Kristen Schmitt, PCC

“I recently had the pleasure of working with Kristen @ Thrive to Lead for executive coaching over several months. I gained so much from my time meeting with her and would highly recommend Kristen to anyone seeking to learn, grow, and receive tangible insights and resources as a leader. Kristen utilized engaging dialogue, surveys, personality tests, leadership assessments, questioning, and other resources to assist me in my leadership journey. She made helpful introductions, suggested relevant reading and podcasts, and was a caring and supportive resource during a difficult career decision-making process. I appreciate all that I gained from my work with Kristen, and I look forward to continuing to implement the strategies in my leadership journey! ”

“I worked with Kristen for nearly a year as part of a company-sponsored initiative to upskill leaders. I cannot recommend her coaching, approach and patience enough. I got so much more than I imagined out of my experience, and emerged as a stronger, more empathetic and driven leader. After our first few meetings, Kristen mapped out a journey specifically for me, based on the objectives we brainstormed and her experience with all manner of leadership growth plans. She began with the end in mind, was incredibly adaptable and always direct and honest with her feedback. Working with Kristen was like having a personal business school professor teaching a master class, but where all the case studies and learning modules were my real-world experiences, and the professor became a trusted mentor and friend, genuinely invested in my progress and success.”

“Kristen is a dynamic coach that I'd recommend to anyone looking to develop professionally and/or personally. I worked with her when she was helping me and my teammates be more accountable and autonomous. She provided helpful and practical tips and real life examples that helped me grow.”

“Kristen Schmitt is an exceptional coach. She helps you draw your own conclusions and deduce the solutions to issues in your business. She keeps you focused on the bigger purpose behind why you do what you do and whether it matters. She helped me eliminate many things that were weighing me and the company down, while streamlining processes. Her coaching was incredibly helpful while navigating some tough employee situations and the financial downturn experienced by the real estate industry when the rates increased. A month after completing our coaching cycle, I find myself still using tools she provided. Our business has increased and become much more efficient. I credit this largely to Kristen keeping me centered and supporting my growth. These are her results as much as they are mine. She is worth the investment in your success!”

“Kristen’s support as a coach was invaluable. She helped me clearly map out the areas I wanted to grow in and to take concrete steps each week to achieve my goals. She knew when to empathetically listen and when to kindly challenge me to think about things differently. I really appreciated her ability to both troubleshoot specific tactical situations in my day-to-day work as well as to help me think about what I wanted out of my career holistically. Kristen helped me grow enormously during the time we worked together and I would highly recommend her to anyone who wants to accelerate their career!”

“Kristen is an exceptional leader and coach. Her patience through listening and insight sharing, provides opportunity to explore and identify goals - which paved a path of development, through homework and accountability. This cadence shed light for ongoing reflection and growth. I greatly appreciated her guidance and coaching - a ton of takeaways I'll be continuing to put into actions for months/years ahead - I highly recommend partnering with Kristen for coaching sessions or workshop.”

“Kristen is an incredible listener and asks deeply perceptive questions. She is also great about homework and seems to have an exercise and worksheet for every issue we uncover that needs work. Finally, Kristen exudes trust and care. I originally hired Kristen to help me put together a training and development program for our sales teams. She quickly established trust and her ability to prioritize and I began using her as my own coach. That led to having her coach the other leaders on my team. Everyone that has worked with Kristen raves about her and the productivity of my team with her help has been off the chart. I recommend Kristen for coaching without reservation.”

“I have been fortunate enough to have met Kristen at the beginning of her entrepreneural journey. I have watched with amazement as she has grown her influence & business. Her positivity is infectious & inspiring! If you talk to her for just a few minutes, her coaching expertise is easily apparent. She has shared her insights on my radio show, Mr. Biz Radio. I'm grateful for her collaboration & whole-heartedly recommend her coaching.”

