Description
At CDW, we make it happen, together. Trust, connection, and commitment are at the heart of how we work together to deliver for our customers. It’s why we’re coworkers, not just employees. Coworkers who genuinely believe in supporting our customers and one another. We collectively forge our path forward with a level of commitment that speaks to who we are and where we’re headed. We’re proud to share our story and Make Amazing Happen at CDW.
Job Description
ROLE PURPOSE
CDW’s Solution Sales organisation is in place to collaborate with sales and to be responsible for delivering high value outcomes and experiences to our existing and prospective customers across a variety of technology growth pillars including Hybrid Platforms, Modern Workspace, Security and Digital Enablement.
The Solution Sales organisation is made up predominantly of Sales Specialists, Business Development Managers and various levels of Solution Architects (presales technical resource).
The role of the Solution Sales Specialist is focussed on the following core areas:
Result driven sales overlay resource focussed on delivering successful financial metrics for the business.
Create and execute on a business plan that delivers against targets and KPI’s.
Being a sales specialist in the specific technology domain, solution, services area of this role.
The primary purpose of the Solution Sales Specialist is to be an overlay sales
function with Secure Networking specialist knowledge to lead the sales engagement from start to finish on opportunities from proactive sales engagement with aligned account owners.
The role is to promote and sell the complete CDW portfolio of Secure Networking and supporting professional & managed services to our customers to achieve personal targets set annually that contribute to the overall team target.
The available portfolio today is extensive but summarised to:
Cisco
HPE Aruba
HPE Juniper
Arista
Fortinet
Palo Alto
Illumio
Akamai / Guardicore
SASE
Observability
AI Networking
Network Connectivity
Opportunities are very often multi-stream and the role holder should be able to sell across multiple technologies.
SUCCESS MEASURES
BAU Measures
Revenue Generation – Achieving and exceeding personal and team financial targets. Pipeline Development – Building and maintaining a robust sales pipeline with qualified opportunities. Sales Cycle Execution – Successfully running structured sales cycles from initiation to closure. Cross-Team Collaboration – Effective teamwork with Sales, Solution Architects, and Business Development Managers to drive business goals.
Long-term Strategic Change Measures:
Thought Leadership – Positioning CDW as a trusted advisor in the solution space through industry insights, presentations, and engagement. Customer Solution Adoption – Driving adoption of CDW’s portfolio beyond initial sales, ensuring long-term value realisation. Innovation & Adaptability – Staying ahead of industry trends, evolving the sales approach, and incorporating new technologies into the sales strategy.
Role-Specific Performance Measures:
Proposal Success Rate – The percentage of proposals and pitches that lead to successful engagements.
Objection Handling & Negotiation Effectiveness – Measuring how well objections are managed and deals are closed.
Sales Conversion Ratio – Tracking the percentage of qualified leads that convert into successful sales.
ROLE RESPONSIBILITIES
The role holder will be heavily involved and/or lead with:
Engage proactively with existing and prospective customers to understand business challenges and position tailored solutions, targeting strategic decision makers and profiling potential new customers
Qualifying and leading the initial business discussions with the client;
Prepare and present compelling proposals and pitches to clients, both owning and contributing to opportunities
Objection handling, negotiating and ultimately closing the sale.
Achieve and exceed sales targets while maintaining high levels of customer satisfaction as the owner of commercial deals
Be the subject matter expert/specialist for Secure Networking in order to drive pipeline and lead the sale individually
Establish new relationships within CDW and externally within the client/prospect base to drive performance goals
Work in close partnership with the internal CDW Sales and Specialist teams to identify new opportunities whilst driving proactive development of converged pipe/funnel.
Build strong relationships with the Account Management team who own the customer relationship and proactively work with them, seeking opportunities and engaging additional CDW personnel as needed
Identify client needs and propose end-to-end solutions that enhance efficiency and scalability
Supporting teams with bids where required
Keep up to date with knowledge and stay updated on industry trends and emerging technologies
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE
Required Knowledge:
Demonstrable knowledge in Networking and Network Security
Knowledge of a structured sales process
Knowledge of different customer personas
Key skills needed to succeed in the role:
Sales hunter skills in building/closing pipeline
active listening
communication & presentation
decision-making
strategic thinking
ability to lead virtual teams
Required experience:
Demonstrable experience in delivering successful sales growth performance – running a structured sales cycle from start to finish.
Experience of working in sales environments and contributing to sales proposals, bid responses and customer meetings.
Experience in building positive working relationships with internal and external customer.
Experience in dealing with IT strategic decision makers
Key competencies:
Proactive relationship building skills, taking personal ownership of work and interactions, and acting on own initiative
Commercial awareness - an understanding of the competitive landscape and the ability to apply that in order to differentiate CDW against its competition.
Sales forecasting – leveraging knowledge of sales process, sales hunting skills and the experience of working in sales environments to accurately forecast quarterly.
Stakeholder management – leveraging knowledge of different personas, active listening skills and experience of leading teams to effectively adapt engagement style as the situation or individual(s) require
We make technology work so people can do great things.
CDW is a leading multi-brand provider of information technology solutions to business, government, education and healthcare customers in the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada. A Fortune 500 company and member of the S&P 500 Index, CDW helps its customers to navigate an increasingly complex IT market and maximize return on their technology investments. Together, we unite. Together, we win. Together, we thrive.
CDW is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regards to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status or any other basis prohibited by state and local law.
