Posted by Daniel Sullivan on Mon, Mar 11, 2013 @ 10:50 AM
- Major Managed Security Provider (MSSP) hires a Project Manager with limited Security and some Sales Engineering background to handle its largest global enterprise customers in NYC...and the manager is ecstatic with the results!
- Leading vendor of IP Networking and Wireless products hires Sales Engineer to launch their latest Storage product line and support their largest channel partner in the Chicago region...and he's 55+ and been selling cars for the last year!
- Major CLEC hires a Sales Engineer to support busy Enterprise account team in Northern Virginia...and the candidate has not been in Telecom since 2006!
All of these sales engineering hires are placements J. Patrick has made in the last 30 days and are an indication of the tight market for sales engineering talent, as well as SE managers shifting away from hiring using a skills and experience checklist to meet preliminary minimum requirements, and towards hiring for attitudes and aptitudes, character and compatibility, personality and potential.
Hiring managers are adapting to this competitive landscape by focusing on bringing in candidates who are flat-out strong performers in their most recent roles, and who have strong technology and sales process uptake talents. Frankly speaking, what I hear most from frustrated SE (and Sales) Managers is mostly about employee behavior, not lack of skills or experience. Employees are able to do the job but lack the motivation, consistent productivity and teamwork skills that make for good performance. Managers grind their teeth talking to me about the veteran SE who just doesn't meet deadlines, perform well on demos or presentations, or simply "doesn't play well with others".
How do you take advantage of this opening in the market?
We are starting to see the Sales Engineering market look seriously at candidates who are currently in technically-adept, customer-facing roles such as project management, professional services, consulting and service delivery. So if you've given any thought to moving into Sales Engineering, now's the time to reach out to your network, approach your firm's SE or Sales management and starting applying online or via third-party recruiters to these types of roles.
If you do, make sure you focus your resume on some of the most transferable skills, talents and experience you have, and to lower the threshold for SE managers to take you into consideration, take a look at:
Technical Domain Expertise: Where's your depth and breadth in technology subject matter? Certifications can often help here.
Communications Skills: Presentations, Demos, Documentation, Reporting, Metrics, Analytics. All of these are transferable from post-sales/end-user contexts into the sales realm.
Process & Teamwork: Show where you can follow the firm's sales plan, consistently and with minimal direct supervision.
High-performance, Low-Maintenance: Managers are overwhelmed with time pressure, reporting, managing up and down. They need employees who are proactive, energetic and coachable.
Use the Summary, Skills, or Training sections of your resume to highlight these areas. I’ve suggested to candidates that the build a Greatest Hits section of their resume (usually named something like “Selected Accomplishment, Highlights or similar) where they can discuss the Big Things they’ve started and finished, whether as an individual, team member or manager. Think of this as your “brag list” where it’s perfectly OK to say what a Bada$$ Project Manager, consultant or sales engineer you are.
“It Ain’t Bragging If You Can Do It!”
So if you think you have what it takes to move into Sales Engineering, or simply move up into the Senior individual contributor or management ranks, position yourself properly to take full advantage of what's happening in the tech hiring market right now. This may prove to be that moment that could turbo-charge your career.
Good hunting!
Dan Sullivan
Posted by Daniel Sullivan on Mon, Dec 05, 2011 @ 10:30 AM
We've had a lot of demand lately for highly skilled sales reps from our Valued-Added Reseller/ Systems Integrator (VAR/SI) clients. Not only are they expanding their sales teams, but they are also experiencing turnover from competitive pressure and the (predictable) lower quintile underperformers changing teams before they get canned.
Sales Manager hiring for Unified Communications sales people are looking for a variety of skills. In many ways UC is still selling network infrastructure, but instead of the value being "strong, faster, more secure", sales reps are pushing the business transformation story, i.e. they're selling an application that will change the eay you do business through interaction within firms, and with customers, partners, vendors, etc.
So which is it? Do you need a Telecom sales rep who has led his sales with network services, or an equipment guy where telco connectivity is "not his bag"? Or are they looking for an applications software sales rep, who has handle complex sales with multiple decision-makers on mulit-year product and services deals? Or do they want a salesman from an channel partner, or consulting firm who has sold integration, professional services, or managed services?
Naturally, the answer is yes, yes, yes and yes. Our clients tell me that their Unified Communications offerings can be sold from a variety of angles, and so the sales reps who can adapt quickly, adjust to new market demand and who have overcome the usual barriers to sales success are going to be hired into this burgeoning market.
Sales management wants good sales "blocking and tackling" more than ever. A good track record of quota achievement, good sales tactics (and oftentimes requiring some type of structured sales methodology experience, if not in fact training like Miller-Heiman, TAS or SPIN Selling) as well as high-perfomance, low-maintenance mentality are the elements most in demand. And these requirements are particularly crucial in a virtual office situation, where managers see their sales reps infrequently. So skills such as strong use of CRM, pipeline/funnel forecasts and sales activity reporting are must-haves for technology vendors and reseller sales teams. If you look at our current Sales and Pre-Sales Engineering searches, you will see that again and again.
Aggregate demand for sales reps is accelerating as generational technology change in the form of Unified Communications deployments are happening. Corporate America is sitting on a ton of cash and needs to deploy it wisely, to compete and thrive.
If you are an outstanding sales rep with characteristic we've discussed here, let us know!
Time to get started on the next big technology sales opportunity!
Posted by Daniel Sullivan on Tue, Nov 22, 2011 @ 02:13 PM
In another encouraging sign for hiring demand for Information Technology candidates, I have seen multiple examples of Sales Engineering managers loosening their requirements for new hires, and looking outside their traditional talent sources for exceptional candidates.
A number of recent searches have cropped up where companies hiring sales engineers have been asking for candidates outside of traditional pre-sales support roles, such as post-sales account manager, project managers, and product delivery/implementation types. Even technical trainers and some sales reps with the required technical depth. This openness means that hiring managers are exhausting the pool of available strong candidates, many of whom have simply withdrawn from interviewing for new jobs because they are making or exceeding their sales targets (and the accompanying commissions) and have a strong pipeline of sales prospects for quarter-end/year-end sales accelerators (where the scores can really change!) as well as for Q1 2012.
A window of opportunity has opened for external and internal candidates in highly-technical customer-facing roles to leverage the mix of technical depth and personal communication skills and land a lucrative Sales Engineering position, even from outside of a particular firm.
If you are looking to make a transition into Sales Engineering but don't know where to start, LOOK HERE. Our Telecommunications, Applications, Information Security and Systems Integrator customers are hiring aggressively, and I foresee this trend continuing.
Just make certain that you have a strong technical base in the product or services area that the hiring firm when you apply. Technical and market domain knowledge, as well as a strong personal presence, and communications skills (for product demos, webinar, presentations, RFPs, etc.) are the ingredients for successful Sales Engineer.
Good luck!
Dan Sullivan