Van Deeb is the country’s foremost expert on building relationships and is dedicated to helping others become successful in the sales and service industry. He has inspired tens of thousands of professionals throughout the country to succeed through his motivational and informative keynote speeches, workshops, speaking events, newsletters, and books.
Van learned from an early age that if he wanted something, he was going to have to work for it. Growing up, Van was nonconforming, rebellious and had his own agenda. A turning point in his life was making the football team at University of Nebraska-Omaha, after being told he was not “cut out for it.” Making the football team ahead of some of his all-state high school teammates gave Van the mindset that with drive, desire, and determination you can accomplish anything you want in life. That is Van’s main message.
“I did not grow up privileged and had to earn every dollar I made. Believe it when people say the smarter and harder you work the luckier you become.”
After college, Van left his hometown to attend a real estate specialty school in Dallas, Texas and discovered his passion, the real estate business. Over the next 10 years, Van won more than 100 regional and national sales awards as a successful real estate agent in Dallas. Van decided to returnhome to Omaha, Nebraska. Three of the Omaha’s top real estate firms aggressively recruited Van, but he was determined to build his own firm. When he launched DEEB Realty in 1993, Van worked as the sole agent from the basement of his home. In just 15 years, Van grew DEEB Realty to over 350 agents, making it one of the largest independent firms in the United States.
“What I thought was common sense in building a sales career and a company was recognized by others as highly creative and innovative. I can’t wait to share my experiences with you and show you how to incorporate them into your own life.”
The success of the company relied heavily on Van’s ‘people first’ philosophy. By providing superior training and setting agent-friendly policies, DEEB Realty flourished. With his leadership and direction, DEEB Realty developed a reputation as having a work environment and culture that was unmatchable in the industry. Van revolutionized the way real estate companies were managed and many firms have adopted the practices and procedures he created.
“I used to be enamored by the commission checks and awards and now my most cherished victories are the emails and phone calls I get from people in my audiences telling me how they implemented my marketing ideas and sales strategies and they are living a life they never dreamed of.”
That same passion Van developed for real estate in 1983 has now shifted to helping others achieve the same success. Over the last 20 years Van has been speaking to sales and servicepeople, business owners and leaders across the country empowering them to become successful and incorporating the attitude: “There is nothing I can’t do with the proper mindset, drive and determination.”
Van’s philosophy about focusing on the basics and fundamentals continues to motivate, inspire and guide professionals to realize their full potential. Van is one of the very few national speakers and trainers that has “been there and done that.”
“One of the things I have never liked when attending motivational events and seminars is the speaker is spending a good portion of the time selling their books, tapes or subscriptions. I never have and I never will! I want my audiences to soak up every second of our time together being inspired, motivated and empowered to be the absolute BEST they can possibly be when they leave the room.”
Amongst his peers, Van is recognized as ‘The Real Deal’. He will connect with everyone in the audience and do it with a little humor, usually at his own expense. Van’s audiences rave about his enthusiasm, passion and ability to motivate others. Van truly cares about your success.
-Customer Service
-Entrepreneurship
-Faith/Spirituality
-Motivational
-Overcoming Adversity
-Keynote
- Industry Specific (Real Estate)
-Leadership
-Personal Growth
-Sales/Persuasion
-Team Building
Goal Setting: Creating a Flight Path for Success
The well-known statement, if you fail to plan you are really planning to fail, is the core message to the audience in this presentation. Did you know over 97% of people in business do not have a written plan for their goals? It is true that people spend more time planning their child’s wedding or summer vacation than they do on their own career. This presentation will help you create goals for yourself at a pace that is customized to fit you and not a one size fits all. You will learn how to set goals that are attainable, hold yourself accountable and increase your personal productivity. Van will use his experiences of setting written goals to help you accomplish whatever your objectives are. Van calls this his FUNdamental course of how to increase market share by just making some simple adjustments in your daily schedule.
