Sales Operations & Digital Adoption Lead
At Verizon Business, I played a central role in sales operations and digital adoption for a newly formamlized indirect SMB channel, aligning technology, AI initiatives, and scalable processes with field execution to strengthen performance and operational visibility. The following work represents how I helped transform that channel into a fully operational, scalable Verizon Business sales organization.
"I treat change management as a behavior change problem, not a communication problem, most efforts fail because they stop at awareness and never get to the point where people can actually execute the new way in their real workflow."
Most change efforts fail before the rollout ends.
Not because the tool was wrong.
Not because the training was bad.
Because awareness was mistaken for adoption.
Slide 3 is where most orgs are losing it.
Standing Up the Authorized Retailer Business Channel (I2B) as a Formal Verizon Business Sales Organization
The foundation that made every system, process, and performance initiative on this page possible, and much more beyond it.
Objective: Operationalized Verizon Business’s Authorized Retailer SMB channel by partnering cross-functionally to establish the commission structure, reporting framework, systems integration, and operational support ecosystem required to transition it from an informal partner model into a fully supported, scalable sales organization aligned with Verizon Business’s internal sales infrastructure.
My Role: When I moved into Sales Operations supporting both Retail-to-Business (R2B) and Indirect-to-Business (I2B), Verizon leadership later made the decision to formally launch the Authorized Retailer Business channel as an official SMB sales channel. Before that, it operated under the Consumer organization using manual commission tracking, where partners often relied on their own shadow accounting, including simple tick-mark systems, to track their sales and expected payouts. The channel was producing results, but it operated with a fragmented operational support structure and wasn’t fully integrated into Verizon Business’s systems, reporting, or support ecosystem, which limited visibility, efficiency, and scalability. Once the channel was moved under Verizon Business, our sales Operations team reorganized into dedicated groups, and I focused entirely on establishing the operational foundation for the new channel. My role was to operationalize that vision by defining and building the channel structure based on field, system, and organizational requirements, enabling the channel to function like Verizon’s core R2B model.
I worked closely with sales leadership, finance, compliance, and support teams to establish commission plans, define performance targets, implement reporting, and prepare internal teams to support the new channel. This took place within a matrixed structure where Verizon Consumer owned the partner contracts and source data, while Verizon Business was responsible for SMB sales execution. I unified those operational elements by connecting the processes and systems so the channel could operate as a fully integrated part of Verizon Business. This included integrating partner sales activity into Salesforce, implementing tools that improved prospecting and sales execution, strengthening financial and governance controls around partner incentives, and building reporting and audit workflows to ensure accurate account alignment, quota management, and revenue tracking. I also supported the rollout and adoption of new sales and point-of-sale capabilities and partnered with key stakeholders to enable tools like Artemis List Builder within Salesforce and later integrate Velocity AI enhancements, allowing partner agents to generate more targeted insights and operate more efficiently within Verizon Business’s environment. This was especially important because the partner contracts and data were historically managed within Verizon Consumer, which did not operate in Salesforce, so this buildout enabled Verizon Business to directly manage, track, and scale SMB sales across major national partners within its own sales and operational infrastructure.
Impact: This work established the operational foundation that enabled the channel to function as a fully integrated extension of Verizon Business’s SMB sales organization. It transitioned the channel from manual shadow accounting into Verizon Business’s formal commission and Salesforce systems, automating payouts and providing transparent, reliable performance visibility.
It also activated the full operational support ecosystem - including service, chat functions, bot services, order management, and financial operations - to work directly with partner agents, eliminating reliance on internal account managers as intermediaries and repositioning those roles to focus on strategic business growth. As a result, partners gained access to the same tools, support channels, and compliance-aligned processes as internal teams, improving execution efficiency, strengthening governance, and enabling Verizon Business to scale partner-driven SMB sales with direct operational control.
AI Tool Adoption in Sales Operations
Objective: Drove innovation and user adoption of AI-powered tools across Verizon Business Group by researching, piloting, and integrating new AI capabilities that enhance sales and operational performance. As part of the AI Pillar Team for AI Automation and Adoption, a group formed to identify practical, high-impact ways to leverage AI, I worked to translate emerging AI concepts into real business applications that improved efficiency and engagement.
My Role: Recognized as a High-Potential (HiPo) employee, I was selected for Verizon’s AI Pillar initiative to explore next-generation AI possibilities from both a creative and operational perspective. My work included benchmarking AI capabilities across top tech companies to generate fresh ideas for Verizon’s internal AI roadmap, identifying opportunities where similar tools could elevate our business operations.
Within sales operations, I partnered with IT and departmental stakeholders to expand AI capabilities in Salesforce Velocity AI, such as enabling the tool to interpret billing data for reps to quickly uncover insights, recognize customer trends, and identify upsell opportunities. Velocity AI also empowered reps to access consolidated customer insights, including in-house business profile data, web-based information, customer reviews, and industry context, all in one place. It further allowed them to run mock customer Q&A and pushback simulations to anticipate objections and refine their approach before engaging with customers. These enhancements streamlined line-addition conversations, made it faster to identify relevant opportunities, and replaced hours of manual research with guided, AI-assisted preparation. I also played a key role in shaping new capabilities such as AI-driven email prioritization, designed to enable sales reps to manage inbox overload and surface urgent, business-critical customer communications first, ensuring focus on the highest-impact actions to drive the business.
To drive adoption within my team, I trained Sr. Managers on integrating Gemini GEM and NotebookLM into live project workflows, demonstrating how these tools could automate meeting summaries and generate concise All-Hands recaps for field teams. I also adapted my 70+ page “Where Do I Go?” sales playbook into AI-assisted workflows, allowing reps to query guidance directly through AI instead of manually searching decks or documents, turning static resources into actionable, interactive intelligence.
