Lou McErlean BizDev Success Stories as of 05_2016

Lou McErlean ph: 972-571-0448 e: [email protected]

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My name is Lou McErlean, and I am a BizDev/Sales/Marketing professional with an exceptional track record of generating revenues. This document describes success stories I’ve engineered over my career to demonstrate my unique value proposition: I not only generate revenue and achieve quota... I change business trajectories and destinies of my employers. The content is broken out by the three primary skills which make me such a successful revenue generator, as follows:

1) STRATEGIC OBSERVER

I realize that making sales is an incredibly nuanced practice and there is no shortage of unexpected obstacles to trip you up along the way to making a sale. So I stay alert and attuned to major factors, like developments affecting the prospect’s industry, to minor details, like their body language during a presentation. Example success stories:

Developed targeting strategy resulting in sales increase of 1,250% (Page 2)

Created a completely new revenue stream contributing to $3.25MM in new revenues (Page 3)

Adjusted account management strategy to make quota 7 out of 8 quarters (Page 4)

Conceived new product to generate $ millions (Page 5)

2) EMPATHETIC COMMUNICATOR I’m an expert at taking complex or not easily understood concepts and offerings and translating them into readily understood value propositions, making it easy for prospects and clients to relate to and see the value in, leading to making a commitment. Example success stories:

Re-Positioned offering's pricing model to increase deal size by 300% (Page 6)

Packaged offerings to increased average $ revenue per customer by 766% (Page 7)

Created unique value proposition to capture 20% more sales (Page 8)

3) RELENTLESS PERSUADER Once I see a fit between a prospect’s or client’s need and the product or service I represent, I’m determined to get that person to share my vision of how much better his or her life and company will be after partnering with me and my organization. Example success stories:

Generated more engagements with an existing key account by 9% (Page 9)

Created market-wide awareness of new offering within 3 days (Page 10)

Resurrected a dead deal AND made it 74% more profitable (Page 11)

Persuaded a prospect to invest $1MM in a new marketing technology (Page 12)


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SUCCESS STORY: Effectively Targeting a Vertical = Changing a Company’s Destiny SITUATION: At New Media Gateway, after one month on the job as a sales representative, the CEO approached me and asked if I would head a new division which focused on the Travel/Hospitality Destination Marketing (DMO) Industry. At the time, the company had only 2 customers and $400,000 in annual revenues, which represented a mere 2% of overall company volume. SOLUTION: After analyzing the Destination Marketing Industry, I discovered that organizations were more fraternal than competitive because business and leisure travel rotates and is cyclical rather than being a one-time choice between “A” and “B”. This meant two key things: First, they were collaborative regarding their sales and marketing strategies and tactics because what was good for one, was good for all. Second, it meant that organizations followed industry leaders VERY closely… Whatever the “800 pound gorilla” was doing, the other gorillas wanted to do also. ACTION: I developed and executed a BizDev plan which: 1. Packaged an array of offerings which included products like a CRM, CMS, MAP, and Workflow

Management Tool, as well as services like Website and mobile design, SEO/SEM, apps, and the like, and positioned it as a holistic, industry-specific solution termed “The Destination Business System”.

2. Targeted the largest organizations within key Travel/Hospitality sub-verticals, including: a. The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, the largest DMO in the world. b. Caesar’s Entertainment, the largest gaming corporation on the planet. c. Gaylord Hotels, the largest mega resort in North America.

3. Created a word-of-mouth/referral demand-gen program, where clients became avid advocates, appearing on video testimonials, bringing prospects by event booths, and promoting us at internal industry events.

RESULTS (within 5 years’ time):

Increased number of customers from 2 to 40.

Increased annually recurring revenues from $400,000 to $5,000,000.

Enabled company stakeholders to sell primary assets to largest competitor.


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SUCCESS STORY: Identifying and Developing a New Revenue Stream SITUATION: As a destination marketer (DMO), the Dallas Convention and Visitors Bureau (DCVB) functions as “the marketing arm” of the city/region, responsible for bringing business and leisure travel to Dallas. Marketing a destination effectively is a monumental and expensive endeavor, and the DCVB needed to generate new revenues to support marketing/sales efforts. SOLUTION: In researching the current revenue generation model, I discovered the focus was on those organizations which were already familiar with the business benefits of business and leisure travel, like hotels, restaurants and attractions. But these organizations are just a fraction of the overall business community in Dallas, and since business and leisure travel benefits ALL area businesses, I realized that I needed to demonstrate that value to non-Hospitality businesses, to garner their support for the DCVB. ACTION: I developed a business plan, value proposition, and pitch to convince non-Hospitality businesses that the DCVB’s success in bringing business and leisure travel to Dallas was important to THEM, not just transient-oriented businesses. The centerpeice of the endeavor was a positioning document designed to tell the DCVB’s story so that everyone could understand and value it. Once developed, an outreach commenced which included exclusive meetings with business community influencers to help advocate. RESULTS:

Created a completely new revenue stream, and the first-of-its-kind in the DMO industry.

