I was doing research for my Sirius Decisions Technology Exchange keynote session earlier this year, and came across a real job description for a Sales Operations Analyst that cracked me up. The company shall remain nameless, but needless to say, they want everything:
- B.A. or B.S. degree or equivalent
- 5-10 years solid sales operations experience
- Expert in “all things” SFDC is a must
- Experience in subscription-based and/or SaaS-based business, including quote-to-order process
- Experience in using using Microsoft Office Suite, especially Excel (Pivots, Look-Ups, Filtering) and PowerPoint, Google Apps for Business, DocuSign, WebEx, and DiscoverOrg
- Self-starter with ability to work in a fast-paced, ever-changing environment
- Team player with strong cross group collaboration skills
- Experience with presentations to senior executives in sales, finance and/or operations
- Strong communication skills and management presence
- Superior problem-solving skills. Must be able to accurately compile and synthesize quantitative and qualitative data
- Excellent customer service attitude
- Have empathy
Let’s break this down a bit.
5-10 years solid sales operations experience
While Sales Operations roles and CRM technologies are nothing new, most folks who have been doing this well for 5+ years are in management roles. And some of the technologies that are used most aren’t even 5 years old!
“all things” SFDC
I promise you the man or woman that knows all things Salesforce knows they are much too valuable to join your firm.
management presence
So you want them to be a technical expert and know everything, but also have an executive presence?
strong cross group collaboration skills
And also must play nicely with others.
Have empathy
This is my favorite and the one I actually think is good! In fact, it’s one of the core talent characteristics I look for when I hire marketers. Taken all together, here is what this company is basically looking for:
