Sales
Whether selling consulting services or digital printers/copiers, Xerox sales representatives are among the most respected and best trained salespeople in the industry.
Mark
Sales Executive
On his role: I am a sales executive at Xerox. It is my job to find new business, manage and expand current Xerox customers, along with engaging the correct specialists on my team to provide the best customer service.
On his business group: We have a full team of specialists, account management, and service department personnel that help in ultimately taking care of current Xerox customers and earning the business of non-users.
On his team: We have a very energetic team, all with positive attitudes in one of the most competitive sales industries. All our team members have their own style and personalities, which is great. We pull from each other’s best practices and motivate each other on a daily basis.
Best part of the job: My favorite part of the job is finding new opportunities, earning new business, and ultimately knowing that I am part of a team that works with integrity and is the #1 document management company in the world!
Why he joined Xerox: I have always admired Xerox because of their strong presence in the industry. Not to mention the people, processes, and solutions that Xerox can provide to all businesses worldwide.
Biggest benefit Xerox offers: Xerox offers many areas to grow in and continues to challenge me, which helps me become a better business man, sales executive, and shareholder.
On his future at Xerox: The sky is the limit at Xerox. All of Xerox’s products and services are at my disposal. It is my job to grow the business and work with my team members.
Jude
Sales, Graphic Communications Business Manager
On his role: I manage sales people selling production equipment to the graphic arts sector. I’ve worked in sales ever since I joined Xerox, becoming sales manager six years ago - and really enjoy it.
Our products are high-value items which require significant investment by our customers, so an individual sale can take anything from three months to several years.
It is quite usual for me to support a territory holder in the field. From the customer’s point of view, my presence gives reassurance that they are a valued customer. From my point of view, it’s an essential part of my mentoring role. I can see the team member in action and, later, follow this up with feedback which they can use to improve their skills.
On his team: As sales manager, I’m responsible for a team of eight primary territory holders and four product specialists, covering an area of North Wales and Northern England. Each one has a one-to-one with me every month. It’s part sales progress and part mentoring. We go over their sales forecasts, performance and activity in detail, any potential customer satisfaction issues, any training requirements and, sometimes, personal issues.
We speak by phone every day or two and meet in person once a week. Team morale is very important so we also have occasional social events; like an evening meal and an overnight stay in a hotel.
On closing a recent deal: The customer asked us to go through all the detail. They seemed to be in no hurry, which was a good sign. And, right enough, having made sure they were clear about the terms of the contract and how the machine would be installed and tested for them, they gave us the all-important signature. We had a fantastic drive back to the office, despite the traffic. We debriefed about the next steps and couldn’t resist a cheer when we thought of the commission!
Andrew
Client Services Executive, Global Document Outsourcing (GDO)
On his role: As UK account manager for the investment banking sector, I provide business outsourcing solutions to major corporate customers.
The complexities of our sales process make communication absolutely essential as we all need to be aware of each other’s progress at every step of the way.
Ultimately, this role is all about managing relationships – with the customer, the internal team and our external suppliers. It is a very broad role, unlike most other sales roles, and I know it wouldn’t suit everyone. It’s a long haul, but when contracts are signed we’re well rewarded.
On his customers: Currently I’m working on a solution for one of the UK’s largest investment banks. My customers are six investment banks and I help them develop business and document outsourcing. As these banks have a global reach, I link up with our account teams worldwide, specifically in Asia Pacific and North America.
On the sales cycle: Our outsourcing solutions for the banking sector include business process services and every aspect of document production. By necessity, the solutions are complex, often involving multi-layered global agreements, and can take months, if not years, to finalise. For example, the one we discussed today took 12 months to negotiate, but the contract value is worth it -$17 million- so is the commission!
On building a team: I’m working on a new opportunity for which I’ll need to build a team to take it forward so I need to request pre-sales resource from our business review board, which analyses the potential and the resource investment before judging whether the bid is valid.
My role is to lead the sales cycle and manage the relationship with the customer. It’s underpinned by the team I build around me. On this one, I’ll need technical analysts, a specific solution sales specialist and a managed service specialist.