Distology CEO Hayley Roberts has told IT Channel Oxygen she now has “less of a knot in my stomach” following a sales restructure at the VAD.
In what she dubbed a “daring and bold” move, Distology has promoted CMO Sarah Geary to the role of CCO and rejigged its sales team to focus more on its audience.
As part of this, the Stockport-based LogRhythm, Okta, Verkada and Yubico partner has created a new business development team whose remit will include end-user demand generation, expanding a model it already uses in Benelux.
“When it feels right, you can’t ignore it”
Geary’s appointment ends a spell in which Distology had no sales head or CRO (previous sales manager Ash Vallance opted to leave the distributor in July following a family bereavement).
Roberts said NorthEdge-backed Distology considered hiring for a CRO externally, before twigging that the best candidate was right under its nose.
“In the face of adversity, it’s more daring and bold to do something that’s a bit different, rather than just ‘panic hiring’,” Roberts said of the decision to appoint Geary, who only joined Distology in February.
“When it feels right, you can’t ignore it – it’s leading from the heart more than anything,” she added.
“I can’t wait to see what happens given what Sarah’s already achieved as CMO. I’ve got less of a knot in my stomach about the future now I know she’s in position.”
Geary added: “It’s very easy to say sales and marketing need to work in collaboration. When I took the CMO role, I said that one can’t be successful without the other.
“So what better way to lead by example than taking on this role.”
Eyeing end-users
Under the new model, Distology has split its sales team into three areas, namely a vendor-focused solutions sales team, a partner management team whose goal is to get deeper and broader in Distology’s bigger accounts, and a new business development team.
This last function, which will house Distology’s new apprentices, will have an end-user focus, Geary said.
“We all have various views on telemarketing and outsourcing. So what could be better than taking that in-house and providing it directly to our vendors and partners?” Geary said.
“I’d love to grow that out and get it to the point where we can offer it to our vendors.”
Distology has done the same thing with students in the Benelux for several years, Roberts said.
“It was working so well that we wanted to incorporate that into the UK business,” Roberts said.
“The idea is for apprentices to come in, experience both sides [channel and end-user sales] and then decide where they want to go. We’re not going to take on all our apprentices in house, so maybe they then go off to a reseller or vendor.”
Geary’s appointment was accompanied by a slew of internal promotions, Roberts stressed.
“Sarah’s been able to restructure that sales team and not just give people the opportunity for growth, but also a sense of autonomy and empowerment,” she concluded.
Doug Woodburn is editor of IT Channel Oxygen
