Sami Sallinen
Former undercover police officer. Now Finland's leading negotiation coach.
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Sami Sallinen’s career began in the Helsinki Police Department’s narcotics unit and continued through violent crime investigations, homicide department and eventually the Finnish Security Intelligence Service. Along the way, he interrogated hundreds of criminals, conducted joint operations with foreign law enforcement and intelligence agencies across Europe, and became one of Finland’s first officers trained for international undercover operations.
Those years taught one lesson above all others: every encounter is energy. The emotional state you bring into a room immediately affects how the other person perceives you — and whether they choose to trust you or resist you.
This insight became the foundation of the Tactical Negotiation® method, which Sami has been teaching to thousands of professionals. The same skills that work in police interrogations and undercover operations work equally well in sales meetings, boardroom negotiations and difficult workplace conversations.
"The elements of building trust and influence are the same, whether you're negotiating a drug shipment with a Russian gangster or a partnership deal in a Helsinki conference room."
Services
Corporate training
Sami delivers customised training programmes for sales teams, negotiators, leaders and customer-facing professionals. All training is built on the Tactical Negotiation® method and includes practical exercises based on participants’ real-world situations. Available in Finnish and English, on-site or remotely.
Three core programmes:
Sales & Negotiation Training — For teams that want to close more deals, read customers better and handle objections with confidence.
Difficult Encounters — For teams that face aggressive customers, escalating conflicts or threatening situations. Especially relevant for customer service, healthcare and security professionals.
Constructive Interaction — For organisations that want to build stronger collaboration, reduce misunderstandings and develop a culture of trust.
Keynote speaking
Sami is a sought-after keynote speaker at corporate events, conferences and seminars. His talks combine gripping real-life stories from undercover operations with immediately applicable insights about human behaviour. Typical duration: 15–45 minutes.
Popular topics: negotiation skills, body language, managing difficult encounters, security and human behaviour.
By numbers
30+ years of experience in the most demanding interpersonal situations | 97.8% of participants recommend the training | 6 non-fiction books on human behaviour | 50+ media appearances in Finland’s leading outlets | Tactical Negotiation® — proprietary method developed from undercover police work
Books
Undercover — Infiltrating the Criminal World (Docendo, 2026) The story of Finland’s first international undercover police officer. Available in Finnish.
Kehokoodi — Body Language Guide (BoD, 2025) Finland’s bestselling guide to reading body language and nonverbal communication. Available in Finnish.
Angry Mind — Targeting and Hate Speech (Docendo, 2024, with Heidi Holmavuo) How to understand and manage aggressive behaviour, targeting and online harassment. Available in Finnish.
Fear and Courage (Otava, 2022) How to overcome your fears and turn them into strengths. Available in Finnish and as audiobook.
Tactical Negotiation — Managing Difficult Encounters (Otava, 2021, with Harri Gustafsberg) Practical tools for difficult negotiation situations. Available in Finnish and as audiobook.
Security & Conflict Resolution
In addition to coaching, Sami leads Conflict Control — a security and conflict resolution firm that handles threat assessments, investigations, personal security and crisis management. The same principles that drive the training programmes drive the operational work: understand the person, build trust where possible, set clear boundaries where necessary.
Get in touch
For training enquiries and keynote bookings:
info@kehokoodi.fi +358 45 170 1717
Media enquiries:
Daniela Gustafsson
info@kehokoodi.fi