How to Communicate More Efficiently in a Business Environment

Most students dream of attending college, graduating with a degree in their selected field, and landing that perfect professional position. Ms. Elizabeth Haley, a Key Account Manager for M-Files,  Inc. located in Austin, Texas, feels this dream is more than possible as long as candidates follow a clear prescription for applying to and securing a job that fits core competencies. Ms. Haley believes that these competencies include effective communication, the leveraging of which make candidates stand out as a professionals within their workplace.

What is your professional history (include your timeline and roles)?

“Instead of writing them all out here, I have attached my resume for you. It is a long list, as I have been in the working world for a long time.”

What writing advice do you have for professional communicators?

“Always check your work for mistakes before hitting send on an email or before publishing.”

What is your one pet peeve when it comes to professional writing?

“Grammar errors in general are a huge pet peeve. Go back to grammar basics, do not end a sentence with a preposition. I also find writers use the word “that” a lot and this word is not needed.”

What kind of business reports do you read and/or compose regularly?

“Emails. Sales proposals. Business news.”

What are your writing suggestions to make those types of reports successful?

“Make them to the point. Use correct grammar.”

What speaking advice do you have for professional communicators?

“Be engaging with your audience. Understand who is in the audience. Add personal stories to your presentation. Humor is also a plus.”

Name one thing you wish you had known about business communication prior to your professional career?

“Text can be taken out of context, so make sure you keep that in mind when writing.

After assessing the Burning Glass list of Baseline Skills (2016), which skills not in the top 5 would you move into the top 5…and why?

“#12, Building Effective Relationship. This one should definitely be in the top 5. You have probably heard this saying, “it is not what you know, it is who you know.” This saying is very true when you enter the working world. Every job I have had, is because of someone I knew. This skill is essential in your working life and personal life.”

What team skills do you feel young professionals need the most?

“Commitment, team mentality, and communication skills.”

Key Takeaways

After engaging in this interview with Elizabeth, it helped my understanding of what is important to my field of choice. To help with communication between different projects, you have to make sure your writing is not hard to follow. This includes getting straight to the point and not having your writing taken out of context, as said above in the interview. You also have to be correct grammatically when drafting documents. This includes writing concerning who the document will be sent to. At the same time, making sure you do not use too many prepositions. Having no errors in your writing as well, such as useless commas and other punctuation, and sounding educated and professional. If you don’t, it will make you appear as if you’re unprofessional. No employer wants their employees to be grammatically incorrect. This will make their company look bad, or even worse it could cause their company to get into a dispute causing serious damage to them.

Another business communication skill deemed important in the working field, is how comfortable and well you work in a team. Many companies put you in “teams” to work on projects and accomplish tasks, and it is important you are social and committed to your team. Letting one person do all the work in this atmosphere isn’t like college. If the team doesn’t work together then the project will most likely go wrong or even fail. Also, you need to be extremely sociable and networking nonstop. Not only while you’re in college, but even after you graduate and enter the work force. Networking is huge all the while obtaining certain promotions and building your resume. Like in the interview, Elizabeth said “You have most likely heard this saying, “it is not what you know, it is who you know.” This saying is very true when you enter the working world. Every job I have had, is because of someone I knew.” This shows me that being active and very social when talking with possible employers is very important in securing jobs.

Elizabeth Haley is still in the work force, and she started in August 2003. Over the course of the years, she acquired many jobs since then. She graduated from Ball State University and obtained her Bachelor of Science in 1993. She is currently a Key Account Manager for M-Files, Inc located in Austin, Texas. She secured many companies multiple multimillion-dollar deals in her previous occupations. Elizabeth is very successful from starting out as an Account Executive to working her way up to where she is now. Attached below is a copy of her resume to display her extraneous career. Thus being, because as she said in the first question of the interview, “It is a long list, as I have been in the working world for a long time.”

Elizabeth Haley

Email: ….

Austin, TX

Mobile: …

Work Experience: 

M-Files, Inc. – Austin, Texas

Key Account Manager, January 2019 – Present

SailPoint Technologies – Austin, Texas

Partner Sales Manager, November 2017 – December 2018

• Recruit and on board new SailPoint Partners.
  • FY2018 – 35 new SailPoint partners and 40 net new sourced opportunities.
• Manage the SailPoint Partner Program for small to mid-tier partners, including generating new pipeline and quarterly sales results with existing partners.
• Coordinate all activities and communication between my assigned Partners, SailPoint corporate, field sales, and SailPoint partner teams to meet quarterly expectations against Demand Generation, Partner Management, and Forecasted Sales Results.
• Assist in the development and delivery of Sales, Technical, and Process training to ensure Partners are well equipped to market, position, and sell SailPoint products.
• Coordinate SailPoint involvement in partner promotions and marketing activities to ensure the best possible SailPoint market coverage.
• Identify customer sales opportunities through the Partner and work with the field sales organization to help manage the opportunities through the company’s selling and pipeline management process.
• Work with field sales organization to identify and develop Partner relationships to provide field sales with a solid, productive base of partner support and sales results.

PathMaker Group – Austin, Texas

Security Sales Consultant, April 2017 – November 2017

• Added $2M in net new revenue to the pipeline.
• Built new relationships with customers by cold-calling, networking within their organizations, and utilizing online social media.
• Developed sales strategies within my target market to identify new Identity and Access Management opportunities through cold-calling, attending conferences, and vendor networking.
• Worked with the consulting team to create statements of work.
• Worked closely with vendors, Oracle and SailPoint, to get software pricing/quotes.
• Attended vendor and IAM conferences around the United States.

