Technology Advisor

Our client, a Managed Service Provider (MSP) based in Rivonia, is looking for a Technology Advisor. The company is technology-driven and aims to better aid and support their clients. We are looking for motivated and dynamic individuals who want to further their career in the IT industry.

The Technology Advisor plays a crucial role in solving problems for the company's customers and potential clients. They continuously work to understand the customer's operations, position, and business challenges when the right technology is missing. The Technology Advisor helps these clients choose and integrate the right information technology for a competitive advantage.

Business Development & Customer Management (60%)

Create value by executing the business's sales engagement process to an exceptional standard with predefined c-level decision makers.

Business Acumen

• Understand basic business models and how businesses are positioned.
• Understand the importance of business processes in ensuring a business can execute on a particular business model and position itself in a market.
• Understand the importance of systematization in driving business efficiencies, productivity, and predictable outcomes for customers.
• Understand how different business models rely on intellectual property to create value for customers and shareholders.
• Understand concepts such as total cost of ownership, operating expenses, capital expenditure, income, and net profit.

Technical Acumen

• Become a product knowledge expert for all technical products and solutions provided by the company.
• Understand how to align the appropriate technology to meet the needs of different business models.
• Understand and communicate how certain technology frameworks can be aligned to managing specific business risks.
• Understand how different technology solutions can be leveraged to ensure a business is able to execute on its positioning and realize its competitive advantage.

Consultative Selling

• Build Business Insights
  • Quickly build rapport and credibility with c-level decision makers by conducting a high-level business conversation while subtly probing for problems that the company can solve.
  • Use spin selling techniques to uncover how the prospect's business is positioned and how they rely on technology to maintain their positioning.
  • Use spin questions to uncover problems the prospect is having with their technology.
  • Use spin questions to understand what business problems and consequences exist when the prospect's technology fails or what business problems exist in the absence of the appropriate technology.
  • Identify all stakeholders involved in the decision-making process.
• Diagnose Business Problems
  • Build a business case with the prospect by using diagnostic thinking and questions to uncover and understand what explicit business problems exist for the prospect in the absence of the appropriate technology.
  • Gain explicit confirmation and document business problems, technology causes, and financial consequences.
  • Identify and quantify the cost of the financial consequences.
  • Confirm key business efficiency objectives of the prospect and provide insights on how technology can support these objectives.
  • Always take a security-driven approach to diagnosing business problems and technology causes.
• Co-Create & Align the Appropriate Technology Solution
  • Effectively navigate the psychology of change by co-creating the appropriate solution with the customer.
  • Through the co-creation process, adopt the trusted advisor role by providing insights and details on the options available to solve the prospective business problems and the trade-offs in terms of risk and cost.
  • Discuss & share relevant customer success stories to build credibility and demonstrate a proven track record.
  • Finalize the prospect's technology strategy by guiding the prospect through the 4-actions strategy framework.
• Agreement Meeting
  • Finally, meet with the prospect to "pitch" how the final co-created solution will mitigate or appropriately manage the technology causes that would be responsible for introducing business problems and financial consequences.
  • Discuss the return on investment the prospect will receive by mitigating the cost of their business problem with the appropriate investment and related technology.
  • Handle any objections & gain consensus from the customer.
  • Close the deal by managing contractual negotiations and obtaining signed paperwork.

Customer Management

• Account Management
  • Act as a strategic advisor to all appropriate stakeholders within a customer account by engaging in continued research and detailed analysis to understand and anticipate future customer needs as well as to provide new perspectives and insights.
  • Ensure key customer relationships are maintained by meeting with them regularly or as defined by the business.
  • Ensure the customer has the appropriate technology aligned to their business.
  • Build annual technology business cases for key customers and ensure maximum wallet spend with the company.
  • Identify under-penetrated or cross-selling opportunities in existing customer accounts.
  • After each customer engagement, log all operational activities with the company help desk.
  • Manage escalations by engaging with key internal and external stakeholders.
• Use the pipeline provided in CRM & a default diary to plan and prioritize revenue-generating tasks (money hours).
• Weekly, schedule big blocks of time to execute the required activity needed to move prospects/deals through the business's sales engagement process.
• Build pipeline opportunity from existing/past network, existing client lists, referrals & the company's LeadGen team.
• Attend weekly pipeline meetings to review the various stages of opportunities and tactics needed to move deals forward.
• Attend monthly Win/Loss review meetings with Sales Manager to inform performance improvement or to potentially win back a lost deal.
• Attend weekly sales team meetings.
• Attend weekly solutions architecture meetings.
• Consistently achieve the key leading & lagging indicators determined by the company.
• Attend annual meetings with Manager to determine and/or review the following: Budgets and targets, Key performance indicators, and Salary increases.

Revenue Generating Administrative Processes

• Update and maintain accurate records on CRM of all client interactions daily.
• Document research conducted in preparation for all meetings on CRM and in LDX Sales Way.
• Forecast and submit sales pipelines.
• After each prospect and customer engagement, send a follow-up email outlining commitments, action points, and next steps.
• After each prospect engagement, send a follow-up email with updated business cases, cost of the problem tabulator, and relevant case studies.
• Send all final proposals from CRM.
• Keep track of commission statements.

Research and Analysis

• Engage in consistent research to build a comprehensive understanding of current industry, market, and competitor trends and developments.
• Monitor and research development and changes in customer industries, competitors, and operations.

Product Knowledge

• Engage in continuous learning to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the company product offerings through self-study.
• Attend bi-weekly technical product training sessions.

Individual Development & Mastery of Craft

• Dedicate time, thought, and effort to master the consultative selling craft.
• Dedicate time to building business and technical acumen.
• Attend weekly sales training sessions.
• Complete Individual Development Plan.
• Attend individual coaching and mentoring sessions with reporting Sales Manager.

Minimum Qualifications

• Matric Certificate
• BCom Degree in any field

Minimum Sales Knowledge & Experience

• One to two years of sales experience
• Sales experience in the ICT field would be advantageous.
• Consultative selling experience would be advantageous.

Minimum Skill-Based Competencies

• Engage and network with clients and c-level decision makers.
• Analytical mindset with problem-solving skillset.
• Highly motivated and target driven.
• Collaborative team player.
• Proactive self-manager.
• Self-confident.
• Excellent interpersonal skills.
• Professional.
• Appetite for learning and continuous improvement.
• Resilient.
• Willingness to deal with rejection.
• Honest and accountable.
• Flexible and adaptable.