Avoid Being Labeled Average in Business
You’re not here to be average, you are here to be incredibly awesome! This powerful, one-of-a-kind presentation will teach you how to change your mindset from “being average” to becoming a “driven champion”. Van wants you to leave this presentation completely motivated just by the fear of being labeled average. Van believes that if you have people in your life that are depending on you like your kids, spouse, family, supervisor or co-workers then you are obligated to perform at an above average level. This is a must-experience course for those that need to see how life will be much more enjoyable and enriched when people make a decision to step it up.
Be Unstoppable in Your Career
To have the attitude that you are unstoppable, you first have to have a passion for what you do. This presentation is designed for people who LOVE their career and want to be the BEST they possibly can in their industry. In Van’s 35-plus year career he would start out most mornings by looking in the mirror saying, “Today I will be unstoppable!” This presentation will show you how this type of attitude will not only benefit you throughout the day, it will also benefit everyone you come in contact with. Van will discuss the 5 characteristics of people who want to be unstoppable and will get you motivated and inspired to settle for nothing less. This presentation is perfect for highly motivated people that want more!
Brand Yourself as an Expert
Everyone likes to do business with and buy from an expert. However, before you can call yourself an expert you have to act like one. Brand Yourself as an Expert is an easy-to-follow, step-by-step course on how to make everyone you know consider you an expert in your industry. It doesn’t matter if you have been in your career 1 year or 50 years, Van will give you the dialogue and positive attitude that will have your clients gravitating to you. Van’s customers, throughout his entire career, considered him an expert because of what he said and what he did. Success comes to those who have an attitude they believe they are the best. You will be on your way to being an expert after sitting in on this fun presentation.
Personal Enrichment: How to Bring Out the BEST Version of Yourself
Striving to be the best you can possibly be is the most important aspect of being successful in your career. Personal Enrichment: How to Bring Out the BEST Version of Yourself is a presentation that will be a game-changer in your life. You have control of your actions, your attitude, and your decisions and you have control to make these changes in your life NOW! Once you make a decision like Van did early in his career to bring out the best version of yourself everything will change for the better. Van will cover everything from how to transition from where you are now to this enriching mindset and how to maintain it. This was not an overnight process for Van to eliminate all the negatives from his life to make room for success; it was a journey and still is today. You will know exactly what to do bring out the very best version of yourself after attending this presentation.
The Power of Asking: How to Ask Your Way to Success
If there was only one thing Van attributes his success to it is learning how to ask prospective clients for their business. Before you can ask you first must be the type of person people want to help. Van’s Power of Asking presentation will give you and your company an injection of motivation and a sales boost from an outside, proven voice. Van has studied the victories and failures of business people all across the globe to find out how to ‘ask the right way’. You will hear real-life experiences from Van that elevated him to accomplish his goals and dreams and ways you can incorporate them into your own career. Here a just few characteristics of this presentation:
• Learning how to properly ask for the order with an attitude of “I want to get the deal every time!”
• Identifying areas that need improvement and then developing solutions
• Strengthening core capacities in the workplace by focusing on gratitude and respect
• Developing a personal action plan and setting attainable goals on a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and yearly basis
Van is known for bringing out the best in each person and he will help you stay excited with proven techniques that will continue to motivate you long after the presentation is over.
Building Your Business on a Budget
This presentation is needed more today than ever for business owners, management, service and sales people. Van always says he is extremely fortunate to have a skill set of knowing how to be frugal and spend less to achieve the same results in building a business. He owes it to common sense practices and trial and error. Van has mastered the art of low overhead and high profit and he wants to share his secrets with you in this presentation. You will learn how to get more customers with a low cost per client acquisition. Van entered his industry with $500 to his name and 10 years later started a businessout of his basement by himself and grew it to 350 employees! You will enjoy this presentation about Van’s journey that will incorporate all he learned about building a successful business on a budget. If you are in business to build relationships that last a lifetime and to make money, this will get you there!
Your Title Here: Custom Keynote Presentation
Van recognizes that every customer is different, so why should every speech be the same? Van is known for his high level of tailoring custom speaking engagements to meet the individual needs of his clients. Whether it’s about leadership, sales, service, or individual performance, it’s about turning the ordinary into the extraordinary.
