Benjamin Lewis
Senior Sales Engineer, Marketing, and Management Professional
Information Technology as a Service & Telecommunications
· Sales & Sales Support
· Product Marketing
· Competitive Analysis
· Management
· Training
Distinguished career reflects an impressive record of achievement in the planning, execution, and management of sales and marketing initiatives that have consistently delivered exceptional returns. Expert in identifying and capturing business opportunities, building strong teams, providing solutions that exceed customers’ expectations, outselling the competition, and protecting company interests in an intensely competitive marketplace.
Career Highlights
· As a Systems Engineer directly supporting a global Enterprise sales team, was recognized as being instrumental in the entire team averaging over 100% attainment in FY10, as well has having two of my reps over 200%
·
Developed
and deployed marketing and training materials for flagship IP-VPN products and
held key role of product champion from design through launch.
· Broke existing company customer service rating record while supervising a staff of twenty
· Created and implemented a competitive positioning training program from the ground up for company-wide Sales Engineers, Sales, and Operations staff.
Professional Experience
Cisco Systems; Santa Clara, CA; 2008 to Present
Systems
Engineer, Collaboration Software Group
In this
role, I am a customer-focused technical sales professional who provides high
level technical support and guidance to customers and my account team. I
collaborate with the Account Manager to recommend and develop appropriate
customer solution architectures. Provide an consistent perspective across the
Cisco product portfolio and can leverage technical specialization for specific
opportunities. Act in a consultative fashion and am looked to as an expert in
my field by the account team and customer. Actively mentor junior team members
and share knowledge and best practices throughout Cisco.
Technical Leadership - Responsible for all aspects of the technical relationship at the “C” level down within the top-tier Enterprise accounts in my region. Primary technical interface with partners and resellers. Collaborate and consult on complex solution architecture both internally and externally.
Innovation - Lead research of potential
competitive offerings for proposed solutions. Develop & present these
solutions at the executive level. Research and demonstrate solution ROI and
articulate findings to customers. Develop and implement project plans for a variety
of complex solutions.
Cutting Edge Knowledge - Act as a knowledge leader in the
field with regard to the Cisco's support of next-gen video and mobile devices,
including Apple's iPad and Cisco's Cius devices.
SAVVIS; Santa Clara, CA; 2004 to 2008
Product Solutions Manager (2005–2008)
Promoted to this hybrid position to lead technical and marketing support for an $180 million line of business. Generated marketing and training materials for new and existing products. Led C-Level sales calls and account planning sessions. Subject matter expert (SME) for all Network and Financial solutions in the SAVVIS product portfolio.
Sales Growth - Responsible for increasing top-line revenue from my product set ten percent quarter-over-quarter, and for insuring that salespeople consistently targeted strategic accounts in the marketplace utilizing my product set.
Competitive Market Positioning - As the first line of support for Sales and Sales Engineering, spearheaded efforts to position products in the marketplace and target appropriate companies.
Expertise in:
· Both legacy ATM and current MPLS data networks
· Carrier-class IP transit and peering, VoIP applications
· Network-based security at the customer premise and network edge
· Content delivery, caching, and acceleration
· Metro and long-haul point-to-point circuits
· Managed multi-homing in the LAN environment
· Connectivity to major financial exchanges
Senior Sales Executive (2004-2005)
Drove revenue growth and customer satisfaction within an assigned group of existing customers in the San Francisco Bay Area. Successfully met growth targets of $200,000 new revenue per year, and 20% increase in existing revenue year-over-year. Responsibilities included prospecting, qualifying, and making presentations to potential clients, as well as developing, proposing, and selling SAVVIS solutions to both existing and new clients.
Reliable Performance - Finished 2004 in the top 20% company-wide, and top in my branch in quota attainment.
Market Image - Increased market image by representing the company at top trade shows and attracting C-Level industry leaders to social events.
AT&T Business Services; San Francisco, CA; 2002–2004
Managed Services Account Executive
Assumed primary responsibility for revenue maintenance and growth in assigned accounts, and directed various sales support resources in the execution of plan for successful attainment of revenue objectives. Exercised team leadership skills that included enabling individual and team effectiveness, developing and maintaining channels of communication, resource alignment, proactive planning, and excellence in execution.
Consistent Overachievement - Achieved over 180% of quota in first sales year, with an annual new revenue goal of $216,000. Successfully maintained $120 million in existing annual revenue.
Exceptional Performance - Invited to take, and subsequently passed, the AT&T Client Business Manager assessment interviews and examination.
Revenue Protection and Growth - Achieved positive net revenue for each account (including accounts receivable and adjustments) in my portfolio.
Cross-Functional Team Leadership - Led a matrixed team of pre-sale technical resources and post-sale project management and life-cycle resources.
Cable & Wireless USA; San Francisco, CA; 1999–2002
Global Account Manager / Sales Executive
Promoted for consistently overachieving sales goals as a Sales Executive. Responsible for generating new business and growing existing revenue from ISP, ASP, CAP and CLEC customers. Designed proposals for OC3-192 and Fast/Gigabit Ethernet based IP services. Negotiated settled peering agreements at the C-Level with other IP carriers.
Strategic Role - As the Account Manager for Exodus and Digital Island, spearheaded local integration when Cable & Wireless acquired those companies.
Sales Support - Conducted a series of strategic presentations on Cable & Wireless products and their position in the marketplace to the entire sales force at the 2001 Global Sales Training sessions.
Revenue Generation:
· $6.7 Million billed annual revenue in FY00
· $20.1 Million booked contract value in FY00 (over 1680% of yearly quota)
· $12.1 Million billed annual revenue in FY01
· $5.4 Million booked contract value in FY01 (over 454% of yearly quota)
· Exceeded 100% of quota in every quarter of employment
CRL Network Services; San Francisco, CA; 1998–1999
National Account Manager (Team Lead)
Promoted to role as Team Lead, prospected for new co-location, frame relay, and dedicated Internet customers nationally. Designed frame relay, TCP/IP, and ATM based data network and voice-over frame relay and voice-over IP quotations and proposals. Frequently achieved greater than 200% of $13,000K monthly quota.
Enterprise Rent-a-Car; Novato, CA; 1995–1998
Manager
Supervised the activities of up to twenty employees and trained direct reports in all mission critical applications. Set branch record for customer service rating in July 1998. Responsible for branch bottom-line profit, including top-line revenue, accounts receivable, and overhead.
Education
Master of Business Administration, Marketing
San Francisco State University, San Francisco, CA; 2006
Bachelor of Science in Psychology, Industrial and Organizational
The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA; 1995
Cisco Certified Entry Network Technician
Memberships / Additional Information
San Francisco State Graduate Business Student Association
San Francisco State Marketing Association
Phi Kappa Sigma Fraternity
Penn State Alumni Association
Penn State Boxing Club
Co-Author: “Memory: The Roles of Tempo Change and Mood Mediation.” The Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition. 1996, Vol. 22, No. 6 1354-1363.