The Sweeney Agency

About Michael Bergdahl - Expert on Retail Sales:

Michael Bergdahl is a professional speaker, author and writer. He is best known for having worked in Bentonville, Arkansas for Wal-Mart , as the Director of People for the headquarters office, where he worked directly with Sam Walton. Michael is considered an authority on Wal-Mart. The giant retailer’s own Public Relations Department has referred Bergdahl to interviewers interested in gaining insights into the company.

Bergdahl has appeared on CNN, CNBC, CNN FN, CBS National Radio, American Public Radio and Bloomberg TV. His articles have appeared in a number of business related magazines: Retail Merchandiser, Investor’s Business Daily, Convenience Store News, Marketing News, and many others.

He wrote a book about his experiences working for the World’s largest retailer entitled: What I Learned from Sam Walton: How to Compete and Thrive in a Wal-Mart World. Michael wrote his book to help Wal-Mart’s domestic and international competitors develop proactive success strategies. Interestingly, his book is sold on both the Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club web sites. He recently completed his second book entitled, The 10 Rules of Sam Walton: Success Secrets for Remarkable Results .

What Michael Bergdahl Talks About:

Michael Bergdahl is a dynamic speaker, who is one part business, one part inspiration, one part storyteller and one part entertainer. He has spoken at association and business conferences domestically and internationally to retailers, non-retailers, manufacturers and suppliers who are interested in improving their ability to compete successfully in a Wal-Mart World! Experience, insight, and a powerful, personable presence combine to make Michael Bergdahl a must-have speaker for any business that's serious about competing in today's market. With an upbeat, high-energy style that entertains as it teaches, Bergdahl makes complex business strategies and tactics easy to understand and apply.

Following are synopses of five of Michael Bergdahl's most powerful and popular speeches.

What I learned From Sam Walton: How to Compete and Thrive in a Wal-Mart World
In this speech, using the acronym, P.O.C.K.E.T.S., which stands for Price, Operations, Culture, Key Item Promotion, Expenses, Talent and Service, Michael Bergdahl describes several effective strategies competitors can and have used to counteract the inevitable pressure created by big box retailers. Finding your niche in the market or POCKET is the key to your survival! The key is to avoid the temptation to compete on price. You’ve got to make the commitment to differentiate yourself by looking for POCKETS! You will learn some secrets other companies have used to compete with Wal-Mart and survive!

The 10 Success Secrets of Sam Walton
Do you want to achieve greater levels of success in your personal and professional life? The answer of course is everyone does. In Michael Bergdahl's forthcoming book called, The 10 Rules of Sam Walton: Success Secrets for Remarkable Results he shares the success secrets of the world's most successful entrepreneur. In this speech, he will discuss Sam Walton's self professed ten rules for success which Mr. Sam embraced as he grew Wal-Mart from a single site to a 5000 store global enterprise. Audience members will take away success strategies they can use in both their personal and professional life.

F.I.R.S.T – Secrets to Outperforming the Pack
From his experiences working for World Class Best Practice Companies like PepsiCo’s Frito-Lay Division and Wal-Mart, Michael Bergdahl shares with you some of the secrets of their success. As a turnaround team member at American Eagle Outfitters and Waste Management, learned what it takes to turn a failing company around. He shares the secrets of outperforming the pack in this speech using the acronym F.I.R.S.T. which stands for; Focus on the Customer, Inspirational Leadership, Results through People, Succession Planning/Bench-Building & Tactics for Driving the Business. Combining energy, storytelling and humor with his practical experience working with executives like Sam Walton, Bergdahl will entertain and provide practical and actionable business ideas to those in attendance.