“Kristen's consulting has been of tremendous benefit to Dismas Distribution Services. She has she been a tremendous asset to our sales function and has implemented a very effective sales process for our team. She is very strategic, detail-oriented, and she sets clear expectations and goals. Kristen has also played an instrumental role in our strategic planning process for 2019. With her direction, our strategic planning has tied sales, finance, and production together seamlessly. ”

“Kristen is fantastic to work with and really knows her stuff! When I first engaged Kristen, my business had been growing through existing customer referrals. I really had no concept of sales as a process. Kristen’s guidance enabled me to be much more strategic about prospecting, qualifying, and closing business. During the first couple of meetings, we dove into the sales basics, configured my CRM, and set sales-specific goals. We are now growing through multiple channels and are expanding our support staff. We doubled our sales volume in 2018. None of this growth would've been possible without the training that Kristen provided. Kristen quickly and easily assesses the sales function and begins suggesting practical solutions to take the business to the next level. She was well worth the investment and I highly recommend her!”

“Kristen’s consultation with us has had a marked impact on our franchising sales activities. She opened our eyes to deficiencies in our process that went well beyond what someone might deem as “sales.” It was truly a holistic approach to sales improvement and we’re definitely reaping the benefits.”

“Kristen's coaching has been instrumental for me during the early stages of my sales and business career. Through working with Kristen, I have improved my strategic communication skills, which has led to stronger customer relationships. She has also been formative in the development of my business acumen. I consider Kristen a supportive and trusted mentor whose advice leads to actions which leads to results. In my first year working with Kristen, I increased sales by 34%. ”

“Kristen's coaching was invaluable to me during my career transition. She inspired me to look harder inside myself and open myself to greater possibilities, in part through giving me assignments that helped me focus on what was most important and meaningful. I also experienced Kristen's leadership, as she managed me in a previous role. As a manager, she kept things in perspective and allowed for a healthy work-life balance. Kristen really knows how to build a strong sales team. She created a culture of trust, collaboration, and fun, which resulted in stellar team performances. ”

“I have had the pleasure of working with Kristen for over 18 years. She is a fiercely dedicated, award winning sales leader focused on teaching and developing sales people while providing them with the tools they need to win, thrive and grow. Many talented people within Pearson have developed successful and rewarding careers under Kristen’s leadership. Kristen authentically creates teams that realize tremendous success together and have a great time learning and laughing while doing so! If you are considering a career in sales, you want to work for Kristen! ”

“I worked collaboratively with Kristen twice in my career at Pearson, most recently as a partner co-leading her district as her Learning Technology Specialist/Digital Consultant. Kristen is a knowledgeable, charismatic, effective leader. She is well respected and appreciated because she not only drives for results, but also cares about each of her team members a great deal, making them want to work hard for her. Kristen also is very analytical and gives great attention to detail. I recommend Kristen highly and would be proud to work with her again. ”

“Few people have the opportunity to report to a manager who is also a coach and mentor, but fortunately I am one of those few. As my district sales manager at Pearson, Kristen was instrumental in helping me make a smooth transition from our inside sales team to a field based territory that had its own unique set of challenges and demanded some different skill sets. Kristen is a master strategist, possesses the uncommon ability to always be thinking ‘biggest picture possible’, and has an incredible track record of success in this industry. As a leader for our team, Kristen definitely earns my highest recommendation. ”

“Kristen's management style is second to none. From my first days at Pearson until now (nearly 10 years) she has given me the coaching, structure, empathy and guidance necessary to be successful, every step of the way.”

“Kristen is an exceptionally talented sales leader. As a manager she is a partner in the sales process, a nuanced teacher and is skilled at advocating for the resources her teams need to succeed. Kristen is highly strategic; making decisions based on methodical research and data. Kristen is the kind of manager that works for her reps, more than they work for her.”

“Kristen hired me as the NYC sales representative for Prentice Hall in 1997. I had the benefit of reporting to Kristen and learned so much from her about the business and strategic selling. Kristen is an excellent manager. She is completely engaged with her reps, empathetic, smart, and strategic. Kristen's passion and dedication is contagious.She dedicates countless hours to training and developing her team. I was extremely successful as a sales representative reporting to Kristen. ”

“As Senior Efficacy Manager for Professional & Career products, Kristen was an invaluable contributor to Pearson's efficacy research agenda. She quickly established strong rapport with colleagues and customers, enabling her to develop - from scratch in her markets - case studies and efficacy reports in a matter of months. Kristen is a highly respected leader to whom I offer my unconditional recommendation because of her intellect, dedication, and outstanding people skills.”