Sales Recruiting
Case Study:

Type: retained search
Title: Account Executive
Role: complex solutions sales
Location: Minneapolis MN
Client: privately owned Management Consulting firm
Collaboration: CEO/VPHR
Completed by: Deare, Minneapolis sales recruiters

Company Profile
Prominent practice-based management and technology consulting firm with a world-class consultancy and a stellar reputation for complex solutions delivery capability.

Expertise includes Organizational Change Management, Enterprise Project and Program Management (PMO), Business Analysis, Strategy-Assessment/Roadmap, Business Process Redesign, Enterprise Transformation, Digital Transformation, Digital Innovation, Commitment Based Management, Data value monetization, Interim C-Suite, and more.

Privately-owned, fast-growing, and operationally optimized, our client sought to add a sales team capable of selling complex solutions to business and technology executives, including C-level decision-makers.

Key Selection Criteria
– 10+ years of successful business and technology solutions sales experience, preferably in a “pure” technology or management consulting environment
– 5+ years of demonstrated success establishing “trusted-advisor” level relationships with senior executive decision-makers
– Consultative, “solutioning” sales professional capable of extracting and understanding business needs and facilitating a conclusive sales process
– Collaborative sales strategist capable of working with Practice, Delivery, and Operations leaders
– Bachelor’s Degree / MBA preferred

Challenge
With a brilliant business model and an exceptional consulting organization, our client has grown to become one of the leading regional solutions providers in their genre. Organic market demand for services is strong. They effortlessly attract business by virtue of a stellar reputation. Consequently, they tend to remain focused on optimizing solutions and delivery capabilities. Of course, revenue ebbs and flows with the peaks and valleys of demand. Building a sustainable sales engine has historically been less urgent. With a new 5 – 7-year growth plan in place, it has become critical to install a sales team that will consistently replenish the level of pipeline needed to scale.

Solution
Deare was referred to and contacted by the CEO who invited a conversation about a building a sales organization (including the addition of a VP of Sales and one or more senior-level solutions sales pros) capable of developing and executing a powerful growth-engine concept. With the right leadership and sales talent in place, the company would be positioned to springboard growth spurts into sustainable and scalable revenue output, expand the client base, and drive all other strategic growth initiatives.

Deare was retained in two search engagements. The first search would bring aboard the VP of Sales, followed by a second engagement to add two Account Executives. After completing the VP of Sales search directly with the CEO, Deare worked under the direction of the VP of HR with a mandate to acquire two “A-Player” solutions sales professionals.

Result
Given the challenges of the 2022 talent marketplace against an already limited pool of top consulting/solutions sales players, all parties were aware going in that the hiring process would have to be designed to beat the odds.

Our client performed superbly with a thorough, quickly adaptive, and decisive process resulting in landing two of the finest sales professionals in the high-level solutions arena.