Usually when a small business MSP asks me to find them one, I push back and start asking them why, and get detailed in asking questions around their lead generation process and what they expect the BDM to do… if it’s everything from opening doors, lead generation, lead qualifying, solution design, proposal development and presentation, closing the deal and then doing ongoing Account Management, then usually I suggest a rethink of the role and/or their sales process.
Having said that, I know it’s hard, as a small business owner, to effectively replace yourself in that sales role.. also where do you find the candidates? You can’t afford to pay the enterprise level Account Exec salaries, and you need candidates with more tech knowledge than an enterprise sales exec has anyway.
Here’s what I do:
- Redefine the role to be one of lead qualifying and closing of smaller deals, while being trained to close larger deals.
- Make sure the MSP can provide technical training where it’s lacking so the BDM is technically credible in front of the client when closing deals.
- Find junior to mid level IT people that have enthusiasm and strong communication skills and are keen to get off the helpdesk.
I’m recruiting for a role like this now of course. So if you’re a computer enthusiast with a passion for people and looking to mix the two… please contact me. It’s a Perth based (northern suburbs) permanent role.
In a future post I’ll outline the top three things one MSP BDM has said that you need to have in order to move into such a role.
