J Patrick + Associates Blog

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 under-performers 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 way 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 us 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-performance, 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!

While we are recruiting for sales roles for technology firms, I am hearing a lot of frustration from Sales VP hiring managers these days regarding the sales talent that internal recruiting efforts have produced for them for additional headcount or replacements these days.  And quite as often they have equal disappointment bordering on contempt for the broad middle and lower quintiles of their current team!

Disdainful comments abound: "All hat, no cattle." "Blowhard", "Unaccountable Finger-pointer".  And in the ultimate insult to business performance of any kind, a Sales VP quoted Casey Stengel: "Can't anybody here play this game?"

The generation of sales managers we recuit for are generally from the age cohort that grew up with, value and demand strong phone skills: prospecting, follow-up, good note-taking, attention to detail, follow-up and follow-through.  And these are the skills and behaviors they are looking for in their sales reps.  They respect phone and in-person communications skills above all else, and want salespeople who have that activity foremost in their workday, and show it with everyday "hustle".   To them, the phone and the handshake are still the killer apps for sales.  All the other tools are complementary to that core activity.  And this goes for Enterprise sales achievers working with global 2000 accounts, all the way to SMB sales reps working on VoIP, Hosted Exchange and cloud-based infrastructure.

With all the other sales and marketing tools out there, big deals still have to be sold to and closed by SOMEBODY.  And that means Sales Talent is in higher demand.  My clients want to candidates to show them how they work, what they sell and to which markets, and their methods to achieving those ends.

Which leads me to ask: How do Sales VPs unearth talent and build outstanding sales teams?  They need to use multiple avenues to build candidate pipelines (referrals, active and passive recruiting by internal HR and trusted partnerships with a select (ie manageable) list of dedicated sales recruiting agencies.  And then follow through by interviewing nearly continuously to unearth those exceptional candidates that will thrive in their environment.

Are you a High-performance, Low-maintenance door-opening, overachiever brimming with intitiative, business spark, technical acumen and can close when it counts?  How do you get this across to hiring managers in interviews?  Where did you hone your phone skills?  Where did you get your coaching on presenting to technical and non-technical audiences?

I'm always interested to hear about how sales reps landed that great job, or those (usually early) lessons and teachers that sharpened strong sales performers focus and skills. 

SOUND OFF!

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, check out our Sales Engineer Jobs page.  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

Check out all our current available Sales Engineer Jobs by clicking here.  

Also look at our recent Sales Engineer placements here. 

One of our Information Security vendor clients was recently purchased by one of its main competitors, a division of a multinational technology firm.   The combined firm is one of the market leaders in the PCI security world, securing payments between financial institutions, retailers, businesses and consumers.   The following search engagement is a case study in how to a committed client makes the best use of an Executive Recruiting firm to adapt to change and achieve its business objectives.

After a transition period of rationalizing certain functions, staff turnover and reducing the number of office locations, the successor firm had a large volume of open positions in critical revenue-producing functions.  J. Patrick was brought in to deal with a burst of hiring that would subside.  The CEO had a strong sense of urgency in filling these positions in Marketing, Channel Marketing, Direct Enterprise Sales and Channel Sales, and wanted to build a relationship with a recruiting that understood the firm’s needs and culture.   The client also wanted quality candidates, an efficient and speedy process, as well as control cost-per-hire.  In addition, our client wanted us to identify key individuals from their strongest competitor, regardless of role.    J. Patrick designed a recruiting program that ensured the fulfillment of all of these goals, which included a volume discount on placement fees (the fee percentage declined through several tranches of hires) as well as a small upfront engagement fee to begin the program.

Due to a strong partnership, based on trust, communication and mutual commitment to a defined process, we have been able to place six strong candidates (with total compensation exceeding $1M) within 4 months of program onset, in the following positions:

Director Product Marketing, Boston

Channel Sales Manager, Western Region, Dallas

Channel Marketing Manager, Western Region, Boston

Sr Manager, Customer Product Support, Maryland

Business Development Manager, Western Region, San Jose

Enterprise Sales Manager, Financial Services Vertical, NY, NY

We are also currently performing search work for the same client:

Alliances/OEM Business Development Manager, Eastern region

Enterprise Sales Manager, Seattle, WA

Director Marketing Communications, East Coast, virtual office

In many ways this firm is the profile of our ideal customer.