Impact: Enabled Verizon Business Group to ideate, test, and scale AI use cases grounded in real operational needs, accelerating user adoption of AI tools across multiple teams by conducting sessions with 90+ internal indirect business account managers and leaders, equipping them to effectively train agent business reps. The initiative sparked new AI feature development ideas, reduced manual workload for sales and operations staff, and demonstrated measurable improvements in how teams accessed insights, shared knowledge, and approached customer engagement.
Key Impact Highlights
Examples of how I’ve drove operational performance, system adoption, and business efficiency through technology and process improvement.
Strengthened Learning Enablement and Training Alignment Across System Launches
Collaborated with Learning & Development and cross-functional system design teams to ensure training content accurately reflected real system functionality for new tool launches such as B360 POS and Salesforce Artemis List Builder. For B360, partnered directly with the product grooming and design teams during development and enhancement cycles to represent the indirect channel, validating proposed functionality against real-world operational workflows and advocating for accurate Jira user story requirements to prevent releases that conflicted with channel capabilities. Verified training materials before release, aligning content with operational processes and user experience to make sure frontline sellers had what they needed at launch
When post-launch challenges arose, like user confusion or underutilized features, I created playbooks and simplified reference guides to close knowledge gaps, reduce escalation volume, and reinforce continuous skill reinforcement. These resources evolved into scalable enablement materials used beyond formal training sessions.
I also independently developed, based on a recognized field need, the 70+ slide “Where Do I Go?” guide, centralizing process ownership, escalation paths, and troubleshooting steps. Later, I embedded this same guidance directly into Salesforce with Velocity AI, transforming static reference material into interactive, AI-powered, in-platform guidance. This approach strengthened adoption, increased rep self-sufficiency, and improved operational efficiency across the indirect sales channel.
These proven results demonstrate the tangible impact of my enablement efforts in the indirect business channel:
Velocity AI integration in Salesforce improving AI adoption and enhancing rep efficiency to find the answers they need
Artemis List Builder in Salesforce for faster prospecting and better pipeline velocity, helping users build precise lead lists and spend less time identifying high-potential targets
B360 POS rollout and enablement to over 4,000 external business agents, replacing rigid OMNI interface with customizable screens/tiles based on rep feedback, improving transaction efficiency
Improved Workflow Efficiency Through System and Issue Resolution Ownership
Strengthened operational efficiency by leading system initiatives, stake-holder management, resolving user-impacting issues, and ensuring tools and processes functioned reliably within real-world sales environments.
For example, acted as a point of contact and SME between indirect channel field reps and internal stakeholders to resolve system, credit, porting, and other operational issues that were creating barriers to deal closure and impacting the customer experience. In addition to addressing individual escalations, I facilitated discussions to identify root causes of recurring pain points, forecasted emerging issues from patterns observed in cross-team calls, and worked with stakeholders to implement permanent solutions and enhanced escalation paths that reduced friction caused by internal processes and bureaucratic constraints.
These efforts reduced deal closure barriers, de-escalated operational friction, and strengthened trust and partnership between frontline and backend teams by delivering reliable operational leadership and consistent issue resolution.
Enhanced Data Visibility to Drive Operational Decision-Making
Leveraged reporting tools and structured analysis to improve visibility into key operational metrics, including performance trends, tool utilization, promotional and discount activity, and budget utilization. These insights enabled day-to-day operational decisions, reinforced adherence to budget guidelines, and provided leadership with clearer understanding of performance and financial alignment.
First example was when a $5M/year equipment discount budget designed to accelerate deal closure for high-risk or hesitant customers was being overutilized due to inconsistent tracking and limited accountability, I established a more structured tracking process and brought key stakeholders into regular review discussions. Prior to launch, I provided an operational forecast identifying that the program's initial complexity would cause significant backend processing delays for Finance and Offline Support, sales rep confusion, and a degraded customer experience; I proactively mitigated these risks by developing simplified policies and documentation to streamline the process for all involved parties. In response to leadership’s (VP) need to evaluate the profitability and effectiveness of these programs after years of investment, I implemented a structured tracking process to provide clear visibility into performance within the indirect business channel. This analysis identified which discount programs should be consolidated or eliminated and clarified complex eligibility rules tied to product mix and transaction type, such as new lines, upgrades, and ports. By bringing structure and transparency to these requirements, I enabled leadership to make more informed decisions on program design while reducing confusion among sales reps and strengthening overall program effectiveness. This improved oversight shifted usage toward appropriate, high-impact deals, resulting in a 15% improvement that kept spend below the allocated budget and allowed surplus funds to roll into the next quarter, instead of consistently exceeding limits.
Second example was when a new automated bot-driven enhancement within the B360 POS system was launched to the indirect business channel to reduce service transactions and offline submission requests, reporting revealed low initial utilization, indicating the field was not fully leveraging the functionality. This insight led to a targeted re-education effort for field reps on when and how to use the tool, enabling them to resolve eligible discount and feature code additions or removals for bundled offers directly within the system. To drive this initiative forward, I created a detailed field playbook outlining step-by-step guidance with real-world scenarios including troubleshooting examples so reps could quickly understand when to use the automated function and avoid unnecessary offline submissions, ensuring consistent understanding and execution across teams. Improved adoption of the automated B360 functionality, reinforced through focused field training, enabled sales reps to complete transactions faster and more independently while delivering smoother customer experiences. This reduced unnecessary offline submission requests, streamlined operational workflows, and allowed backend teams to concentrate on higher-value, complex work while strengthening collaboration between sales and operations
