Partnering With the CIO: The Future of IT Sales Seen Through the Eyes of Key Decision Makers

The Selling Never Stops

Despite their evolving responsibilities, many CIOs still regard sales and marketing processes with a certain amount of disdain. Don’t allow their lack of sympathy to dissuade you from offering them a helping hand. Whether they admit it or not, they need your help.

Even when you’re dealing with a CIO who feels comfortable wearing the sales hat, the chances are good that you possess experience and expertise that’s worth sharing. Your willingness to share your knowledge will earn you the CIO’s trust and gratitude.

“We’re constantly selling our services internally,” says Fred Wedley, CIO of the Long Island Rail Road. “It is an ongoing process.”

A seemingly endless cycle of new regulations and mandated upgrades keeps Wedley and his team busy. Every improvement generates a cascade of integration challenges. New applications must work smoothly within the agency’s existing infrastructure and must be accepted by the LIRR’s community of users.

“We had problems in the past when the IT department took the lead on technology issues and we lost sight of our customer base,” says Wedley. “Today we keep the focus on our customers.”

Wedley comes from an IT and operations background, and he understands the LIRR’s need for round-the-clock IT service. “We recently went through the process of implementing a corporate asset management strategy,” he recalls. “IT had selected a package that fit the needs of the organization, but had not sold the approach to individual departments.” ...