Sales and Marketing

MICHAEL LINDER

Grand Rapids, MI

VP / SVP Sales | Marketing | Strategy | Business Development

Charismatic, strategic growth catalyst with best practice insights and a multi-industry track record of:

- Increasing sales by establishing C-level relationships with key accounts and industry influencers.

- Developing efficient sales and marketing processes that drive revenue growth and reduce sales cycles.

- Accelerating new business development by instituting innovative CRM and competitive strategies.

- Directing weekly consultative sales / negotiation training that mitigate margin pressure and commoditization.

- Building high-performance sales teams by using unique tools to identify and close sales performance gaps.

Key driver in transforming a manufacturer into Fortune magazine’s 2nd most admired marketing company.

Led 5 different sales groups in 4 different industries to double digit increases through recessionary markets.

- Able to inspire a sense of mission

- Visionary, entrepreneurial thinker able to see missed opportunities

- P&L, budget and expense management

- Proficient at organization and policy development

- Strong presenter

- Product development and M&A expertise

- Intuitive and analytical problem solver

- Skilled executive coach

- Excel, Word, Outlook, PowerPoint, Lotus Notes; Internet and Web 2.0 savvy

LEADERSHIP ADVANCEMENT

LIFT MARKETING (Grand Rapids, MI) | 2009-Present

Founder

LIFT is a proven system, driven by market preferences, for improving sales and marketing performance. Services include sales and marketing strategy development; insights into consumer behavior, attitudes, motivations and preferences; creative and problem solving workshops; strategic planning; sales training; coaching.

ZONDERVAN (Grand Rapids, MI) – A News Corporation company | 2008-2009

Senior Vice President, Strategy and New Business Development

Hired by President to lead business development for a $160MM producer of books, digital and AV products. Reported to the President. Assessed market opportunities, business rationale, product launch requirements, monetization and ROI models, competitive analysis, barriers and risk for review with Rupert Murdock.

- Led acquisitions of 2 technology / on-line marketing companies and 5 business startups in 6 months.

DP, Inc. (Grand Rapids, MI) | 2005-2008

Chief Marketing Officer/ Vice President of Sales

Hired by former Vertis President to turnaround declining sales of a $28MM consumer product manufacturer of reference products. Full P&L responsibilities for U.S. sales operations including sales, marketing, customer service, estimating and order entry functions. Added customer value by directing the development of on-line trafficking, asset management and workflow SaaS solutions. Served as a non-voting member of the Board of Directors, delivered presentations to bankers. Reported to the President.

- Grew sales +18% and key in improving profits over $1mm in 1 year, after 4 years of losses by reengineering management and customer service, redefining sales territories, compensation and customer acquisition methods, targeting high-value clients, rebranding the company, implementing weekly sales/service training.

- Delivered over 30 marketing seminars to position company as an industry thought leader.

- In 2006, out-performed the industry’s top 30 companies in growth and percentage increase.

- Founded an industry’s 1st package and product design award based on consumer motivations.

VERTIS (Grand Rapids, MI) | 1998-2005

Vice President, Integrated Sales and New Media Solutions | 2004-2005

Vice President, Integrated Sales | 2003-2004

Corporate Director of Sales Development | 2002-2003

Group Director of Sales Development | 2000-2002

Regional Director of Sales Development | 1998-2000

Hired by President to lead the sales force integration of a $1.5B leader in advertising and marketing strategy, graphics, print manufacturing, direct mail, fulfillment, on-line marketing solutions, pre-media, data, SaaS and asset management software for Fortune 500 retailers, CPG’s and agencies. Led strategy development and implementation, market and key account planning, goal setting, forecasting, policy formulation, corporate presentations, new product launches, training and big buyer negotiations across all divisions and disciplines. Industry expert and conference speaker. Managed channel sales partners and vendor relationships. Authored sales, marketing, strategic planning, negotiating and business development processes. Oversaw recruitment, talent retention, performance evaluations and acquisition assimilation. Demonstrated business savvy reporting to 5 division presidents in 5 distinct businesses.

- A key driver that helped to transform Vertis into Fortune magazine’s 2nd most admired marketing company by working cross-functionally with 5 division presidents, directing 23 VP’s, leading weekly target account planning meetings across 5 divisions, identifying and closing gaps in sales and service offerings, developing solutions, making calls with sales staff.

- Led sales of over 50 marketing solutions to companies like Lowes, Best Buy, Wal-mart, Rite Aid, Albertson’s, Coca-Cola, L’Oreal, Amgen Pharmaceuticals, Pfizer, Jaguar, Lincoln Mercury, RJ Reynolds.

