Welcome to a delicious journey through my professional portfolio, where passion for excellence and a dash of humor converge to create something special. Here, you’ll find a curated selection of my most savory achievements, all marinated in a rich sauce of dedication and hard work. From meticulously designed projects to innovative solutions, each piece showcases a commitment to lifelong learning and an insatiable curiosity that drives my craft. So, grab a fork and dig in—there’s plenty to savor!
As you explore, you’ll notice that my love for food isn’t just a hobby; it’s a philosophy that flavors every aspect of my work. I believe that the best results come from using the finest ingredients—be it knowledge, skills, or a relentless drive for improvement. Whether I’m whipping up a new project or adding the finishing touches to a long-term endeavor, my approach is always the same: combine creativity with a hearty dose of perseverance, and season generously with passion. Bon appétit!
Category Management – Food Retailing
A major reorganization of store displays and layouts was one of COO’s strategies to improve profitability and increase inventory turnover. I completed extensive training in price management and cost analysis before taking the lead for this project. This project entailed completing a full category analysis and store display setup for fifteen (15) food and non-food categories in three different grocery stores. The tasks required to complete this successfully were:
- Extract sales, cost, and inventory data from the corporate Point-of-Sale (POS) system for all SKU’s per category.
- Identify products with significant cross-price elasticity.
- Identify higher contribution margin products, high quantity sold products, high sales products, and low margin products per category.
- Identify substitute goods within each category.
- Create detailed diagrams for store operations to reset the category segment to maximize profitability, reduce operational costs in restocking, and address contractual agreements with suppliers.
Once completed, I presented my recommended new layouts for each category segment to the COO/Sales Executive. All layouts were approved and executed. The results were a rise in profitability and greater inventory turnover.
Sales – Restaurant Solutions
I was selected to be the Account Executive for the Rio Grande Valley, Texas territory as part of the corporate market growth strategy. Toast had minimal presence in this predominantly Spanish-speaking market. I leveraged my fluency in Spanish and my experience in mom-and-pop and large-chain restaurants to create rapport and trust in my clients. During ramp-up, I identified key restaurant groups including an eight-location sushi chain as prime candidates for Toast.
I conducted in-depth demos with dozens of customers including the sushi chain owner. The initial win was for three locations. At the corporate office back in Boston, I worked with my manager to strategize on closing the remaining five locations. I guided further negotiations addressing my customer’s main needs and concerns which resulted in an agreement for all locations. This earned me recognition at the corporate level as “Deal of the Month“.
Marketing and Sales – Strategic Growth within the Established Restaurant Customer Base
As part of the Strategic Growth Team, I took on the role of “Player 1” to leverage my sales experience in a consultative capacity, focusing on maximizing customer benefits from Toast’s technology.
Drawing on my Inbound experience, I identified approximately 300 customers in my portfolio to engage with. The objective was to activate features on their Toast platforms that had not yet been utilized.
Within my first month, I developed a Strategic Growth Manager playbook that encompassed systems management, case management, an outreach cadence, and data collection methods. As the team expanded, I assumed the role of primary mentor for new hires, leveraging my track record of consistent quota achievement. The result was increased deployment of newly created UX/UI features within the Toast application and greater customer satisfaction and retention for the overall solution.
Sales – Outbound Business Development Representative Training and Mentoring
As a new outbound business development representative (BDR) at Toast, I underwent onboarding alongside the account executives. While many parts of this training were transferable, I received minimal guidance on the day-to-day responsibilities of cold-calling. Additionally, the enablement materials were sparse and difficult to digest.
To facilitate my ramp-up process, I created one-pagers that I could refer to quickly at my desk. These resources proved invaluable as I began engaging with restaurant owners and general managers within the first week. They allowed me to familiarize myself with the Toast product, our customer base, and our competition, enabling me to speak confidently with restaurateurs and align with their goals and pain points.
I independently created these one-pagers and subsequently shared them with management, who distributed them to the outbound sales team. These printable slides included:
The structure of a cold call, complete with example scripts for each phase
Benefits of the Toast product tailored to different restaurant segments (quick service, fast casual, fine dining, and multi-unit)
Comparison of Toast against the top 10 competitors in the point-of-sale landscape
This initiative resulted in more effective cold calls and accelerated my performance. I was the first in my hiring class to schedule a demo and the only one to meet the quota in my first month, while also equipping subsequent hiring classes with these resources.
Sales – Inbound Business Development Representative Script and Cadence Strategy
After eight months at Toast, I was promoted to Inbound BDR due to my ideas on scaling up the inbound teams rapidly. Upon joining this team, I immediately sought information on lead costs and projected volumes. Managing approximately 75-100 leads at any given time, I focused on developing an efficient cadence involving calls, texts, and emails to ensure thorough follow-up and achieve quota promptly.
Collaborating with senior BDRs, I curated templates with proven success rates and crafted a 10-step, 30-day cadence. Consistently ranking among the top 5 inbound BDRs across multiple quarters and winning the Jetsetters award for top BDR, I shared this successful cadence with incoming Inbound BDRs.
Purchasing – Food Retailing Operations
I was assigned to be the lead buyer for five accounts representing $1.5 MM in annual sales for a high-end gourmet grocery store. These accounts were part of the strategic portfolio of the corporation’s Healthy Path Market program. I Improved sales volume by 2% while maintaining an ITR (Inventory turnover ratio) of 22 in three months.
I Increased gross margin results by 1% through cost management and in-store marketing efforts. I worked with operations to create an expedited display of products upon receiving them and coordinated in-store demonstrations to promote the adoption of new products. I complied with all external and internal audits, maintained corporate in-store inventory targets, and received high commendations for effective category management. Key accounts included P&G and Badia.
These are just a few projects I have been fortunate to lead or learn from in my career and academic studies. My work philosophy is simple: seek to improve continuously, balance innovation with speed to market, and always understand the market dynamics influencing our customers and business partners.
If you would like to know more about any of the projects above, please reach out to me via email at [email protected]