Senior Solutions Manager
Joining a recently acquired “scale out” stage company and as their UK operations were introduced, this Pre-Sales role had great variance and scope. All sales oriented business came through this small team, handling existing accounts as well as all new external opportunities, including access to IBM’s existing customer base.Outcomes from my activities brought many new customers to Nordcloud. My expertise from many of the largest Global Systems Integrators (GSIs) aided this transition, bringing:* Higher standards of Pre-Sales activities and duties* Increased repetition & automation within bid cycles* More formalised and structured processes* Implementing resource management through Kanban dashboards* Improved “solutioning” templates and other bid material artefacts* Most recently, exploring GenAI-based approaches, against private datasetsThe “sales channels” were commonly:* RfX-based responses, using existing reputations and public cloud competencies and association with IBM* Expanding the customer relationships, exploring new opportunities as they arise within the Account* Responding to Marketing campaigns, whether this be attendance at an industry event, Points of View (PoV) blogs and other Social Media activities* Direct-approach engagements, through referrals or reputationThe daily working experience was very dynamic, but the standard role definition covered:1. Define and articulate the solution components and capabilities.2. Ensure compliance to commercial and technical risks and exposures.3. Profile into customer propositions, combining the internal and external perspectives from above.4. Produce response materials, across all documented formats and presentation “oral” events.5. Post-Sales handover activities, and continued alignment as a managed Account.Dan was invited onto the UK region’s Leadership team, demonstrating his perceived value and standing within the organisation that allowed him to contribute further to Nordcloud’s future.
