Will Winston, 32
Owner, TechnoMarketing, Richmond, Va.
His big break:I worked for UPS from 2004 to 2009 as an account executive. My father, Joe Winston, founded TechnoMarketing in 1997, and was a big believer in my getting my sales and account management experience with a Fortune 500 company. He insisted I stay with UPS for a minimum of five years and take in everything I could. It was a smart thing to do. It played a big role in my account, opportunity and territory management skills. While at UPS, every week I reported on my top gaining and declining accounts as well as my top 10 revenue opportunities. I was responsible for visiting my top gaining and declining accounts and reporting what was causing the gain or decline. I [also] reported on actions I was taking to close my top 10 opportunities and I made sure my targeted close dates were accurate. This level of accountability placed on me made sure I managed my territory properly as I spent my time retaining, penetrating and converting business to UPS. We reported all of these activities into a Client Resource Management (CRM) tool daily.