Opening or closing keynote
A high-energy 45 to 90-minute experience that helps attendees see their businesses and competitive advantages differently.
Shawna's Signature Keynote
Small Is Your Superpower!
How to Win More Customers in a Shifting Marketplace That Finally Favors You
Your audience doesn't need another marketing expert telling them to post more often, master every new platform, or somehow find an extra 20 hours in their week. They need practical, manageable ways to stand out, build trust, and attract more of the right customers - without the huge budgets and teams of a big corporation. The good news: now is finally their moment!
In her signature keynote based on the best-seller, Small Is Your Superpower!, consumer behaviorist, small business champion, and marketing truth-teller Shawna Suckow shows smaller businesses how to turn their size into their biggest competitive advantage, in a marketplace that finally favors small.
This funny, fast-paced, impactful session gives attendees ideas they can use immediately, even if they don't have a marketing department, a massive budget, or any desire to become internet famous.
Whether your audience includes retailers, manufacturers, wholesalers, service providers, skilled trades, consultants, or other independent businesses, shifting consumer behavior is giving smaller companies new leverage.
Customers today discover businesses and decide whom to trust in entirely new ways. They're increasingly drawn to personality, flexibility, transparency, and real human connection. Smaller businesses are naturally better positioned to offer all four.
Unfortunately, many small businesses still market themselves like miniature versions of big brands. They hide the people behind the business, rely on the same generic claims as their competitors, and focus on looking bigger instead of showing customers why being small is better.
Shawna helps attendees recognize and use the advantages they already have.
Practical, manageable, useful
This is not another "post more on social media" session
Shawna doesn't hand audiences a giant list of marketing tactics they'll never have the time, money, or patience to implement.
She helps them understand what is changing, why familiar marketing strategies aren't working as well as they used to, and what smaller businesses can realistically do about it.
Attendees will discover how to:
- Earn attention without trying to be everywhere
- Build trust in a marketplace filled with skepticism
- Use personality and humanity as competitive advantages
- Explain the problem their business solves, not the symptom
- Create memorable Microstories™ from everyday moments
- Strengthen customer relationships online, in person, and in their communities
- Give customers reasons to choose them even when they aren't the lowest-priced option
What your audience will be able to do
Ideas they can put to work immediately
Recognize how consumers now discover, evaluate, and choose businesses
Identify the opportunities those changes create for smaller brands
Use the advantages of being small to build stronger customer connections
Get better marketing traction without breaking the bank or creating another full-time job
Find everyday moments that can become useful, memorable Microstories™
Give customers clearer reasons to trust, remember, choose, and recommend their business
Perfect for
Audiences ready to stop marketing like mini corporations
Small business and entrepreneur conferences
Chamber of Commerce events
Association meetings and cooperative networks
Main Street and economic-development programs
Marketing and customer-experience tracks
Organizations and industries that see themselves as underdogs
Choose the right format for your event
One message, several ways to deliver it
Conference breakout
A focused 45 to 90-minute session with practical strategies attendees can apply to their own businesses.
Half-day workshop
A deeper, hands-on experience with discussion, exercises, Microstory™ development, and individual application.
Virtual session
An interactive online program for association members, remote teams, and geographically distributed audiences.
On-site training
A customized program for organizations that want their teams to better understand customers, communicate value, and stand out.
The Buyer Insider™ Experience
Not a boring lecture
Shawna doesn't believe an audience should sit quietly while a speaker talks at them for an hour.
Her Buyer Insider™ Experience combines current consumer-behavior insights, audience participation, humor, practical exercises, and strategies people can actually use. And dogs. Lots of dogs.
Attendees don't simply hear good ideas. They work with those ideas during the session and leave knowing what to do next.
The program can be customized around your audience's industries, current challenges, event theme, and desired outcomes.
Built on research, delivered like a conversation
More than 15 years studying buyers
Shawna has spent more than 15 years studying buyers and helping organizations understand what earns attention, builds trust, and influences decisions.
She has delivered programs in 18 countries across five continents and holds the Certified Speaking Professional designation, the highest earned credential in the professional speaking industry.
She is also the author of seven books, including the number-one Amazon bestseller Small Is Your Superpower!
This keynote is grounded in consumer research, real-world examples, and experience working with businesses that don't have unlimited people, time, or money.
What audiences say
The ideas stick after the applause
“I got my degree in Marketing but have been struggling to switch our message from old school 'salesy' marketing to professionally personalize our marketing. Thank you!”Arianna
Independent Auto Repair Shop
NAPA Auto Parts Client Conference
“This session made me think outside the box more and realize that all the stuff we've been doing really isn't much different than any other company out there. We learned how to step it up to make ourselves stand out!”Attendee
South Dakota Telecom Association
Bring the book home with them
Keep the momentum going after the event
Small Is Your Superpower! gives attendees a practical way to continue applying the keynote after the event ends.
Bulk book purchases and on-site book sales may be available. Shawna can also participate in a book signing when the event schedule and location allow.
Frequently asked questions
What meeting planners want to know
What is Small Is Your Superpower! about?
The keynote shows small businesses how to use their size, personality, flexibility, relationships, and human connection as competitive advantages. Attendees learn how changing consumer behavior creates new opportunities for smaller brands.
Who is this keynote designed for?
The session is designed for small business owners, entrepreneurs, sales professionals, independent retailers, service providers, manufacturers, wholesalers, and organizations that support smaller businesses. Attendees don't need a marketing background.
How long is the presentation?
Small Is Your Superpower! can be delivered as a 45 to 90-minute keynote or breakout session. It is also available as a half-day workshop, virtual program, or customized on-site training.
Can Shawna customize the keynote for our industry?
Yes. Shawna can tailor the examples, stories, audience participation, and practical applications around your industry, event theme, member challenges, and desired outcomes.
Is this session based on Shawna's book?
Yes. The keynote is based on Shawna's number-one Amazon bestselling book, Small Is Your Superpower! The presentation stands on its own, so attendees don't need to read the book before the event.
Can we purchase books for attendees?
Yes. Bulk book purchases and attendee packages may be available. On-site sales and book signings can also be discussed as part of the event plan.
Does Shawna offer this session as both a keynote and a workshop?
Yes. Some conferences book the keynote for the full audience and add a smaller breakout session or half-day workshop for attendees who want more time to apply the ideas.
Does Shawna offer discounts for nonprofit or local events?
Discounts may be available for nonprofit organizations worldwide and events within a three-hour drive of Minneapolis. Shawna also considers opportunities such as paid pre-conference workshops, bulk book purchases, book signings, nearby bookings, and fresh photo or video capture.
How do we book Shawna?
Schedule a discovery call to discuss your audience, event goals, location, preferred format, and date. Shawna will help determine whether Small Is Your Superpower! is the right fit.
Your audience doesn't need to become bigger to become more competitive
They need to recognize the advantages they already have and learn how to use them. Bring Small Is Your Superpower! to your next conference, association event, member meeting, or workshop.