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George Colombo has been one of the country's most sought-after speakers on the subject of technology-enabled sales and marketing. His specialty is making technology easy to understand. George concentrates on the real-world application of technology to growing sales, enhancing marketing effectiveness, and building customer relationships. In addition to a busy speaking schedule, George also does extensive television and audio work for a blue-chip client list, several major software companies, and a number of trade associations. George was recently named one of the "Ten Most Influential People" in the history of the Customer Relationship Management industry by that industry's leading trade publication. George's latest book "Capturing Customers.com", is about integrating new technologies-including the Internet-into existing sales and marketing efforts. John Dearlove heads up our Marketing Strategy and Marketing Communication practice. John has strong skills in market research, strategy development, implementation, and measurable ROI and ROA achievements/skills. He has over two decades of experience in integrated marketing, technology, business development and branding disciplines. John is a team leader and productive partner who takes a strategic approach to developing creative solutions that achieve corporate measurable objectives. He is extremely effective at defining and communicating a compelling vision, brand position and business marketing strategy focused on customer needs/behavior that attract/retain high performance associates essential for profitable business growth. John's skills and proven track record include:
Some of John's recent clients are Siemens Building Technologies, Cancer Treatment Centers of America, Comdisco Disaster Recovery, Joseph Abboud Apparel, Motor Coach Industries, Miller & Company, John Crane International, and Quality Dining (Grady's, Papa Vino's, Brueggers Bagels, Burger King, and Chili's). John serves as a regular educator in the sales and marketing disciplines by regularly speaking to groups such as The Executive Committee (TEC) and Executive Resource Network. John is a graduate of the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, with Majors in Marketing, Advertising and Communications. Stuart Harper leads our Sales Management Development practice. Stuart's focus is field implementation of corporate sales strategy by pinpointing how corporate strategy is implemented into the day-to-day activity of the sales force. He assists sales management in uncovering what makes their sales staff consciously competent. Determining why they win so the process can be repeated. Prior to joining the firm, Stuart served as Chief Sales Officer (CSO) for three Fortune 500 firms (The McGraw-Hill Companies, FedEx, and The Stanley Works) and managed international sales and account management teams in excess of 100 associates: Some of the firms Stuart has worked with are: Kraft General Foods, Congressional Quarterly, US Gypsum, US Postal Service, Air France, Ernst & Young, James River Corporation, ITT Corporation, Barclays Business Credit, Allied Signal, Kemper Financial Services, BASF Corporation, Prudential Insurance, Pharmacia, SmithKline Beecham, AT & T, FMC Corporation, Delta Dental Plan, Parker Pen Corporation, Rand McNally, Dow Corning, Boston Scientific Corporation, Ortho Pharmaceutical, Rhone Poulenc Inc., Wells Lamont, Holiday Inn, and OMC Aluminum Boat Group In addition to consulting for the firm, Stuart continues to develop his leadership credentials across North America:
As a major proponent of lifetime learning, Stuart continues to learn and develop through the use of the web and attends numerous seminars conducted by industry leaders. He is in the process of developing a new seminar series called Consciously Competent: Do you know why your sales people win? Stuart has a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration degree with a Major in Marketing and Management from Babson College. He holds certificates in Statistical Process Control and Risk Management from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and University of Pennsylvania respectively. Peter Hybert specializes in developing Training and Performance systems. Peter's key areas of expertise include:
Peter has analyzed, designed and developed training and performance systems for almost every type of business function and process. His clients include several Fortune 500 firms including DaimlerChrysler, Eli Lilly and Company, ExxonMobil, General Motors, GTE, Hewlett Packard, Motorola, SBC/Ameritech, and Verizon. In the professional development arena, Peter is a member of the International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI), the American Society for Quality (ASQ), and the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD). In addition, Peter continues to show industry leadership by his personal efforts:
Peter has Bachelor of Music from Northern Illinois University and his Master of Science in Education, Emphasis in Instructional Design from Northern Illinois University. Klaus Ittner has over twenty-five years of management, marketing, sales, and consulting experience in US, Canadian, and worldwide markets…with over twenty years in business-to-business and thirteen years in high tech. He specializes in helping companies initiate, develop, and expand channel alliance programs to maximize indirect sales revenue and profits. He has developed and managed indirect sales programs and operations since the beginning 1980s. His hybrid professional background in the vendor, partner, client, and consulting domains provides him a wealth of experience in creating winning channel strategies. Combined with his in-depth expertise in program development, Klaus develops customized, channel programs and provides related consulting and support services. These outsourced strategic partnership development strategies and programs are developed for partners, as well as vendors. A huge personal database/rolodex is maintained and used to match potential partners. Klaus also has expertise in deploying CRM systems. Included here are needs analysis, BPM improvements, mapping/gapping, engagement management, and project management. He has also managed teams of deployment consultants. Prior to joining The Taylor Group, Klaus was an Alliance Manager for Candle Corporation, where he established and grew an indirect sales channel of OEM, VAR, and System Integration partners. Previously he managed accounts, partners, and CRM system deployments for Pivotal Corporation and was a Practice Manager at Oracle. Klaus earned his BS degree at the University of Illinois and his MBA from DePaul University. John Klimah supports our Marketing and Sales practice, with a focus on technology-related industries. John's past projects wtih clients have included:
John has extensive experience in producing concise market assessments and business case analyses for new-to-the world solutions, which require both capital infusions and operational process improvements. John employs a strategic approach to developing creative solutions that can sustain a competitive advantage in your marketplace, while surpassing your corporate objectives. He is very effective at developing compelling value propositions, which are based on solid market research and the company's core competencies. John earned his MBA from De Paul University in Chicago, with Majors in both International Marketing and New Product Development. T. Michael Marion Mike Marion began his career with Ralston Purina Company, where he held multiple positions in the field sales organization as Territory Manager, Division Manager, and National Director. Based on his knowledge of the sales processes of the organization, he was asked to direct the development of systems for the entire sales group. After Ralston Purina, Mike implemented systems for SFA vendors. He further developed his skills at leading consulting firms including Cambridge Technology Partners and IBM Global Services. A proven professional, Mike provides clients a unique perspective on the design and implementation of CRM systems, based on experience as a client, vendor, and consultant in a variety of industries. His combined experience in sales and systems enables analysis of business processes and applications design to support business need. His specific expertise is in:
Mike received his BA in Business Administration from St. Ambrose College, and his MBA from Northern Illinois University. Joel Meltzner enjoys a solid background in both the corporate and government spheres. His professional career has included extended periods with Eastern Airlines, the Environmental Protection Agency and American Optical. One of Joel's specialties is in the creation of sales success models that can be used as an interview instrument when hiring new sales people. The use of a sales success interview instrument allows a client to reduce their risk of hiring someone who is not likely to be successful in the selling role. Instead, this instrument can fundamentally affect the quality of a sales force over time. Unlike some off-the-shelf programs in the marketplace, this process is customized to the client's current sales force. It involves a diagnostic step that conducts in-depth interviews with the firm's best sales performers. This diagnostic allows us to create a profile of the skills necessary to be a successful sales performer within both the client's firm and its industry segment. Joel is also an expert at leading team building sessions for your various teams at either the sales team level, sales management level or senior management level. Joel received both his BA and MA in Management and Organizational Behavior at the University of Miami. Bill Mountin is responsible for our Information Technology (IT) Project Management Practice when we get called upon to manage the installation of large software systems. Included here are Customer Relationship Management (CRM) systems from Bann, J. D. Edwards, Oracle, Onyx, PeopleSoft, SalesLogix, SAP, and Siebel Systems. Prior to joining the firm, Bill completed a successful career in the consulting and corporate spheres, while working on large software installations at Divine Inc., Price Waterhouse Coopers, Rockwell International (Allen Bradley Div.), Akzo Nobel, and Whitman Hart/march First. Clients include Fortune 500 firms including: Ball Seed, DaimlerChrysler, Medtronic/Minimed, Rayovac, Siemens, Stepan Chemical, Tuthill Corporation, and Velsicol Chemical Corporation. Bill's key areas of expertise include:
