Karen Blakeman

Observer
DISC Type : ci

Vice President, Marketing at Ivy Lane Corporation

Lexington, Kentucky, United States

Overview

Karen Blakeman is the Vice President of Marketing at Ivy Lane Corporation, a major Valvoline franchisee. With over 18 years at Valvolines corporate headquarters in various director-level roles, she brings extensive expertise in brand strategy, franchising, and customer experience. She holds a Masters degree from Fordham University and is a Certified Franchise Executive (CFE).

Her career is distinguished by a unique transition from leading franchising and customer care on the corporate side to driving marketing strategy from within a franchisee organization, giving her a 360-degree view of the business.

Personality Overview

Assertive

Curious

Example Seeker

They are likely to ask many questions and look heavily for supporting information.  They can sound friendly and charming but can quickly change gears to become inquisitive and probing. They are generally good communicators and can be hard to convince.

Topics They Care About

Franchise Growth
As a Certified Franchise Executive who moved from a corporate franchising director to a VP at a franchisee, she is deeply invested in franchisee success and operations.
Customer Experience
Previously led customer care and insights for 1, 400+ service centers, managing teams of over 180 members to improve customer satisfaction and drive strategic decisions.
Brand Marketing
Oversaw brand strategy, campaign development, and advertising investment for Valvoline Instant Oil Change in a prior director role, focusing on generating customer insights to drive messaging.

Media Appearances

Karen has no verified media appearances

Work History

7-2025
Vice President, Marketing at Ivy Lane Corporation
8-2023 - 3-2025
Director of Franchising at Valvoline Inc.
1-2023 - 8-2023
Director, Customer Care and Insights at Valvoline Inc.
1-2021 - 1-2023
Director, Customer Experience at Valvoline Inc.
8-2019 - 12-2020
Director, Brand Marketing at Valvoline Inc.

Education

1996 - 1998
30 credits toward Master's in Health Administration from University of Kentucky
1988 - 1990
MA from Fordham University

More Information

Social Presence :

Prographics :

Exp : 37 Location : Lexington, Kentucky, United States Job Level : Senior Designation : Vice President, Marketing at Ivy Lane Corporation
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Insights For Selling To Karen

During A Call Or A Meeting

DO's

  • Ask them questions to understand their needs better while staying affable
  • Persuade objectively how your product will help them achieve their goals
  • Build rapport, it will come handy to handle hard questions later

DONT's

  • Don’t try to rush them into a decision, provide all necessary information first
  • Don’t brush off any concerns, take all questions seriously
  • Don’t be too objective but make sure to pad your storytelling with data points

When Cold Calling

When Writing An Email

While Negotiating & Closing

    The secret to closing fast with Karen is

  • Proven value, strong testimonials are important to them, relationships will have some weightage.
  • Will you ever get a clear answer from Karen

  • They are practical and friendly, don't expect a clear-cut response often.

Insights For Deal Planning

    How fast (or slow) will Karen move?

  • They like to be detailed and take their time to arrive at decisions.
  • Can Karen take some risk or not?

  • They evaluate their decisions systematically and are less likely to take risks.

You And Karen

Personality Compatibility


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