Engaged with six area Fortune 1000 companies representing over $5B in revenues, selling sponsorships to BB&T, ClubCorp, Dr Pepper, JC Penney, JonesLangLaSalle, and MoneyGram.

Helped generate $1.1 million in cash and $2.25 million in in-kind to offset costs of conducting an event called “The Super Bowl of Meetings” (American Society of Association Executives’ Annual Meeting, attended by over 6,000 association leaders and meeting planners), which is forecasted to generate tens of millions of dollars in economic impact from future meetings booked in Dallas.

Positioning/Story Document Executive / Influencer Event Invitation


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SUCCESS STORY: Adjusting Account Management Strategy to Make Quota Consistently SITUATION: Bristol-Myers Products’ product line included over 20 brands and 40 0 SKUs and salespeople were distributing promotional dollars evenly across the lines, resulting in difficulty in making make their quotas. SOLUTION: In researching sales history with my top retail customers, I discovered that about 80% of all company sales came from just 3 brands… Ban, Excedrin, and Theragran. ACTION: Created a “heavy-hitter” marketing and sales focus with my retail customers to concentrate advertising and promotional efforts on the “Big 3 Brands”. RESULTS:

Achieved quota 7 out of 8 quarters (tied for best in company, nationwide).

Strategy was later adopted as national sales platform.


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SUCCESS STORY: Conceiving A New Product Potentially Worth $$$ Millions SITUATION: Host Communications struck a representation agreement with “the voice of High School sports”, The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), which functions in the High School world similarly to how the NCAA functions in the Collegiate world. Unfortunately, unlike the NCAA, the NFHS conducted ZERO national athletic events, and therefore had little to attract prospective marketers by way of sporting event sponsorship. As the governing body of High School Sports, NFHS had the ability and authority to create and conduct national championship events. But it had never done so previously because no workable/acceptable format had ever been conceived. SOLUTION: Knowing that hundreds of U.S. corporations were active in sports sponsorships, I realized that creating a national championship around High School Basketball would be a potential multi-million dollar enterprise. ACTION: I researched the situation to understand why HS basketball national championship proposals had been shot down in the past, and learned that there were three primary obstacles which included concerns among NFHS and its member State High School Association Members over:

1. A ranking system to determine how teams would be seeded. 2. Competitive fairness (i.e. California State Champ vs. Vermont State Champ). 3. Potential negative impact of event on students’ studies due to prolonged involvement.

The concept I developed:

1. Leveraged the USA Today ratings as a credible resource by which to seed teams. 2. Consisted of a four region format (NE, SE, SW, NW) to enhance competitive fairness and

limit number of teams involved in post-season athletic play.

After presenting the concept to NFHS staff, Bob Kanaby, the NFHS Executive Director at the time, declared (verbatim): “Oh my gosh… We could make that work!” RESULTS:

Conceived a new, potentially multi-million dollar enterprise.

While the concept never came to fruition because Host decided to focus on amateur events (i.e. 3-on-3 basketball tournaments), my championship concept was the first (and only) to be deemed workable by the NFHS and thus could’ve been developed.

https://www.nfhs.org/


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SUCCESS STORY: Effectively Pricing and Selling an Offering Based on Value, not Cost

SITUATION: Reap Marketing is a boutique digital agency specializing in eCommerce Conversion Rate Optimization. The primary offering was A/B and multivariate testing services to help clients increase order volume, decrease cart abandonment, and the like. Prior to my arrival as BizDev Director, Reap priced its testing offerings based on staff person hours required to complete the work. SOLUTION: Recognizing that past Reap engagements had delivered significant increases for other eCommerce clients, I realized that Reap could increase its revenues of engagements by charging based on the value delivered, versus the cost of execution. ACTION: After creating a 3-tiered offering structure, I created presentation templates which allowed us to present our offerings based on the prospect’s projected ROI, rather than their out-of-pocket expenditures. We would get several data points from what prospects were doing currently, plug them into our calculations, and then make projections based on like engagements. RESULTS:

Closed three new engagements within first three months.

