May's Featured Manager: Chris McDonell

McDonell says, "Be open to taking risks"

Name and title: Chris McDonell, president and owner of McDonell Consulting & Development, Inc., an authorized licensee of Sandler Training, a sales training management development and consulting company.

Personal background: The Aberdeen native graduated from John Carroll High School in 1986 and earned a business degree from Salisbury State in 1990. He lives with his wife and two children in Forest Hill.

Professional background: McDonell has lived and worked around the country for some of the leading financial corporations, including Morgan Stanley, Citigroup and The Associates. “I started out as an entry level financial service representative in 1991 and went on to manage consumer lending branch offices and lead district teams,” he said.

In 1998, he moved to Dallas, TX where he helped with the lead administration of a new centralized training platform designed for a multi-level, decentralized organization. The platform was deployed to more than 8,000 employees and McDonell guided the start up of a centrally based learning center concepts.

“In 2008,” said McDonell, “I opened my own Sandler Training business, enabling me to focus on my passion and draw on my 18 years of experience in sales, management and corporate training.”

Keys to success: Networking and getting to know the people and businesses in the community are important, McDonell said, adding that helps him help clients reach their objectives and surpass goals.

Goals: McDonell said he wants to keep the roots of his family and his business firmly planted in Harford County. “My goal is to become the premier training and leadership development company for the area by offering value added outsourced training, leadership development and consulting services,” he said.

Advice: “Be open to taking risks and to new ideas, hold yourself accountable for the decisions you make, and mostly, have a passion for what you do,” McDonell said.

What could be done to make business
more successful: “For business owners, managers and sales people to stop looking at training as cost, rather than an investment in their companies and their careers,” said McDonell, noting sales and client development are the lifeblood of business. “Without proper training and effective leadership, businesses run the risk of falling short of expectations,” he said.

Photo caption: Chrisl McDonell trains salespersons to be more effective in their presentations and in closing deals.