• Committed to hiring the best available candidates.
• Well-written and detailed business objectives, job descriptions and competitive compensation.
• Sense of urgency and ability take action,
• Does not generally have continuous volume hiring to justify a dedicated internal recruiting resource. 
• Human Resources, Executive and Line Management, dedicated time and resources to the screening process.
• High degree of trust and respect for the value of an executive recruiter.
• Strong deal-making and closing skills by hiring managers, working in concert with recruiters.

We have replicated this experience with many other clients, in many industry verticals.  The elements for success have to be in place and the client has to participate in the process.

Do you have an assignment like this?

Let us know!

As Executive Recruiters focused on jobs in the Information Technology sector,  J.Patrick works with many job-seekers these days who are unemployed, underemployed, or just plain "consulting".   We see that in many cases, due to feelings of loss of control and helplessness, and being action-oriented people (not to mention not having the workload, boss, water cooler talk, and career concerns of an employed person) jobseekers' Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder come roaring to life. Here are a few things to do your best to let go of...

Don't focus on the competition.

You can't concern yourself with who else is interviewing for the marketing job you are zealously pursuing.  Candidates ask us how many other candidates are interviewing for the job.  My response always is:  "Would you rather be the winner in a field of 100, or the loser in a field of 2?"

Does the hiring manager have enough information about me to make a decision?

"He has to hire me if he sees my genius <insert ppt, resume addendum, writing, video resume"> Candidates who try to correct any interview mistakes by pinging the hiring manager repeatedly asking to submit more materials are missing the point.  Managers have made their decision viz. your candidacy.  If they don't ask for more data in response to your tasteful Thank-You email, they are unlikely to want it.  And just like the in personal sphere, continued attempts at contact will move you into the creepy stalker category.

What should I wear to the Interview?

Recently I read an article on preparing for running a marathon.  Literally, on preparing for the NIGHT BEFORE a marathon, and it had a nifty checklist approach, including small details like "use 2 forms of alarms, such as your watch and the hotel wake-up service" as well as "pin your racing number bib to your shirt at night".  All this was so a) you wouldn't miss anything in the morning and b) that you would sleep well before the race. 

The point is to focus on the factors and actions that are fully within your control, and that will make a concrete impact on your job search. Figuring out what levers to pull, which ones to ignore and which ones to surrender control of will help you feel more in control of your destiny.

Quality interactions with hiring firms and recruiting agencies:  strong, focused resume, cover letter, phone screens, interviews, follow-up email, writing samples, online presence (LinkedIN, FB, Twitter) and references.  Success in ths phase come from preparation, attention-to-detail, as well as soliciting and implementing input from others.

Quantity is the force-multiplier of quality interactions.  More touches with more employers will translate into better opportunities to meet with someone who can hire you.  As I noted above, this does not mean following up with HR or hiring managers to the point of begging for a restraining order.

Put these together and you'll uncover more opportunities to find that manager that requires what you have to offer.

Good hunting!

Sully

Congratulations!  You made it! You talked to an executive recruiter, you sent your resume along, and even passed the initial phone scree.  Now you're one of a few candidates called in for an interview.  To succeed during the interview and move on to the next step it is important to avoid mistakes- the closer you are to the end of the process, the more small mistakes matter.  Here are some common mistakes of job applicants during the interview.  Read them, save them and most important- avoid making them :-)

Impatience and arrogance while waiting for an interview - your conduct while waiting for an interview can have a strong influence on your success or failure during the interview.  If you are asked to wait a long time before the interview, or fill out various forms, be polite and have patience. If you can not wait - for whatever reason - contact the relevant person, explain yourself, apologize and try to coordinate a new time.

Before going in to an interview - Turn off your cell phone (!)- Do not switch is  to silent, do no switch is to vibrate (do no pass go…) - just turn it off.  Even if you feel the vibration of your cell phone, or hear a beep – you will get distracted; your sequence of speech may be affected as well as your chances of getting the job. "If your wife is supposed to give birth any minute let the interviewer know why you are forced to leave the cell phone is open, otherwise there is no justification for that!

