Sales Kickoff
January 21-22, 2026 | Salt Lake Marriott Downtown at City Creek
WHAT TO EXPECT
AGENDA
8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. Breakfast | Little Cottonwood Buffet (Skylight Ballroom, Level 2)
9:00 a.m. – 9:15 a.m. Opening Remarks | Tim Barlow (Skylight Ballroom)
9:15 a.m. – 9:45 a.m. 2025 Review & 2026 Strategy | Mike Morhardt (Skylight Ballroom)
9:45 a.m. – 10:15 a.m. Crucial Learning Enterprise Goals | Andy Shimberg (Skylight Ballroom)
10:15 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. Break | Drinks available (Skylight Ballroom)
10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m. Vertical Markets & 2026 Trends | Jessica Heiner & Chelsea Zimmerman (Skylight Ballroom)
11:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Price Increases & Customer Incentives | Tim Barlow (Skylight Ballroom)
12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. Lunch | Red Rocks Buffet (Skylight Ballroom)
1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. Multi-Product License Updates, Review, and Best-Practices | Rich Rusick & Joe Smith (Skylight Ballroom)
2:05 p.m. – 2:40 p.m. Breakout Session 1 | Assignment on name badge (ABC)
- Group A: Objection to Negotiation Clinic | Matt Brinkerhoff (Deer Valley 1, Level 1)
- Group B: Flex License Learning Lab | Rich Rusick (Solitude, Level 1)
- Group C: Strategizing Incentives | Tim Barlow (Snowbird, Level 2)
2:45 p.m. – 3:20 p.m. Breakout Session 2 | Assignment on name badge (ABC)
- Group B: Objection to Negotiation Clinic | Matt Brinkerhoff (Deer Valley 1, Level 1)
- Group C: Flex License Learning Lab | Rich Rusick (Solitude, Level 1)
- Group A: Strategizing Incentives | Tim Barlow (Snowbird, Level 2)
3:25 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. Breakout Session 3 | Assignment on name badge (ABC)
- Group C: Objection to Negotiation Clinic | Matt Brinkerhoff (Deer Valley 1, Level 1)
- Group A: Flex License Learning Lab | Rich Rusick (Solitude, Level 1)
- Group B: Strategizing Incentives | Tim Barlow (Snowbird, Level 2)
4:00 p.m. – 4:15 p.m. Break | Drinks available (Skylight Ballroom)
4:15 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. Closing Remarks | Mike Morhardt (Skylight Ballroom)
4:30 p.m. – 5:45 p.m. Break & Prepare for Awards Banquet
5:45 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. Meet in Hotel Lobby & Walk to Banquet (12-minute walk, 0.5 miles)
6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. Cocktail Hour (Caffé Molise, 404 S, West Temple, Salt Lake City, Utah, 84101)
7:00 p.m. – 9:00 p.m. Awards Banquet & Dinner (Caffé Molise, 404 S, West Temple, Salt Lake City, Utah, 84101)
8:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. Breakfast | Little Cottonwood Buffet (Skylight Ballroom, Level 2)
9:00 a.m. – 9:05 a.m. Opening Remarks | Mike Morhardt (Skylight Ballroom)
9:05 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. LSA: Unlocking LSA Impact in 2026 | Scott Robley (Skylight Ballroom)
9:30 a.m. – 9:50 a.m. Grow Revenue, Build Strategic Relationships, and Deliver Results | Nancy Q. Smith (Skylight Ballroom)
9:50 a.m. – 10:20 a.m. CX&O 2026 Vision | Joseph Sorensen (Skylight Ballroom)
10:20 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. Break | Drinks available (Skylight Ballroom)
10:30 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Marketing Roadmap | Mary McChesney, Brittney Maxfield, Pace McCulloch (Skylight Ballroom)
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. Sales Panel: High Performance Habits | Moderated by Nancy LoCascio (Skylight Ballroom)
12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. Lunch | Taste of Italy Buffet (Skylight Ballroom)
1:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m. Blowing Out Your Number: Driving SDI Sales in 2026 | Craig Guindon & Matt Jones (Skylight Ballroom)
1:30 p.m. – 2:00 p.m. 2026 Product Highlights: Innovation that Drives Value | Tiffany Franz & Justin Hale (Skylight Ballroom)
2:05 p.m. – 2:50 p.m. Breakout Session 4 | Assignment on name badge (1-4)
- CLP Command Center: Position the Dashboard, Solve the Pain
- Group 1: Krista Moses (Alta, Level 2)
- Group 2: Brent Peterson & Matt LeGare (Deer Valley 2, Level 1)
- Show, Don’t Tell: SDI Demo
- Group 3: Craig Guindon (Snowbird, Level 2)
- Group 4: John Paskett (Deer Valley 1, Level 1)
2:55 p.m. – 3:40 p.m. Breakout Session 5 | Assignment on name badge (1-4)
- CLP Command Center: Position the Dashboard, Solve the Pain
- Group 3: Krista Moses (Alta, Level 2)
- Group 4: Brent Peterson & Matt LeGare (Deer Valley 2, Level 1)
- Show, Don’t Tell: SDI Demo
- Group 1: Craig Guindon (Snowbird, Level 2)
- Group 2: John Paskett (Deer Valley 1, Level 1)
3:40 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. Break | Drinks available (Skylight Ballroom, Level 2)
3:45 p.m. – 3:50 p.m. Concluding Remarks | Tim Barlow & Mike Morhardt (Skylight Ballroom, Level 2)
3:50 p.m. – 4:30 p.m. Reset and Rise: The 1% Changes That Create a Breakthrough Year | Scott Robley (Skylight Ballroom)
TRAVEL
All employees are expected to read and follow the Crucial Learning Travel & Expense Policy.
