Tim Misson, Operations Director
I’ve actually worked at Sales Engine twice – the first time several years ago as a consultant before returning in 2019. It seems the pull of working with such a great team was too great, and this definitely feels like my spiritual home.
Before Sales Engine, I spent six years running my own business development company, and I’ve also worked in IT and software, in sales management and enablement roles. One of the common threads throughout all these roles, aside from sales, obviously, is that they’ve always been quite pioneering – I’ve never slotted into a position vacated by someone else, and I’ve always had to throw myself in at the deep end and create the job as I go. More often than not, this means introducing structure and process, and I suppose this is why I’m suited to my current role as Operations Director at Sales Engine.
“Part of the beauty of working here is that every day is different. My work is incredibly varied; I’m definitely a ‘utility player’! From resource management and project delivery to partner and customer relationship management, keeping on top of the financials, creating content and collateral, and developing the systems, structures and processes that allow Sales Engine to grow and scale.“
I also spend some time researching the latest sales tools and technology. This trend began some time ago with CRM, grew to include a whole plethora of sales enablement and ABM platforms, and continues to accelerate with the latest advances in AI starting to make their presence felt in the sales arena. ChatGPT anyone?
This is an exciting area, and as sales cycles and buying decisions become ever more complicated, we know that our customers are all considering how these tools can help their sellers improve their productivity and revenues. But we also know that with so many technology options on the table, all promising to deliver significant results, it can be challenging to know which way to jump. While Sales Engine has made some strategic partnerships with some of these technology vendors, we remain agnostic – it always has to come down to the most appropriate tools for the job, and tightly defining the requirements first is critical.
The other interesting point about all these tools is that, while undoubtedly impressive, they will always be held hostage to the context they are used in. In themselves, they can’t fix a broken sales process, poor sales behaviours or underwhelming sales content. As the saying goes, rubbish in, rubbish out. This is likely to be one of the key challenges that many of our customers face in the coming year, whether they already have these tools or are considering them for the first time. This is why Sales Engine’s focus on People, Processes and Tools is relevant for where the sales world is right now – you need all three to work optimally to see sustainable results from any investment you make in technology.
We’re already seeing the first fruits of this mantra with some of our customers, and this kind of thinking – and of course, the fantastic people – makes me excited for the year ahead.
Connect with Tim on LinkedIn