Heather O’Handley
Vice President, Business Development
PRECISIONeffect
Building a Sales Machine
“When Heather O’Handley leads the pitch,” says Kevin Flynn, SVP, Medical Services, PRECISIONeffect, “we all feel the win it vibe.”
It’s a vibe Heather first brought to the agency as an intern in 2011, her junior year of college at UMass Amherst. She interned for a second time during her senior year and before even completing her final semester, she made it clear to the leaders at PRECISIONeffect that the agency is where she saw herself long term. So they hired her for a role in account management, but it was quickly determined that she would be the perfect fit to fill a hole in the agency’s sales efforts as Business Development Manager.
Eight years later, with numerous promotions under her belt, she has built a machine that delivered 20% growth YoY for the last five years. Once a sole practitioner, she now leads a team of four that efficiently manages hundreds of new business opportunities each year. In fact, beyond her direct reports, Heather’s role demands that she consistently corral some of the most senior and often the busiest individuals across the four offices of PRECISIONeffect and PRECISIONscientia and the 32 offices of their larger network.
“Although we’re so close in age, I want to grow up some day to be Heather,” says Alexa Mancini, Senior Manager, Business Development Operations, PRECISIONeffect. “I’ve never seen such brilliance, authenticity, strong work ethic, and understanding of the business need in any person I have ever worked with. No task is too tall, no deadline too quick, and no number unreachable.”
Under all the pressure, Heather has become an even brighter and more valuable precious gem. On top of her significant workload, she gets involved in every social and charitable event. And her colleagues describe her as approachable, dedicated, hardworking, humble, positive, innovative, and proactive.
But Jaime Cohen, Senior Director, Strategy, PRECISIONeffect, perhaps pegs Heather’s value to the team most succinctly. “Heather is motivational. She has the uncanny ability to wrangle a group of teammates with no time to dig in and find the time to push out better work than they’ve ever imagined they could.”
