Sarano Kelley

Sarano Kelley grew up in a gang-infested neighborhood in Brownsville, New York, and became a Vassar graduate who was earning $400,000 as a stockbroker on Wall Street by the time he was 23. He’s a well-respected African-American motivational speaker who addresses 50,000 people annually and served as media coach for President Clinton’s White House Fellows.

He founded TheCoachingProgram.com, which is expected within the next two years to do $50 million in sales, offering coaching based on the principles of his first book, The Game, which is published by the Jodere Group and distributed in the United States by Hay House.

Sarano Kelley is the Founder and Chairman of The Center for Excellence, a communication consulting company that specializes in advanced communication skills training.

During high school, Mr. Kelley spent several summers as a legal intern for the City of New York. As a senior, at age 15, he was a National Legal Mock Trial Champion in the New York Federal Court System. He entered Vassar College at 16 years of age where he majored in drama and economics.

He began his career on Wall Street at the age of 20 and worked for the wealthiest investment banker in the country, one of Forbes 400 wealthiest people.

Thereafter, Sarano became a protege of the Lehman Brothers cold calling system creator, a producer who made one million dollars in commission in one month, and was frequently written up in the Wall Street Journal.

He then joined Lehman Brothers and studied under the firm’s top producer, who at the height of the market generated 20 million dollars in commission, and is featured in the highly regarded book, “10 Greatest Salesmen.” Mr. Kelley produced approximately $400,000 in commission his first full year with Lehman Brothers. During this time, he trained psychiatrists, psychologists, and other medical professionals in advanced communication and problem resolution skills.

He joined one of the largest and oldest communication skills training companies in the country and became an advisor to senior management and top sales producers of Fortune 500 companies. During this time, he trained corporate spokespersons for their appearances on CNN, 20/20 and 60 Minutes, and was the youngest and most successful salesman in the company’s 25 year history. Kelley tripled his production each year and generated close to one million dollars in sales during his last year with the company, almost one twelfth of the firm’s total revenue that year.

The president of Kidder Peabody’s Retail Division recruited Kelley to spearhead the creation of a client-focused sales culture, and was a communications coach and advisor to Kidder Peabody’s senior management. As a result, Kidder evolved into one of the most productive and profitable sales forces on Wall Street.

After Kidder Peabody merged with PaineWebber, Sarano became Corporate Vice President and Manager of Professional Education and Management Development for the combined firms. Mr. Kelley also served as media skills coach to President Clinton’s White House Fellows.

Currently, he is the corporate spokesperson for a 50 billion dollar financial institution, and is frequently the Keynote and Motivational speaker for major industry conferences. Institutional Investor is currently in the process of acquiring the rights to publish Sarano’s book Selling from the Center: How to Double Your Business While Tripling Your Enjoyment.