With opex cuts and a stronger push towards subscriptions, how do you think the Sales org will change? Seems like there wouldn’t be as much of a need for ancillary sales teams (for example, the Global Virtual Sales team here in RTP). Will the sales org flatten or no?
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just put all cisco's product in amazon's fulfillment centres, customers can buy from there and shipping will be 2 business days.
Less “wanna buy a router?” and more “wanna buy a subscription?”
I've said this a thousand times over the past 2 years: CR's time in the field was largely in the Channels organization. He did 10+ years as a Channels director, and another 5 as VP of channels. So he sees things through the lens of Partners driving the business. All of the moves he's made are small steps toward a 100% partner led sales motion (no more direct Sales people on the Cisco payroll).
Now... that said, we all know that the channels job is the biggest joke of a cakewalk job in the company. And we also know that very very very few partners actually drive new business. Most of our largest channel partners are nothing more than order fulfillment. So you can chalk this up (in advance) at yet another horrible management decision by CR.
Not sure all parts of the sales org have ‘talent skill or knowledge’ either. Seems like an overly bloated structure where many roles don’t add any actual value (solely just managing and reporting, instead of making actual sales).
No partner has any talent skill or knowledge
Why keep sales when authorized Partners can sell your product? Channel is the way to go.
SEs and TMEs can barely figure out what to propose, a customer has no idea.
Can't customers pick their own h/w and s/w online and put that stuff in a shopping cart. Click CheckOut and boom sale is done. Cisco is an internet company yet it's doing sales like used car salesmen.
It will look like the Saleforce sales team(s). Subscriptions and renewals are services not sales.
They beta test comp plan changes for years then change their minds again before global rollout. No one is beta testing adoption now.
Jeff S/Americas hinted during Impact that sellers should not be surprised to learn they will be measured on adoption. Since sales is getting regoaled at the mid year, I wonder if that is when it starts.
Cisco could be like Tesla and not even have a marketing or sales team at all. Instead rely upon the products reputation to sell itself.
Cisco never changes
In general: Shift from relationship based to value/consultancy based and use case selling that is driven by correct customer data and analytics. Easiest done virtual and not by field sales entering data into an off-line spreadsheet. No more horoscope pipelines, incentive based sandbagging and good excuses. Automation is key.
Shift from field to virtual.
Will flatten and be paid less in the future. Cutting comp likely the first priority of the next CFO.