OKPSA History
We were founded in 2013 to bring together professionals driving revenue and growth and want tips they can apply right away.
The spark came from attending a Tampa Bay Sales Association luncheon and realizing Oklahoma did not have an equivalent community where sales leaders, business owners, and growth-focused professionals could learn from each other and exchange ideas. Rather than waiting for one to
appear, we built it ourselves.
Our earliest gatherings were informal and intentionally practical. We met in a small private room at Rococo in Northpark Mall with a shared
belief that we can help each other grow with honest conversations and shared experiences.
Every speaker was encouraged to share how they had achieved something. That how-to focus quickly became the foundation for our community and a key reason people kept coming back. People showed up, stayed late, and asked questions well beyond the scheduled time.
As attendance grew, so did the community. What began as a small gathering evolved into a trusted place for professionals to connect, learn, and challenge one another. Over time, OKPSA evolved into a consistent monthly gathering with both members and non-members, along with additional events throughout the year. While the format has matured, our original mission remains intact: to create a space where people can talk honestly about growing their businesses, building relationships, and learn what works in the real world.
A Note From Our President
Hello, I’m Mike Crandall.
When I launched my business, Sandler Custom Growth Solutions, in Oklahoma City, I was focused on becoming the best leader, trainer, and business owner I could be. Early on, I realized something that would profoundly shape the direction of my career: growth and success accelerate when we surround ourselves with motivated, success-minded professionals.
At the time, Oklahoma had countless networking groups and industry organizations, but there was no dedicated space for sales professionals, business development leaders, fundraising professionals, and professionals focused on revenue growth and donor engagement strategies to learn from one another on a deeper level. Too many professional environments felt transactional, surface-level, or centered around short-term visibility rather than long-term relationships and development.
In 2013, I gathered a group of respected professionals, business owners, and leaders who shared the belief that Oklahoma needed something more intentional. Together, we launched the Oklahoma Professional Sales Association with the goal of creating a professional community where people could exchange practical insight, build meaningful relationships, strengthen leadership skills, and continue sharpening their craft alongside others who take growth seriously.
What has continued to inspire me over the years is witnessing the caliber of people who keep walking into the room. Professionals from different industries, generations, backgrounds, and experiences consistently come together with a willingness to learn, contribute, encourage one another, and invest in relationships that continue far beyond a single event.
Whether you attend your first luncheon, one of our OKC professional workshops, a happy hour, or a networking event, my hope is that you leave with something meaningful: a new connection, a fresh perspective, a valuable lesson, or simply the motivation to continue pursuing progress at a higher level.
Please let me know how I can support you next.
Mike Crandall
Founder, Oklahoma Professional Sales Association
Our Mission
Oklahoma’s association for revenue focused professionals. We unite sales leaders, entrepreneurs, and fundraisers around practical learning, meaningful relationships, and real business growth.Oklahoma’s association for revenue focused professionals. We unite sales leaders, entrepreneurs, and fundraisers around practical learning, meaningful relationships, and real business growth.
PRACTICAL REAL-WORLD LEARNING
We value actionable insight that
can be applied immediately. We prioritize speakers and conversations that focus on how things actually work, not theory, buzzwords, or surface-level inspiration.
CREDIBILITY AND EXPERIENCE
We believe learning is strongest when it comes from people who have done the work. Real experience, earned perspective, and honest lessons matter more than polished presentations.
GROWTH MINDSET
We believe professionals should always be learning, adapting, and improving. We value curiosity, accountability, and the willingness to do the hard work required for sustainable growth.
What We Do
We bring people together around sales-driven, real-world conversations that focus on revenue growth across for-profit and nonprofit organizations.. Our core programming centers on monthly luncheons that feature experienced speakers who share how they have navigated challenges, built teams, and driven results through sales, fundraising and growth-focus strategies. The emphasis is always on usable insight, rather than theory or self-promotion.
We intentionally design our events to be accessible and valuable to a wide range of professionals who influence revenue, even if they do not identify as traditional salespeople. Business owners, sales leaders, individual contributors, nonprofit leaders, fundraising professionals, students, and educators get to share what actually works and meet people who are serious about growth.
By bringing together for-profit and nonprofit perspectives, we’re facilitating conversations and connections that do not happen in more formal or transactional networking environments.
We also serve as a connector within the broader Oklahoma business community. Our events create space for sales leaders and professionals driving revenue and growth to meet emerging talent, for students to gain exposure to real-world expectations, and for professionals to build relationships they can trust. Enduring value comes from the conversations that continue long after each event ends, ideally leading to collaboration, mentorship, and measurable growth.
