Security Sales Specialist

In Small, Medium, Corporate (SMC) and Digital Sales, we have set out with the purpose to empower our customers through the unique value of the Microsoft cloud by building a globally led, digital-first scale organization aligned with partners. As part of local subsidiaries or Digital Sales centers around the world, you will support a dedicated set of customers in identifying and achieving their business objectives through best-in-class digital engagement and partner co-selling. You will also have an opportunity to work cross-collaboratively while living our shared SMC and Digital Sales Culture priorities: Diversity and Inclusivity, Wellbeing, Sustainability, and Learning. If you have been described as customer obsessed and have a passion for digital-first solutions, we invite you to learn more about the SMC and Digital Sales organization and the value we deliver to our customers, partners, and one another, every day.

Security has never been more top of mind for governments and businesses, and Microsoft Security Solution is committed to keeping nations and citizens secure in an increasingly complex cyber landscape. As the largest security company in the world, we are ideally placed to think outside the box to help our customers make the world a safer place. Following a year of incredible success, we are excited to be expanding our team with ambitious, diversified, and driven new talent, eager to make a difference in the fight against cybercrime. We are keen to hear your thoughts on how we can further achieve our purpose. Join our team and discover unique opportunities to grow, develop and learn.

In the Security Specialists team, we are looking for passionate, experienced, and credible specialist sellers with a drive for developing and winning strategic opportunities that deliver end-to-end security thought leadership driving significant customer value and enabling transformational customer outcomes. As a Security Sales Specialist you will build digital transformation security strategies with customers, collaborating across different groups inside the Customer environment to successfully enable them to be more secure. You will lead consultative customer conversations and collaborate on the planning, orchestration and execution of end-to-end Security opportunities with internal stakeholders and partners to cross-sell and up-sell.

This opportunity will allow you to accelerate your career growth, honing your solution sales and collaboration skills, and deepening your cloud expertise.

Microsoft’s mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. As employees we come together with a growth mindset, innovate to empower others and collaborate to realize our shared goals. Each day we build on our values of respect, integrity, and accountability to create a culture of inclusion where everyone can thrive at work and beyond.

Responsibilities

Deliver Results Through Teamwork

Partners and collaborates with other teams on related deliverables, and leverages others in relevant work streams.

Drives the execution of projects by identifying customer and operational needs, setting priorities, removing barriers and obstacles, and allocating resources.

Role Model Microsoft Values

Treats others with fairness and respect, and shows empathy and compassion.

Models compliance and represents the Microsoft Values and the One Microsoft culture.

Technical Expertise

Leverages and shares competitor knowledge across solution areas as a subject matter expert to inform decisions on pursuit or withdrawal; collaborates with the “compete” global black belts (GBBs) to proactively provide analysis of the competitive landscape in supported solution area; leads the communication to provide feedback to other teams (e.g., sales, marketing, engineering) on future product trends or sales blocker.

Sales Execution

Proactively builds external stakeholder network and leverages internal partners to engage external stakeholders; acts as a thought leader and subject matter advisor to the executive-level business decision makers at the customers/ partners business; guides others on identifying and engaging decision makers and stakeholders to expand the relationship with customers/ partners.

Explores and assesses the needs of strategic/high-potential customers; articulates business value and long-term implications for customer business; collaborates with internal teams, partners, and services to lead the proposal or development of solutions that align with customer and Microsoft priorities; analyzes market trends to identify opportunities for new solutions.

Develops strategies for driving and closing strategic and/or prioritized opportunities; collaborates with account teams to ensure alignment with the account strategy and plan; leads deal execution with the deal teams across the organization; coaches others on the implementation of close plans (e.g., how to map timeline, engage the customer, get customer buy in and commitment) to de-risk and drive predictable deal closure.

Brings impactful industry insights into customer engagements and closes deals with customers; acts as a thought leader across solution areas to advise customers across business functions on digital transformation with a challenger mindset that accounts for customers business needs and priorities; leads virtual transformational shifts to drive deployment and create business value for customers; may lead partner integration into account/territory planning and customer engagements.

Orchestrates with team members on conducting personal campaigns to discover new opportunities and generate new leads; leads conversations with strategic/high-potential customers (e.g., high-budget, global-account, highly competitive) along with account teams or partners; facilitates the account team unit (ATU) to build pipeline in collaboration with partners and services; guides others on social selling; applies Microsofts sales process (MSP) to determine the quality of the opportunity and whether to proceed, and educate the customers on how to best address their needs.