Van designs each custom speaking engagement to meet your objectives and to reinforce the objectives of the entire meeting. He has the ability to integrate his message into the rest of the meeting or conference. This means your audience members benefit from the synergy of all the presentations they hear, and reinforces the hard work you’ve done to plan an effective event.
How Does Van Create His Custom Speaking Engagements?
First, Van gathers information to help him understand your objectives, your organization, the people in the audience and the challenges they face each day. He next schedules a conference call with you and any key players that you want involved.
After identifying important themes and specific messages you want to make sure get conveyed during your custom speaking engagements, Van draws from hours of material, years of experience and study, and the lessons from presenting to over 1,000 audiences. As a result of this process, you get Van’s best thinking, most powerful illustrations and relevant, actionable ideas.
“With Van’s passion, humor and experience you can be assured of one thing–your audience is going to get fired-up, built-up, and fully charged –up. As an entrepreneur at the top of his game Van is in the unique position of being able to ‘talk the talk’ because he has ‘walked the walk’. Over the years he has been a great inspiration to me and my staff. Van is a speaker with charisma, humility and impact and he’s a difference maker in the lives of the people he touches…”
– George Akers // President, First Mortgage Corp.
“Thanks, You’re on top of things!! I want to let you know I really enjoyed the seminar today. I have been in the business since 1987 part time until 1998 full time since. I have been to a lot of seminars–Dirk Zeller, Dave Beson, Rick Deluca,_Floyd Wickman, Have Done Sweat Hogs ect. and I have to tell you I got more out of your Seminar today ,great info and felt like you were the most genuine person I have heard—-ever heard!!! The morning just flew by and I didn’t want it to end.Thank you! Thank You! Thank You!”
– Janene Larimore // Realtor, Boise, Idaho
“I wanted to thank you for coming and speaking with our company today.I thought your presentation was awesome! I was really motivated and inspired by your thoughts and ideas. I will use this motivation to grow my business and my personal life.”
-Justin Pauls // Realtor, Tampa, Florida
“His presentation was very informative, humorous and professional. No nonsense type of style that kept everyone’s attention…even mine.”
– Pennie Carroll // Broker, Des Moines, Iowa
“I just wanted to thank you for coming in and talking to my class this past Tuesday, 9/3. I learned so much from you and am so glad that I got to listen to your advice. I feel your talk inspired me to do great things and carry myself more confidently.”
– Mike Shukis // Student, University of Nebraska Omaha
“I just wanted you to know that I appreciate your positive messages! Thank you for being a bright spot in people’s lives. And thank you again, for coming down to Sacred Heart School and speaking to our children. You will never know how you may have influenced a young mind but it’s important that you did.”
– Ann M. Rourke C.F.R.E. // Director of Development, Christian Urban Education Service
The Power of Asking
The Power of Asking offers practical, proven strategies you can apply immediately to enhance your life and skyrocket your career. These are the same techniques that helped Van build a thriving real estate business from one person to 350 associates in only 15 years.
23 Crucial Points to Guarantee Your Success in Real Estate
Look no further! Van ‘s Plan: 23 Crucial Points to Guarantee Your Success in Real Estate offers practical, proven techniques you can apply immediately to skyrocket your real estate career. These techniques are the same ones that helped Van build a thriving career in real estate and build a brokerage business from one person to 350 associates in only 15 years.
Common Sense Selling
Common Sense Selling tells an unforgettable story of vision, discipline, inspiration, and motivation. Van will inspire, instruct and motivate you to become the best you can be in your sales career based on a resource we all have and rarely use: Common Sense!