Bill has his Bachelor in Business Administration degree in both Accounting and Finance from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) degree in Information Systems from Marquette University. Steven Osborne possesses a unique combination of information systems skills, sales and presentation expertise, and the business savvy that comes from successfully founding and growing two software companies. The first company that Mr. Osborne founded was a CRM software provider. Steven has personally implemented scores of enterprise-wide CRM systems for companies of all sizes. His balanced vision of both IT and sales positions his clients to achieve the maximum ROI from their automation efforts. One of his greatest contributions to any project is his ability to manage vendor relationships with unparalleled effectiveness. Steven's ability to understand, at all levels, the information technology, process improvement, sales and sales management dynamics has been invaluable to his clients when implementing enterprise-selling systems. Steven assists his clients in understanding customers, markets, how and why companies purchase what they purchase, and how to position your sales team for their ultimate success. Mr. Osborne provides unique perspectives, strategies and highly effective presentation tactics that have proven worth their weight in gold to his clients in securing new business. The Win/Loss Analysis process, led by Mr. Osborne, clearly improves the sales teams message, focus, and ability to win in the tightly contested competitive presentations. Steven is a frequent keynote and session speaker at industry conferences focusing on sales improvement and knowledge-based selling. Steven is a graduate of Miami University and Embry Riddle Aeronautical University. Elizabeth Piper has a long and established career as a global learning specialist. Her expertise was honed as a leader with Andersen's Center for Learning. She led teams in a variety of areas - strategic learning consulting, curriculum planning and the development of training and on-the-job learning environments to support knowledge transfer and performance enhancement. Elizabeth has a broad scope of professional experiences ranging from the development of curriculum plans in Asia, Canada, and the United States to the development of courses and learning interventions in a variety of technical and non-technical areas. These have included programs on system design, tax methodology, project management, technical tax, people development, financial education, public health and education. Elizabeth's specialty is in analyzing, designing and implementing performance enhancement solutions. Her expertise has assisted professionals at organizations such as Motorola, Nations Bank, BellSouth, Landis and Gyr Powers, Hilton International and Marriott. Elizabeth is an active presenter with professional organizations, higher education programs, and national conferences. She is a longstanding active member of the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD), The Organizational Development Network, and the International Society for Performance and Instruction (ISPI). Elizabeth was also selected as a reviewer of training products - for the annual awards for Outstanding Learning Interventions. She is a member of the Business Advisory Council for Illinois School District 41. Beth holds an M.S. in instructional technology from Northern Illinois University and a B.S. in education from Marygrove College. Paul Sheehan is the Managing Partner in our Chicago office. Paul learned the intricacies of large sales force and complex selling systems during his extended career with the Xerox Corporation. While with Xerox, Paul's career included assignments as a Sales Representative, Government Representative, and Major Account Representative. Before joining the firm, Paul also served as Manager of Sales Training for Siemens Building Technologies. Paul's specialty is in improving a client's processes in the core business processes of marketing, sales and customer service. He has helped a large number of blue chip clients significantly grow their businesses. In addition to consulting for the firm, Paul continues to develop his credentials as an instructor and leader across North America.
Paul has been invited to speak by such diverse groups as The Conference Board, Canadian Professional Sales Association and Sales and Marketing Management's magazine annual Power Selling forum. Paul earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Toronto and his Masters of Business Administration at the University of Western Ontario. Bernie Silverman has been on both the supplier and client sides of the direct marketing and marketing research industries for over 20 years. He specializes in providing marketing research to companies that use direct and database marketing to consumers and other businesses. Bernie is skilled in both qualitative and quantitative research techniques. He has personally conducted over 1,000 focus groups with both consumers and business professionals while having taught the modeling course for the Chicago Association of Direct Marketing. Bernie served as Assistant Vice President of Corporate Research at the Signature Group (now GE Financial Assurance), where he tailored traditional marketing research techniques to the study of direct-marketed products. He later became Vice President of Research and Analysis at Customer Development Corporation, one of the largest database direct marketing agencies, where he managed both the modeling of response and profitability and consumer research. Later Bernie moved to Zurich Direct where he was the database marketing research officer. Most recently Bernie was Vice President of Research at Market USA, one of the ten largest telemarketing companies in the nation. In addition to 20+ years of industry experience, Bernie has been an adjunct professor in the MBA program at Benedictine University since 1980 where he teaches statistics, marketing research, and direct marketing to graduate students. In addition, he founded The Journal of Direct Marketing Research, the first academic direct marketing journal, and later merged it with the DMA's Journal of Direct Marketing. He has published 22 academic articles in various areas of psychology, marketing and statistics, and is a registered psychologist in the State of Illinois. Bernie holds a Ph.D. in social psychology from Michigan State University. |
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