Drives consumption and grow business with existing strategic customers by initiating conversations, guiding others on demos or quotes, and the collaboration with partners or internal teams (e.g., Technical Sales Professionals, global black belts [GBBs]); for licensing transactions and project engagements, ensures rapid and robust deployment plan at point of sale that is validated by services and partners; identifies, articulates, and facilitates the removal of blockers to consumption by partnering with internal and external stakeholders.

Scaling and Collaboration

Leads the sales orchestration to proactively drive deal closure by identifying and aligning internal stakeholders as well as leveraging and expanding relationships with partners; applies a holistic approach to build network across territories; positions opportunities to promote collaboration and participation.

Leads the planning and execution on opportunities with resources and partners to cross-sell, up-sell, and co-sell; identifies, leverages, coordinates partners and resources across solution areas, and supports on-boarding new partners; validates partner solution relevance for customers; provides input and feedback to One Commercial Partner (OCP) on developing partner strategies and consumption plans, and connects the partner ecosystems to scale business results.

Sales Excellence

Manages the end-to-end business for strategic accounts across the organization; leads forecasting for accounts and develops a portfolio and territory plan to drive intentional selling with on-strategy engagements in high propensity accounts; mentors team members.

Builds and transforms new markets by leveraging technical and industry expertise, partners, and resources; leads a team to explore business and emerging opportunities to optimize the portfolio and facilitate customer innovation.

Reviews feedback report and sets long-term strategies aimed at maintaining levels of client satisfaction; coaches others on ensuring customer/partner satisfaction and decreasing dissatisfaction by establishing recovery action plans to improve clients overall experience; manages and/or orchestrates sales and delivery success through the account team and pursuit team.

Engages with internal and external stakeholders on business planning, rhythm-of-business (ROB) meetings to review and plan for strategic accounts across territories.

Collaborates with extended sales team, partners, and marketing to lead business analysis (e.g., whitespace analysis, identify industry trends) to pursue high-potential customers and develop a target list of potential business; acts as a thought leader and validates opinions and perspectives from business analysis.

Completes required training and obtains relevant product and role certifications aligned to the role and workload/industry; proactively seeks training, including information that adds to the understanding of customers business, and shares it with team members.

Qualifications

Required/Minimum Qualifications

9 years of technology-related sales or account management experience

OR Bachelors Degree in Computer Science, Information Technology, Business Administration, or related field AND 7 years of technology-related sales or account management experience

Additional or preferred qualifications

Knowledge of cross-cloud Security, threat hunting, Governance, Compliance & Risk as well as Data Security & Security Operations

Hands on technical knowledge of relevant products and solutions, such as:

End Point Protection

XDR

Identity

CASB

Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) systems 

Next Gen Web Application Firewalls and Secure Web Gateways. 

Threat detection technologies 

Cloud Security (CNAPP CWP CSPM)

loud Computing: Infrastructure as a service (IaaS), Platform as a Services (PaaS), and Software as a service.

Ability to develop sales and business strategy options, while also being able to successfully execute plans and build relationships.

Enterprise customer level experience with cloud, hybrid infrastructures, productivity and security technologies, and industry standards recommended.

Desired Microsoft Technology & Industry Equivalent Certification:

Experience in M365 platform and Modern Work (remote work security, compliance, teamwork, insights, meeting and calling)

Experience with complex sales training (e.g., Miller Hyman, Spin, Michael Bosworth, Holden, etc.) and sales methodologies 

Delivers business impact with intentional planning, driving clarity to the team with consistent coaching rhythms, removing blockers and ensuring quarterly business budget goals are met.

Maintains excellence in pipeline management, forecasting and driving integrated territory and budget achievement planning.

Digital Solution Area Specialists IC5 – The typical base pay range for this role across the U.S. is USD $62.16 – $104.33 per hour. There is a different range applicable to specific work locations, within the San Francisco Bay area and New York City metropolitan area, and the base pay range for this role in those locations is USD $80.67 – $114.13 per hour.

Certain roles may be eligible for benefits and other compensation. Find additional benefits and pay information here: https://careers.microsoft.com/us/en/us-corporate-pay

Microsoft will accept applications for the role until October 12, 2024.

Microsoft is an equal opportunity employer. Consistent with applicable law, all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, ancestry, citizenship, color, family or medical care leave, gender identity or expression, genetic information, immigration status, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, political affiliation, protected veteran or military status, race, ethnicity, religion, sex (including pregnancy), sexual orientation, or any other characteristic protected by applicable local laws, regulations and ordinances. If you need assistance and/or a reasonable accommodation due to a disability during the application process, read more about requesting accommodations (https://careers.microsoft.com/v2/global/en/accessibility.html) .