Martin Deleon Email & Phone Number

Houston, Texas

Provide in-store and in-home consultations for all types of flooring such as carpet, wood, tile and luxury vinyl for both residential and commercial clients.Prospect for new business and look for opportunities to bid on commercial projects.Work with interior designers to help them find the right look and product for their clients.Write press releases promoting the company to the media and write blogs for company's website.Accomplishment:Successfully pitched story idea to the news media of company converting an old bus into a mobile showroom which resulted in coverage, including photos in the Houston Chronicle and San Francisco Chronicle newspapers as well as industry trade publications.

Houston, Texas

Sales Associate: Oversaw management and retention of high-end commercial accounts including Four-Leaf Towers and other luxury condominium clients. Served as first line of support for client support and consultation; guided clients regarding appropriate flooring and design for multimillion-dollar homes. Conducted market analysis targeting key B2C and B2B clients including real estate agents and commercial prospects. Assisted clients in choosing products based on design goals and budget; scheduled appointments for in-home consultations. Drove value-added sales by recommending and promoting additional products and services. Delivered custom estimates for flooring and process sales. Led response to commercial bids; met regularly with high-revenue clients to ensure satisfaction. Acted as public face of company in local trade and business community. Met regularly with individual prospects to discuss business opportunities and close sales. · Submitted successful bid and achieved $40,000 project to install new tile at Parkway Chevrolet; led all phases of project and negotiated optimal pricing and labor rates with subcontractors. · Consistently secured high-volume contracts with clients including warehouses, office buildings, schools, and high-rise luxury apartments. · Regularly sourced high-profile bidding opportunities with real estate agents and local commercial construction companies. · Generated $100,000 in additional revenue by conducting insurance assessments of flooring damage in customer properties, using Xactimate Professional to generate accurate pricing.

Various Stores, Houston, Texas

Provide in-store and in-home consultations on carpet, wood, tile, laminate, luxury vinyl plank and granite counter tops to both residential and commercial customers.Map and diagram customers’ homes, office buildings and warehouses to get accurate square foot measurements.Maintain overall appearance of the store by keeping current pricing information; promotional sales signs and have new products properly displayed in store.Accomplishments:Sold more than $500K in flooring in 2011.Consistently ranked as one of the top 10 sales performers every month.Won sales contest sponsored by Shaw Industries, Inc. for being one of the top three salesmen to sell more than 200 square yards of carpet during the contest period.

Houston, Texas

Wrote and developed stories for Activities, a magazine aimed at external clients in the maritime trade and offshore drilling industries as well as Dispatch, an internal employee publication. Photographed various company functions such as CEO speaking engagements, check presentations and United Way fundraising activities for publication in magazines for both external audiences and internal employee communications.

Acted as media spokesman for Continental Airlines providing statements to print media and conducting on-camera interviews as needed. Responded to media inquiries on both a local and national level regarding issues relating to customer service, in-flight policies and emergency situations. Wrote press releases announcing public relations initiatives such as the introduction of new routes, fare sales, promotions and the submission of applications to the U.S. Department of Transportation requesting permission to fly to new destinations. Provided speaking points for CEO and other senior-level executives for media events. Traveled to other cities for public relations promotions such as inaugural flight ceremonies and announcement of new service and conducted on-camera interviews with local media. Conducted on-camera interviews during crisis situations including security breaches at the airport, incidents involving aircraft and natural disasters such as hurricanes. Accomplishments: Worked media relations office at New York hub during Hurricane Rita fielding media inquiries from across the country. Provided phone interviews with Houston media and conducted on-camera interviews with New York media.Conducted news conference in El Paso, Texas following the death of a mechanic who was killed while working on the runway. Assured media that Continental Airlines was cooperating fully with federal investigators.Addressed Bangor, Maine Chamber of Commerce, City Council and representatives from the U.S. Congressional and Senate offices during inaugural ceremonies launching new service from Bangor to New York. Emphasized that Continental Airlines still provided free non-alcoholic beverages and snacks as well as free blankets and pillows while other airlines were charging fees. Participated in the ribbon cutting ceremony with Mayor of Bangor.

Acted as media spokesman for the Pasadena Police, Fire, Planning and Development and Health Departments and provided statements to print and broadcast media. Provided official statements at police crime scenes and fires sometimes live on the air as breaking news. Coordinated news conferences involving the Mayor and other city officials. Researched and answered questions from local and national media including ABC News in New York, Court TV and the Associated Press. Generated news releases concerning police investigations as a way to create awareness and promote public safety. Wrote feature articles and photographed various city events for the city publication City Gram, an electronic newsletter emailed to citizens and media outlets. Monitored and recorded newscasts covering various city initiatives and programs for a master tape that was used during the Mayor’s State of the City Address.Tracked positive media coverage; the city considered positive stories to be valued at $3,500 a minute in air time on broadcast television stations which it counted as revenue at the end of the fiscal year.Coached police officers, firefighters, housing officials and animal control officers prior to their conducting on-camera interviews with local media.Accomplishments: Successfully generated $250,000 worth of positive news coverage for the City of Pasadena in less than a year.Responded to police crime scene following the theft of a National Guard Armory truck. Provided vehicle description to media. As a result of extensive news coverage, police received a tip from a citizen that resulted in the recovery of the vehicle and the arrest of the suspect within five hours after the airing of the first news report.

Managed public relations for the police department; developed and wrote press releases dealing with specific cases involving homicides, robberies, contract frauds, SWAT team calls and Amber Alerts. Performed as on-air spokesman to address the local and national media regarding breaking news stories and on-going criminal cases.Coached police officers prior to their conducting on-camera interviews. Researched and wrote about various topics for the Chief of Police, providing proactive information and details for use in media presentations, speeches and various community meetings. Wrote feature news releases showcasing various community initiatives. Contributed feature articles and photographs to the HPD News, the department newsletter. Narrated police training video for new cadets within the department.Accomplishments: Conducted a news conference live on the air providing suspect information following the robbery and murders of a check cashing clerk and a Houston police officer who responded to the robbery call. The suspects were arrested a couple of days later.Wrote news release profiling the forensic sketch artist’s entry into the “Guinness Book of World Records” for drawing the most sketches that led to the arrests of suspects. The story was covered by People magazine and KHOU-TV, the CBS affiliate in Houston, Texas.

Dispatched news crews to breaking news scenes.Set up interviews and got clearance for news crews prior to press events.Monitored police, fire and ambulance scanners and acted accordingly to emergency situations.Substitute reporter in 1995.