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The primary objective of the Sales Director is to provide to front-line sales managers and driving consistent results and performance across their sales teams. They oversee a group of sales managers who manage quota bearing reps. They often provide executive presence primarily to their teams in order to drive the execution of the strategy across the segments they are responsible for.
The Sales Director has limited interaction with buyers but in instances where these interactions do occur, it will be at higher altitude levels in the account and will likely be of a strategic nature.
Working at NTT
Sales strategy
The Sales Director works with the regional Sales Leadership and decision makers to compile a sales strategy that will deliver the strategic objectives as outlined in the global and regional organisational strategy. They use their business acumen and strategic planning skills in conjunction with the information received from business development activities to define the way the sales force will approach the market and to determine the targets that the sales force should achieve and strive to exceed. Sales Directors are accountable for creating turn-around solutions to ensure that sales plans are met irrespective of current situation. They drive a sales culture by sharing best practices, developing and sustaining cross functional relationships and filtering information downwards. The Sales Director is a critical link between sales strategy and execution in the field and ensures that the end-state vision as determined by the executive team is achieved, whilst balancing buyer expectations.
Operational management
As a leader of the sales team, they are responsible for operational management of the team which includes setting and managing budgets, creating and executing on plans and reporting on the team activities in the required forums. The Sales Director takes responsibility for closing the gap between buyer expectations and current-state sales models, engagement models and integration methods. They execute the sales strategy by making decisions that influence people, process and technology. They measure progress against objectives and ensure that the appropriate level of effort is applied across the sales team to handle the client's reality.
Sales targets and process
The Sales Director co-ordinates sales activities across the geography to ensure that a consistent go-to-market approach is followed and that all clients are approached in a planned and co-ordinated way. They are responsible for the co-ordination of the activities of their sales teams, setting and measuring performance targets, account allocation and enforcing the execution of the client account plans. They also take responsibility for pipeline management and accurate forecasting. The Sales Director acts as the final point of escalation and resolves internal and external sales related issues. He or she engages with vendors and partners to create go-to-market strategies with their sales teams. The Sales Director takes ownership of the full sales process and contributes to the pre-sales process as required. They set sales targets and goals whilst making it easier for clients to buy, listening to client concerns, collecting reality based evidence and enforcing standardised but flexible processes and methods across their teams.
Client engagement
The Sales Director displays exceptional client engagement skills and is able to support his/her sales teams in complex engagements, by generating demand by assisting clients to identify current needs (turning client's implied needs into explicit needs), and then effectively articulate how Dimension Data can add value through our services and solutions. They leverage their relationship skills and knowledge of the client environment to assist and influence the client at every stage of the buying criteria. In this regard, they lead their team by example, and continuously drive for client satisfaction by ensuring that their sales teams display the appropriate level of client engagement. These individuals scrutinise and optimise the value contribution of people, process and technology along the buyer's journey over the course of the relationship. They are involved in the details of sales kick-off planning to ensure that the kick-off focuses on celebrating buyer success and improving business acumen and buyer empathy across sales, support, consulting and services teams. The Sales Director develops and maintains more strategic relationships with internal and external partners to the benefit of their clients.
During the commercial management process the Sales Director uses his or her superior negotiation skills to look at innovative ways to position Dimension Data's offering, in a complex environment, to identify the ideal business outcome, whilst creating client value and protecting profitability.
Mentor/coach
To enable their sales team to achieve their objectives, the Sales Manager acts as coach and/or mentor. They do this by customising their approach, planning for their coaching interactions and communicating expectations. They act as role models, observe their sales team members when engaging with clients and provide them with constructive feedback. They generally act as an advisor that assists the sales force to set and keep to priority activities. They provide advice and guidance to the team about clients and share examples of client success and failure to help drive improvements in both enablement and the product itself.
People management
They act as people managers for a group of senior sales managers. They partner with the organisation to attract the right sales talent and ensure that their team is staffed according to requirements and that all team members are fully utilised. They ensure that employees reporting into them are engaged and understand their career opportunities, by taking responsibility for the development and training of their direct reports. The Sales Director ensures that his or her team is rewarded and remunerated according to their performance.
Sales tools
The Sales Director ensures that the sales force has access to the relevant sales tools and have the general means to perform their role.
Behavioural skills
As corporate citizens, they are good leaders and exhibit the required level of management skills required from second line managers. The Sales Director maintains integrity, displays reliability and recognises his or her direct reports, whilst building a cohesive team. He or she practices two-way communication, listens to, and understands others' points of view. They are strategic thinkers who are able to execute and ensure the achievement of both business and client objectives.
What will make you a good fit for the role?
Education/Qualifications Required
- Bachelor's degree or higher is required, preferably in Information Technology or business
Work Experience Required
Sales Directors typically have at least 10 years of directly relevant selling experience and at least 3 years of sales team leadership/management experience
A proven track record of successful sales leadership
Demonstrated business and industry experience in the applicable technology domains
Skills and Core Competencies
Excellent leadership, management, and coaching skills
Outstanding collaborator at all levels within the company and with partners, knowing when to lead and when to empower others
Excellent consultative selling skills; highly effective in front of clients in a consultative manner, able to advance key opportunities as well as handle complex service delivery issues
Understanding of key industry drivers and buying criteria for the portfolio of IT products and services
Ability to manage a large scale business relationship comprised of a large volume of transactions requiring high levels of intern