- Led client assessments, solution development, presentations, team sales and training for 400+ sales reps.

- Re-engineered multiple business unit interaction and grew cross-selling from $10mm to $120mm in 4 years.

- Reversed declining sales of a 2nd group, grew revenue 15%, won 75% of all new business opportunities.

- Held division P&L responsibilities through leadership of 5 VP’s and 49 others in 6 offices.

DACO training and consulting (Grand Rapids, MI) | 1996-1998

Hired as a consultant to develop sales growth and marketing strategies, training programs, sales efficiency audits, performance matrices, executive coaching services and compensation assessments for a variety of industries including Internet, Industrial, Materials, Financial, Manufacturing and Distribution.

- Marketed, developed, sold and/or delivered over 100 sales/marketing solutions for diverse industries.

- Provided “growth coach” services to 24 Sr. Executives from 4 diverse industries.

NEWHOUSE (Grand Rapids, MI) | 1990-1996

Retail Advertising Manager | 1993-1996

Retail Manager | 1991-1993

Special Projects Manager | 1990-1991

Hired by a $100MM media company serving retailers and CPG’s. Responsibilities included P&L, sales strategy, training, promotion development, policy formulation, compensation, redefining territories, recruitment, goal setting, forecasting, incentive programs, product development, pricing, negotiating, managing vendor relationships.

- Re-energized 2 underperforming groups, increased sales +20% in a declining market with a 33% RIF by inspiring a sense of mission and business community involvement, developing leaders, directing award winning promotions, integrating sales incentives and promotions with performance evaluations.

- Turned 2 of 2 products from loss to profit; successfully launched 6 new products.

- Earned 8 awards for sales and marketing innovation.

GANNETT (Binghamton, NY) | 1983-1990

National Advertising Manager | 1989-1990

Assistant Advertising Director | 1988-1989

Sales Representative | 1983-1989

Recruited by Fortune 500 Media Company serving retailers, agencies, and CPG's. Responsibilities included sales, turning around sales in several regions, key account strategies, project management and budgeting.

- Won several top gun awards and industry recognition; turned 1 magazine from loss to profit in 2 months.

EDUCATION AND LEARNING

- Bachelors in Communication Design – Kutztown University, Kutztown, PA

- Stephen Covey Signature Program

- Sandler sales training

- Graduate of 8 leadership programs, including:

> 2 Leadership Academies (Selected by community leaders in two different cities)

> Managing For Excellence (Selected by Gannett Corporate)

> Staub Leadership Academy (Selected by Vertis)

INDUSTRY AND THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

Delivered seminars and published articles at the request of 7 industry organizations on topics such as:

- Acquisitions and business development strategies

- Consumer motivations and profiles

- Consumer trends

- Leveraging technology to open new sales channels

- Product development and design

- Promotional strategies

- Social networking

PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS

- Board of Directors experience with 10 organizations, including Boy Scouts, Big Brothers/Big Sisters

- Research Institute On Social Change – global leader in consumer behaviors, preferences and motivations

INTERNATIONAL AFFILIATIONS

- Bibles International India Society – Strategic planning facilitation (Silchar, India)

- Strategy Development and Problem Solving workshops for Indian businessmen (Silchar)

- Research Institute on Social Change – international organization monitoring trends in marketplace motivations, behaviors and preferences; conference speaker.

RECOMMENDATIONS

“…an impressive sales and marketing leader. Motivational. Smart. Results-oriented. Compelling. Powerful presenter. Michael sees market opportunities that others miss.”

Janice Mayo, SRVP, Vertis

“Any company looking to advance and grow in these economic conditions will enhance their efforts by having Michael as a team member. I recommend Michael with enthusiasm.”

Jim Pentecost, President/CEO, DP Inc.

“…exceptionally talented marketer…one of the best I have met in my career.”

Kevin Hart, Group President, Vertis

“Michael's broad-based capabilities are built on an unyielding foundation of honesty, ethics, integrity and trust…exceeding expectations in areas ranging from revenue growth, to branding, to targeted marketing, to strategic planning…an "A" player addition to any team.”

Gerry McLaughlin, Director HR, Vertis

“His ability to lead a sales-force is second-to-none…devoted, honest, intelligent…”

Anna Jolly, Sales, Vertis

“…professional, bright, possesses great communication skills and able to interface with people at all levels of the organization…understanding customer needs is a strength.”

Doug Lockhart, CEO, Zondervan

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