The Post: Pre-Sales Lead, Business Applications Division, Telefónica Tech
The Post Holder: Graeme Donnell
No two days are ever the same for Pre-Sales Lead Graeme Donnell.
Give a brief outline of your career to date.
I started my journey in Microsoft Business Applications in 2012, initially working as a Dynamics 365 consultant for a company in Belfast. This role involved all aspects of project delivery, from Pre-Sales to requirements gathering, building, testing, training and support. I then moved to a Solution Architect role at a larger company, where I led a complex government body project for over two years. This role taught me an enormous amount about how large-scale enterprise projects are run and delivered. I then moved to the dark side, taking on my first role in Pre-Sales in December 2020. This was both a leap of faith in terms of role but also in terms of location as it was an entirely remote role, which was largely due to Covid-19. Over the last four years I have moved from being a senior Pre-Sales Consultant, working alongside a small team of sellers to now leading a team of eight Pre-Sales Consultants at Telefónica Tech, working across the entire Microsoft Business Applications product stack.
What was your favourite subject at school?
I always loved Information Technology.
Did you go on to further/higher education, if so what did you study and where?
I left school at 16 and went to the North West Institute for Further & Higher Education, where I completed a National Diploma in IT, before obtaining an HND in Software Engineering. During this time, I also completed my Cisco CCNA qualification as my interest in networking developed. I then went on to complete a degree in Computer Science at Ulster University, followed by a PGCE at Queen’s University Belfast.
How did you get into your area of work?
My interest in IT was first established during my final year of secondary school. My parents very kindly bought me a PC to complete my homework and coursework. Of course, the PC had issues, and I enjoyed understanding the problem and ultimately fixing the issue. I then decided to seek further education within IT, which set me on the career path towards my current line of work at Telefónica Tech.
Were there any particular essential qualifications or experience needed?
I completed my education almost 20 years ago and during this time a degree was an absolute must for anyone looking for a career in IT. I feel that organisations in the current climate, including Telefónica Tech, often engage in apprenticeship programmes and working with students prior to any university degree programmes.
Are there alternative routes into the job?
Of course, Pre-Sales is a blend of both technical knowledge and commercial acumen, if you are a skilled seller and have an interest in technology, you can easily cross-skill and leverage your sales knowledge to become a very capable Pre-Sales Consultant.
What are the main personal skills your job requires?
My role requires you to be incredibly analytical. You may often only get minimal time with a client, and it is important to ensure that that time spent with a client is beneficial and that you understand the challenges they face quickly and are able build a solution design that will work for them.
What does a typical day entail?
Every day is different in Pre-Sales. My day can range from building demonstrations for a client, supporting members of my team with any challenges they may have, writing technical responses for bids, overseeing commercials offerings and if time permits, learning about the latest advancements in the products we sell.
What are the best and most challenging aspects of the job?
The best and most challenging aspect of the job, for me, is the competitive nature of it. In most cases, when working with a client, they have gone to market for a solution and approached multiple partners. At Telefónica Tech, it is my job to ensure that our offering is the most attractive, from a solution perspective, but also commercially viable.
Why is what you do important?
Without Pre-Sales in an IT landscape, clients would never understand the technology and the solutions they need to fix the problems they have.
Describe your ideal day off.
For me, an ideal day off is all about relaxing, whether that be with friends and family or just an enjoyable day with my partner and son.
And finally, what’s the key to any successful job search?
Research!
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