Vanderbilt Behind the Scenes: Featuring Jennifer Martin, Director of System Sales

By far, employees are Vanderbilt's greatest asset. Innovative, committed and dedicated to developing strong relationships, they are the ones who not only problem-solve behind the scenes, but also proudly stand front and center, ready to recommend the best security solutions to meet and exceed customer needs.

One Vanderbilt employee who encompasses all of these qualities and more is our Director of System Sales, Jennifer Martin. From day one on the job, Martin was eager and ready to hit the ground running. This is especially true since Martin's first day with Vanderbilt was April 1, 2014 — the beginning of that year's ISC West conference.

In the last five years, Martin has worked to build meaningful relationships and partnerships with her customers, and appreciates that her Western U.S. territory gives her the time and bandwidth to provide exceptional levels of service and support. Her daily activities are all-encompassing and range from recruiting new dealers to problem-solving with consultants to even working in concert with dealers and their end users.

“Vanderbilt has allowed me to feel like an integral part of what the company does,” Martin said. By empowering her to get to know the people who seek solutions and better understand their needs, the company has enabled her to successfully recommend products that will provide the best option for her customers.

When asked in what way she sees Vanderbilt making a difference in the world of security solutions, she said: “As a mother and a grandmother, I know we can't prevent incidents at schools, but I do know Vanderbilt's solutions can provide safety and security to help us protect the most important asset: people.”

Martin's role as a grandmother also played a large part in her newest endeavor: children's book author. With her grandchildren constantly requesting that she tell them stories, her children suggested that she turn her entertaining and creative storytelling skills into a children's book. With her grandchildren as her idea board, Annabel Princess Monkey was born.

Martin's entire family was a part in making the book a reality. She envisioned “simple, stick figure-like” images as illustrations until her husband offered to help with the drawings. His detailed, vibrant imagery far exceeded her vision and helped to make the book even more special for her family. However, during the time the book was in production, Martin's husband was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. “This project has really helped sustain my husband during this last year — he even did character studies to prepare and will be selling limited edition giclee prints of the book's drawings at a local gallery,” she said.

Martin is the perfect example of a Vanderbilt team member who is caring, committed and ready for any challenge. Thank you, Jennifer, for all of your dedication and focus on excellent customer service!