Principle Platform Specialist Job

Principle Platform Specialist Job

Job Category:Sales
Location:Vancouver, CA
Job ID:6
Division:Sales

The Principal Platform Specialist (PPS) is a senior sales leader with deep industry expertise, large opportunity orchestration abilities, senior sales and pipeline management skills. In this role, you will leverage broad business acumen to bridge the gap between a business opportunity and a conceptual solution using products and services from Microsoft and its Partners. This strategy will manifest itself in a large product and solutions pipeline and subsequent Tier 1 solution wins for the Application Platform team.


The PPS is a recognized “go-to” resource by customers, partners and colleagues within his/her accounts and industry affiliation. You will work closely with key client decision makers to define needs and then collaborate with a wealth of Microsoft resources to meet them. Creating trusted relationships while developing sales opportunities, you’ll drive revenue through 1-3 mission-critical, enterprise customers.


It’s your chance to:


Join a very high profile global team who are leading the growth of solution selling expertise within Microsoft


Sell world-class solutions targeted to address your customer’s most pressing business needs


Develop deep relationships with key enterprise customers


Grow and broaden your skills via ongoing formalized training together with participation in internal and external events


Key Activities :


Develop understanding of targeted customers’ Line of Businesses, the strategies they are targeting to achieve business goals and how these might require or relate to application based capabilities, the decision-makers within each LoB, the business applications they currently use and any challenges they face with these applications today


Work with the sales team to develop account plans to drive the above outcomes, and to pursue identified opportunities

- Formulates a unified account strategy which aligns Microsoft and key


Microsoft partners based on identified opportunity parameters


Jointly create evaluation plans with customer and orchestrates the virtual team to execute against these plans


Facilitate Envisioning and Architecture Design sessions as required to ensure technical resources are driving solutions targeted to key business related decision criteria


Create and present deliverables (final presentation, solution specification and value proposition) targeted to address identified customer needs


Ability to identify, lead, and efficiently close large scale, complex deals


The Enterprise and Partners Group (EPG) leads Microsoft’s efforts in driving solutions to our customers’ most pressing business issues. The Principle Platform Specialist role provides high visibility, high impact opportunity and a wealth of growth opportunities and challenges.


The PPS will be responsible for leading the creation of solutions, based on the Microsoft portfolio of products and the Microsoft ecosystem (ISV/SI solutions), in order to address the customer’s validated business challenges and initiatives. This strategy will manifest itself in a large product and solutions pipeline and subsequent business and mission critical solution wins.


Key Elements to the Principle Platform Specialist:


Strong, proven track record of consistently meeting and exceeding quota targets using a consultative/solution selling approach, focused on solving Enterprise customer problems with Line of Business solutions, within customers and markets that require a “break the mold” approach (e.g., size of transactions, complexity of sales, shifts in perception, etc.).


Demonstrated experience and expertise selling technology to senior business decision-makers by aligning & reinforcing the value of the technology to the customer’s overall business pain and/or strategic opportunities.


Proven record of effective account management, including Account Planning, Opportunity Generation and Management, Communication Plans, and Business Management Excellence.


Proven experience in the following key areas:

- Needs Analysis and Envisioning

- In-depth knowledge of competitors

- Demonstrated opportunity management skills


Is a resourceful problem-solver, leveraging internal and partner resources where and when needed to do what’s right for the customer and for the organization.


Working effectively within a virtual team, taking strategic direction from opportunity owners and considering inputs from team members.


Listening to customers (as opposed to telling/selling), probing for business process pains and opportunities, in an effort to meet or exceed their expectations.


Leveraging partner solutions to continuously find ways to solve customer needs.


In-depth knowledge of targeted customers’ Line of Business decision-makers (VPs of Sales, Operations, HR, Marketing, etc.), the business applications they use and/or develop together with any the challenges they face with these applications today.


Viewed as a partner by their current customers


Work with the sales team to develop account plans to drive targeted outcomes and to pursue identified opportunities

- Formulates a unified account strategy which aligns Microsoft and key Microsoft partners based on identified opportunity parameters


Jointly create evaluation plans with customer and orchestrates the virtual team to execute against these plans


Facilitate Envisioning and Architecture Design sessions as required to ensure technical resources are driving solutions targeted to key business related decision criteria


Create and present deliverables (final presentation, solution specification and value proposition) targeted to address identified customer needs


Ability to identify, lead, and efficiently close large scale, complex deals


Excellent verbal and written communication skills:

- The ability to persuade others through presentations, demonstrations, and written communication are required.


Strong facilitation skills


Communicates effectively:

- Constructs and communicates compelling arguments that convince others to take a desired action

- Demonstrates the ability to present ideas, goals, problems, outcomes, and processes in a fashion that is understood by a diverse audience.

- Provides examples of and demonstrates communication capabilities with presentations, articles, whitepapers, etc.


Understands the customer’s business:

- Actively researches customer to determine business issues

- Asks “High yield” questions to draw out customers issues

- Differentiates symptoms from root cause problems

- Helps customer prioritize issues to derive high value initiatives


Builds and leads teams through influence:

- Demonstrates from experience, the ability to recruit and convince others to participate in achieving group goals.

- Keeps the group working toward a common shared outcome or goal

- Effectively utilizes and leverages virtual team resources


Problem solver:

- Demonstrates the ability to apply people, process, and technology to solving complex business problems.

- Effectively describes how to apply which type(s) of technology to solve or mitigate specific business problems

- Is familiar with and can describe to varied audiences in their business terms Microsoft’s solutions


Focused:

- Keeps the desired and agreed to outcome in mind while striving to complete the job and achieve the desired outcome


Organized and analytical:

- Works well in an unstructured environment and creates a common thread through seemingly dissimilar facts and/or events

- Organizes disparate facts and events, discovers causes and effects, and explains them to others


Trusted Advisor:

- Works effectively with all levels in the customer organization helping them understand and solve their business problems

- Becomes the “go to” person the customer seeks out when new business problems must be solved

- Is welcomed by top customer management to discuss new ideas and approaches


Creative:

- Identifies opportunities to solve problems in a new and different way

- Independently and unprompted creates solutions and shares those solutions with customers and peers

- This position involves significant executive level interaction and involvement including presentations, etc.


Acts as a mentor for less experienced Principal Platform Specialists and Solution Sales Professionals


Qualifications:


8-10 years’ experience in a software or related solution sales role


Strong proven track record of consistently meeting/exceeding quota

targets using a consultative/solution selling approach


Proven record of effective account management- planning, opportunity generation, communication, needs analysis, project management


Strong knowledge of competitor landscape


Ability to articulate the value of technology to a non-technical audience of senior business decision makers


Ability to align and communicate the value of technology based solutions to customers’ business related decision criteria


Ability to orchestrate and influence virtual teams to pursue sales opportunities


Strong understanding of partner ecosystems and the ability to leverage partner solutions to solve customer needs.


Ability to lead teams through influence based on:

- Demonstrated experience related to the ability to recruit and convince others to participate in achieving group goals.

- Keeping the group working toward a common shared outcome or goal

- Effectively utilizing and leveraging virtual team resources


Provides examples of and demonstrates communication capabilities with presentations, articles, whitepapers, etc


Bachelor’s degree required and MBA is ideal


Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer which supports workplace diversity.


CA:SMSG