Kimba Vasquez

Leading Change - Entrepreneurship has been the cornerstone of my career; bringing about strategic change, both within and outside the organization, to meet organizational goals. I have founded successful start-ups (American Business Computers), created several disruptive products and industry segments (1st UNIX EC/EDI Product), built new divisions from the ground up including two Federal Divisions.

Leading People - Managed teams of 70 plus. ABC, Sterling, and  Cyclone provided me many years of experience hiring, managing, and mentoring large groups of diverse people to successful careers meeting and exceeding the organization's vision, mission, and goals. Most of whom went on to successful executive and management positions.

Results Driven - Using my technical knowledge, problem-solving, and risk assessment abilities, I was able to create successful companies, divisions, and products i.e. ABC, Federal Division, and Unix products. I excelled in the implementation of overall global strategic direction and management of product development, producing high-quality results and exceeding customer expectations.

Business Acumen - At ABC, Sterling, Cyclone, and KCARE my experience has encompassed overall global responsibility for the corporate strategic direction, sales and marketing, and operational responsibility including P&L.

Building Coalitions - I have established and management international strategic alliances and partners (i.e. IBM,  Harris, SRA, SAIC, Northrop Grumman and many more).  I have experience in the federal government arena including working with a congressman and his staff, strategizing with DOD, DLA, HHS leaders, meeting with GAO officials, and collaborating with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories (LLNL) and other government agencies. 

Experience developing policy, ensuring performance/accountability, and enhancing the customer service experience -  As president/CEO of American Business Computer and VP of Sterling and Cyclone I have developed policies, ensuring performance/accountability addressing the needs of our company, customers, and partners worldwide for both Private and Public sectors.

Executive experience formulating an organization-wide strategic direction for enterprise-wide projects and programs - Personally, did the research and assessment to expand into the Federal government market and the market expansion via international partnerships. Developed the reseller channels program for ABC and Sterling.

Experience overseeing programs in one or more of the following areas: strategic planning, regulatory development, project management, data strategy, and analytics, and/or research - Personal experience overseeing strategic planning of Products, Government Regulations adherence, Large project management (Government, Wal-mart, Automotive). Utilizing data strategy and analytics, and research.

Account Management  |  Budget Management  |  Business Development 

Business Strategy  |  Client Outreach  |  Leadership & Team Building

Market Insights  |  Negotiation  |  Product Development  |  Product Management

Research & Development  |  Sales Development

In my experience, 3 critical steps are missing from most sales process charts. Even if implied in the 7 steps, I believe they are worthy of mention.

Using the 7-Step Sales Funnel I added the following steps:

3.5 Champion – Having an internal champion for your cause may sound obvious, but most salespeople confuse this with knowing who the buyer is. Sure, sometimes the champion and the buyer are the same person – especially in smaller companies. But in large companies, more often than not, the champion is the user and the buyer is the person holding the purse strings. In most cases an internal champion will be the person arranging for your presentation, and sometimes the champion will surface at the presentation. In any case, identifying an internal champion will increase the probability of a close.

5.5 Influencers – An influencer can be internal or external, and you should always be looking for who they may be. Enlisting the help of others who are trusted by the buyer will allow you to provide the buyer with an added level of comfort. Often times it's easier than you think, these trusted influencers usually attend the presentation, the buyer will tend to seek their advice. Sometimes, however, it requires a little digging. The influence could be a peer in another division or another company altogether, your champion should be able to help identify them. Influencers most effective if the buyer knows them as opposed to just a reference you provided. They will help sell for you.

6.5 Process – This is almost always overlooked. Often sales people think the sale is done when the buyer commits to buy, and/or signs a contract. Wrong. The sale is done when the organization has completed all of the necessary internal steps to issue a purchase order or a written commitment of funds. A great sales person will have a thorough understanding of this process and at least monitor its progress, if not push it along.

Adding these 3 steps to your sales process will considerably boost your close rate.

I enjoy investing in people, providing them with an opportunity to excel and to progress.

I like to think that I possess an innate sense of people which has served me, and the organizations I worked for, well.

My hiring approach is simple: Choose character and ability over knowledge and experience, then foster and nurture desire. The desire to win. The desire to perform. The desire to succeed.

Don't get me wrong, someone who possesses all four is always the best choice. However, faced with an applicant who has knowledge and experience, but lacks character and ability, I will go with character and ability first. Every time. These are the traits that can change the culture of an organization.

The results have been amazing. And it doesn't matter the position -- from coder all the way up to management and executives -- when properly motivated people with character and ability are given the opportunity to transition to new positions, they are highly adaptable and determined to succeed.

I've seen it and lived it. Many times.

As Vice President, President, CEO, and Owner I have participated in the hiring process of more than 100 people into various positions. And at least 25 percent of those people had not previously performed the job I hired them into. As I look back, many of these individuals have gone on to successful careers including many C-level positions. I am very proud of this and consider it a noteworthy achievement.

I continue to be thankful for the time our careers intersected and appreciate the impact they made in my career. And I hope that in some small way, I contributed to theirs.