Dress well- even if you're convinced you are God's gift to mankind, you should still dress well.  Do no wear clothes that are wrinkled, tattered, unclean, or not flattering. 

Iron your shirt, press your pants and make sure your shoes are polished.  Your shoe color should match your pants.  If you chose black trousers - it'll be the color of the shoes. If you choose beige or cream colored trousers, wear brown shoes. 

Men- Fix your hair up, make sure you didn’t forget deodorant and mouth wash - and show up with a clean shave.  If you have a beard- make sure it is trimmed and cleaned up. 

Women- should avoid provocative clothing, bright colors, or wild patterns.  Use light day make-up, and if you have nail polish on- make sure it is a low key color.  

First impressions are everything, don’t sound condescending or dismissive - avoid disparaging or condescending behavior. No chewing gum during the interview, No sunglasses on your head (or eyes!), no slouching.  These behaviors show clear disrespect towards the interviewer (and the job), They will not get you hired and will probably get you disqualified before you even walk our of the office. 

Make sure you arrive early- This way you have time to fill out any forms and applications before the scheduled time.  Tardiness is unacceptable.  If due to no fault of your own you are running late, make sure you notify the interviewer as soon as possible (phone call or e-mail), make sure you apologize, try to estimate your new estimated time of arrival, and of course take a queue from the interviewer on whether you should still come in or reschedule.

A note from Gal Natel, the guest Blogger:  I will be writing more on this topic in the next couple of weeks- if you have any thoughts or suggestions, I will be happy to talk to you.

Over the past few months we have seen a great increase in the number of companies looking to hire channel and grow their channels group (Channel Marketing jobs, Channel sales jobs, channel management jobs).  As a recruiter looking for candidates and finding what I need is sometimes challenging.

Some of the problems I ran into are easy to solve and can greatly increase your chances of getting seen and eventually hired.

• Companies that are looking to hire channel people are looking to hire the person that came from a competitor- someone that doesn’t only know and understands the channel market but also has an insight to the product or industry the company is in.  As a candidate, this means that your resume should be very specific.  Again, make sure that you list the technology you worked with.  If working for a small company, a sentence on what the company did is very useful and will immediately spark a hiring manager’s interest if it is appropriate.  If working for a large company (like IBM) where you focused on a specific product line, make sure it is clear, this will save you time on calls that aren’t relevant, and will get you to the top of the list for positions that are relevant.

In channels you have big players and small players.  Most companies like to see “names being dropped” on resumes.  Make sure you note any national channel partners you worked with. 

• If your work is purely channel oriented and you have a long roster of channel partners, you can list them at the end of each position (i.e. Channel partners I recruiter and conducted business with include: Nexum, Accuvant, IBM….)
• If your work was both direct and channel focused, make sure you make special notes of large deals you closed with channel partners. 
• If you worked both direct and through channels, it is acceptable to have 2 versions of your resume, one specifically targeted towards channel positions.
• If you worked at a channel partner, you should list the different partners that the partner represented, and if the company had a specific focus (security, networking…) list that as well.
• Some channel positions (particularly sales) are region specific.  If you worked nationally or within a specific region, make sure you specify.  Some channel partners focus on a territory and not a sector… this will help a hiring manager see the value in your resume.

These apply to all aspects of channel, not a particular position.   

Take a look at the channel positions that are currently open, and that were recently filled.

Channel Marketing

Channel sales (Information Security)

Channel Sales (Western and central region)

A note from Gal Natel, the guest Blogger.  Recently I have been getting more and more Channel positions that companies are looking to fill.  I wanted to address certain aspects of channel resumes and candidates that will not apply to other positions we typically work on.  I would love to hear comments, thoughts and of course answer any questions.

So your resume is the first thing the hiring manager (and a recruiter) sees.  If it is not up to par, it is also the only thing they will see.  Each person writes their resume differently, however there are some guidelines that all resumes should follow.  As an executive recruiter I see about at least a hundred resumes a day, content is the most important, but without the right presentation, content won't get you very far.

Clean formatting

• Make sure you keep the font uniform throughout the entire resume.  Often times, when you write a resume you add to what was already there, this is a source of confusion and many times creates 2 different formatting styles.
• Use a standard black font that is easy to read.
• Do not add your picture.  If you add logos of certifications you hold, the best way to do it is by using a chart with invisible lines, this makes it easy to position, and keeps any images from jumping around.

