Meet the Team

Why Are We Different?
Hi-Impact Marketing & Sales Solutions, Inc., headquartered in the Northwest Chicago suburbs, was founded by Michelle Lanter Smith and Roula Crews in 2006. With successful careers in marketing and sales, they desired to build a firm that would be different than the average marketing agency and generate real value leveraging training, coaching, and cost-effective marketing practices.

Improved Sales Skills + Marketing Support Services = Increased Revenue

The way to deliver marketing campaigns that really impact the bottom line is by incorporating selling activities into the overall campaign mix.  When we commit to roll-out a program for you, we’ll work closely with your sales people to improve their selling skills and leverage the marketing activity so, together, we can deliver real results.

OUR TEAM

Michelle Lanter Smith, Chief Marketing Strategist and CEO

Michelle is a nationally recognized marketing strategist, speaker, and coach.  She has coached more than 2,000 firms in finding their sweet spot—helping them determine their unique business identity—and pumping their sales volumes to new heights.

In addition to coaching, Michelle is a pioneer in building and implementing experiential, integrated marketing campaigns for companies such as IBM, American Family Insurance, McDonald’s, Walgreens, Coca-Cola and mid-sized industrial companies.  She has embraced social media, using tools like Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter to insert her clients into the digital space where their customers and prospects interact.   Committed to educating others on entrepreneurial marketing, Michelle frequently blogs and speaks on the topics of branding your business, branding yourself, and understanding those around you to build win-win relationships.

Michelle is a summa cum laude graduate from Marquette University and earned an MBA “with distinction” from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School.  She has been recognized with the Influential Women in Business 2009 Award conferred by the Business Ledger and the National Association of Business Women and has received the distinction of Top 100 Under 50 by Diversity MBA in 2011.

Roula Crews, Sales Coach and President

Roula is a professional sales coach and trailblazer. Her dynamic energy radiates to those around her, fostering Top Producers that continuously exceed their sales goals.  Roula’s depth of sales skill has allowed her to coach sales people from various backgrounds and experience levels—taking them from mediocre to phenomenal.

Through her one-on-one sales training and coaching, she’s helped clients increase their sales by as much as 20%.  With over twenty years of sales experience, Roula loves aiming high and going for it—winning by learning, growing, and stretching—and helping others do the same through skill development and sales coaching.

 

Teri Latter, Director of Program Management

On time, on spec, on budget – that’s Teri’s motto when she’s managing a project. Teri is a highly-organized, detail-oriented person who loves working with teams to get the job done efficiently . . .and done right! Her strong communication skills make her an effective team leader and enable her to interact with all levels of management. Teri loves taking a project from inception to completion while meeting or exceeding the client’s expectations.

Teri spent 28 years at AT&T, working primarily as a product manager and product developer. She led the team that created Ameritech Privacy Manager, a first-in-the-world call management service for which she holds several patents and received numerous awards. She also worked as marketing coordinator in the consumer marketing organization, interfacing with the advertising agencies, direct mail houses, outbound and inbound call centers and service centers to assure flawless implementation of marketing campaigns. She also managed all post-launch tracking. She has a B.A. from Lake Forest College and completed the Executive Development Program at the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.

Dan Gajos , Account Marketing Specialist

Christopher Villalobos, Event Specialist

Chris is the administrator of all multicultural event coordination and Hispanic social media initiatives. Chris’s role at Brillante (Hi-Impact’s Hispanic Marketing Division) consists of executing grassroots marketing and coordinating outreach events in the Hispanic communities in the Chicago area and surrounding suburbs. He believes that connecting with the community is an important element of exposing a brand. Chris is currently working on projects for the not-for-profit organization, Vive en Forma, in which they are engaging with the Hispanic community through health fairs, Latino festivals, social media, and other mediums.

Chris holds a BS in Marketing from DePaul University.  He has worked for The Chicago Sky Women’s Professional Basketball Team, and for The Chicago White Sox assisting with multicultural marketing initiatives.