Increased the pipeline by 800%.

Created/Sold company’s first ever enterprise-level offering, increasing deal size by 300%.


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SUCCESS STORY: Packaging & Positioning Offerings for Maximum Revenue per Engagement SITUATION: At New Media Gateway, I was selling to Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs) which were responsible for bringing business (meetings, conventions, and exhibitions) and leisure travel (tourists, vacationers, and the like) to their destinations. The primary offering was a CRM tool specific to the industry. SOLUTION: I researched and studied DMOs and discovered that they had needs far beyond the auspices of customer relationship management, which “holds the information”. DMOs need robust marketing and sales endeavors to market their destinations to various constituencies (meeting planners, tour operators, consumers, and area stakeholders). So in addition to the CRM, they needed tools to promote their destinations, to “leverage the information”. ACTION: I developed and executed a BizDev plan which: 1. Packaged an array of offerings which included SaaS products like the CRM, CMS, MAP, and

Workflow Management Tool, as well as services like Website and mobile design, SEO/SEM, apps, and the like, and positioned it as a holistic, industry-specific solution termed “The Destination Business System” (DBS).

2. Developed a positioning campaign and sales pitch which focused on the DMO’s: a. Pain/Business Issues caused by having disparate solutions and providers. b. Benefits/Vision of working with a single provider in an integrated offering environment.

RESULTS:

Increased average $ revenue per customer by 766%.

Increased annually recurring revenues from $400,000 to $5,000,000.

This solution set became the DMO industry standard still being used today.

The below are screen shots from the video/presentation we used to position our DBS offering. The “silo” objects in screens 1-3 depict the current, disparate tools/applications/systems DMO staff use to communicate, market, and sell destinations. Screen 4 depicts the integrated structure of the DBS.

1) Tools/Systems don’t talk to each other

2) DMO staff have to explain mission to many providers

3) Current situation costs $$$ in lost productivity

4) Our solution integrates departments & systems


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SUCCESS STORY: Effectively Positioning an Offering to Capture More Sales SITUATION: One of Host Communications’ key offerings, the Southeastern Conference Corporate Partnership, was underselling with 3 of 8 (38%) sponsor categories vacant. The rights holder (SEC) was unhappy, and Host was not maximizing revenues. SOLUTION: I observed that in our collateral material and sales presentations, we were positioning the sponsorship as a media advertising package e.g. radio and print, rather than as an affinity marketing opportunity. When presented to prospective sponsors, they evaluated it on a cost-per-measure, commodity basis, and since there were plenty of other media packages with more cost-effective CPMs, we were losing frequently. ACTION: Recognizing that we weren’t focusing on the top benefit, the ability for sponsors to leverage SEC consumer passion, I re-positioned the opportunity more effectively as an affinity marketing platform rather than an advertising program. To differentiate from media-based packages, I developed a clever way to instantly capture prospects’ attention and get them to visualize the value in our program. I did this by showing the below image to prospective sponsors, and asking the following: “Sir/Madame... Our platform delivers consumers who would seriously consider buying this product. How do you think they’ll feel about your brand if you market through us to their intense affinity?” RESULTS:

The remaining three sponsorship categories were filled in 75 days.

Partners began using the SEC marks more in their marketing efforts, pleasing the rights holder.

Host was able to increase the fee for sponsorships by 20% because of heightened demand.


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SUCCESS STORY: Generating New Revenues within an Existing Account SITUATION: As is the case with many service provider-client relationships, Astadia’s relationship with HP was a good news/bad news proposition. The good news was that there was a steady stream of business based on original/historical engagements where HP saw Astadia as a valued partner and provider. The bad news was that HP contacts had a limited, fixed view on Astadia and its capabilities, preventing the expansion of the relationship via other engagements, thus limiting revenue potential. SOLUTION: The key was to get HP contacts, both existing and desired who were located in multiple offices across the globe, to view Astadia as a capable, competent provider of services in other areas. ACTION: I developed a two-phased approach to stimulate multiple dialogs where Astadia could articulate its full scope of capabilities to HP contacts. In Phase I, we conducted “coaching calls” with solid contacts so we could get their counsel and assistance in securing visits with other HP staff. In Phase II, we created a “Top HP Business Challenges” document which was sent to HP contacts as a conversation starter. Rather than take a “here’s what WE do” approach, we positioned it as a “here’s what YOU said you need” proposition. RESULTS:

Increased number of engagements vs. year prior by 9%.

