The Requirements
The ideal candidate for the opportunity of Senior Account Executive will have ten or more years of consultative sales experience, preferably in data centers, telecom, cloud computing, disaster recovery, hosting, Software as a Service (SaaS), or a similar, transferable field. Quick question for you - click here You should also be familiar with the local area.At a minimum you will have:
- A bachelor's degree from a four-year college or university and at least four years of related experience and/or training (preferred. In lieu of a BA/BS degree, you must have eight or more years of related experience to qualify for this role.
- The proven ability to negotiate and close transactions -- a track record of results.
- A teamwork orientation and the ability to work with internal operations, finance and management.
- Outstanding account management skills, with positioning at the “C” level with targets. Quick question for you - click here
- The ability to effectively present value propositions for product sets, independent of pricing.
- The skill to discuss and design data center / midmarket concepts.
- The ability to cold-call and generate meaningful opportunities.
- Polished presentation skills and the ability to respond to questions from groups of customers, managers and the general public.
- Strong verbal and written communication skills, and public speaking skills.
- A high level of commitment to customer service.
- Proficiency with MS Excel including the ability to perform basic financial analysis of deal economics. You should be able to discern “good” deals from “bad” deals based upon management-provided financial guidelines.
- The ability to create, format and proof professional proposals, presentations and other customer facing documentation.
- Analytical and quantitative skills with the ability to analyze and solve problems involving several options with limited information.
The Role
As a Midmarket Account Executive, you will report to the Vice President of Mid-Market and be responsible for leasing space within select Digital Realty properties with a midmarket offering. You’ll work our broad Chicago territory. These are prime locations not just because of the business opportunities, but because of the real estate we already own in the territories. You will be incented to sell into properties within your territory.You will focus exclusively on midmarket sales and build a strong book of business from the ground up. You may gain a few current accounts, but the majority of your business will be self-generated. Though you’ll have a team behind you, including exceptional Sales Support Engineers, you will be responsible for all aspects of the selling process including: cold calling, face-to-face meetings, networking, presentations, proposal creation, and closing business. You will coordinate all facets of the customer experience including interactions between customers, operations, property managers, chief engineers and datacenter engineers, with the intention of closing sales, generating significant income and supporting ongoing relationships. Quick question for you - click here
To be a successful Midmarket Account Executive, you should have the ability to:
- Regularly cold-call midmarket prospects who could benefit from Digital Realty solutions.
- Respond in a timely manner to all inbound leads. Leads can come as direct referrals and through industry-specific channels such as brokers, consultants, telecom and systems integrators.
- Clearly articulate the value proposition of Digital Realty midmarket products, while differentiating product offerings from those of our competitors.
- Develop and deliver proposals which resonate with senior prospect leadership.
- Regularly interact with the Asset and Property team regarding midmarket offerings.
- Negotiate deals and contract business terms and conditions with customers, staying in line with the parameters provided by Digital Realty management.
- Present basic engineering principles in relation to power and cooling.
- Plan preliminary design, presentation and evaluation of customer solutions including capital budgeting, operational detail and scheduling of proposed projects.
- Understand and use the vernacular of real estate and technology.
- Regularly report and forecast your sales activities to management through our CRM software.
- Attend major industry trade shows and functions as determined by management.
Why Digital Realty
Hot product -- the data center market is booming. Businesses need to protect their data and Digital Realty offers an array of solutions from custom scalable design, to disaster recovery, to colocation. Our Midmarket Services program offers flexibility backed by capacity, reliability, commitment to customer service, and the expertise of a global data center expert. Our modular rack design allows for scalability from a single rack to a multi-rack system to a private cage, allowing our clients to match their data center requirements precisely with their evolving business needs.As part of our Midmarket Services program, we will install high density cabinets that are equipped with aisle containment systems that segregate the cold air feed and hot air return in order to optimize the operating environment, while maximizing energy and cost efficiencies.
Lucrative career -- if you're a strong, personable sales professional who loves to sell, enjoys helping clients, and is motivated by commission and income potential, this is your opportunity. We've closed business deals worth thousands and multi-millions, helping companies of all sizes. You'll focus on the mid-market closing deals up to $200,000. You'll have all the tools you need to build a strong career and enjoy uncapped commission, but your skill and effort will determine how lucrative your territory will be.
Stable profile -- our uncommonly strong balance sheet, investment-grade debt ratings and the ability to borrow in multiple currencies provide a global footprint for our customers and risk-reducing diversification for us. That puts us in an excellent position to grow the company, provide financing options for our customers, and continually invest in our properties.
Green standard for sustainability -- we are committed to improving the performance and energy efficiency of our data centers through the creation, adoption and promotion of industry-leading best data center practices. Not only do we build to LEED and BREEAM certification requirements, but we also are pioneers in thinking about green data centers, including being a contributing member of The Green Grid.
Excellent compensation -- in addition to a strong base and commission structure, we offer a comprehensive benefits package that includes medical, dental and vision insurances; flexible spending plans for multiple purposes; a health savings account; a 401(k) plan with company match and much more.
Video: the Digital Realty Ecosystem provides customers with a neutral, efficient and connectivity-rich environment to connect with carriers, business partners and service providers. It also provides an underlying, redundant infrastructure for carriers and service providers to deliver their entire portfolio of products and services to customers in any Digital Realty data center, without capital-intensive deployment costs.
Keys to Success
To excel in this role, you will be an assertive, self-driven and seasoned sales professional capable of delivering exceptional service and guiding your clients toward the best solution for their business needs. You’ll build relationships and nurture what can be a long sales cycle, but when it’s time for your client to sign the SLA, you’ll also be a tough negotiator who can deliver significant revenue for Digital Realty and yourself.While you’ll need the technical prowess to learn the business and talk the talk, you’ll also need exceptional communication skills and a strong sense of teamwork. You’ll interact with C-level executives and other decision makers, and work alongside a talented and specialized team of internal experts and support personnel. You’ll find that relationship building both externally and internally will help you reach success.
Perhaps the biggest challenge in this market is the fact that our direct competitor has a strong presence and history in the community. They are, however, a locally based company with a footprint that can’t match ours. With effort and finesse, you will be able to crack the market.
About Us
Digital Realty Trust, Inc. supports the data center and colocation strategies of more than 600 firms across its secure, network-rich portfolio of data centers located throughout North America, Europe, Asia and Australia. Digital Realty's clients include domestic and international companies of all sizes, ranging from financial services, cloud and information technology services, to manufacturing, energy, gaming, life sciences and consumer products.Digital Realty is a publicly traded company (NYSE: DLR) with investment grade ratings from all three major ratings agencies.
Digital Realty offers a highly competitive compensation package, excellent benefits, and an environment that recognizes and rewards your contributions.
Digital Realty is an equal opportunity employer, EOE/AA/M/F/Vets/Disabled
Please do not forward unsolicited resumes to any employee of Digital Realty and its subsidiaries. Digital Realty is not responsible for any fees related to unsolicited referrals.