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Mel Parekh

Account Executive to VP of Sales

INITIAL PLACEMENT

At this time in my career, I was pretty happy with my sales role and company and not looking for anything new.  Dave came along and introduced me to a niche IT outsourcing company who needed a real client relationship sales lead  for one of their Fortune 100 clients.  Of course, that client happened to be my alma mater (Dell) where I spent 10 years and the sole reason Dave thought I would be a good fit.  I had a lot of connections there and Dave intuitively knew that I could help his client manage and grow the business.

As I eased into the role, I asked Dave why he placed me at Dell and he shared a few observations about my traits and skills – which I saved to this day:

  • Energetic – Mel has a certain energy I did not find with the others; he seemed like he could and would move quickly
  • Articulate – Mel explained how and what he sold with clarity and ease. His confidence would go over well in critical client presentations
  • Experienced –Mel had been a Global Account Manager (GAM) for a Fortune 100 client (Dell) so he was a natural fit for the role
  • Results – Mel had a pretty steady track record delivering to quota and could explain the sales process and effort needed to achieve
  • Friendly –  Mel comes across as genuine with an ease of communication – and I thought he could adapt to any organization and client

Despite being happy in my current role, I made the leap as I believed I could apply more of my skills in another position and company.  Turned out to be a great decision!

15 YEARS LATER…

Dave kept in touch with me over the years and noticed my career progression.  I held a variety of sales positions across infrastructure, applications and services, including management in large and small companies. In 2021 he found out that I was VP of Sales for a late stage AI firm, so he called to see if there was an opportunity to help – and perfect timing – I was in the middle of building an Enterprise sales team but struggling to find the right candidates since my internal HR and outside firms were not hitting the mark. They did not know the industry or product very well – and did not have the inside connections. Dave spent a lot of time up front learning exactly what I was looking for and tapped into the industry network. He presented me with over 100 resumes and spoke to at least 50 candidates before qualifying the handful I believed would be the right fit – not only for the role but who could also meet my expectations and work style.  The key roles Dave secured for me:

  • One (1) Senior Sales Engineer who would support field sales with product demonstrations, proposals, and handoff to delivery. This was a hire directly from the # 1 leader in market share globally and the foundation of all customer facing activity
  • Three (3) Senior Sales Executives who were directly responsible for lead generation, sales presentations, sales process and client relationship management. Each of these sales executives came from different leaders in the industry which gave me competitive insight and different points of view

From the very first call, Dave seemed to know what I was looking for – even though I wasn’t really looking for a new job. He painted a picture that there was something bigger out there that reflected my skill set and I believed him. What stood out for me was his passion and commitment to what he does – and I felt that I needed that type of motivation to succeed somewhere else. You have to believe in what you sell and he helped me believe there is something better to sell out there. It’s a bonus that we’ve stayed in touch many years later where we’ve been able to help each other succeed ——-  Mel Parekh, VP Sales and Solutions, App Orchid