Don Balla was the head of the employee benefits business unit for Simpson & McCrady in Pittsburgh for 13 years, before leaving to become Senior VP, Partner at The Alera Group, Pittsburgh office. During his time at Simpson & McCrady, Keylan provided sales training for Don’s sales team of five benefit producers to help the group transform through a better sales process.
The process introduced a philosophy for the Simpson & McCrady team that eliminated extraneous quotes (tire kickers) and focused only on candidates who held a mutual interest in working with Simpson & McCrady.
Keylan helped the group move away from selling on price as Balla explains, “If someone buys you on price they are going to leave you on price.” He continued, “The streamlined process introduced helped us focus on being more effective and only working with organizations ready to buy.”
“Professional and genuine, Keylan is uniquely equipped to work with sales teams and arm them with the tools they need to be successful,” said Balla.
For two years Keylan’s Kevin Hudson not only served as CPI-HR’s VP of sales but was also asked to run operations when a leadership void occurred.
“From a sales management perspective, Kevin was able to help us refine our sales organization through added structure, metrics, KPI’s, field observation, coaching, training, sales force automation, along with performance management and accountability,” said Jim Hopkins, CPI-HR’s president.
Hudson provided operational leadership, including service and implementation while still leading sales. “Kevin was able to bring similar type attributes from our sales culture to our operations,” explains Hopkins. “Under Kevin’s leadership, our sales unit productivity increased, in addition to increased efficiency and service to our operations environment.”
“I’m confident with Kevin’s track record, experience with small businesses and ability to work with entrepreneurs in creating a sales and operational strategy that aligns with their vision, he will be able to add value for small business owners who are acting as sales managers, but looking to increase effectiveness for their organizations without the cost of added full-time sales leadership,” said Hopkins. “He is a person of high character, integrity, and possesses the ability to deliver honest communications with emotional intelligence.”