HighTechCEO Archives

Is Your VP of Sales or Sales Manager
Right For You?
by Paul DiModica

Hiring the correct VP of Sales for your IT or services company is a key business driver every CEO must deal with to grow their corporate revenue. A great VP of Sales is 1/4 mathematician, 1/4 motivational speaker, 1/4 strategist, and 1/4 child psychologist.

Yet today, the Peter Principal is common among High Tech VP candidates who have often been promoted above their level of competency because they were successful IT salespeople who did not want to carry an individual bag anymore and assumed that the next logical step in their business career was sales management.

Often CEO's hire the best VP of Sales available at the time of need . . . not necessarily the best VP of Sales. Full article...

Is Your IT Sales Compensation Fair?
by Paul DiModica

Quite often, a VP of Sales or a CEO client asks me what is a fair compensation plan for an IT sales position and how should they recruit strong IT salespeople.

Of course, there are many factors that play into this calculation including what kind of IT products/services are being sold, the average sales price of the technology or professional service, gross margins of the business, whether the company is a start-up or a Fortune 1000 player, and what the market comparisons are for the same job.

But more than these variables, the pivotal questions that need to be asked revolve around expectation. What does management expect for the compensation supplied and . . . conversely what does the IT sales executive or candidate expect from management. Full article...

The Myth About Having Exact IT Business Experience
by Paul DiModica

Chat with any IT CEO long enough and you will eventually discuss the difficulties they have in finding experienced hunter salespeople, experienced sales managers, and marketing executives who understand how to create qualified sales leads.

Often these conversations are because all of us during our executive IT management careers have fallen victim to the myth which leads us to believe that in order to have a successful company, we must hire specific employees who are players from our unique business vertical industry, have our specific IT product or service knowledge, or even be a player from one of our competitors.

But this is a myth propitiated by previous mistakes we have made in hiring, failure of management to properly train new employees, and the girth of headhunters who send unscrubbed or non-interviewed candidates to our doorstep for interviewing. Full article...

6 Methods of IT Growth and How They Affect Business Opportunities
by Paul DiModica

Sustainable year over year growth in the IT and professional service space is a continuous challenge for all high tech management teams who are seeking to expand their business.

Business expansion is tied to the market model you select both for your current success and future expansion and its correct alignment with one of the four growth cycles your firm currently resides in (start-up stage, growth stage, mature stage, and decline stage). Full article...

How To Manage IT Staff in Virtual Offices And Increase Productivity
by Paul DiModica

Managing the operating expenses of IT salespeople is a continuing battle for any IT management team. Through the inexpensive use of technology, virtual offices are now common place for any size firm including Fortune 100 firms and small start-ups.

But managing a virtual sales team requires trust, business metrics, and some written guidelines to help maximize staff revenue success and control your overhead costs. Full article...