Sold new UX engagement to enhance HP’s internal quoting tool experience, which gave Astadia high-profile exposure among multiple departments with which we weren’t engaged.

Extended terms of multiple renewal engagements between 2X and 4X in duration (this was a byproduct of reaching out to and visiting with current contacts).


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SUCCESS STORY: Creating Instant Demand for a New Offering

SITUATION: MCD Communications was a pioneer of video email. Despite having a new and compelling marketing tool, they were struggling to sell their offering because there was no awareness of this new medium in the marketplace. SOLUTION: Understanding that, as with all new products and services, there is a limited window of opportunity to capitalize on being the first to market, I recognized the importance of creating exposure for the offering on a broad scale… We needed to “get the word out” to a large audience, and do it quickly. ACTION: I researched organizations, thought leaders, and influencers within the DFW-area business community and discovered that the Dallas Morning News newspaper had widespread circulation and a respected Business writer, Alan Goldstein, who published a weekly column on technology. We created and sent a video email to Alan which impressed him so much, he dedicated his column to the video message we sent him, posting a link to video within the article. RESULTS:

Generated 1,500+ views of video email link within first 3 days.

Created instant awareness of new offering among thousands of DFW-area prospects.

Secured dozens of clients including American Airlines Center, HP, and Nokia.


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SUCCESS STORY: Resurrecting a Dead Deal and Making it 74% More Profitable

SITUATION: A deal to sell a $180,000 North Carolina High School (NCHS) Championship Event media package to Wendy’s agency was stalled. The agency stated that they needed more day-to-day exposure to consumers in addition to the several weeks they would get via media vehicles for the sports events. SOLUTION: Upon analyzing the capabilities and needs of the organizations involved, I realized we could create a win-win-win situation by capitalizing on the ability of each, while also delivering benefits they each sought:

Wendy’s Agency: As a marketer/prospective sponsor, they had money to spend, but lacked a method to reach NC-based consumers on a consistent, multi-month basis.

NCHSAA: As the authoritative body to 322 High Schools throughout the State of North Carolina, they needed sponsors to support the championship events they conducted.

NC High Schools: As a constituency comprised of students, family, staff, sans, and community members, each HS had access to hundreds of thousands of consumers via events they conducted throughout the fall, winter, and spring. For these events, each HS was using and paying for the generic, “Admit One” tickets, so they needed to save money.

ACTION: Using NCHSAA as the distribution conduit, designed the “Wendy’s NC High School Sports Ticket” and delivered 4,000,000 of them to member high schools, free of charge. RESULTS:

Secured original $180,000 deal.

Secured an additional $1,495,000 for the ticket promotion.

Increased the deal value by 800%.

Increased revenues by 74%.


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SUCCESS STORY: Persuading a Prospect to Invest $1MM in New Marketing Technology SITUATION: In the 1990’s, The Related Companies, the largest owner of luxury residential rental properties in New York, was developing out two major mixed-use projects: Time Warner Center in New York City, and CityPlace in West Palm Beach. These properties included office, retail, and residential space which needed to be leased out, but both projects at the time were merely “holes in the ground”. Salespeople had only printed renderings and table-top models to use in getting prospective tenants/buyers to “envision” the opportunity, and most could not. So Related was at risk of losing tens of thousands of dollars by not leasing/selling space until construction was finished.

SOLUTION: As VP of Marketing & Sales for D-2 Digital Design, a firm which was a pioneer of creating 3D enhanced imagery and rich media to enhance marketing and sales endeavors, I realized that if we provided Related’s salespeople with slick 3D imagery and tours with which their prospects could interact, they could sell space by enabling prospects to immerse themselves in the virtual environment, interactively, ACTION: I contacted Related’s head of marketing to schedule a meeting to interest him in the benefits of 3D enhanced imagery. Once we showed how 3D could enhance AND ACCELERATE marketing and sales efforts of office, retail, and residential space, he was sold. We created digital 3D models of each property (see bottom row images), leveraged as follows:

1. In showrooms, on interactive touch-screen displays. 2. On laptops, where salespeople could demonstrate to prospects remotely. 3. On Websites, where users could interact and explore at their leisure, 24/7.

RESULTS:

I convinced Related to invest in a completely NEW marketing technology, resulting in over $1,000,000 in new revenues for my company.

Related was able to not only secure deals for space years in advance of final construction, but they were also able to raise rates due to increased demand.

As of 2006, The Time Warner Center property had the highest-listed market value in New York City at $1.1 billion.

Documents

Lou McErlean BizDev Success Stories as of 05_2016