team and Merrick joins for a one-hour Q&A session included in the price. The session is structured around the questions your team actually have after reading — not a generic presentation. It gives the whole team a shared reference point and the chance to challenge, discuss, and connect the ideas directly to their own deals.
The bulk book offer with Q&A
Best for: Sales teams, commercial managers, leadership teams preparing for a major bid or contract cycle.
What participants say
“Not a waste of time, not death by PowerPoint. Really good discussions and knowledge sharing. The group exercises, the role plays, and the overall interactions were incredibly helpful.”
— Workshop participant
“Merrick did a great job of engaging with us and getting the right message across. With conscious practice of the tools he taught, I expect to do a better job going forward.”
— Workshop participant
“Merrick's engagement and enthusiasm made the course very interactive and fun.”
— Workshop participant
About the speaker
45 years. 25 countries. Both sides of the table.
Merrick Walford spent 38 years with Schlumberger working across 25 countries in commercial, sales, and management roles — including setting up and running one of two global Commercial Centres from the ground up in Romania.
He has coached individual salespeople, led commercial teams, and sat on both sides of the negotiating table in some of the most complex commercial deals in the energy sector.
He speaks without slides as a crutch, without jargon as a shield, and without a script that doesn't fit the room.
He is the author of Selling is More Than Sales — a narrative business book that follows a high-stakes complex commercial opportunity from first contact to contract award.
30+ years commercial experience
25 countries
38 years with Schlumberger
1 book — and counting
Book Merrick to speak
If your audience is facing complex deals, this conversation belongs in your programme.
Get in touch to discuss availability, formats, and fees. Merrick works with conference organisers, HR teams, and business leaders to build sessions that fit the audience and leave a lasting impression.