Does anyone have knowledge of the chain of command in the sales and marketing team at Wave? Also does their sales strategy split territories per salesperson or split potential clients by industry? It seems that we spend a lot of time talking about management but not enough specifically talking about sales and sales strategy and sales management. If Brian Berger is in charge of sales but also handling the TCG, it seems as if that is an impossible task for one individual. Lark Allen seems to be the second individual responsible for sales and marketing. I do not know enough to comment on their leadership or sales ability but something needs to change. I always believed that Steven is a genius and has gotten us into the middle of our space. If there is a weakness in his management perhaps it is that his focus has been the vision but not on getting that vision sold. He is responsible also for putting the right people into the right positions. Non performing individuals must be replaced or at least supplemented with other personnel with the necessary sales and marketing skills if they do not perform.
Steven has gotten us here with his vision and tenacity. However, he cannot do it all. Someone else has to make sales happen. While obviously we have big wins we will need many more. I understand our cash flow situation has dictated that we ride the coattails of our OEM partners but surely now we have enough personnel to add to that effort. There are so many different ways to market their products. It does not seem efficient that Steven needs to blog, attend all shows, and still be the center of sales. That works for a start up company with twenty employees. Sorry that I am all over the place but in my own mind I just realized that my frustration is localized to the marketing and sales arm of Wave. I believe all the negative comments by the various negative posters of the past are all aimed towards this issue. If Steven has any major fault it is that he has the vision but maybe now needs to realize that it is his job to hire others to handle sales. Alea is right, the best product and innovator does not necessarily win the race.
I have built many companies to a certain size but not to where we all hope Wave gets to soon. Not meaning for this to be a criticizing post but one that will help me understand who is leading the overall sales strategy. Who is in charge of integrating the new Safend sales staff and how will they go about reaching out to new potential clients as well as approaching old clients with new product. offerings. This is where we will succeed or fail.
