Melissa Vokoun has been in all aspects of executive management, and sales and marketing management since her affiliation with General Telecommunications in 1981. After completing studies at Rosary College, she was involved in the initial marketing development, product implementation and sales efforts for the emerging paging industry for General- Tel’s 10,000+ customer base from Chicago and the outlying suburbs.
From 1983 through 2005, Melissa was COO and Vice President of Sales & Marketing for a national telecommunications equipment distributor. As company co-founder, she had P&L responsibility for the organization.
Her passion in recruiting, assessing, training, and managing sales executives was instrumental to the company’s growth and reputation as a premiere distributor of the industry. Throughout her tenure, Melissa was not only responsible for the training of her own staff, but also of assisting in the training and education of both telemarketing and sales staffs of the vendors in her field.
From 1995 through the company’s sale in 2005, annual sales were consistently in the $20 million - $30 million range, making the organization’s sales and marketing staffs highly respected in the industry for marketing strategy success, product expertise, outstanding customer service, and superior sales achievement.
Over the years, Melissa developed a sales assessment and training program that allowed her to hire, train and develop some of the top account executives in the industry. Sales brochures, proposals, customer and vendor presentations, RFP and RFQ responses, and corporate correspondence were developed and managed by Melissa and the administrative and marketing staff.
As COO of the company, Melissa was responsible for developing and maintaining a healthy and well-organized infrastructure insuring profitability and greater success for the organization. Melissa has the unique ability to work with people and to determine where their greatest passions and expertise are – overt or hidden. Melissa has been instrumental in helping many on her staff pursue careers and take on responsibilities they may not have felt they were qualified. Melissa has always believed that a business owner can only be as successful as those who are employed in the organization.
As a pioneer in internet marketing, Melissa was responsible for the success of the first industry newsletter published in the 1980s and 1990s. With the explosion of the internet in the late 1990s, it was replaced with a successful diverse web strategy. Melissa oversaw the content of the company’s websites and more than 20 affiliate e-commerce sites for the fulfillment and support of several hundred separate products.
The consistency of the marketing and sales message was a direct factor in the success of the organization and its eventual sale. Melissa is the president of NuVo Partners, Inc., and Successful Business Advisors as well as working with entrepreneurs and business owners as the Coaching Queen!
"Ask, Believe, Receive" This is the basic premise of "The Secret" and it is a good one. What we have to remember is that without ACTION - asking, believing and receiving will never be more than an empty visualization.
I have been blessed in my life - and continue to be blessed. It is my life's journey to help others build their businesses - and I take that journey and the responsiblity very seriously.
I encourage any individual who is interested in launching a new business or a business owner trying to expand their organization to contact me by phone or email.
I will give you my support and wisdom as needed. If you are not ready for a formal relationship, that does not preclude us discussing your thoughts and challenges.
I also welcome you to attend one of my teleseminar classes, which address many issues for entrepreneurs and business owners!