Frequently Asked Questions
In summary, what is
your value proposition and what are the benefits to a company
wishing to enter the EMEA market?
When looking to break into the EMEA market
for the first time, you will be balancing the need for an early
ROI against the clear risks, substantial up-front costs and high
management time/cost overheads typically associated with this
challenge. We address these issues.
GlobalXtend locate, qualify and contract the
same high calibre sales personnel you would ideally look to
recruit for your own payroll. We then jointly manage these individuals
under contract to GlobalXtend, dedicated full-time to your organisation.
At the end of our assignment, with their skills clearly demonstrated,
you have the option to seamlessly transfer these same personnel
to your payroll, maintaining the momentum achieved during the
contract phase.
This unique and simple approach maximise's your
opportunity for a early ROI while virtually eliminating the
operational hiring risks, day-one cost exposure and high management
time/cost overhead typically associated with a traditional direct
hire approach.
Why not use 'commission only' Sales Reps?
To maximise their earnings potential, individuals prepared to operate on a 'commission only' basis will typically represent
a number of clients and will naturally focus on the least complex customer opportunities
that have the shortest sales cycle.
Unlike a dedicated sales individual focused
solely on one company’s products, an independent Sales
Rep is unlikely to be persistent if they encounter any significant
resistance from a prospect. Equally, they are very unlikely
to have the time or patience for a strategic sales campaign
necessitating parallel effort in various parts of a target organisation.
Clearly, if these individuals are marketing differing technologies from multiple companies, they are unlikely to have any allegiance or focus on one solution. This is a key issue, with the significant risk that your company and products may not be represented in a manner acceptable to your organisation.
The lack of focus and company allegiance coupled
with sporadic communication and weak, unpredictable forecasting
makes this a very risky route for any technology company serious about
creating a sustainable presence in the region.
Why don’t we just go-ahead and
hire our own regional personnel?
This is a perfectly reasonable course of action and one adopted by many organisations. However, this approach also presents a number of challenges.
First you must determine which geographical base location offers the most advantageous commercial environment, specifically with regard to local employment law. You must also ensure that the chosen location has a strong talent pool of potential employees experienced in Pan-EMEA start-up situations. Once the base location has been agreed you will need to engage a suitable
recruitment agent/head-hunter, find the time to interview multiple candidates,
set up a supporting local infrastructure, provide sales training specific for your solutions then fully resource your chosen personnel.
Once hired, you must find the time for day-to-day
management of your new personnel, addressing their needs remotely.
If your organisation has limited knowledge of the EMEA market,
this may prove an interesting challenge. Finally, you must also
be prepared to suffer the fiscal and commercial consequences of getting it
wrong i.e. find downstream that you have employed the wrong
people. NOTE: Strong employment laws in many EU countries result in high extraction costs, substantially greater than
with 'At-Will’ contracts typical in the US.
This traditional approach clearly has a number
of advantages. However, in the early stages of market development,
this approach also carries a number of inherent risks, management
time/cost overheads and significant financial commitments that
may not be acceptable to your organisation.
How do GlobalXtend
find the right field sales personnel?
GlobalXtend’s core management team have
over 80 years combined experience of technology sales in the
EMEA market. Over this period we have established solid
relationships with many of the regions specialist recruitment organisations
together with numerous highly talented personnel possessing a broad range of skills and experience. These relationships coupled
our own extensive internal database allow us to rapidly locate, qualify
and contract the best sales personnel for any assignment.
Our success is dictated by the success of our chosen personnel in the field. For this reason we guarantee that the calibre of personnel we choose will match or exceed the criteria you would use with your own direct hires. If we don't agree, we don't do business.
How can we be
sure that the quality of GlobalXtend’s contract sales
personnel meets or exceeds our own criteria?
GlobalXtend has a unique value proposition
for our clients; key to our success is the choice of contract
field personnel.
- First of all, we are very strict in our vetting criteria, if we get it wrong, we all fail. To maximise the opportunity for an early ROI, we will only contract demonstrably successful sales
personnel with strong current knowledge of your specific
technology space, market verticals and target geography.
- The GlobalXtend management team understands this
challenge through many years of practical experience
within the industry. If the individuals we choose
do not deliver the results expected, we both fail; it
is clearly in our interest to get it right first time.
- To ensure the chosen personnel perform
and continue to deliver results, we work with your executive
team, providing joint local management of these individuals
during the term of our assignment. Our success really
does depend on your success.
- One advantage of local management is the ability to spot issues quickly. In the unlikely event that an individual
does not work out during the course of our assignment,
we guarantee to replace them with an equivalent calibre
individual at no additional cost to you.
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In any event, no agreement will be
ratified between our organisations before your management team
have given their endorsement to the personnel we have chosen.
What are the
benefits to us of your sales management services?
In a typical direct-hire scenario, the head hunters responsibility for your chosen candidates will end when the candidates commence employment with your organisation.
In the GlobalXtend scenario, our responsibility continues until you are completely satisfied with their performance in the field, they have achieved the desired results and you are ready to make a direct-hire decision. It is therefore in our interest to spot issues quickly. If a contractor is clearly not performing, we will replace that individual at no additional cost, ensuring a seamless transition.
GlobalXtend management will
typically take part in your sales progress reviews, help ensure
the forecasting is accurate and assist where appropriate with
sales calls and closures. Given the time zone issues, there
may be times when our local knowledge based on extensive practical
experience, can help overcome issues that need an immediate
resolution.
As we see this as a team effort, our core management
and market-entry skills may also be useful in discussions with your
personnel over local tactical matters, strategy, local marketing
and approach. The success of GlobalXtend depends on the success
of our people in the field. If our contractors achieve their objectives and transition to your payroll at the end of our assignment,
we all win.
Are your contract
sales personnel dedicated, full-time, to our company?
As would be the case with your own direct hires, all our contract personnel are dedicated, full time, to a single
client. This is a clear differentiator for GlobalXtend and a
very different approach to that adopted by independent Sales
Reps and virtually all other sales outsourcing, sales acceleration and sales lead generation
companies operating in the region today.
Why should a
high calibre sales person work on this basis?
First of all, we only engage with organisations
that have products with real market potential and clear market
differentiators; a key factor for any high calibre sales individual.
The ‘exact skills match’ approach we use for every
contract ensures that the sales personnel have a minimal learning
curve i.e. productive from day one.
We remunerate the field sales person with a
realistic percentage of the assignment retainer plus commission.
As our personnel are classed as independent contractors not
employees of GlobalXtend, we make no deductions i.e. they are
paid gross. From a retained income perspective, this method of working can be highly beneficial, specifically for contractors based within the EU.
Lastly, we expect successful contractors to move over to your payroll at the end of our assignment,
where both the contractor and the company will be clear as to the viability
of a long-term commitment.
For many confident, high calibre personnel
in today’s market, this approach makes real sense.
How much does
your service cost?
The cost of GlobalXtend’s pan-European
sales outsourcing services over one year is circa 40-50%
less than analyst estimates of the total costs you would expect to
incur with equivalent direct hires based in the region.
In summary: set against the option of
direct local hires, our cost model is exceedingly competitive,
we virtually eliminate the inherent up-front risks associated
with this exercise; employ a rapid and professional time to
market approach, significantly reduce your management overheads
and provide the option for a risk free exit strategy. Don’t
you agree this makes sense? |
