KEY RESPONSIBILITIES • Leverages training, education, and previous experience to gather customer requirements, respectfully challenge customer assumptions, and translate into a Rackspace supportable solution
• Occasionally leads customer workshops to define broader hosting and cloud strategies
• Primary technical contact on specific opportunities of moderate to high complexity while also providing guidance and thought leadership during the sales process
• Participates and leads customer calls and face to face meetings
• In close collaboration with the sales team, will occasionally lead customer engagements
• Evaluates customer needs and influences direction of solution design beyond immediate opportunity
• Advanced understanding of the tools of the solutioning trade (Salesforce, Proposal Tools, Technology Sizing Tools)
• Responsible for associated activities such as capturing notes and activities in Salesforce and managing deal pipeline
• Proficient with advanced reporting functions of Salesforce
• Proficient in assisting sales team in soliciting buying signs and compelling events
• Identifies decision makers and builds extensive networks to help facilitate lead generation, with an emphasis on technical influencers
• Foresees potential technical and business customer objections early in the sales cycle
• Overcomes concerns and lowers customer risk to selecting Rackspace
• As a Trusted Advisor, with deep understanding of the customer's business, uncovers both overt and latent pains
• Develops deep relationships with Rackspace sales and support teams to deliver advanced strategic account planning including methods for generating additional business opportunities and cross-selling within an organization
• Decisions impact the quality, efficiency and effectiveness of own function/client group
• May impact other related teams through quality of output and service provided
• Demonstrates strong judgment and creativity in selecting methods and techniques for obtaining solutions
• Works on complex problems of diverse scope where analysis of data requires evaluation of identifiable factors
• Completes mostly tactical work, using learning and creativity to resolve new situations
• Contributes to analysis and solution of business problems regarding operations, products, services or customers
• Analyzes information, asks questions and checks for understanding using learned techniques and applying creativity in new situations
• Applies acquired skills and experience to complete complex tasks
• Suggests and develops improvements to existing processes and solutions to improve the efficiency of the team
• Networks with key internal and external contacts, developing strong relationships outside of specialty field
KNOWLEDGE • Proven extensive technical knowledge with ability to quickly learn new concepts
• Maintains thorough knowledge of the entire Rackspace portfolio and is a subject matter expert for a section of the portfolio
• Demonstrated success in positioning Rackspace against competitor offerings
• Helps refine value proposition of products and services to maintain Rackspace competitive edge
• Thorough knowledge of Rackspace support and sales processes with demonstrated success in closing complex business (multiple customer touch points and month+ sales cycle)
• Ability to help navigate significant deals around internal obstacles to ensure revenue realization
• Engages process owners to continually improve pre-sales and implementation customer experience
• Excellent attention to detail, communication skills (written and verbal) and interpersonal skills
• Ability to prioritize deals, training, and initiatives through highly effective time management
• Excellent problem solving, analytical, presentation, and whiteboarding skills
• Track record of success working through technical challenges within enterprise organizations
• Track record of success dealing with ambiguity (internal and external) and working collaboratively with other departments and organizations to solve challenging problems
• Strong knowledge of technology and industry trends that affect hosting decisions for enterprise organizations
• Advanced Sales training (Sandler, John Care)
• Internal: Advanced technical training on one specific technology or application within the Rackspace portfolio required
EXPERIENCE/EDUCATION • Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Computer Science, Information Systems, or Business
• Experience may substitute for the degree requirement
• High school diploma or equivalent required
• Requires 10+ years solutions engineering experience
• Equivalent customer facing technical sales experience may substitute
• At least ONE industry certification required: Linux+, RHCSA, RHCE, MCSE, MCSA, MCITP, CCNA, OpenStack, Cloud Savvy, AWS Cloud Certifications, Azure Cloud Certifications and Google Cloud Certifications
