Patrick Hester

Current

• Marketing Director at Universal Lending Corporation

Past

• VP, Agent Assist at The Agent Workshop
• Operations / Customer Service Manager at Innov8Solutions USA, LLC.
• Customer Service Representative at Spherion

• Customer Service Representative at Innov8 Solutions USA, LLC
• Owner / Operator at Market Websites Private
• Director of Advertising at Gem Products.
• Bonded Warehouse Examiner at Field Warehousing Corp
• Assistant Equipment Manager / Advertising at A-PED, Inc. Private

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Education

• Fresno City College
• Fresno High

Recommended

6 people have recommended Patrick

Connections

41 connections

Industry

Marketing and Advertising

Patrick Hester’s Summary

I like to help people. Always have.

As a Marketing Professional, I'm focused on helping people who would not otherwise have access to new technologies, embrace new media and the impact it can have when used to correctly communicate with their target audience.

Certain sectors like Mortgage and Real Estate, are filled with people who have absolutely no clue how to market themselves in a world where technology outpaces them by leaps and bounds everyday. To them, a fax machine is the most marvelous piece of technology they feel comfortable using. Most Real Estate agents get their license, join an office and quickly find themselves lost with no help on how to market themselves or their products and services.

My job is to help these 'lost souls' utilize all the tools available to them, do so in such a way that they don't become overwhelmed by the very technology that's supposed to be helping them, and offer continuing support to ensure that they are getting a positive ROI on the time they spend marketing.

Patrick Hester’s Specialties:

I've never met a software program I couldn't figure out.

In my day to day life, I use: Adobe Creative Suite 3 (and know 1 & 2 quite well), HTML, PHP, Wordpress, Microsoft Office 2007, m3tr1cs business solutions and Funambol.

I am also quite familiar and proficient with the Corel Suite of products, Typepad, Blogger, Quicktime Broadcaster,

Extra stuff includes: Technorati, SEO, Bulk Mail Practices, Trade shows, Seminars, Parties, Internal Marketing

Patrick Hester’s Experience

• Marketing Director

  Universal Lending Corporation

  (Privately Held; Financial Services industry)

  September 2007 — Present (2 years 3 months)

  As the Marketing Director for Universal Lending Corporation, I support the 40ish Retail Loan Officers with all of their marketing needs including web, email and print. This also includes trade shows and events.
  
  On top of that, my services are available to the Wholesale Division, Reverse Mortgage Division, Crestline Sales and the Universal Lending Foundation, a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization.
  
  My ongoing task is to bring Universal Lending Corporation into the web 2.0 era; this means revamping web sites, introducing email marketing, PURL's/landing pages, blogging and social media like Twitter and reducing overall costs while increasing ROI on marketing materials and avenues.

• VP, Agent Assist

  The Agent Workshop

  (Marketing and Advertising industry)

  January 2006 — May 2007 (1 year 5 months)

  As the VP of the Agent Assist department, I oversaw all aspects of client support and satisfaction and was responsible for minor Operations duties in maintaining a productive office environment. My department was responsible for the initial setup, training and ongoing support for our proprietary web systems including: a branded web presence, branded email, integrated contact management and branded marketing solutions. We were also responsible for some penetration sales during the training and support process.
  
  Additionally: I supported the A/R department, performed software testing, wrote all of the documentation for the proprietary software systems, trained both employees and clients on the use of software products onsite and in the field, supported the department by answering overflow inbound calls and managed a support staff of six employees and two ‘in the field’ photographers.
  
  Lastly, I organized and implemented offsite, classroom style training sessions for large offices.

• Operations / Customer Service Manager

  Innov8Solutions USA, LLC.

  (Facilities Services industry)

  April 2004 — January 2006 (1 year 10 months)

  In the new, re-imagination of Innov8, I was responsible for overseeing all aspects of Customer Service and Operations. I trained clients on the use of the proprietary web procurement system and provided support via email, phone, fax, live internet chat or offsite as needed.
  
  Internal to Innov8, I trained employees, created sales and marketing presentations, wrote documentation including the terms and conditions of sale, shipping, claims and returns policies and acted as internal IT support for both Innov8 and her parent company.
  
  Under Operations I was tasked with: setting up office & warehouse spaces, overseeing warehouse employees, project planning, building new relationships with product & shipping vendors, hardware/software implementation & trouble shooting, light AR/AP, invoicing, processing quotes & orders, placing & tracking orders with vendors (both traditionally and via EDI) while maintaining overall customer satisfaction in accordance with TL 9000 Quality Standards.

