Solution Advisor Managed Servicesat CDW Careers

Summary 

The Solution Advisor (SA) role focuses on pre-sales solution design. This role is responsible for working with sales teams to plan and organize sales strategies and with delivery teams to onboard new customers into Managed Services. The incumbent analyzes the sales environment including customer expectations, competitive environment as well as the customer's technical environment and business drivers and defines actions to be performed in the sales cycle timeframe. Further, the role includes ensuring customers’ successful transition from Sales into on-going service delivery. 

The SA is a Client facing technical pre-sales role. They are expected to spend the majority of their time engaged with CDW customers, sellers & partners in their assigned markets. The SA develops and maintains strategic relationships with sales & leadership of the teams they support and is seen as a trusted advisor to grow business. The SA is expected to be subject matter expert in multiple Microsoft 365 families of solutions. The incumbent in this role operates independently using standard approaches, existing tools, templates, and resources; shares knowledge and information that may benefit the Sales and Delivery teams. 

Main areas of responsibility will be high level of experience with and understanding of: 

• Expertise with Microsoft 365 tenant based workloads: Exchange Online, Teams, OneDrive for Business, SharePoint Online, Defender and Purview 

• General understanding of the full scope of Microsoft solutions, such as PowerBI and the Office Suite 

The SA will have deep knowledge of Microsoft 365 and will focus pre-sales and design of managed services approach for technologies such as Exchange Online, Teams, OneDrive for Business, SharePoint Online, Defender and Purview. 

The Solution Advisor (SA) role focuses on managed services design for CDW’s current and emerging portfolio of modern work technologies.  This role will have a specific focus on assisting our customers and sellers in qualifying and identifying managed services opportunities with Microsoft 365 environments as well as related tools and both internal and external consulting and service delivery partners. This role is seen as a trusted advisor to grow business. As a Solution Advisor, you will understand our client's environment and operating infrastructure. You will own the process of developing scopes of work and contribute to the sale of service opportunities. 

Key Areas of Responsibility 

• Educates internal teams by conducting short training classes on Microsoft 365 managed services – Explains how to sell managed services and best utilize features, benefits, and technical specifications of relevant solutions and services 

• Contributes to the team’s knowledge base and readily shares knowledge with other Engineers, Solution Architects, Advisors and Account Managers   

• Is a passionate learner who demonstrates continuous learning by proactively expanding technical depth in products, solutions, and services.  

• Articulates to customers the Practice’s value proposition; articulates audience-centric version of the value proposition to customers, account managers, and partners and uses it to generate additional revenue opportunities for CDW. 

• Leads business-focused technology solution presentations at CDW, Customer, and Partner events and meetings. 

• Collaborates with Partners, other Engineers, Solution Advisors or Architects  and Account Executives  to drive mapped opportunities; fine tunes strategies and approaches to achieve greater sales results. 

• Operates in a regular cadence with multiple partners to educate, plan, and execute on joint strategies in collaboration with multiple stakeholders ; understands partner alignment in geography and leads customer opportunity mapping exercises.

• Identifies cross sell-and/or up-sell opportunities for an engagement, equips/assists Sales to pursue it. 

• Collaborates with Partners, Field Solution Architects (FSA) and Account Executives (AE) to drive mapped opportunities; fine tunes strategies and approaches to achieve greater sales results. 

• Stay current with the latest updates and features of Microsoft 365 services and Copilot capabilities. 

Sales Support 

• Prioritizes time spent on opportunities based on potential return on investment. 

• Maintains pre-sales pipeline data, develops plans, and takes actions to move opportunities to closure. This includes identifying and qualifying sales leads, conducting meetings to sell services, identifying customer requirements and mapping them to managed services scope, determining pricing, finalizing contracts and closing business. 

• Assists in the development of sales collateral and tools to support the sales process. 

• Support the team in responding to RFPs, RFIs, and other technical documentation requests. 

Other Responsibilities 

• Once a sale closes, assist the delivery team by ensuring a smooth transition and onboarding of customers into CDW Managed Services ecosystem. This includes technical knowledge transfer from the Sales cycle to the delivery team, partnership continuation and delivery readiness. 

• Coordinate with other CDW departments, such as Marketing, PPM, Operations and Delivery to better align efforts.  

• Aside from being a passionate learner, the Solution Advisor is also a solution driver who has a passion for demonstrating continuous learning by proactively expanding technical depth in products, solutions, and services. 

• The Solution Advisor is focused in the CDW Solutions tools and services space with a specific focus on identifying and qualifying sales opportunities into the appropriate sales pursuits. 

Education and/or Skill-Set Qualifications 

• Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent experience 

• Three year minimum technical pre-sales or technical architecting experience 

• Three year minimum sales experience  

Required Qualifications 

• Technical knowledge and know-how of Microsoft 365 tenant based solutions (Exchange Online, Teams, OneDrive for Business, SharePoint Online, Purview, Defender). Ability to use the knowledge to perform discovery and scoping of customer environments and requirements, and turn it into a services proposal with a defined scope.  

• Understanding of the full Microsoft, on-premises, hybrid and cloud software and services portfolio, across the entire Microsoft stack, including Azure, , Power Platform, Data solutions, AI and Security solutions, along different Cloud governance models. 

• Proven experience in a technical sales and experience selling services  

• Knowledge and proven success of engaging and working with sales teams  

• Ability to execute on goals and metrics  

• Stay up to date on products, applications, technical service, market conditions, competitive activities, advertising, and promotional trends through the reading of pertinent literature, seminars, and online training 

• Proficient in Microsoft Office applications 

• Ability to adapt and change to the business needs of the practice and team coverage model 

• Ability to build strong successful long term relationships with both customers and internal teams 

• Strong interpersonal and presentation skills, including consulting skills 

• Strong oral and written communication skills 

• Strong passion for learning and teaching others 

• Motivated and self-starting 

• Ability to think creatively and come up with proactive ideas that will increase sales 

• Strong problem solving skills 

• Must be able to communicate effectively and in a constructive manner with management, peers and coworkers 

• Ability to understand, remember, and apply oral and/or written instructions or other information.  

• Ability to organize thoughts and ideas into understandable terminology.  

• Ability to multi-task, organize and prioritize.  

• Ability to apply common sense in performing a job.  

• Ability to understand and follow basic instructions and guidelines.  

• Ability to travel as needed. 

Preferred Qualifications 

• Obtain and maintain relevant industry standard certifications 

• Microsoft 365 certifications 

• 3+ years technical sales experience  

• 3+ years of working on Microsoft 365 service projects (delivery, operations) focused on Exchange Online, Teams, SharePoint, Intune, OneDrive for Business, Purview, Defender.