When Guerrero Researcher Kemp G. Pile isn’t posting inspiring and thought-provoking content about sales, the devoted family man is cooking and catching up on movies. Hear from him about his journey at Guerrero, his leadership style, and more.
Where are you originally from and what is your background?
Originally, I am from Barbados. I grew up there and when I was nineteen, I moved to Maryland for college. I studied engineering but have always been drawn to sales. While at school, I did a sales internship with Aflac and never looked back. In fact, it was a role with Aflac that brought me to Chicago.
How did you first come to work for Guerrero?
I was working in the insurance industry but wanted to move on to a different sale to learn something new. I saw the role of account manager online and applied. Seven years later, here I am.
What do you do at Guerrero today?
Today, my role is a researcher with Guerrero. I help several sellers with finding quality leads that they can reach out to.
How would you describe your leadership style?
I would say I am much like a player/coach. I like to help and instruct by doing alongside. I have found over the years that it helps keep your skills sharp and it also allows you to stay connected to what those that you are training are going through.
What makes Guerrero such a great place to work?
It’s absolutely the people. One of the best things about Guerrero are the people that you get to work alongside and the relationships that you foster along the way.
You are very active on LinkedIn. What are the main topics you enjoy posting about?
I enjoy posting about sales and sales leadership. I love sharing tips for those coming up in the field—tips that will hopefully help them avoid some of the bumps and hurdles I ran smack into. I also am really fascinated with cryptocurrency. I don’t post as often about it, but I find it very intriguing.
What advice do you have for someone who wants to build their brand and create relevant content, especially if they are starting from scratch?
Start! It will never feel quite right even after you start. The important thing, though, is to start. Make that first post and then come back and do it again tomorrow and the day after that and on and on. I would also encourage you to find people whose content resonates with you and comment on their posts. I have made a number of connections with people who saw one of my comments on a post of someone they follow.
What has been one of your most viral posts, and why do you think it got so much traction?
When you say viral, keep in mind this is relative to me. One of my most viral posts was in mid-2021 about the state of finding a job in a market that’s supposed to be job friendly. My wife made a comment because her brother was having a hard time finding work. She said, “Everyone is hiring but no one is finding jobs.” I thought back to some of the posts I had seen with people sharing a similar sentiment. And I believe that’s why it resonated so widely, because it was true then and feels even more true now.
What else would you like to share about yourself?
I am not one to talk about myself much, but I do always speak about my family and how lucky I am to have a wonderful wife and two healthy boys who drive us crazy.
I also love, love movies. I’m a HUGE movie fan. I don’t get to go as much as I would like to because of those two boys, but I still appreciate a good flick.
I am also a big foodie. I like cooking more than eating it. I am especially nuts about grilling. It is the ultimate battle: man versus meat.