Phil McPherson
Greenville,SC
Summary
Passionate and intuitive sales professional with a natural gift for building authentic connections and earning the trust of C-suite decision-makers across diverse industries. Renowned for an innate ability to listen deeply, understand client needs, and craft tailored solutions that drive growth and loyalty. Combines the precision of a strategist with the warmth of elite hospitality that turns interactions into meaningful, lasting partnerships.
Overview
19
19
years of professional experience
Work History
Restaurant Waiter
Larkins Restaurant Camperdown
10.2023 - Current
- #1 in Positive Customer Reviews on Opentable and Google.
- Frequent interactions with C-Level executives and top company associates in a wealth of industries.
- Long-lasting relationship building with business and non-business clientele.
- Migrated business clients and casual regulars from Chophouse 47.
- Recruiting new customers during daily activities in the Community.
- Focused on finding unique food and wine pairings specifically tailored to each individual guest's specific preferences.
- Detailed food and wine presentations that balance expertise, professionalism, and humor to capture attention.
- Frequent shared communications with clients via text and phone calls to secure future reservations and pertinent reservation details.
- New-hire training
- Food, wine, and hospitality mentor to trainees and veteran service staff.
- Collaborated daily with kitchen staff to streamline food preparation processes and ensure consistency to the guest.
- Prior corporate experience in business led to a substantial growth in business parties.
- Recruiting talent off-site in various social settings.
Marketing & Sales Professional
Custom Images, Inc.
09.2016 - 05.2025
- Branding consultant to corporations with heightened focus on the restaurant and hospitality sector.
- Created sales opportunities through restaurant employment and customer connections.
- Designed custom solutions for direct mail campaigns, promotions, fundraisers, charities, customer appreciation, and employee incentives.
- Attended various networking and community events on a regular basis.
- Frequent communication with C-Level decision makers.
- Prepared quotes and proposals based on marketing objectives and budgets.
- Delivered creative marketing ideas, write-ups, and market insights through social media channels and email campaigns.
Restaurant Waiter
Chophouse 47
09.2017 - 09.2023
- #1 in opentable customer reviews amongst entire waitstaff.
- Laser-focused approach to building repeat customers.
- Grew clientele list to over 75 repeat customers. Averaged 10 to as many as 30 requests covers daily.
- Frequent interactions with C-Level executives and top company associates in a wealth of industries.
- Detailed food and wine presentations on large corporate parties that balance expertise, professionalism, and humor to capture attention.
- Created a personal journal outlining each clients food & wine preferences, birthdays, family names, etc. and updated daily.
- Frequent shared communications with clients via text and phone calls to secure future reservations and pertinent party details.
- Focused on finding unique food and wine pairings specifically tailored to each individual guest's preferences.
- Prior corporate experience in business led to a substantial growth in business parties.
- Recruiting talent off-site in various social settings.
Sales and Marketing Associate
Sysco Foodservice
02.2010 - 08.2016
- Successfully managed a three million dollar territory consisting of hotels, restaurants, catering venues, and country clubs.
- Sold from a vast selection of over ten thousand products amongst twelve categories along with company and partner marketing services.
- Rapidly expanded a niche sector of hotels and country clubs by leveraging network and client relationships.
- Consistently ranked in the highest percentile of customer retention and penetration sales.
- Conducted business reviews with business development managers, c-level corporate executives, and the executive chef to identify solutions to maximize customer profitability and strengthen client partnerships.
- Attended frequent premium protein training seminars from top industry executives and protein scientists.
- Executed a daily routine of analyzing reports in profits, commodities, food trends, rebates, inventory controls, social media strategies, point-of-sale, and promotions.
- Maintained relationships with all manufacture executives, to maximize account sales, product support, and trade show strategy.
Sales and Marketing / Professional Golf Instructor
Golf Headquarters
11.2006 - 02.2009
- Marketed and sold a broad spectrum of products from a million dollar inventory of retail golf merchandise.
- Designated professional golf instructor and licensed club-fitter.
- Used golf instruction as a value-added service to loyal customers.
- Frequent interaction and relationship building with high-level executives in various industries.
- Generated custom logo orders by executing all steps from initial consultation to the final sale.
- Voluntarily designed a new campaign of custom signage templates and flyers for over 200 products and trained all sales professionals on how to manage and update.
- Became a store ambassador for Cleveland Golf
- Diligently utilized business network to grow sales, healthy profit levels, and customer loyalty.
Education
Associate of Applied Science - Golf Course Operations/Mgmt/Golf Instructor
Golf Academy of America
San Diego, CA / Myrtle Beach, SC05.2005
Skills
- Client Retention Through Authentic Relationships
- Emotional Intelligence & Trusted Leadership
- Elite-Level Hospitality & Client Experience
- High-Impact, Relationship-Driven Presentations
- Protecting Brand Integrity While Driving Profitability
- Grassroots Marketing & Community Networking
- Guerrilla Marketing
- Promotional Marketing
- Golf Operations
- Fine-Dining Restaurant Operations
- Culinary Arts
- Wine and Spirits
Accomplishments
- First year sales and penetration growth with Sysco Foodservice in FY10 reached over 700,000 dollars, achieving the highest rank amongst the rookie class.
- Consistently ranked in the top 10 percent of associates for brand sales, which led to frequent company trip incentives and monetary bonuses.
- Opened Tucanos Brazilian Steakhouse ni April of 2016 by developing a creative workflow strategy with C-level executives at Sysco, Tucanos, and several high-level manufacturing executives. Opening order account sales exceeded 40,000 dollars which ranked highest in the company for that year.
- Collected two company awards for selling specialized Certified Angus Beef products with Sysco Foodservice.
- Seven major corporate promo wins for annual company incentive trips. Only 6-10 reps out of 275 would win these once per year.
Timeline
Restaurant Waiter
Larkins Restaurant Camperdown
10.2023 - Current
Restaurant Waiter
Chophouse 47
09.2017 - 09.2023
Marketing & Sales Professional
Custom Images, Inc.
09.2016 - 05.2025
Sales and Marketing Associate
Sysco Foodservice
02.2010 - 08.2016
Sales and Marketing / Professional Golf Instructor
Golf Headquarters
11.2006 - 02.2009
Associate of Applied Science - Golf Course Operations/Mgmt/Golf Instructor
Golf Academy of America