 |
The three candidates you referred were right on the mark. While they each have different areas of strength, we think any of the three could be effective as our new Vice President of Sales.”
– Vice President of Human Resources |
|
Our Client:
A leading provider of database marketing services, analytical solutions, and proprietary data for the financial services, publishing, catalog and non-profit industries with a strong national presence.
Their Need:
A new Vice President of Sales to run their North American sales operation, which consisted of 5 Regional Sales Leaders, more than 40 senior sales and support professionals, a client services team and a reseller group. The previous VP of Sales had been in the position for seven years and had done very well in the role growing the division by more than fifty percent in three years.
Recognizing that they were still highly under penetrated in several key markets, our client wanted a strong, seasoned leader who could craft a go to market strategy that would leverage their people and product assets towards growing their existing clients while appealing to a wide range of prospective clients. They were committed to finding a leader who represented the top tier of the industry who had a consistent record of success running a $75 million plus marketing technology sales organization.
Other requirements included:
- New product development exposure.
- Strong people development experience.
- Experience running a reseller channel.
- Network of “C-level” contacts within select industry verticals.
- Experience developing and implementing a major account planning program.
- Experience developing major account sales teams to call higher, deeper, and wider within the client organization.
- Fit within their unique corporate culture.
- MBA
The Results:
After identifying the technical and personal qualifications for the VP Sales according to the key stake holders, N.E.S. Group first developed a search plan. Since we had already placed eight executives with the company to date, we were well aware of their culture, product offerings, reputable standing in the marketplace, and plans for future growth.
The search plan was to: (1) identify and contact individuals from our existing pool of active candidates to re-evaluate their overall skill set and potential fit for the VP of Sales role; (2) identify and contact select industry insiders we have worked with over the years who may be in a position to refer potential candidates known to be among the top tier of the industry; (3) identify source companies who competed in the same space as our client that we would contact directly.
In less than three weeks N.E.S. Group had identified and presented three highly qualified candidates to our clients. Here’s how we found them:
- Seven sales leaders were identified from our pool of existing active candidates but only one was qualified for the VP of Sales position. His industry exposure was light in a couple of our clients’ key markets but they really wanted to include him because he had everything else they needed.
- We contacted twenty-two executives within our “industry insider network”, which yielded eleven prospective candidates. After interviewing each, one surfaced as a solid contender for the VP of Sales position. His background was strong in sales leadership and reseller channel leadership and he met all of our clients’ requirements. Based on our benchmarking, he was well within the top three to five percent of the industry.
- Our direct contact with targeted source companies yielded one candidate also. He was more of a sales leadership generalist than the other two and he was highly experienced with several years managing large sales organizations with four different companies in the same space as our client. His leadership experience was almost entirely sales with indirect leadership responsibility for reseller channels and client services teams. He was also well within the top three to five percent of the industry based on our benchmarking
Conclusion:
After a series of several interviews with each of the three VP of Sales candidates N.E.S. Group presented, our client decided that since candidates (b) and (c) had all of the requirements for the position including the direct industry exposure, they would focus on recruiting one of them first.
Both candidates were invited to corporate headquarters to meet with the entire executive team with representation from each department. At the end of their selection process, group consensus was that either candidate would be an excellent addition to their team as VP of Sales. However, it was candidate (c) that they decided to present with an offer, which he accepted.
However, they were so impressed with candidate (b) and his accomplishments in developing reseller distribution channels, they decided that there was a strong a business case for creating a new Vice President of Reseller Channels position and they invited him to join their team also. He was presented with a strong offer and a challenge of helping them to break new ground in the reseller area, which he gladly accepted.
From start to finish N.E.S. Group had filled the VP of Sales position in less than nine weeks and at the same time secured second key asset for their executive team in the form of a VP of Reseller Channels.
|
