It’s been three months since I joined OnPlan Consulting as director of Business Development, and I think it’s safe to say my feet are wet! It’s not every day that a you find yourself with a company whose organizational values line up with your own, and who approaches clients with the same loyalty and dedication that you do. I’ve spent over a decade in corporate business development, and my biggest struggle in prior positions was the conflict between my role in being an advocate for my client, and the internal belief that the bottom line always comes first. That model (though I understand why it’s necessary) has never been a good personal fit for me, because I believe my role is to always be on the “side” of my client, to put them first and insure they are getting what they expected. It’s a tough line to walk in many organizations and can make the sales role a very difficult one.
Not at OnPlan. That was the thing I immediately gravitated toward when I met founders Chris and Steve. They have that same “client first” mentality that is so difficult to find. When I learned that their average clients had stayed with them for many years, I knew that was no accident.
In the last three months, as I’ve been learning about Oracle’s Cloud and working with clients to see weather moving to the cloud or upgrading to R12 was a better option, I saw Chris and Steve always put the needs of the client first. Like I said this is easier said than done as a business owner, but something I so admire. I’m all for giving my clients knowledge, helping them to make the best choices for their organization based on the options available, and to have that internal support has meant everything.
I guess this was never more evident than recently when a client told me that our work ethic, and resources would make it difficult for our competition. When you’re in business development that is music to your ears!
So here’s to growing OnPlan in 2016, but keeping that “small company” value system and internal culture. I’m excited to bring my clients the very best talent in consultants the region has to offer, and back it up by two partners who believe in doing what’s best for our customers.
