Company: Wind River, Alameda, CA
Entry Submitted By: ValueSelling Associates
Company Description: Wind River is the global leader in Device Software Optimization (DSO). We enable companies to develop,run, and manage device software faster, better, at lower cost, and more reliably.
Nomination Category: Sales Achievement Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Sales Meeting of the Year

Nomination Title: F2010 Sales Kick Off Meeting (SKO)

Tell the story about your organization's sales meeting (up to 500 words). Include here links to photographs, videoclips, or other materials online that will help to paint a picture of your event for the judges. IMPORTANT: Begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, [http://www.youraddress.com]:

Wind River’s has long been considered the global leader in Device Systems
Optimization (DSO).; Wind River technology is currently deployed in more than
300 million devices worldwide by industry leaders like Apple, Hewlett-Packard,
Boeing, Motorola, NASA, and Mitsubishi.;; Given the current economy,; the
organization was now faced with longer sales cycles, commoditization and the
need to extensively justify the financials of each project.; Wind River’s
business issue became to move from a product focused sales organization to an
industry focus.

While Wind River has a successful history of providing product and solutions
to several verticals, they decided to dedicate the 2009 Sales Kickoff Meeting
to “verticalize” the sales organization sales into six specific industries.;
Those industries include: Network Equipment, Aerospace and Defense,
Consumer/Digital Living, Industrial, Automotive, and Mobile Devices.;
The effort was led by Damian Artt,; SVP Worldwide Sales and Services to
address several challenges:
The sales executives lacked the rich industry experience to have deep,
value-added customer conversations with business executives.
The sales executives lacked the confidence that they could add value
to the senior executives of their clients and prospects.
The sales executives were not calling high enough up in the prospect
organizations.
The sales organization required a major repositioning of sales
executives into verticals where they had no prior industry knowledge required
to be successful.
Sales time and energy was being wasted on dead end sales cycles,
leading to a lack of productivity and inefficiency.

WindRiver partnered with ValueSelling Associates to execute the SKO. The
project was broken out into three phases:
Prepare:
Build a template for vertical training workshops which can be tailored
to each of the six different verticals
Leverage the current knowledge and insight of the Wind River vertical
marketing teams to build relevant content and rich industry knowledge/insight
to create need in each vertical
Create training materials, facilitator guides, case studies, and
customer testimonials to utilize at the kick off meeting
Leveraging the unique capabilities and strengths of Wind River
products and services in each vertical industry
Uncovering the strengths of Wind River vis-à-vis the various industry
specific competitive alternatives
Execute:

ValueSelling Associates provided up to 8 certified and licensed facilitators
to deliver the vertical training workshops.; Each associate was trained in
their assigned vertical to bring value to the 1 ½ day workshops. Participant
outcomes:

Be able to demonstrate working knowledge of their industry,; its key
market forces, and industry terminology
Predict and uncover relevant business issues and problems that Wind
River is uniquely positioned to address
Create linkage between Wind River solutions and the business problems
identified with business executives
Gain the confidence to conduct high level sales calls on executives
that are customer centric and create opportunity for Wind River solutions
Qualify (and disqualify) prospects based on a multi-criteria customer
centric formula:; The Qualified Prospect Formula® by ValueSelling Associates

Sustain and Install

As a result of the 2009 Sales Kickoff, all internal sales process, marketing
messaging and technology maps to Wind River’s shift to a vertically focused
sales organization.; The new organization model outlined to be not only
customer focused but also deal focused, to provide clear and constant
communication by vertical, and to bring energy, ideas and an intense drive to
overachieve to Wind River.