Length

• it is often perceived that a resume should be only 1 page long.  This is not the case- if you've been on the work force for more than a couple of years, your resume should be longer than 1 page.  Don't skip on details to maintain a certain length
• While you don't want your resume to be 1 page long, you also don't want it to be 10 pages long. 
• The older the position is, the less details you should provide. 
• The older the skill is, the less details you need to provide (if you were a Windows 95 Administrator for 5 years, spare on the details, this technology is no longer being used).

What not to include

• TYPOS and grammar mistakes- read and re-read your resume. then give it to someone else to proof read.  For most hiring managers and recruiters simple mistakes like this will get you disqualified regardless of your qualifications.
• In most European countries it is common to add personal information (age, marital status, date of birth etc.).  Avoid putting this information on your resume.
• References- Today the hiring process calls for references towards the end of the process.  There is no need to include names and phone numbers of your references on your resume.

Some candidates like to have a PDF version of their resume for ease of use (easy to open on my computer regardless of the OS).  Today with databases being in such wide use, a PDF resume is challenging since the text cannot be copied.  If you want to send a PDF resume, make sure you also attach a Word version.

Recruiter's hint:  create an email address just for job boards, postings and resume submittals. Be mindful to check it on a regular basis, even when you are no longer looking.

A note from Gal Natel, the guest Blogger.  I wanted to take this opportunity to address some common and easy to fix mistakes I often see on resumes...  I would love to hear comments, thoughts and of course answer any questions.

Many Technology vendors depend on Executive Search firms to identify and recruit a pipeline of candidates for their Pre-Sales Engineering openings.  The pre-sales engineering managers that do this well fully partner with their recruiters to source for the targeted candidates--providing the recruiting firm with detailed, well-thought-out job requirements, a list of targeted firms and a reasonable compensation plan to offer -- but the work in recruiting the candidate that will succeed in their firm has just begun once the resumes start showing up.

We work with many Information Technology vendors on their Pre-Sales Engineering recruiting and after 23 years of search work in this area, I've noticed the wide spectrum of companies' relative success in identifying, hiring, training and retaining strong Sales Engineers (SEs)

After identifying the key technology areas that must be mastered, establishing the candidate's level of expertise and deciding which deficiencies/learning curves they can live with, most managers move on to testing candidates for the strong communications skills that are critical for success in the pre-sales role. Nearly all of my pre-sales recruiting clients conduct some type of "live-fire" exercise, almost always a technical presentation, with several other team members in attendance and asking questions.

Don't limit yourself to just a presentation.  Many firms test for attitude, aptitude and adaptability during the communications skills phase of interviewing in other ways:

• A customer at an Information Security software firm leaves SE candidates with a live copy of their product for 30 minutes, then asks the candidate to demo the product to the manager and a staff member.
• A pre-sales engineering manager at a Network Services provider asks for pre-sales-specific writing samples, such as proposals, Proof-of-concept documents, RFP responses, Powerpoints, with all proprietary data removed.
• Hiring manager are beginning to request writing sample that are not directly sales-process-related: blog posts, web and print media article, industry panel presentations, wiki articles, LinkedIN answers, and other social media contributions, including video.

In my experience, the best hiring managers also try to project how this person would fit into their company's culture (and his team in l) by asking a series of questions specific to each candidate, and these tend to be more about character and personality type, rather than the particular kind of discrete requirement that is found in a job description.

Can this candidate:

Adapt to my firm's methods, products and customer base?

Assimilate my firm's technology, products, and pricing?

Get along with the sales team, including sales reps, sales engineers and channel partner personnel?

Maintain credibility with external stakeholders: prospects, clients and channel partners?

Maintain credibility with internal (non-sales team) stakeholders: marketing, engineering and post-sales technical people?

Does this person's profile resemble the people who are currently succeeding in this role?

In my experience, Sales Engineer Managers try to gather as many data points and opinions as possible, but have a strong point of view as to what works in their current environment, and who will be successful in that role.  

I'd love to hear from Pre-Sales Engineers and Managers of Sales Engineers what methods/processes you've used or experienced in the hiring process, particularly if you worked with Staffing firms to recruit SEs.