TERRI ALCAZAR

227 Railroad St
Chelsea, Michigan 48118
734.433.9770
ta398250@westpost.net
SALES AND MARKETING EXECUTIVE
Entrepreneurial and award-winning business leader with 20+ years of experience j
umpstarting growth for Fortune 500 firms and start-ups across industries includi
ng publishing, education, and education support services. Inspire organizations
of 5 to 1,500+ employees to world-class performance through maximizing market p
enetration and profit for multi-million dollar operations. Possess exceptional c
onsumer insight with extensive new product development and launch leadership. V
ersatile skill base includes customer engagement, product line expansion, and st
rategic brand positioning. Widely recognized as a visionary leader, eMarketing p
ioneer, and strategic decision maker with impeccable organizational skills and a
passion for talent development and organizational growth.
Areas of Expertise
Integrated Sales & Marketing Plans
Brand Awareness Implementation
Client Needs Fulfillment
New Market Penetration
Key Relationship Building & Marketing Communication
Competitive Market Analysis
Business Development
1+M Budget Administration
eMarketing Strategy
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Vice President of Marketing | Quantum Learning Technologies | Ann Arbor, MI | 20
08 - 2009
Creators of Ramps To Reading and SkateKidsOnline programs that combine science-b
ased literacy and cognitive development techniques with interactive programs tha
t incorporate virtual worlds, avatars and social networking.
Launched the marketing department for this young education support services orga
nization. Directed the strategic planning and implementation of a marketing pla
n that increased brand awareness among educators who use Quantum's SkateKids Onl
ine educational Web program in the classroom. Led a team of 2 employees and se
veral creative freelancers in the creation of a corporate identity and image; es
tablished corporate branding guidelines and literature. Developed and launched
company website and web 2.0 marketing strategies for teacher-level marketing and
ecommerce. Oversaw the setup of Customer Relationship Management sales and mar
keting dashboards via SalesForce. Determined trade show strategy and lead gener
ating functions at International Reading and Title 1 Reading conferences.
Key Achievements:
* Interfaced with Venture Capital board members to secure a $930K investment in
the launch of its first educational virtual-world computer game for the consumer
market.
* Broke into this tough, traditional market through industry contacts and elevat
ed sales leads from 0 to 400 in a 6-month period.
* Filled trade show and conference events to capacity with budget controlling de
cision makers in the education field.
* Leveraged relationships with advertising and media that forged partnerships wi
th education support giants such as Edutopia and the George Lucas Foundation.
* Submitted products for industry awards and was a finalist for CODiE award in 2
008, which recognizes excellence in the business software, digital content, and
education technology industries.
Director of Marketing | GALE | Farmington Hills, MI | 2000 - 2008
Part of Cengage Learning, a world leader in e-research and educational publishin
g for libraries, schools and businesses.
Promoted into Marketing Leader role and applied experience, creativity, strategi
c planning and leadership that achieved the firm's strategic goal of proving to
be a viable market for Cengage Learning. Managed and directed all sales and mar
keting operations encompassing integrated marketing initiatives, which penetrate
d and grew targeted markets. Collaborated with customers, management, internal
departments, and vendors to coordinate overall marketing effort in alignment wit
h corporate goals. Conducted regional market research and analyses and played an
integral role in product development. Led and directed forward thinking marketi
ng team and managed $1M marketing budget.
Key Achievements:
* Elevated Gale's K-12 Division sales from $35M to $75M in the first year.
* Orchestrated the most successful product launch in Gale's history: Opposing Vi
ewpoints Resource Center generated sales of $5M in 8 months.
* Opened up Gale's products to a global market through the pioneering of eMarket
ing in the early 2000's; became a recognized expert in eMarketing channels and o
utreach. Became a featured speaker on Heller Reports Roundtable.
* Earned multiple TARGET awards from the Direct Marketing Association of Southea
stern MI.
Senior Account Manager | GALE | Farmington Hills, MI | 1999 - 2000
Helped launch a new sales division selling online proprietary and aggregated con
tent to K-12 schools; merged product content from 3 Thomson companies: Gale, IAC
and American Journey. Successfully migrated K-12 customers from CD platform to
online web access. Participated on Y2K response team.
Key Achievements:
* Achieved top sales position by achieving 105% of sales goal.
Distributor | Self Employed | Central California | 1996 - 1998
Led a team of 5 full-time and part-time sales and delivery employees selling edu
cation materials to schools and libraries. Established new territory for circul
ating nonfiction print titles in the Central Coast and Valley of California. Car
ried 65 publishers for the K-12 market.
Division Sales Manager | World Book Educational Products | Chicago, IL | 1982 -
1997
Led a team of 8 - 10 district managers, 200 - 350 independent representatives an
d district trainees to carry out a full range of field sales and local marketing
functions. Managed a direct to consumer independent representative channel as
well as school, library and institutional sales channel. Launched 4 new Divisio
n territory offices from the ground up. Oversaw talent management for the Divis
ion as well as training for new representatives (primarily Educators) and field
training for District Managers. Served as mentor for District Managers, 3 of wh
ich were Flying Circus Award winners, an annual award and the highest level of r
ecognition for Sales Managers at each level. Represented Sales Management withi
n new product development team for Alphabet Pals preschool enrichment program. D
eveloped a preschool enrichment-marketing program within preschools and day care
s for consumer sales of this new product. Flying Circus finalist for 3 consecut
ive years.
Key Achievements:
* Attained 345% increase in territory sales units and 70% sales units from new p
roducers; recognized with the Flying Circus Division Manager Award.
* Achieved 4% penetration of the consumer market in each new territory.
* Developed successful nontraditional lead generation strategies for sales teams
.
* Made motivational tapes and cassette tapes on sales strategies that the compan
y distributed to various levels of management.
EDUCATION & PROFESSIONAL CREDENTIALS
Bachelor of Science in Education, Special Education; Central Michigan University
, Mount Pleasant, MI
Cambridge Who's Who in Marketing 2008, 2009