Explore our latest SE Braintrust, created by the AVANT Engineering team, which includes:
- Win Wire: Dive into a $62K MRR deal and discover how AVANT will help you deliver the right solution, unified vendor alignment, and a seamless decision-making process for your customer
- Engineering Spotlight: Meet Rick Mischka, Security Specialist and Field Sales Engineer!
- Trusted Advisor Testimonials: Learn how your peers utilize AVANT Engineers to enhance customer engagement and close more deals
- Pathfinder Updates
- CX AI Matrix – Streamline decision-making for clients who are reviewing and vetting potential AI solutions with our Customer Experience Artificial Intelligence Matrix
- Featured AVANT Security Vendor – Thrive! Check out new Thrive training modules that demonstrate their key products and differentiators, use case wins, and more
- New Resources
- Two New Technology Insights podcasts, including a dive into our 2024 State of Disruption report for customers with our Engineering practice leads and a helpful guide to the potential impacts of the VMware program updates and how your customers can respond
- Additional VMware resources that will give you a better understanding of the latest updates, help you guide your customers through the complex situation, and discover how to translate this into new revenue opportunities
Win Wire with Peter Callowhill and Chip Hoisington
The Breakdown
- Technology Category: Connectivity
- Customer Type: Manufacturer and distributor of windows, doors, and accessories
- Industry: Manufacturing
- Size and Scope: 120+ sites
- MRR: $62K+
- Winning provider: Nitel
- Competitors: Airespring and GTT
The Details
What were the drivers for the client?
The client was working with the Trusted Advisor on several projects, including a migration to SD-WAN. They had many disparate providers across their footprint creating volumes of services and support issues. In their search, they wanted a single provider that would upgrade their existing infrastructure, address all their sites, and significantly improve their post-sale support.
How did the Trusted Advisor close the deal?
The Trusted Advisor worked with AVANT SEs Peter Callowhill and Chip Hoisington to provide a clear picture of the customer’s goals for their IT management. They also leveraged the strong alignment and competitive process that AVANT outlined with vendors to help their customer thoroughly review each option and confidently reach their ultimate decision.
How did AVANT support the win?
From the discovery process, Peter and Chip learned a single provider solution could address the customer’s drivers and requirements, thus allowing the IT team to deliver the environment they committed to their executives. AVANT created a competitive process with three of the best potential providers acceptable to key decision-makers. During the review process, Nitel established their comprehensive abilities and built solid communication paths with the client, Trusted Advisor, and AVANT. The customer initially selected Nitel to address a few smaller sites and established the high quality of their implementation practice. Working as a unified team, all parties concluded that Nitel was the right provider at the right time.
Engineering Spotlight
This month, we’re spotlighting Rick Mischa, Security Specialist and Field Sales Engineer!
Rick, a former Army Special Forces Sergeant, seamlessly transitioned from tactical missions to defending the digital realm. As a subject matter expert and strategy leader, he helps organizations navigate cybersecurity. After all, in the cyber world, a well-timed patch can be as crucial as a well-aimed shot!
Rick has a knack for demystifying cybersecurity. He breaks down complex tech jargon with a touch of relatable humor. He is passionate about education, podcast hosting, and cultivating a network of experts who believe knowledge is the best defense against cyber threats.
Rick is more than a “cyber guy”. His multifaceted background is his secret weapon; he is a former volleyball champion, paramedic, and all-around Renaissance man of resilience. This unique set of skills translates surprisingly well to outsmarting cyber adversaries! With his in social behavior, Executive MBA, a collection of security certifications, and a Ph.D. in CyberPsychology in progress, Rick brings a refreshingly human perspective to the world of cybersecurity.
Here’s a bit more about Rick, in his own words!
- Where are you located? Montana
- What is the best vacation you have ever taken? Tell us about it! I was fortunate enough to travel to Nepal and spend 10 days hiking around the Everest region. I followed the same path that Sir Edmund Hillary and so many after him did. Seeing the top of the world (not summiting it – that is just crazy) and staying above 13,000 feet really provides a sense of wonder, awe, and clarity of the world and our place in it!
- If you could have one superpower, what would it be and why? Teleportation. To be anywhere in seconds and be able to see everything that is possible on our amazing big blue planet. Never late and always able to see every possible event without even needing a ticket! Hmm…the possibilities are endless and maybe a bit too tempting…BAMF (or POOF for the non-comic book nerds).
You can connect with Rick on LinkedIn here!
Trusted Advisor Testimonials
What are your peers saying about the powerful impact of AVANT SEs on their opportunities?
“Always willing to step up and step in and help us find the right solution for our client.” – Jim McNeese, CEO – C2XCEL
“I love the robust analysis that is provided when we do an Interactive Quick Assessment. I cannot tell you how important this type of sales methodology is, and it helps not only the seller in the process but especially the customers.” – Beau Green, Infrastructure Engineer – OneTel Holdings
“The AVANT Engineers are well equipped for customer-facing calls. They are knowledgeable and understand the sales process and technology well. I love having AVANT Engineers on calls!” – Zach Crenshaw, Enterprise Account Executive – Continuant
Pathfinder Updates
- Leverage our new CX AI (Customer Experience Artificial Intelligence) Dynamic Matrix with your customers! The CX AI Matrix details solutions which augment UCaaS and CCaaS platforms. Input your client’s specific solution requirements and receive intelligent self-service options for customers, virtual assistants to human agents, and analytics engines to highlight business insights within customer conversations, among other emerging benefits.
- Thrive has been added to the Featured AVANT Security Vendors in the Trusted Advisor Academy! These vendor-specific modules highlight Thrive’s company overview, products and services, AVANT use case wins, and how Trusted Advisors can engage the provider! Watch the modules that interest you the most and be sure to check back every few weeks for additional vendors. You can access these modules in Pathfinder.*
New Resources
- Listen in and learn from two of our newest Technology Insights podcast episodes. Plus, share these end-customer resources with clients as an easy way for them to grow their technical expertise and achieve more confident decision-making
- The Acquisition of VMware by Broadcom and How It Impacts Your Business – Host and Sales Engineer Chip Hoisington is joined by James Ochoa, the VP of Cloud at Flexential, to discuss the impacts of the VMware acquisition and how clients can respond, depending on their organization and cloud strategy
- 2024 State of Disruption Podcast – AVANT Analytics Managing Director and CSO Alex Danyluk dives into our latest Disruption report with our CX, Cloud/Colo, and Security Engineering practice leads, to help make sense of the findings for IT decision-makers and show them the value of identifying their digital twin
- What is Happening with VMware? Log into Pathfinder* now to watch the recording of our webinar we hosted last month, featuring AVANT experts and key cloud solution providers who broke down the current state of the cloud landscape, in regard to the VMware program changes. They also dive into what this means for you, as a Trusted Advisor – where is the opportunity and how can you leverage it to create the ultimate cloud conversation starter?
- Answering Key Questions on VMware Updates and Opportunities – Explore some of the most common questions we’re hearing about the VMware acquisition, including potential options for clients, cloud providers’ responses, and more.
*Log into Pathfinder 2.0 using your company’s custom URL to check out these new resources. Head to lookup.gopathfinder.net to have your URL sent straight to your inbox.