This summer I am going to be spending some time with each of Mereo’s principals to provide a behind the scenes look at these seasoned professionals, what they bring to the Mereo team and some fun facts about their lives. Today I am going to be talking to Mereo Principal, Eric Kimball. {Chelsey}
How did you get into this industry?
I worked with Joel Reed at Sterling Commerce and IBM. Joel was head of product marketing, and I was VP of Global Sales Operations, and then CFO.
As VP of Global Sales Operations, I was responsible for strategy and execution in supporting our Field and Inside Sales organizations. In doing so we were able to drive significant growth in our software sales and corresponding profit. I was subsequently promoted to CFO of a $1.2 Billion division which include Sterling and other B2B Commerce solutions from IBM’s legacy portfolio. Along with the General Manager, I was responsible for long and short term strategy and budget execution.
Joel contacted me a couple years ago and then made an intro to Jay.
What are your areas of expertise?
Sales Operations, Leadership, Management and Finance. At Sterling Commerce (first with AT&T and then IBM) I was able to help the team reduce internal process waste by over 50%, thereby driving productivity improvements for the sales organization and increasing customer experience and satisfaction. Furthermore, we helped reduce contract complexity, which resulted in becoming easier to do business with.
What is your favorite part of being on the Mereo team?
I love working with Jay and the team– helping clients gain unprecedented value by implementing and reinforcing our approach and associated processes. It provides me with immense fulfillment to hear actual stories of success with individuals and their respective teams and organizations.
What is your favorite client success story?
PGI in terms of the Inside Sales team using our training in real practice with real customers to gain trusted business partner status and build win/win relationships for the long term. The PGI Inside Sales team has shared that they seem to be gaining further and deeper access to clients by demonstrating the ability (and patience) to genuinely understand respective customers’ pains. These are then used to provide corresponding solutions to solve business, financial and personal problems, which in turn, yield long-term customer trusted partnerships.
Where do you go for insight and thought leadership?
I do a ton of research using Gallup, BCG, McKinsey and sales industry groups to have a comprehensive view of best practices.
What sets Mereo apart from its competitors?
We collectively bring massive real world experience to our clients and we all have “roll up the sleeve” mentality. We show our clients “how” to use our best practices, versus simply providing advisory services like many of our competitors do.
What are some of your hobbies?
Hiking, reading, and spending as much time with my wonderful wife as possible. Also, I’m working on a book project that delves deep into the world of work to raise awareness on just how broken the working environment is and how we can use novel educational shifting paradigms to dramatically improve the WOW (World Of Work) for society’s considerable benefit.