• Customer Service Representative

  Spherion

  (Public Company; SFN; Staffing and Recruiting industry)

  January 2004 — April 2004 (4 months)

  As an employee of Spherion, I worked as a contract employee in a call center for a company in the Retail RV Industry called Affinity Group Holding, Inc., whose subsidiaries include: The Good Sam Club, Trailer Life, Coast to Coast and Camping World. As a Customer Service rep I was responsible for handling all inbound calls placed to the different clubs owned by the parent company, changing between different sets of proprietary software, making reservations, taking orders, selling/renewing memberships, trips, magazine subscriptions and auto insurance.

• Customer Service Representative

  Innov8 Solutions USA, LLC

  (Business Supplies and Equipment industry)

  October 2003 — January 2004 (4 months)

  Responsible for processing HVAC, Electrical, Telecom and MRO quotes and orders via fax, phone and EDI (Electronic Data Interchange), placing and tracking orders with vendors and maintaining overall customer satisfaction. Also trained co-workers on using software, on EDI standards, provided internal software/ hardware support, installed office equipment as needed, and fostered good relationships with vendors and clients.

• Owner / Operator

  Market Websites Private

  (Internet industry)

  February 2003 — September 2003 (8 months)

  Owned and operated a small, discount web hosting provider offering hosting, web design, e-commerce and marketing solutions & services to wholesalers in the after-market appliance parts and HVAC markets. I was attempting to bring an aging industry into the internet age, introducing new sales and marketing tools to a predominantly ‘print only’ industry. I had some moderate successes but sold this business in September 2003 for a small profit.

• Director of Advertising

  Gem Products.

  (Wholesale industry)

  July 2001 — January 2003 (1 year 7 months)

  Responsible for custom production of in-house advertising materials for a major manufacturer of after market appliance and HVAC parts and accessories, including monthly direct mail and mass fax advertisements, seasonal advertisements, banners, signs, business cards and multimedia content for presentations, trade shows, email and web applications. Produced original artwork and operated a digital photo studio for photographs of all company products. Additionally, I produced an updated product catalog and initiated a centralized advertising database project, storing all product advertising information, including images, product descriptions, tables and charts within a centralized location for ease of access.

• Bonded Warehouse Examiner

  Field Warehousing Corp

  (Warehousing industry)

  October 1999 — May 2001 (1 year 8 months)

  Working out of Knoxville, TN - responsible for representing the company on the road as a Bonded Warehouse Examiner. This included the installation, training and auditing of Field’s Bonded Warehouse Program to HVAC distributors in an 8 state territory. The Bonded program allows wholesale distributors of HVAC equipment to maintain large inventory quantities without having to pay for that equipment until it is sold. As an Examiner, I installed the program, trained the distributor’s agents on the reporting procedures, rules, forms and the use of MS Excel as a reporting tool, and generally oversaw aspects of customer service and satisfaction. I performed physical inventories and worked with the distributor to reconcile those inventories to the records of both the distributor and the manufacturer.

• Assistant Equipment Manager / Advertising

  A-PED, Inc. Private

  (Wholesale industry)

  June 1988 — October 1999 (11 years 5 months)

  Responsible for the day to day running of the main branch and advertising and marketing for A-PED Inc., a Wholesale distributor of Appliance parts and HVAC equipment, and 12 affiliated distributors across California. My advertising duties included producing monthly and seasonal direct mail and mass fax advertisements, banners, signs and business cards. Also responsible for the Bonded warehouse program, acting as the Bonded Agent for Field Warehousing and Goodman Manufacturing.
  
  My Operations duties included: opening / closing, data processing, computer system (Unix OS) administration, hardware/software implementation and trouble shooting, customer service, maintaining computerized inventory records in the bonded warehousing program for five (5) branches, receiving, point of sale invoicing, preparation of weekly and monthly sales and inventory reports, preparation of bonded warehousing paperwork, weekly and monthly physical inventories, light accounting, multi-line phone and daily bank deposits.

Patrick Hester’s Education

• Fresno City College

  None , Computer Science , 1990 — 1993

  Boring. Not meant to sit in a classroom.

  Activities and Societies:

  electronics, advanced electronics/theory, computer science, computer programming/theory

• Fresno High

  Diploma , Electronics , 1986 — 1990

Additional Information

Patrick Hester’s Interests:

Digital photography, playing guitar, music in most forms, books/reading, movies/DVD's, Old Movies, SciFi/science fiction, fantasy novels, games/gaming, The World of Warcraft, technology, cooking (but not cleaning), blogging, photo manipulation, writing, customer support, marketing, comic books, web comics, training

Patrick Hester’s Contact Settings

Interested In:

• career opportunities
• consulting offers
• new ventures
• job inquiries
• expertise requests
• business deals
• reference requests
• getting back in touch