Oracle Corporation – Austin, Texas – September 2008 – April 2017

Senior Customer Success Manager for Oracle Sales Cloud, July 2016 – April 2017

• Customer-facing install-base Account Manager working with Oracle customers who purchased the Sales Cloud and eCommerce product.
• Teamed with multiple groups within Sales, Support, Operations and Consulting, had to understand the near- and long-term Cloud vision of the customer.
• Coordinated the right Oracle resources, programs, and information at the right time, to ensure the customer’s value of the product.
• Worked to retain and expand my customer’s knowledge and footprint of the Oracle product.
• Developed strong relationships with the key stake holders at each customer in order to ensure they optimize their investment with Oracle.
• Worked to provide best practices; helped to improve the customer’s user adoption.
• Kept the customer informed of new products and features.
• Being an advocate for the customer within Oracle was a top priority.

Technology Channel Partner Sales Manager, June 2013 – July 2016

FY14 YTD – 120%, FY15 YTD – 163%, FY16 YTD – 180%

• Closed a $1 million Cloud deal at a top retailer in the US.
• Closed a $2 million Unlimited License Agreement with a start up Software Company in Chicago, Illinois.
• Manage technology and cloud sales through Oracle resellers.
• Manage the entire sales cycle for partner driven deals in my region.
• Oracle sales cycle requires collaborating with partners, direct sales reps, and sales management.
• When special pricing is needed, collaborate with the partner to formulate a business justification around specific customer requests.
• Manage the relationship between the distributor, partner, customer, and Oracle.
• As a professional, I pride myself in building strong, long term internal and external relationships in order to maximize Oracle sales through the channel.

Small & Medium Business Field Account Manager, October 2012 – June 2013

FY13 YTD – 301%

• Closed a $2.9 million-dollar Unlimited License Agreement with a start up technology company which was about to go public.
• Worked with accounts in Oracle’s emerging markets space – $500 million and below.
• Responsible for building pipeline, forecasting against my quota, achieving quarterly quota.
• Penetrated new and existing accounts to build pipeline and close Database and Fusion Middleware opportunities.
• Developed and maintained competitive knowledge on industries and products to leverage in sales cycle.
• Managed the full life cycle of sales process from prospecting to closure.
• Worked with my extended “eco system” team to collaborate and close deals – including Channel, Sales Consultants, Hardware Rep, Applications Rep, Support Renewal Rep, MySQL Rep and partners in my territory.

Technology Channel Partner Sales Manager, September 2010 – September 2012

FY12 YTD – 116%, FY11 YTD – 100%

• Managed sales of Oracle technology products through resellers.
• Achieved regional indirect revenue targets for territory which included MI, IL, IN, OH, KY and TN – Enterprise, National, and Emerging accounts.
• Increased indirect sales by identifying and integrating “product/solution” specific partners with regional sales teams to achieve sales targets.
• Drove, converted and managed through close new partner-generated opportunities.
• Accurately forecasted indirect incremental regional business.
• Implemented tech partner programs and field engagement strategies in support of technology sales initiatives.
• Achieved partner resell license revenue objectives leveraging Oracle Value Added Resellers.
• Participated in regional account reviews / forecast reviews to identify, facilitate and align partners to opportunities for influence or resell.
• Coordinated monthly partner business reviews involving Oracle regional management and partner leadership.
• Planned and assisted in the implementation of demand generation events with Channel Marketing.
• Managed non standard discount requests through approval process, order documents, and booking.

Fusion Middleware Account Manager, September 2008 – September 2010

FY10 YTD – 137%, FY09 YTD – 246%

• Managed and closed direct Oracle sales opportunities through forecasting, account resource allocation, account strategy, and planning.
• Expertly negotiated deals with large national accounts such as FedEx, Convergys, Ozburn Hessey, and Toyota.
• Supported sales through calls and web-based presentations to manage product positioning and strategies.
• Increased pipeline through demand generation and targeted campaigns to the Oracle install base and Greenfield accounts.
• Learned and maintained in-depth knowledge of Oracle products and technologies, competitors, and industry trends.
• Architected Oracle based solutions to fit client requirements.
• Developed and maintained competitive knowledge on industries and products to leverage in sales cycle.
• Managed the full life cycle of sales process from prospecting to closure.

BEA Systems, Inc. – Dallas, TX

Account Executive, August 2003 – April 2008

FY07 YTD – 105%, FY06 YTD – 163%, FY05 YTD – 276%

Achievers Club 2005, 2006, 2007

• Responsible for building pipeline, forecasting against my quota, achieving quota, and ensuring customer satisfaction.
• Penetrated new and existing accounts to build pipeline and close Application Server, Portal, Integration and Service Oriented Architecture opportunities.
• Collaborated with both lines of business and technical groups to establish, grow, and support SOA solutions.
• Partnered with Value Added Resellers to increase revenue stream and BEA’s overall footprint in accounts.

Education:             

Ball State University, Muncie, Indiana

Bachelor of Science – 1993

Activities: Kappa Delta Sorority

Sales Training Completed:

BayGroup Situational Sales Negotiation Course              InfoMentis Sales Coaching

Sandler Training – Sales Skills Training                            John Costigan Sales Training

Frontline Solutions Selling Course