Mary Perry

Through the years of sales, merchandising and marketing experience my drive, passion, and love for my work is reflected in my commitment to exceeding my customer’s expectations and building a loyal base of accounts. 

When I was a straight commission Territory Sales Representative with Messenger, I contributed to the company building its reputation as North America’s leading provider of premium stationery, paper, and promotional products in a highly competitive niche industry. Most recently I have expanded my sales acumen into different industries such as: Food Distributor and Supplier with Performance Food Group and Wholesale Salon and Beauty Supplies with Salon Centric, a subsidiary of L'Oreal. Currently I have had the opportunity to return to the Funeral industry, with Thacker Caskets. 

During my time with Messenger, I achieved a consistent record of top sales performance that can be demonstrated by:

• Winning Multiple Annual Top 10 Sales Representative Award and earning Sales Representative of the Year recognition
• 656% overall sales growth
• 42% increase in new product sales and 28% total annual growth

These types of results are achieved by using a consultative approach to overcome pricing objections from customers. My continued success is based on my ability to strategically develop new accounts as evidenced in my current role of 95% new account growth immediately, build strong customer relationships, and demonstrate honesty/integrity during the sales process. With Messenger I achieved a high account retention rate in a traditionally high turnover sales industry with everchanging technology and quota requirements.

In addition, I have other intangible qualities including my personal drive to be a top performer, with reliability, a dedicated work ethic, strong interpersonal skills, professionalism, commitment to corporate values, and willingness to put in the extra time needed to help my company achieve its goals. 

Due to the changes required in the selling approach, I continue to enhance my social media presence and acumen as well as utilizing available resources such as Salesforce, PowerBI and virtual meeting and collaboration applications.

THACKER CASKETS Knoxville, TN • 10/2023 – 08/2024 (The largest Family-Owned Casket Company in the United States) Sales Consultant • Utilized prior relationships with clients to attain 95% growth of new purchasing accounts in a virgin territory demonstrating exceptional relationship building skills and market expansion skills. • Adapted quickly to product line, mastering components, multiple finishes, and terminology to effectively promote both burial and cremation products. • Exceeded sales quota in the first month in the field. • Developed a routing plan for area saturation, ensuring consistent follow-up visits, adding new accounts, and managing current business. • Educated clients on marketing concepts to help them navigate and adapt to significant industry changes over the past ten to twenty years. • Provided daily support to business customers by promptly responding to their questions and needs. • Overcame persistent challenges from a prior consultant’s territory to retain and expand existing business in a highly competitive market. • Utilized company cloud-based software to track sales, manage customer projects, and monitor accounts receivable. • Recorded notes in Smartsheet to share details of daily calls. • Composed reports to analyze month-to-month growth/losses and compare sales to the previous year. PERFORMANCE FOOD SERVICE Knoxville, TN • 2/2023 – 9/2023 Area Manager • Cultivated new accounts in a non-proprietary territory, focusing on cold calling to qualify accounts as viable partners. • Utilized database for pricing, competitive quotes, and presentations to secure business and achieve sales goals. • Conducted research on company products, including their nutritional benefits, pricing, and ingredients, to effectively address customer questions. • Provided support to fellow District Area Managers through customer support activities, including order entry and food transportation. MARY C. PERRY SALONCENTRIC – A subsidiary of L’Oréal Knoxville, TN • 9/2021 – 2/2023 Salon Sales Associate • Consistently met 100% of Associate Goals & Objectives on a quarterly Basis to date. • Collaborated with the Salon Sales Consultant to build brand equity, increase market share, acquire new business and support diverse business needs. • Provided excellent customer service and product knowledge, increased connections via social media platforms, and assisted with educational offerings. • Utilized Salesforce, Power BI and virtual meeting and collaboration applications to positively impact sales approach and client relationship building. ACCENTURE Knoxville, TN • 2/2021 – 9/2021 Medical Policy Claims and Research Agent • Performed extensive research to process and adjust healthcare claims and appeal. • Utilized multiple healthcare-related operating systems and tracking tools. • Simultaneously resolved complex insurance claims issues in a healthcare/medical environment. • Utilized critical thinking skills to determine when to seek advice or escalate issues for tasks outside of the normal Standard Operating Procedure dictated by the client. MESSENGER, LLC. Knoxville, TN • 10/1991 – 02/2020 (North America’s leading provider of premium-level stationery products for the funeral industry and promotional items for various industries) Territory Sales Representative • Achieved remarkable sales results in 2019, including an 11% total annual sales growth, a 42% increase in new product sales, and a 30% growth in promotional sales. • Surpassed expectations by securing an average 8% annual increase in new accounts, resulting in a 656% sales growth over my tenure. • Recognized as an Annual Top 10 Sales Representative Award winner multiple times, Sales Representative of the Year, Sales Representative with Most Sales Dollar Growth in the Year. • Consistently adapted to emerging industry standards and evolving product lines, achieving Annual Quota Attainment recognition multiple times by continuing to foster relationships in a changing market. • Implemented assertive retail merchandising and marketing strategies to rebuild and expand the territory, reestablishing the company’s reputation in the area. • Generated a strong trend of top-line sales growth and account retention in a highly competitive, price-sensitive market. • Took the initiative to learn the entire product portfolio with minimal industry knowledge or training. • Learned hundreds of different retail merchandising configurations, part numbers, products, sales programs, and customer order capabilities. • Collaborated with multi-industry vendors via trade shows and company partnerships to communicate the latest market trends and new strategies to current customers and prospects. • Overcame consistent challenges from low price competitors by using a consultative selling approach to enhance each account’s ability to merchandise their products more effectively and customize products using the Company’s online ordering capabilities. • Continually promoted, marketed, and merchandised a diverse and fluid product line. • Developed individualized merchandising programs tailored to each account’s needs to increase revenue streams and facilitate the selling process. • Utilized company cloud-based software and website for daily sales and customer management. • Sold and trained customers on multi-platform cloud-based software and third-party partners’ software and applications. • Oversaw territory of East Tennessee, Southwest Virginia, Western North Carolina.

EDUCATION: B.S., Merchandising, Minor: Business – THE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE, Knoxville, TN

1985-1990