Valenco case study #9 - Prashant - Richer offerings or better money

Prashant started his career walking the streets of Chennai, selling system integration of compute, storage and networking gear. He was among the more successful salespersons and participated in many large RFPs for multi-site implementations.

On his beat he would see the tall, air-conditioned towers of the global technology services companies. Employees streamed out of there in the evening looking fresh and clean while he was drenched by the Chennai humidity and heat.

Transitions

The lure of central air conditioning got to him. He applied to and was recruited in the infrastructure services division of a leading company with an on-premise food court.

Assigned to identify and pitch for opportunities for new work, he became very familiar with the complete range of service offerings, how to solution, and bid for them.

In recognition of this expertise, Prashant became a go to person for a group which responded to bids of $50+ million in scope. He received the top salary hike and installed a window a/c in his apartment.

A year later, the team won a very large multi-year bid. Prashant had led the bid response and orals and received a high achiever award for the win.

New shores

Wanting to also be engaged in the implementation, he applied for and moved into the delivery team for this project. He was transferred to the USA to oversee a large data center transition and modernization.

In addition to ensuring timely delivery, Prashant demonstrated skills in client management and business identification.

Soon he found himself re-assigned as an account manager to scout for new work in one business group of this client. Prashant wrote up a detailed account strategy and methodically approached all the key stakeholders in the account, showcasing a rich set of offerings and their relevance.

Winning a lion’s share of the new work which was bid out, Prashant’s employer became a leading vendor for this business group over the course of the next two years. Prashant was on the honors list at his employer’s annual sales conference.

Change

Word of his success got around. A senior colleague who had moved to a smaller, growing company reached out to Prashant. He offered better money and complete ownership of growing a cluster of clients instead of only a partial account which he was currently addressing.

Prashant turned in his badge and took the job.

The initial months were very intense. Once again Prashant wrote detailed business plans and followed through with outreach to decision makers. Since he had a history in program oversight, he also participated actively in ensuring that existing engagements were delivered well.

Within the first year, Prashant had turned around a troubled account and won a multiyear deal with another. Business grew over 30%. He exceeded his incentive plan and made more money than in any year in his career.

That summer, the family went for an extended vacation to Hawaii.

Heartburn

Prashant and some of his colleagues from the past company meet periodically for dinner and catch up on what they are doing.

In a recent gathering, he was the host. The whiskey being served had been upgraded to a 15-year single malt. There were all round congratulations on his success and the money he had made.

On the second drink, it struck him was that many of his past peers were now leading accounts with revenues 3-5 times of what he was.

The range of offerings which his current company offers is limited. Though he had built very comprehensive account plans, he is only able to pitch for 20 -30% of the opportunities. Had he been working with his previous employer; the wide range of services would have allowed him to pursue three to four times of what he was able to do now.

Conundrum

The size comparison started to gnaw at him. He also started to worry that his experience was getting limited by the much lower range of services he is now exposed to.

At the same time, he is making very good money.

One of his past peers has recently been elevated which opened up a spot as a senior account manager. The client is a Fortune 300 enterprise, and while the business is currently modest, there is an opportunity to scale it. The base compensation though is going to be a little lower than what Prashant is presently making.

Another, who had made a similar move to a smaller company strongly advocated that Prashant stays and grows with his current employer. With a smaller company he has more visibility to senior management and as a performer, will likely grow into a senior role faster than in a much larger company.

A leading company was in the process of revamping its sales teams to bring in talent more exposed to global delivery engagements. A recruiter from there had reached out to Prashant a few times to discuss an account executive role. The compensation offered is attractive.

While this discussion was on, Prashant received a call from his brother in-law who wanted to finalize a plan for their planned vacation to Europe. Since there were guests in the house, the discussion was rescheduled for the next day.

Enjoying the matured single malt, you had been silent through the discussion. Noticing that, Prashant turned to you and asked what you would suggest.

Should he;

1.       Stay and grow with his current employer?

2.       Move back to his previous employer as a senior client partner with more offerings to sell?

3.       Move as an account executive to the company rebuilding its sales team?

The recommendations he received

The predominant recommendation was that he go back to his prior employer in a client growth role with the option to sell a full-service range. He was very successful there and they are welcoming him back.

There were also multiple suggestions outside of the choices offered including that he should assess the culture of different companies, look at the services spread, the future of growth and the likelihood of upward mobility.

What he is leaning towards

Prashant wanted to move to a place where he gets more to sell and at scale.

That he is going to move from his present company is a given.

At the same time, he has tasted good money and adopted a lifestyle commensurate with it.

He is very keen on going back to his past employer. He knows the team there and has had a lot of success.

The base compensation though will likely dip a little.

The company rebuilding its sales team also has a rich offering of services. They will match his base compensation and if he does well, the total earnings will match or beat his current.

Having sold from Chennai to Chicago, Prashant is confident that he will win business, deliver grown and make good sales commissions and total earnings.

This is tipping the scale. Confident of making good sales commissions, Prashant is leaning towards moving back to his past employer as the first choice while keeping open the dialog with the second choice of the one which is rebuilding its sales team.

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