About 

My first job out of college was with the Dallas Cowboys. My coaches were Coach Tom Landry, Dan Reeves and Mike Ditka. This experience taught me how to manage a business, develop great talent and put the best game plan together to be successful in a game, a business or a charitable organization. Playing professional sports did not do that for me. Watching the Dallas Cowboys at every level did. The front office, the coaching staff, the scouting department all contributed to me learning business secrets that have never left me.

My next stop was joining my families insurance business. This is where I was able to learn the art, science and psychology of sales. Learning to sell an intangible, insurance, forces you to listen, learn how to ask fact finding and feeling finding questions and believe that the commission you earn on each sale is minuscule to the benefit for each client and their family. Earning my Chartered Life Underwriter designation in 1983 proved two things. I was willing to pay the price of success by investing in my career. It also gave me the confidence in my ability to assist my clients with their insurance and financial services. I quickly became enamored with technology purchasing any and every product I believed would help me in my career.

This led me to start designing and building technology products to serve my clients. Selling technology solutions is not an intangible product but the sale is similar because you must prove the value of a product you also cannot touch.

The next twenty years were a part of my sales development as I launched a benefits administration company and that product is still in production today along with a number of companies that needed help in turning around lagging sales performance from their current field force. This is where I truly mastered the art, science and psychology of sales. Taking on the task of turning around each company, in terms of their sales success,  caused me to hone my skills even further by taking what I learned selling life insurance and applying it to the selling of healthcare technology.

Having closed more than $750 million in Total Contract Value (TCV) over these years brought me great joy in building relationships and being seen as a trusted advisor to the client and their company. The largest sale I have ever made was $90 million dollars. The joy was being the designer, developer and marketer for the product and being able to close the largest transaction of my career. The negotiations were difficult with many different departments and decision makers where almost any wrong move would jeopardize the deal. There were many different stops and starts where the ability to bring a very diverse group together to focus on the ultimate outcome was a challenge. We were successful and the product is delivering on its promises. That is what makes the job fun and more importantly worthwhile.

My focus today is two-fold. I still want to help companies grow, find new revenue streams, build new products and develop great ideas for entrepreneurs to build and launch to experience their wildest imaginations of success. I also want to pay it forward by teaching others the skills I have learned through study, on the job training and making mistakes along the way.

Professional experience & achievements

Recognition

• Foundation Board University of North Alabama
• Business Council for College of Business at University of North Alabama
• Athletic Hall of Fame University of North Alabama