History

The Kirdonn Group was founded in 1989 by John Kirby and Patrick Donnelly. The company was originally a small recruiting firm specializing in the telecommunications and office products industries. In 1993, Jim Panus and Mark Scott purchased the company from the founders with the intent to develop a partnership with the Kansas City business community to take time to fully understand our clients' positions and then conduct a specific search to locate the top candidates. We found there was a definite need for a professional approach to recruiting sales and sales management professionals in the Kansas City market. The company was formed on two premises: honesty and integrity are extremely important; and reputation has a price of its own.

In 1995, The Kirdonn Group purchased Morse Recruiting, which had been in business in the Kansas City area since 1980. This provided us with an affiliation to The First Interview Network, a national network of approximately 175 recruiting firms nationwide, which gives our clients the ability to draw from the national level to find candidates and make placements anywhere in the country. Every First Interview office specializes in sales, marketing and management search. Sales recruiting are not something we do on the side; it's our primary business. We know where to look and what to look for. The right people for sales or marketing positions do more than simply fill openings; they create corporate growth and drive our economy.

In October, 1998, The Kirdonn Group opened its first branch office, in St. Louis, Missouri, under the guidance and direction of Larry Zielinski, a native of St. Louis. In a short time, our St. Louis office, with the assistance of Jennifer Schaeffer, has developed a partnership with the St. Louis community and has been an up and coming force in sales and marketing recruiting in the region.

In December of 2000 Mark Scott one of our principals died of sudden stroke at the young age of 42. At that time Jim Panus became the sole owner of Sales Pros Inc. After September 11, 2001 we made a decision to downsize our St Louis operations and also make necessary adjustments to maintain our status as one of regional prominent players in the industry.
In 2008, Rick Falett joined the Kirdonn Group as CEO over consulting operations. RICK previously was President of Nortel Communications. Under his direction Rick launched Nortel’s Enterprise and Data Solutions  business network. He is now our telecommunications specialist.

In  2009 Mark Schollmeyer joined our group as a Career Coach . Most people talk like they're focusing on their career development or employment search, but they really aren't - they're just talking about how they're not where they want to be in their career.  That’s where a Career Coach like Mark Schollmeyer can help. 

Prior to partnering with the Kirdonn Group, Mark was a Project Engineer at Sprint-Nextel for twelve years, where he managed multi-million dollar projects from start to turnkey.

Because of his twenty years of professional experience in the corporate world, Mr. Schollmeyer provides more than just insight into the workplace or how to get a job.  He provides career professionals with tools and a map on how to make them stand out from the crowd; even in a rough economy when many job seekers are competing for few positions.

Mark has spent the past several years studying the job markets and the trends on what employers are seeking in their next employee.  Besides his numerous accomplishments which can be viewed in his career portfolio brand, he has earned his Master’s Certification in Project Management from George Washington University in Washington, D.C. and a Bachelor of Science in Electronics Technology from Central Missouri State University.
Available soon, will be his new manual, ‘Get a Job Faster and Easier - The proven methods that arms Job Seekers with the best chances of landing that dream job

We are not a franchise. Every independent office is selected on its proven ability in working with national companies. Sales Pros Inc has become the most effective network for recruiting sales and marketing talent in North America. Our expertise in filling technical and management positions is a proven success.  We find top candidates anywhere our clients have a need. We have over 9800 active candidates in our files who are looking for a professional sales position. We know where to look and what to look for.

Working with many Fortune 1000 companies and other solid growth organizations puts us in touch with hundreds of exceptional candidates searching for progressive career moves. Utilizing the services of The Kirdonn Sales Pros saves a company the time and money it takes to advertise, screen resumes and handle preliminary interviews. It also assures the company completes confidentiality until the interview. The only applicants actually sent to interview are pre-qualified to handle the job and are interviewed in detail by our consultants to make the perfect match.

Focusing on quality, The Kirdonn Sales Pros achieves more, with our success ratio of 3 to 1. For every three candidates we send out for interviews, one of those individuals will receive a job offer. Spending the extra time with our clients to gather needed information on jobs, and pre screening each candidate individually, saves companies time and insures an accurate match. We also offer several value-added services to our clients, such as pre-employment testing, sales team profiles, effective staff selection, salary surveys and international recruiting in order to provide our clients with the best possible match for any job openings.

We have contracted with a local clinical psychologist to provide the Myers-Briggs psychological testing. We also provide in-depth profiles and reference checking.

As an organization, we are actively involved in numerous metropolitan Kansas City charitable and civic organizations. Our President, Jim Panus, is a member of or has participated in Rotary Club 13, Kansas City Chiefs Red Coater, YMCA Youth Sports Development Board Chamber of Commerce, Boy Scouts of America, Catholic Charities, CEO Day for the Salvation Army, Don Bosco Center Adopt-A-Family program, former city councilman for Lake Lotawana, former Board Member of the Lake Lotawana Home Owners' Association, City Councilman, Commodore of the Missouri Yacht Club, Kansas City Men's Senior Baseball League, RBI Program (return baseball to the inner-city), Lee's Summit Baseball Association, Lector and Eucharistic Minister for St. Margaret's Parish  and a member of St John Lalande in Blue Springs. Advisory Board for Benedictine College, a Certified Personnel Consultant, National Association of Personnel Services, Missouri Association of Personnel Consultants. Employees have served as members of the Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, and  Jim was very active as the chairman of the Benedictine College Parents Association. In July of 2008 our company acquired the services of Rick Faletti  and expanded its  consulting operations.  Rick and Jim  has become the Top Recruiters in the telecom Industry. We are pleased to be the National Recruiters for Johnstone Supply and Empire Technologies..  Under our Umbrella and assistance we have placed over 150 qualified Sales Pros in the HVAC Industry.

Our employee relations philosophy is to build a cohesive team of sales recruiters and support personnel, all of whom strive towards a common goal to provide the best service to our clients and candidates alike. We understand how important good people are to the growth of any organization, and that family and quality of life all must be in place in order to achieve success..