Matt James

LEADERSHIP SNAPSHOT: Hired away from previous employer to step into sales leadership role managing team of 7 sales engineers, business development managers, and application development engineers tasked with generating $45 million in annual revenue. Direct sales growth through coaching team on strategic planning, account reviews, best-in-class sales tactics, funnel management, channel management, negotiations, post-sale follow up, and annual business reviews. Set performance goals and annual budgets, manage P&L, ensure brand alignment, and forecast revenue growth; report to C-suite and board.

• Refocused sales team approach to shift attention to “hunting” versus farming to tee up landing two new $1+ million accounts; leveraged sales / management training to develop team skill sets and formalize business growth knowledge.

• Beat annual sales targets by 5-12% by establishing routine account reviews with buyers and maintaining robust pipeline to provide steady stream of qualified opportunities.

• Repaired strained key account relationships representing 35% business unit revenue; reinforced personal connections to existing contacts, built new relationships, and applied company product solutions to different client company needs.

Stabilized sales at multiple $1 million annual contracts while solidifying long-standing relationships by improving forecast accuracy, on time in full (OTIF) order delivery, and manufacturing efficiency.

CAREER SNAPSHOT: Recruited as subject matter expert to leverage sales leadership into rapidly infuse company with revenue growth. Called on Pacific NW manufacturers and OEMs within consumer products, medical, aerospace, oil/gas, sporting goods, defense and industrial markets. Negotiated contracts, set up long-term incentives with buyers and built relationships with engineering departments.

• Increased pipeline from $0 to $3 million within first 6 months by leveraging my relationships with key manufacturers and OEM’s, specifically in the aerospace and semiconductor industries.

• Improved backlog from $250,000 to >$3 million by establishing routine account reviews with all buyers and maintaining robust pipeline.

• Broke open ground to onboarding 3 new Fortune 500 clients by leveraging existing networks to build new relationships and by gaining better understanding of potential company product applications to different departments.

• Cemented company position and reputation as key preferred supplier within PNW by identifying and capitalizing on company’s expertise which differentiated itself in marketplace.

CAREER SNAPSHOT: Stepped into hybrid role that includes Tacoma division’s executive management team responsibilities; tapped by leadership to use regional industrial market knowledge and expertise to build customer relationships within custom plastics industry. Deliver year-over-year growth, develop forecasts, and budget annual revenue within custom industry market segment. Set sales strategy pace in alignment with corporate goals, supervise staff, oversee P&L, and keepkey performance indicators on track.

• Key member of senior leadership team that helped align all employees with customer-centric, ease of doing business, comprehensive sales approach.

• Positioned company to capture $2 million in new revenue by identifying then capitalizing on additional application of company products to key markets and industries within region.

• Boosted number of profitable launches 25% in 1 year by using internal selling training program to encourage engineering and operations teams to accept challenging opportunities that resulted in expanded company offerings.

• Won 2nd largest contract in company history from previously unattainable customer; trained / educated purchasing and operations teams to open up to other vendors to improve company’s ability to submit competitive bids.

• Countered market share losses with revenue growth, market share gains, and rise in profitability; focused organization on technical capabilities to engage customers lacking engineering teams.

CAREER SNAPSHOT: Specifically requested, as subject matter expert, to leverage sales leadership into rapidly infuse company with revenue growth. Called on clients within OR, WA, UT, BC, and AB territories; uncovered potential sales opportunities and developed proposals that enable company products to get specified into customer manufacturing. Negotiated contracts, set up relationships with distributors and purchasing departments, and addressed quality problems as needed by working with engineers to devise solutions to issues.

• Increased sales 12% within first 9 months by transforming previously untapped market into lucrative producer; introduced company as preferred competitor in marketplace that was originally dominated by single supplier.

• Achieved 16 account visits per week despite having to cover largest territory out of all company representatives; carefully planned out site visits in geographic order to optimize time out in field.

• Gained 75% more contacts at large multi-national corporate accounts by leveraging existing networks to build new relationships or gain better understanding of potential company product applications to different departments.

• Positioned company to capture $500,000 in new revenues by identifying then capitalizing on additional application of company products to oil / gas sector; leveraged critical product knowledge about how products are used in new industries.

CAREER SNAPSHOT: Brought large book of business to company. Transformed disorganized department into streamlined sales culture; provide training and mentoring to staff, developed proactive business approach including setting up performance goals, and reviewed entire system to align sales activities with company revenue goals. Implemented accurate forecasting to drive improvements in customer interactions.

• Delivered $750,000 in annual revenues after successfully carrying over existing customer base following closure of previous employer; retained 75% of customer base and 55% of revenue after transition.

• Increased customer base 15% within 1 year by shattering traditional company concepts of market definitions; introduced company services to new industry sectors as well as untapped geographic territories.

• Spearheaded development of CRM tools and plug-ins to provide better client data management in order to increase sales team’s ability to mine for sales opportunities.

• Created industry-competitive compensation packages that attracted key industry talent; conducted industry-wide survey to create attractive base rates that was then coupled with incentives.

• Reorganized existing positions to be in better alignment with employee skill strengths and with company’s new sales-centric culture / structure.