About Mary

Companies most frequently contact me to:

• restructure their product/service offerings and pricing
• streamline the sales process and institute metrics for success
• develop new marketing strategies or lead generation tools
• strengthen the sales skills of their team
• help to hire and manage sales/business development team members
• develop and implement a trade show strategy
• assist with on-site sales at an event

My passion for entrepreneurship and helping entrepreneurs succeed began early in my life - growing up in a family-owned restaurant founded and run by my parents. I saw a business being created from nothing but a vision and learned both the value of hard work and the freedom of being your own boss.

While my own business career started in corporate sales and marketing, working for brands such as Lightolier/Philips, Rolodex, Time, Sports Illustrated, and Architectural Digest magazines, I’ve since launched several entrepreneurial ventures, including opening up my own company offering childcare and tutoring to Chicago families, building it to $500,000 in revenue by year 2 before selling it.  Now, as an independent sales and business development consultant and small business strategist with over 20 years of marketing and sales leadership experience, I’m committed to helping companies master their own sales process and thrive in their businesses by reaching more prospects and closing more sales, thereby increasing their own revenue and profit margins.

I know firsthand the critical importance mentoring and coaching has played in my own path to success and am honored to now play that role for my clients, their teams, and – in some cases - their clients. My mentors in marketing, sales, and business operations include some of the best and brightest from my corporate background as well as industry leading online marketers such as David Neagle and Angelique Rewers.

My engagement with companies takes many forms, each customized to the needs and desired outcomes of that owner, organization, and team.

When not working, you can find me running along the lake front trail, enjoying fine meals, movies, art, and entertainment with friends, cooking and baking at home, or closely following the strategy of politics (non-partisan).  I give freely of my time as a mentor and frequent presenter at 1871, the largest tech incubator in the United States, where I teach tech founders and their teams how to find their target markets and grow their businesses.