Chris Geimer, Creative Design Partner

Chris’s passion is great design that solves communication problems.  Looking good isn’t enough . . . visual presentation of a message, image or information should enhance the marketing approach with consistency. Chris enjoys learning about clients and their design needs and requirements, then offering successful, well-designed solutions customized to those specific needs.

Chris is a graphic designer with extensive background in successful print communications ranging from logo and identity programs to advertising and collateral, including bi-lingual retail packaging and marketing. Her expertise includes involvement from initial concept generation through delivery of the final piece. Her background includes working at several design firms and advertising agencies in the Chicago area, as well as close to 20 years with her own company working directly with communications firms, small businesses and large manufacturers. Each project gets high quality design attention, while working within designated budgets and deadlines. Chris has a B.A. degree in Graphic Design from the Fine Arts College at the University of Illinois, Champaign.

Dean DeLisle, Social Media Partner

For over 30 years, Dean has demonstrated his ability to accelerate companies, stimulate business development and make operations more efficient.  He harnesses the ever-evolving power of technology, paired with his consulting, coaching and training skills to implement sound business practices.  Using the power of online social networks as well as traditional media, he has helped numerous clients pack the room for events and establish their online and media presence as well as countless company, brand, product and service launches.  He co-hosted and produced Chicago’s well-known WLS890 AM’s morning talk show for two years, “The Real Deal” which focused on consumer awareness in the financial and real estate markets during the most incredible market down-turn of our time.  Dean uses every tool available, weaving aspects of every medium to achieve the end goal and accelerate his clients’ business growth.

As a Hi-Impact partner, Dean leads his core team at Forward Progress to provide integrated marketing solutions using a proven coaching and consulting methodology in driving business growth.  Committed to delivering both “Lowest Cost per Lead” and “Converting Leads to Sales,” Forward Progress has helped over 2,000 corporate clients assess and improve their online marketing and social networking results and have trained over 30,000 people in over 25 countries with their online programs.  As an experienced CEO and business owner, Dean also coaches senior executives in publicly and privately held companies, using their proprietary Power Plan System to identify the appropriate strategy, map out a clear direction, structure the team and execute the plan within an aggressive timeframe.

Cesar Rolon, PR and Events Partner

Cesar Rolon Jr. has an extensive and versatile background in community affairs, public relations, media, events and promotions. Born to Puerto Rican parents, Cesar Rolon Jr was the first Non–Mexican Executive Director of the Little Village Chamber of Commerce where he refined the redevelopment of Chicago’s third busiest commercial business strip, 26th street.

Cesar Rolon also became the first Executive Director of the Puerto Rican Chamber of Commerce of Illinois.  Within 12 months he founded the first Annual Hispanic Women’s Business Conference, young Latino entrepreneur’s project and was part of the planning and fundraising committee for El Paseo Boricua – also known as the Puerto Rican Passage.

Cesar’s diverse and extensive marketing background has lead to him to create on-premise and off-premise spirit and beer campaigns for companies such as Miller Coors, Diageo (Nuvo, Kettle One, Smirnoff and Johnny Walker and Don Julio) Hennessey, Bacardi USA, Martell Cognac and Jack Daniels.  Campaigns included, Don Julio Flight Parties, Jack Daniels Latino Comedy Tour and Vicente Fernandez Concert Tours, Martell Blue Groove Lounges, Cuervoton national singing competition sponsored by Cuervo Tequila, Bacardi USA Golf Tournaments, Nuvo fashion lounges, Hennessey Muevete Tour, Johnny Walker Indy 500 Tours, Smirnoff Flavor lounges and Emboricuate beer campaign for Miller Coors.  He also managed celebrity spirit tours that included Vicente Fernandez, Mary J Blige, Christina Aguilera, Kayne West, Ricky Martin and Daddy Yankee just to name a few.

In 2007 Cesar launched Latin Fashion Week – the only Latino Fashion Week in the United States.  Latino Fashion Week in now recognized at the source for Latinos trying to break into the fashion world in the United States.

Cesar holds a B.A. degree in International Business and Human Resource from Northeastern Illinois University and has won numerous outstanding community achievement awards.

Sales Team

Mary Kay Matasek, Sales Coach

Tina Skoubis, Sales Specialist