Cisco Vendor Alliance Manager

Job content

Description

Cisco Vendor Alliance Manager

Reporting to – UK Service Sales Director

Summary

The Vendor Alliance Manager (VAM) role is responsible for the ownership of our Cisco relationship and will drive incremental value to Cisco, Comms-care, and Ingram Micro through accelerated Cisco Lifecycle Sales.

Job Description

The role of the VAM is to promote Cisco products and services to the Comms-care sales force, partners, and other chosen routes to market to ensure we are driving Cisco sales. Conversely, the VAM will promote the Comms-care brand and capabilities into the Cisco community of sales, partner managers and sales associates selling the value of Comms-care and Ingram Micro.

The VAM will administer pipeline, deal registration processes, and have a detailed understanding of any current Cisco promotions and programs (rebates) to ensure competitiveness and maximize Partner profitability. The VAM will have a good understanding of Cisco technologies and go to market and will ensure enablement of the Comms-care sales force by facilitating sales enablement.

The VAM will own the Comms-care Cisco Gold Partner status and ensure we are compliant through areas such as training and ownership of the necessary accreditations needed within sales, pre-sales, and our post-sales teams. Our compliance will be reliant on the ability to manage an extended team across Comms-care including Technical Services, Sales, HR, and Vendor Strategy.

Duties and Responsibilities

The VAM Is Responsible For The Following Key Functions

Promote Cisco, Comms-care, and Ingram Micro

• Articulates and presents Comms-care the company and its capabilities and service offerings in a professional and competent manner.
• Build relationships with relevant Cisco personnel.
• Communicates a positive message around Comms-care Cisco capability and extensive Cisco resources.
• Articulates and presents Cisco the company and its capabilities and service offerings in context as to how they are applied to Comms-care customers in a professional and competent manner.
• Formal presentations at team meetings or sales events.
• Run regular QBR’s with Cisco, Comms-care, and Ingram Micro.
  

Gold Partner Status

• Take ownership for compliance and renewing of our status.
• Participate in any Cisco audit that is needed.
• Management and monitoring of Cisco portal licences and access rights for Comms-care & Ingram Micro employees.
  

Sales enablement

• The VAM will “make it easy” to sell/purchase Comms-care/Ingram Micro Cisco based solutions for our chosen route to market through sales enablement:
• Training and education
• Ensure sufficient accreditations are achieved and maintained by sales, pre-sales, and post-sales
• Assist with deal registration
• Maximise rebates on sales
• Collaborating closely with the Vendor Strategy Team to ensure we have all the current and future Cisco solutions packaged and ready for Sales Enablement
• Understands who to contact in Cisco to obtain information, answers to client questions and key deal commercial terms
• Maintains personal knowledge and education around Cisco and the market in general
• Makes sales force aware of latest Cisco announcements and promotions and their relevance
• Assists with the development of propositions where Cisco is a key component.
  

Pipeline, Forecast, Deal registration and Rebates

• Take ownership of our rebates to ensure we hit/maximise our metrics by working closely with Sales Operations.
• Monitor & track the Cisco forecast
• Be aware of significant Cisco opportunities and offer sales support
• Ensure all opportunities have been registered for optimal discounts/rebates under the correct registration
  

Lead generation

• The VAM will lead or participate in initiatives to generate leads for the sales force through the following methods:
• Organise or assist with the organisation of Masterclass seminars with Cisco relevance
• Using the sales force to manage call out campaigns on a regular basis and measure the resultant pipeline
• Work with Cisco on joint lead generation efforts and promotions
  

Cisco Strategy

• Participate and offer input to our Cisco Strategy by working closely with the Comms-care Vendor & Service Strategy Team, Cisco, and Ingram Micro.
  

Knowledge And Skills Requirements

Education

• Educated to degree level or equivalent experience
• Knowledge of commercial aspects of business
  

Experience

• Some experience in selling all or some of the following: Network Integration, Computing, UCC, Data Networking, Security, Cloud, recurring revenues, Lifecycle Support & Managed Services
• 5 years minimum sales experience and can demonstrate commercial awareness of the sales cycle and processes
• Has supported the sale of complex high margin solutions
• Track record of building relationships with vendor partners
• Has led virtual teams
• Ability to self-manage when required
• Ability to apply and develop own professional knowledge
  

Competencies

• Has the ability to build an excellent working relationship with Cisco, Comms-care and Ingram personnel, Peers, and Clients
• Needs to be able to demonstrate high levels of Inter-personal skills i.e., communication skills (verbal & written), presentation skills, influencing skills etc.
• Ability to make objective, rational decisions
• Can communicate effectively with areas outside of the customer or sales function
• Good judgement aligned to strong commercial awareness
• Good negotiation skills
• Ability to help “shape” a deal
• Multi-tasking – can manage a number of concurrent campaigns & activities
• Effectively delegate tasks internally
• Prioritises own workload