DISTOLOGY
A different approach Fast-growing IT security distributor Distology has recently made an internal promotion as part of its restructuring. This is indicative of a company culture that looks to break from the norm and bring new and different people into the sector to help the company to grow quickly.
For young, growing businesses agility is key to achieving their potential. This is something that Hayley Roberts, CEO of Distology, knows well. Distology has grown rapidly in recent years, and she appreciates that much of it is down to the people she employs and the structures in the business. To this end, in the past 10 months, an agency-style model has been introduced to the marketing function by Sarah Geary, who joined the company at the start of the year as CMO. Soon after joining Sarah also took on the alliances function at Distology. “At that point, it meant that I could give the vendor portfolio and the alliance relationships some additional love and more structure,” she explains. “It also meant that all the business plans we were doing for vendors could be underpinned by marketing. “We talk about the importance of sales and marketing needing to work together, but it's that age-old thing of everyone saying it and then going off on their own merry way and then pointing fingers if things don't quite go right.” Sarah has recently been promoted to CCO to continue to develop this more commercially focused role. “I've been fortunate to have an amazing team that has enabled this
promotion, so I can take on that sales component as well,” she says. “Taking everything I'd learned from that marketing piece, underpinned by the vendor business plans, allows us to shape a sales function, which hopefully makes us more productive and profitable, of course, but also better able to service our vendors’ and partners’ needs. “Now we can get the sales teams driving in the same way that the marketing alliances functions are.” Sarah also benefits from having had a channel sales role in the past. “There, I was on the receiving end of channel marketing so I could see what resonated and what didn't. Then moving back into a marketing function, I had that extra level of credibility to say ‘when I did sales, this worked. It might not work for you, but this is the way I did it’. Having that deep respect for both sides of the business will make this move more successful.” Ongoing restructuring Sarah’s promotion is part of a restructuring at Distology. “We're a young company that is growing, and we need to keep agile in development,” says Hayley. “Some people will
Hayley Roberts CEO
distology.com
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The reason is most good
salespeople are selfish by nature because they're trucking to their target and can't pull back and see the bigger picture.
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