List hyperlinks to any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that support the claims made in the section above. IMPORTANT: Begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, [http://www.youraddress.com]:

Wind River was purchased by Intel in June for $884M.
http://www.intel.com/pressroom/archive/releases/20090604corp.htm
Differentiating Your Devices, Targeting the Needs of Your Industry
http://www.windriver.com/solutions/
Barco Selects Wind River for Military Display and Management System Used by
French Armed Forces
http://www.windriver.com/news/press/pr.html?ID=7501

Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about the leader(s) of the nominated sales organization:

Damian Artt
Vice President of Worldwide Sales and Services
As Wind River's Vice President of Worldwide Sales and Services, Damian Artt is
responsible for the expansion of global sales, all sales strategy, and the
delivery of all professional services. Damian joined the company in April 2004.
Damian has more than 20 years of sales and professional services experience.
Prior to 2007, he served as the company's Vice President of Worldwide Services
and Strategic Accounts. Under his leadership the company's professional
services business has nearly tripled with improving gross margins; and global
account sales consistently exceeded expectations with a significant average
year-on-year bookings increase every quarter. Prior to Wind River, he spent 11
years at Cadence Design Systems in various sales and operational leadership
positions, including Vice President/General Manager of Wireless Design
Services and Vice President of North America Services Sales and Operations.

Company: TheLadders.com, New York, NY
Company Description: TheLadders.com is the world's leading online service catering exclusively to the $100K+ job market. TheLadders.com has received numerous industry accolades including a 2009 Webby Award for Best Employment Website, 2009 Best Companies to Work for New York, and 2009 Silicon Alley Award - Most Likely to be Worth $1 Billion.
Nomination Category: Customer Service Department Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Customer Service Department of the Year - All Other Industries

Nomination Title: TheLadders.com

;

Tell the story about what this nominated department achieved since the beginning of July last year (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:

Prior to 2009, customer service calls, emails, and live chats at TheLadders.com
covered the typical technical issues like getting an account set up and/or
re-setting a password. However, at the onset of the “Great Recession” in late
2008 the Customer Support center at TheLadders.com quickly turned into an
"advice center." What members needed most was information from a credible source
regarding their specific job hunt. Job seekers were craving job search advice -
how can I do a more comprehensive job search in Dallas? How can I improve my
resume? I'm going on an interview can you provide tips?
;
Due to the company's deep knowledge of the professional job market,
TheLadders.com’s Customer Support team knew they could offer members more.
TheLadders.com Customer Support team developed a strategic plan that focused the
group on several key initiatives.;
;
1. Customer service agents were divided into specialized teams that mirrored the
job functions of its members (finance, sales, technology, marketing, etc).

2. Armed with the best career advice content for executive level job seekers,
the Customer Service team packaged internally developed articles to address the
appropriate job seeker inquiries. The customer service agents also read
respective industry news to stay up-to-date on the latest happenings in their
assigned fields.

3. An internal knowledge center was developed by which the agents could share
job search best practices.

4. A new member outreach program was launched to help members who had been
impacted by the recession get quickly up to speed on their job search. This new
member outreach program significantly increased job search activity.
;
Today when a member calls TheLadders.com Customer Support that member is
directed to someone who can offer job search advice best suited to their
functional expertise. A marketing executive is paired up with a customer support
agent in the marketing group. If a member wants to know if there are more
technology job opportunities in Los Angeles versus Austin, they will be advised
by a customer support agent in the technology group.;
;
TheLadders.com’s Customer Support team is dedicated to helping members land that
perfect job, even in this tumultuous economy. Their expertise and broad
knowledge allows them to provide high quality and relevant job search
information in a timely manner. And their customers are satisfied! Nothing gets
better than hearing those excited words from a successful customer - "I got a job!"

List hyperlinks to any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that support the claims made in the section above. IMPORTANT: Begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, [http://www.youraddress.com]:

;

Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about the leader(s) of the nominated customer service organization:

Anita Samojednik, Director of Customer at TheLadders.com, has been with the
organization since September 2008. During her tenure, Anita led the team through
the turbulent changes in the job market and transformed the unit into a
proactive, specialized team of job search agents who assist and support
customers with their career development needs.

Before TheLadders.com, Anita led a number of customer care organizations ranging
from large scale off-shore operations, including Vonage as it evolved from 700
to 4,000 employees, to highly specialized customer support boutique units. Anita
holds an MBA from Columbia Business School.