Omaha, NE
“Addiction to Redemption”
Ricky’s speech resonates beautifully with all audiences from middle school students to corporate executives. Ricky customizes his presentation to perfectly match the audience he is addressing. His presentation is a powerful testimonial centered around faith, support, the undying commitment to never, ever, ever giving up, and to living each day like the blessing it is!
https://youtu.be/ysmmzawrzME
“Ricky Simmons, a starting wide receiver in 1982 and 1983, has become an informal mentee of mine in recent years. Although he came from an excellent family, he struggled with drug addiction and spent several years in prison. During his last stay in jail, I wrote him a simple letter letting him know I still believed in him. Even though the letter was brief, it apparently arrived at a critical time in Ricky’s life. He had lost hope that his situation would ever improve. He says that when he received my note he got down on his knees and made a spiritual commitment which was life-changing. Once he got out of prison, Ricky came to see me and has continued to do so each week without fail. He has turned his life around, becoming a substance abuse counselor and speaking to youth about his experiences. I believe these weekly check-ins are a measure of accountability for him, providing him with a reminder of the changes he has made in his life. I am proud of what he is doing and thankful that I can remain a part of his life.”
Tom Osborne, Former Head Football Coach, Nebraska Cornhuskers
Ricky was very professional, funny, and the dancing was my favorite part. He acted out what he was saying which captivated the audience, and he interacted well with them. He also left plenty of time for questions and answers, and was relatable on so many levels. I loved that Ricky met with me beforehand, I loved that he called me both before and after. It was just wonderful.
Nikki Peterson, Unit Administrator, Nebraska Department of Correctional Services
“A big shout out to my friend Ricky C. Simmons for another great experience at NSP! You are able to inspire and encourage our inmates like no other. Your service to others is unparalleled. Thanks for teaching us how to live another day in paradise.”
Marv Chauza, Nebraska State Penitentiary
“I am honored to provide a positive reference regarding Ricky C. Simmons as a motivational speaker. Ricky is a former Husker teammate of mine, who’s journey exemplifies a true “road to redemption.” He’s lived the ultimate test of incarceration, which is why he has a tangible testimony. Having spent time in the belly of the beast, Ricky used his ‘athletic ability of recovery’ to successfully turn past flaws into a positive story that motivates others. In an age where the media is omnipresent, the student-athlete’s transgression has become broadcast and print fodder. Their negative exposure in today’s public arena often leads to broken dreams and potential unfulfilled. As an athletic administrator, I see Ricky’s message as a proactive way to save young people from themselves. I highly recommend him as a realistic, authentic and effective speaker against the perils of drug and alcohol abuse for youth of all ages.”
Dr. Jamie Williams
“Tonight, it is a tremendous honor for me to meet and listen to Ricky C. Simmons. His personal story of redemption is inspiring. He has experienced the absolute best of life and made decisions that showed him the worst of life, only to turn it all around to become a fascinating motivational speaker. The cream rises to the top. Take a few minutes and look up his story. I’m proud to now call him a friend.”
Lonny Schonfeld, The Texan Theater
“He’s brutally honest and extremely charismatic. A natural. He tells a story that is at once painful and inspirational.”
Steven M. Sipple, Lincoln Journal Star
“Today I have reached another milestone. I will be 40 years old in less than two weeks. Thank God — today marks the 96th day of sobriety and I feel extremely blessed. My inspiration is no one other than Ricky C. Simmons. You rock dude. Thank you for all the help you have given me. Your support will forever be appreciated.”
Terrell Farley, Former Nebraska Cornhusker
“We were very blessed to have former Husker wide receiver Ricky C. Simmons come share his story with our youth group. We had the third largest Wednesday night attendance ever and we were all treated to an awesome story of the grace of God in Ricky’s life. I highly recommend him as a gifted, entertaining and inspiring speaker to youth groups.”
Steven William Davenport
“I couldn’t wait to get home to email you. I listen to the Ticket 93.7 on the daily. It has never made me cry like a baby like it did today with you being on the air. Addiction has plagued me most of my life. I have quit drugs but drinking is a developing problem. I put together three years of total sobriety after treatment, but since that time I started to think that I could handle drinking. WRONG!!! Anyway, GOD BLESS YOU. Your vibe and inspiration hit me within 10 minutes of listening to the show…both laughing and crying at the same time. THANK YOU.”
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