We’ll meet at the Marriott Downtown at City Creek, 75 S W Temple St, Salt Lake City, UT 84101. All attendees are invited to book a hotel room in our event block which closes December 29, 2025.
Book your flight in Concur to arrive any time on Tuesday, January 20, 2026 and depart any time on Friday, January 23, 2026. After you have booked your flight, submit your flight details before October 29, 2025.
Use the event code, “(3011) Sales Kickoff 2026” for any Concur expense reports. Submit one expense report for flight reimbursement and one for travel expenses due no later than February 6, 2026.
Explore the tasty company meals and drinks that will be offered throughout the event. Please contact Amanda Horton if you have any concerns about your dietary restrictions being accommodated.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
DRESS CODE & WEATHER FORECAST
During the event, business casual attire is appropriate. The awards banquet dinner on January 21 has a slightly fancier dress code which means a jacket/button-up shirt for men (tie not required) and a dress, skirt, or dressy slacks for women. Plan to bring a sweater/jacket/coat to the air-conditioned meeting rooms.
WHAT SHOULD I BRING?
Bring your laptop with a charger to take notes and follow along with the training sessions. Don’t forget your Chapstick and lotion to combat the Utah dry and cold air.
HOTEL EARLY CHECK-IN OR LATE CHECK-OUT
Early Check-In: Check-in is at 3:00 p.m. Early check-in is granted by the front desk based on availability. Guests can check in as soon as a room is ready with no additional charge. If you arrive early and a room is not ready, you can check your luggage and wait to be notified when your room is ready.
Late Check-Out: Checkout is at 11 a.m. Late check-out is based on availability for the day of your departure. Check with the front desk on the morning of your departure. If your check-out is Thursday, January 22, you are welcome to store your luggage with the front desk or in our meeting space.
GROUND TRANSPORTATION & PARKING
You are responsible for your own ground transportation to and from the event. We recommend using a rideshare service (Uber/Lyft) to and from the airport. You will not need to rent a vehicle. For details on personal car mileage reimbursement, please review the Expense Report Instructions.
The Marriott has onsite parking available for overnight guests and visitors. Request overnight parking at the front desk when you check in and use your room key to enter/exit the parking garage. Don’t forget to use your room key to exit a final time after checking out. If you are not staying overnight, we will have a full-day parking voucher at the event registration table. You will need a parking pass each time you enter/exit, so grab what you need and return what you don’t use.
SLACK CHANNEL
There is an event Slack channel called #sales-kickoff-2026 which will be used for any announcements, reminders, and helpful links. Explore the Slack channel canvas and bookmarks located at the top of the channel.
WHAT IF I CAN NO LONGER ATTEND OR FEEL SICK?
Please notify your manager and amanda.horton@cruciallearning.com as soon as you know you will no longer be attending. You may be responsible for canceling your own flight and hotel if applicable.
We encourage anyone feeling sick to stay home. If you have had any symptoms that are concerning, or you feel like you are contagious, please seek the guidance of a medical professional and get tested to assure you are safe to be in proximity of others. We will have face masks, hand sanitizer, and individual pain reliever packets onsite for attendees.