Providing distributors with price and stock availability quotes is the start but I do so much more. They also depend on me to find cross references for our products from competing lines requested by their customers. Sometimes they only have a product description or pictures, so I research and determine exactly which one of our products will work in its place. I also assist with tracking order ship dates to find out if they have or when they may be shipping. Occasionally I track down lost shipments with carriers. I also help distributors with technical support to make sure our product is going to work properly with their application. My role has primarily three parts customer service, tech support and sales.Some of the other things I do less frequently is assisting the accounting department with updating customer account information and collecting past due invoices. Updating our CRM software with the prescribed client information. Each month I review the sales and product shipment reports so I can see how the distributors are trending and which products they are selling. This allows me to understand current trends and provide suitable business recommendations.mencom.com

In 2013 I decided to take a professional break and pursue an advanced academic degree in business. I continued to consult with small businesses in treasury management and banking as well as other lines of temporary employment.In 2014 I enrolled in the MBA program at the University of North Georgia in which I received my graduate degree in 2016. While earning my degree I worked a few tax seasons with Jackson Hewitt as a tax preparer. I worked as a graduate assistant for the university in a start up program called the Student Money Management Center. This program focuses on educating and empowering students on financial literacy. It helps students fill in the gaps on basic personal finances that they did not learn in high school or from their parents. I assisted the director in starting this program by developing a curriculum and providing workshops to students. I met individually with students to help them develop budgets and financial road maps that could be used in their current situation and in the future.

My primary role as a Treasury Sales Officer with SunTrust which is now Truist Bank was to collaborate with business bankers and developed a treasury management plan for existing clients and prospects. I would start by digging deep into the client’s wants and needs for their cash management processes.Listening to the client I would identify ways to improve their cash management and bank reconciliation processes and provide solutions to protect them from external and internal theft and fraud. Some of the services I offered were ACH payment methods and fraud protection, positive pay, online check deposit (it was in its infancy then), online wire transfer capability and sweep investment accounts. My client portfolio was businesses with annual sales of 5 to 50 million dollars. I was awarded the Presidents Top Performer award in 2010 and promoted to Assistant Vice President.

Net Bank was one of the first internet only bank started in the early 2000s in Alpharetta Georgia. Unfortunately, it didn’t survive the financial crisis of 2007-08. My role there in the customer fulfillment department was mainly service and sales of basic banking products like checking and saving accounts, certificate of deposits and personal lines of credit.The customers would initially interface with the website to open accounts and complete transaction but because the concept of no branch banking was in its early stages they would depend heavily on phone and email for service. That is where I came in. It was here that I began to strengthen my communication skills in both written via email and chat and verbal by phone. When dealing with a person’s finances and you don’t have the face-to-face interaction you want to make sure that you explain things in a concise manner that easy to understand. I always made sure written communications were explained fully with not too much bank jargon but also not to condescending. Phone communications had its own challenges that I worked to overcome. I refined the skill of listening for cues that would help me to know if the customer understood or should I ask clarifying questions. These were the tools I needed to provide an exemplary customer experience.

This is where my banking adventure began. I started as a Personal Banker which means I was a sales and service representative. My main sales focus with personal and business accounts was checking, savings and certificate of deposits. Loan products were a big part of my sales offerings as well. I help customers to obtain mortgages, car loans, personal credit lines and credit cards. I was awarded a Customer Service Excellence award for stellar customer service after several customers sent in letters of accommodation to my regional manager.I was promoted to assistant manager after a few years which is more of an operational role. I had several direct reports. My duties included ensuring the bank employees provided customers with a highly satisfying experience for all their servicing needs and make sure that the branch personnel followed all the policies and procedures dictated by law and company standards. I was accountable for customer satisfaction scores rated by Gallop and managing the cash amounts needed to adequately accommodate our customer’s needs without too much excess. My next promotion was to Assistant Vice President Banking Center Manager. This role let me use all the experience and skills that I acquired in my two previous positions. As manager I was the leader of the sales team developing my sales staff so they could obtain their assigned sales goals and delight the customers in the process. I also was the leader of operations which included the teller team and assistant manager. I worked with the team to sharpen their customer service skills and improve daily in their job function. I aimed to have the highest customer satisfaction scores and operationally efficient branch location in the company. My branch often obtained very high ratings in both areas.