For the past year, I have been working in a tech start-up exclusively focused on reselling leading cloud computing technologies in a new model. When I was hired, I was employee #8… and now there are 20 people in the corporate office and 50 outside sales representatives (yay!). This is definitely an experience that has been incalculable; I am grateful I had the opportunity and took the risk. This environment has given me the flexibility to try new things and be involved in projects outside my job scope, but has also allowed me to be seen by my employer transparently.
From the time I was hired until now, I have worked my way through 3 promotions, 4 departments, and am now the Senior Manager of Sales and Partner Alliances. This position was obtained through hard-work, dedication and a lot of blood, sweat and tears (actually, there were no tears). This start-up does not allow people to just make up great titles for themselves; my standing in the company is based on the effort I put forth.
My time, or journey you could say, began recruiting developers for the Developer Alliances department. When that area was tabled because of company priorities, I was quickly moved into the Portfolio Strategies department. This was a great place to start because I was forced to quickly learn about SaaS, cloud computing and all the ISV’s that have built cloud applications. I assisted the co-founder in researching, vetting, and requiring the ‘chosen’ companies to go through an extensive due diligence process. After we narrowed it down to a few companies, we would enter into negotiations with them and create the documentation around our partnership. Once the negotiation was settled, we would select one product and add them to our growing portfolio of products.
After a few months in Portfolio Strategies, I was transitioned into Partner Alliances. I have been dedicated to developing the partner program and building the partner alliances department from the ground up. This process has involved: researching, recruiting, supporting, training and keep our partners engaged. When you are a ‘no-name’ company that has one product in its' portfolio, this process is easier said then done. I waded through many challenges related to the fact that the company was just a start-up and had no case studies to demonstrate our model would be a success. Perseverance and confidence were key components in this process and as a result the company now has 30+ consulting partners and 11 products in its portfolio.
In addition to supporting our partners, I am also responsible for managing our outside sales representatives on the West coast – approximately 30 people with an average of 17 yrs of tech sales experience. Training our sales staff and keeping them updated on our ever-growing portfolio has proven to be the most challenging part of this responsibility (besides having them update the CRM, but that’s a given in any company). In tandem with the CEO, I created a 6-hours a day, two week intensive training that takes place once a month for our new sales hires and the existing reps that want to attend. It has proven to be thorough, comprehensive and effective in enabling our sales representatives to get out there and close deals! In addition, the sales portal, weekly pipeline calls, and one-on-one sessions aid in the support and growth of the sales team and their success.
Outside of my job description, I also have many items I am responsible in keeping up. For example I am the; unofficial social chair, breakfast pastry baker, birthday cake maker, happy hour planner, positive personality, morale booster, and the right hand to the CEO.
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
Marketing
In college I studied public relations and marketing, and received a BA in Communications. During my senior year I worked as an unpaid intern at a marketing agency. It was an invaluable experience because of the start-up atmosphere; my job had nothing to do with coffee replenishing, and allowed me to be involved with all the different facets of the company.
After I graduated I was hired on full time and worked my way up to being promoted to Marketing Account Executive. I worked for two years with this agency doing everything from marketing pitches to prospective clients, to web site project management. Mainly, my job was split part-time between web development and managing our biggest marketing account.
My work in web development spanned from conceptualization to production to the site launch. I had a team of designers and programmers that I was responsible for managing and directing. Once the contract was signed, I would work with the client on the design and proper functionality for their needs. After the site was built and populated, I worked with the clients on Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM) campaigns tailored to their budget and needs.
The largest marketing account the company had was for a gym that was suffering financially. Through market research, I developed a marketing plan that was based upon the research findings. We revamped the marketing image to appeal to a different demographic and made the gym profitable within a couple months.
After I graduated I was hired on full time and worked my way up to being promoted to Marketing Account Executive. I worked for two years with this agency doing everything from marketing pitches to prospective clients, to web site project management. Mainly, my job was split part-time between web development and managing our biggest marketing account.
My work in web development spanned from conceptualization to production to the site launch. I had a team of designers and programmers that I was responsible for managing and directing. Once the contract was signed, I would work with the client on the design and proper functionality for their needs. After the site was built and populated, I worked with the clients on Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM) campaigns tailored to their budget and needs.
The largest marketing account the company had was for a gym that was suffering financially. Through market research, I developed a marketing plan that was based upon the research findings. We revamped the marketing image to appeal to a different demographic and made the gym profitable within a couple months.
Event/Sales Management
I feel that marketing, sales and event planning are extremely interrelated because of the attention to detail and creativity both require. In addition, you need to be able to manage and maintain multiple vendor and client relationships simultaneously.
During my last event/sales management role, I focused solely on event planning and account management; I had the opportunity to plan intricate events with multi-million dollar budgets. The experience I gained as an account manager, owner of the event finances and author of all event documentation was beneficial to me from a professional standpoint.
The company's clientele consisted of Fortune 500 companies and gave me the opportunity to working with the following businesses: Sun Microsystems, Tibco Software, Chevron, Outdoor Retailers, Conoco Phillips, Genetech, Autodesk, Sundance Film Festival, Barclays Global, Wells Fargo, Verizon and Qwest.
During my last event/sales management role, I focused solely on event planning and account management; I had the opportunity to plan intricate events with multi-million dollar budgets. The experience I gained as an account manager, owner of the event finances and author of all event documentation was beneficial to me from a professional standpoint.
The company's clientele consisted of Fortune 500 companies and gave me the opportunity to working with the following businesses: Sun Microsystems, Tibco Software, Chevron, Outdoor Retailers, Conoco Phillips, Genetech, Autodesk, Sundance Film Festival, Barclays Global, Wells Fargo, Verizon and Qwest.
Outside of work....
I love to travel! Along with that passion is a love of food and wine. I lived in Italy for a semester in college and took cooking classes while I was there. I also happened to drink my far share of wine as well, which created a new found love and hobby for learning about wine and wine tasting.
My family owns a cabin on a lake in the mountains of Utah; I spend my summer’s wake boarding, hiking and helping my mom in the kitchen. The cabin is a great escape because there is no cell service, no tv’s and no internet – just an old record player and a wide collection of 45’s. In my opinion, there is nothing that compares to a good book, a boat and a nice even tan. During the winter I spent my time skiing at Alta and playing in the snow with my friends.
Now that I live in California I love to plan outings with my friends, have dinner parties and explore the city of San Francisco. I frequent Napa and the SF Cheese School and swindle my friends into eating my experimental cooking every so often. I also love to get out of the city and go hiking, skiing or visit the Tourist Club for some good beer and games.
My family owns a cabin on a lake in the mountains of Utah; I spend my summer’s wake boarding, hiking and helping my mom in the kitchen. The cabin is a great escape because there is no cell service, no tv’s and no internet – just an old record player and a wide collection of 45’s. In my opinion, there is nothing that compares to a good book, a boat and a nice even tan. During the winter I spent my time skiing at Alta and playing in the snow with my friends.
Now that I live in California I love to plan outings with my friends, have dinner parties and explore the city of San Francisco. I frequent Napa and the SF Cheese School and swindle my friends into eating my experimental cooking every so often. I also love to get out of the city and go hiking, skiing or visit the Tourist Club for some good beer and games.
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