At Dimensional Insight, our employees are our biggest strength. In fact, many of our employees have been with the company for 20, 25, even close to 30 years! However, we also have a strong roster of new talent here.
I recently sat down with one of the newer faces at the Burlington office, Bill Myers, to discuss his journey from downsizing from a larger company, brand recognition, and the importance of transparency in his client relationships.
What is your role at Dimensional Insight and what responsibilities does it entail?
My role here is a sales director for the goods and services division – essentially everything except for healthcare. My job is to manage existing relationships that are long-term clients of Diver, as well as find new business and prospects.
What drew you to working at the company?
What drew me here was the family-like atmosphere. I liked how the company is approaching 30 years old, is profitable, and is very strong in its niche markets. Also, selfishly, from a technology standpoint, I wanted to learn something new.
I know that before working here, you worked for Oracle. What was your position there?
Sales, but in a few different capacities. I was an inside sales rep, then a field sales rep, then I managed a team of five sales reps. I covered Canada, New York City, and the mid- Atlantic.
Oracle is a much larger company. What was it like making the shift to a smaller company?
Within a large sales organization, there is a well-established sales process and lots of training, which is great for someone early in their sales career. With that said, after time, these processes can be a bit frustrating and can make getting deals done difficult. This is primarily due to strict approval processes and complicated internal operations polices. The appeal of working for a smaller firm like Dimensional Insight is that I can knock on the CEO’s door, I can knock on Ed’s (our VP of sales’) door, I can take him to meetings with me, and I can learn from this great talent. That would be the biggest difference culturally.
From a territory standpoint, I currently cover US and Canada. And everything in between which I love. When I was at a larger organization, there were close to 150,000 sales reps, so everyone had their own territory. When I was in New York City, I was one of eight people for New York City and it was broken down by zip codes. So, I could be on one block with a client, and across the street is a different territory.
Our company has the slogan, “Dimensional Insight takes care of the customer and the employee, and the customer and employee will take care of Dimensional Insight.” What does this mean to you and how does this apply to your responsibilities?
I’ve never been one to shove a solution down someone’s throat. What I think that means is customer service is very important. If you take care of your clients, over time your clients will take care of you. I worked with sales folks before who can be a little more on the selfish end, trying to cram a deal in. You’ll get your deal, but you’re not going to get the next one. If you take issues head-on, get ahead of issues, be an advocate, be a quarterback for support, maintenance, whatever it may be, your clients will eventually keep growing with you and the company.
Why do you enjoy working in this industry?
To be honest, I started off in banking and finance. I got into technology by accident. I wanted the opportunity to make more money, I wanted to do something different. And honestly, I don’t have a technical background, I graduated with a degree in psychology. I wanted to learn something in the cutting edge of businesses and technology, what keeps things going, and Oracle provided that for me. Over time, I wanted to spread my wings a bit and learn something new. I was selling infrastructure technology at Oracle, this (Diver) is completely different. It’s a very powerful tool and enables me to have business conversations with end users and propose solutions that enable company growth.
How has your previous work experience translated to your job at Dimensional Insight?
One huge benefit of working for a massive organization is the sales training you receive. It’s so important early in your sales career to learn the basics. How to sell. How to overcome objections over the phone. How to handle a meeting in person. When to bring a technical resource in. When to shut up in a meeting and let the client talk. You’re not there to talk, you’re there to listen. Things like that are crucial to learn and I’m fortunate enough to be able to apply those learnings here.
We also don’t have a huge sales team and sales trainers. I must be a self-starter and be self-motivated. It’s my day-to-day activities. Prospecting, keeping myself organized. I have spreadsheets, I have Salesforce, I use these resources daily to keep myself organized and to make sure that I’m always prospecting. I’d say being organized and efficient is what has translated the most here at Dimensional Insight.
You spent several years in banking. What did you learn about the “customer” during that time?
Dealing with people’s money and customer service. I used to say this to my staff, because I was a manager at a bank. I would say, “For you, you may see this transaction a hundred times a day. But that person sitting in front of you, that’s the biggest thing that they’re doing that day.” You have to act like that every time you sit with someone. So basically, it’s just treating every client with respect.
How does the sales team work to help our customers?
The most important thing is to keep people informed on our technologies. I know there are some clients that are on old technology and there’s no reason they should be. Some clients may not even know we have out-of-the-box applications. They just think it’s the platform. We need to make sure they’re being supported, make sure there’s someone from maintenance working with them and let them know they can always reach out when they need someone.
To whom would you recommend to use Diver Platform?
I tend to target clients in the wine and spirits and manufacturing industries – with that said, any company that produces “goods” would really benefit from Diver. It could be retail, manufacturing, or supply chain. When I worked for Oracle, I worked with many high-end fashion retailers. I had a lot of success in that retail manufacturing space and I’m trying to bring that over here. As I just mentioned, wine and spirits are also a huge focus of mine because we know that industry. Being a new guy, I’m really hammering wine and spirits because we own a huge market share in that, there’s no reason that they all shouldn’t be with us.
What does a typical day look like for you?
It depends on the day. If I’m on the road, I’m up at 3:00 a.m., either going to Logan Airport or Amtrak in Westwood. A typical day on the road is meetings, meetings, meetings – maybe even a dinner meeting. Do the same thing the next day, and then take a flight home. Here in the office, I usually do an hour of prospecting when I get in, whether that be calls, emails, or LinkedIn messages. I’m a big LinkedIn Sales Navigator guy, and I find that’s a good way to connect with the C-level people I often am trying to connect with. I don’t really have a typical day. Every day is a little different.
Being a part of the sales team requires a lot of traveling. What has been your favorite city to visit?
That’s a good question. I love New York. I’ve been covering it for so long, I know the city like the back of my hand. I don’t take cabs anymore, I’m a subway rider, I have an MTA card. I also like the fact that I can potentially go to a bunch of meetings in two days because everything is so geographically close. I can be in Brooklyn and downtown Manhattan in 30 minutes. I also love Phoenix, Arizona. It’s different, I love the desert. I was there recently and it was 100 degrees, but it felt like it was 80. It was dry, no allergies, really nice. You can go hiking, mountain-biking, it’s a different layout. But New York’s got everything.
What do you enjoy doing outside of the office?
I’m a big sports fan. I’ve got Patriots season tickets, so that’s my big thing in the fall. I’ve been going to the Patriots games since I was a kid with my dad, since 1987. I am also married and have two kids, so that keeps me really busy. Sometimes the weekends can be busier than the weekday with coaching kids’ sports and other kids’ activities.
Thanks, Bill! Want to meet the rest of our talented team? Check out our other employee profiles here.
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