Kerry Macca

Kerry Macca is a strategic consultant based out of Connecticut. Kerry earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Studies, then proceeded to embark on a career that has spanned more than three decades and included a variety of roles in sales, marketing, business technology, and data analysis. Kerry has led sales teams with an emphasis on teamwork and fostering a culture of risk takers, strong working relationships, and creative problem-solving.

As she accrued more and more experience in these diverse disciplines, Kerry surveyed the business landscape and realized that, although established companies know how to properly address sales, marketing, business tech, and data analysis, there was a distinct void of such knowledge in smaller businesses and startup businesses within the InsurTech industry.

As a result of this realization, Kerry Macca founded KM Consulting as a way to provide services to assist businesses interested in successfully bringing their products and services to market. In her role as a strategic consultant, Kerry prides herself on delivering positive outcomes for her clients in a number of ways. She leads sales teams through complex sales strategies by teaching sales discipline, developing strategic relationships, and focusing on customer success. As a leader, she delivers results by coaching, empowerment, and taking a consultative approach.

Prior to consulting, Kerry was Vice President of Sales at Duck Creek Technologies, a software firm, and CoreLogic, a data and analytics provider. She was recruited by Microsoft as Director of Sales for their Northeast Division. Kerry’s background includes leadership roles at LexisNexis, as well as Risk Manager for insurance carriers.

Where did the idea for your career come from?

Sales today is more essential and challenging than ever. Companies have to optimize their performance in a time of uncertainty and intense competition. The idea to open my business occurred to me when I discovered a niche market need for sales expertise and leadership. The niche in which I operate reflects that strength and experience in sales methodologies, and my successful experience in understanding of growth success. I am a senior executive and trusted advisor with a consistent track record of providing growth in complex settings demanding sales and business acumen. Opening my consulting firm turned out to be both rewarding and exciting with each new project.

What does your typical day look like and how do you make it productive?

My typical day begins at 6 am. I go downstairs for a cup of coffee and quiet time in prayer. Then get my daughter off to school and work out. Health and family come first. Once completed, I transition my focus to the customer. I make the day productive by listening to understand my customer’s needs, their vision, and the strategy they’re trying to execute. I have a deep passion for customer success. Much of my day is dedicated to leading, coaching, and driving sales best practices. I train my customers and their teams on effective pipeline strategies and best practices to assure the best outcome in sales productivity. Also, there are several days that I volunteer in the community, to give back, in the local interfaith food bank and mentoring middle school students. These children are our future business leaders.

How do you bring ideas to life?

I bring ideas to life by capturing needs to either improve processes, customer experience, or technology. Ideas come from all around us—the market, people, and customer needs. Once I have an idea, I will research to determine if there is already some type of solution in place. Being in the field of technology, data, and processes, there are always strong options coming from the end users, specifically on how to improve. This is how I started my career as an end user of technology. By leveraging that experience, I moved on to perform analytics and make recommendations on my ideas to improve the technology in working with the technology programmers to implement these ideas.

What’s one trend that excites you?

One trend that excites me is technology. The technology space is continuously changing and evolving to improve its usability, as well as transform processes, and entire industries. As a part of the InsurTech Hartford team, I continuously see new innovative technology ideas coming to the market which will transform how the insurance market operates.

What is one habit of yours that makes you more productive as an entrepreneur?

While there are several habits that help make me productive, I would say setting aside time to do what I love and setting goals to accomplish every week are the ones I cite as most beneficial. I love what I do, so setting aside time is not difficult. That said, I also set aside time for my family. In doing so, I am more productive. Accomplishing my activities and reaching my goals at the end of the week is also a way I stay productive. I consider myself a lifelong learner, which also makes me more productive as an entrepreneur.

What advice would you give your younger self?

I just wrote a timeline and story on my own career, and in doing that, I’ve determined that there was one primary element central to my successful business career: change. Accepting change is the single most important quality to have in business. As a young professional, change was uncomfortable for me and I did not view taking risks as typically positive. Now, as my professional mindset has changed, I embrace change, and view it as taking on new and exciting challenges.

Tell us something that’s true that almost nobody agrees with you on.

One thing I believe in is starting everyday with gratitude. If people would start each day with gratitude and a grateful heart, people would be filled with kindness, hope, and empathy.

As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?

Take risks. As an entrepreneur, learning from experience and failure is critical to exploring different areas in order to better add value and innovate.

What is one strategy that has helped you grow your business?

Being part of industry groups such as InsurTech Hartford exposed me to companies in need of my services. Also, building new and nurturing, long-time relationships over the years has been incredibly advantageous in growing my business.

What is one failure you had as an entrepreneur, and how did you overcome it?

Using discernment when choosing the right company to work with is especially important. It’s not enough to know that I’m capable of helping a person or a company implement methodologies to sell more and improve their market share. Simply having the expertise to do the work does not necessarily mean it’s a good fit. Aligning with the culture and vision of my clients is important to me. In the book, The Advantage by Patrick Lencioni, the author illustrates why a company’s health surpasses everything else in business. The benefits of spending more time getting to know a company’s team and aligning with their values is something that I learned the hard way. I had to teach myself to not ignore certain red flags simply to retain a client.

What is the best $100 you recently spent? What and why?

I recently spent $100 that my parents gave my husband and I as an anniversary gift—we celebrated 19 years together in August. We used the money for a date night. Great night out!

What is one piece of software or a web service that helps you be productive?

The web service I use consistently is LinkedIn. I use it to stay connected with relationships, stay informed on sales and market trends, and to help grow my business.

What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?

The book is titled Who by Geoff Smart and Randy Streep. It’s about solving the number one problem in business, which is who you hire—as opposed to strategy. To quote Geoff Smart, “Knowing what to do is not the major challenge faced by executives—finding who to do it is!” Having the right people and placing them in the right positions is top priority. The book really breaks down the hiring process in order to make smart hiring decisions.

What is your favorite quote?

“Faith, it does not make things easy, it makes them possible.” — Luke 1:37

Key Learnings:

• Accept change as an opportunity.
• The who is the number one problem in the hiring process.
• Always assess potential clients carefully to ascertain whether they will be a good fit for your business.