Exploring the Impact: How a New Team Member Enriched Our Spirit and Became Essential to Our Collaborative Environment

I joined Beta Systems in April 2023 and have been working in the IT industry for almost 10 years. In my previous job, I sold data backup solutions for a German backup software manufacturer. I have felt comfortable in the software industry for a long time and the projects here are always exciting because you often argue about the added value and less about the price. It's fun, so it was clear to me that I wanted to continue in the software sector in the future. My problem before the change was that the company was a small medium-sized company with a manageable structure. There were no major career opportunities for me and I wanted to look to the future to see if another step up the career ladder was possible. This is where Beta Systems came into play. In a few nice conversations just before Christmas, we shared our common interests and found out that Beta had a solid vacancy in sales with exciting customers in the insurance and banking sector. Mittelstand was the word that came up a lot, but some of these customers are global players, which piqued my interest. No sooner said than done - on December 31, I handed in my notice and started my new journey at Beta.

As a Key Account Manager, I look after existing customers from a wide range of sectors, including service providers as well as municipal data centers and system houses. Wherever the mainframe plays a role and there is potential for technical innovations, I am available as a sales contact and act as the interface between technology and organization. I act as a consultant to the customer and look for opportunities to place further solutions with the customer. Sales is the main task, i.e. understanding which problem a customer is facing and trying to offer a suitable solution based on the added value.

It always starts with opening my laptop in my home office. I check my emails and then organize my day. Part of my day involves expanding my personal network, i.e. I block out time in my calendar to concentrate fully on acquiring new customers and trying to make contact with new prospects via social channels. This can sometimes be tedious, but it pays off in the end. For business with existing customers, regular phone calls or on-site appointments with customers also need to be planned and implemented, of course, and this keeps you in regular communication, both internally with colleagues and externally with customers. Finally, there are organizational issues to deal with or information to share and sales to record.

I'm one of the candidates who feel comfortable working from home. Depending on the equipment that everyone has acquired during the coronavirus period, it can be a very pleasant environment. Of course, it also makes you a little lonely, but it helps to isolate yourself a little in order to focus on certain tasks. Nevertheless, I'm always happy when I can visit colleagues at the headquarters in Berlin or customers on site. Sometimes a change of scenery does you good.

The conversations and stories behind the people are something that made me choose sales as a career back then. Of course, the success of concluding a contract or the further development of the technology are also things I enjoy. At the end of the day, it's always about finding a suitable solution for the customer and I think it's great when a customer opens up and actually communicates their needs, because that's the best way to start and support them with good solutions and products.

I am glad that I have a friendly team that acts as a unit and if someone has a question or a request, my colleagues are always open and take the time to explain things to you. Of course I'm "the new guy" in the team, but you can tell that the team spirit has simply been extended by one person instead of treating me like a satellite. In short: I feel very comfortable with the team, but also with the other colleagues I've met so far. The cross-regional communication via digital channels also works well, so you can always find the right person for your problem.

A technical understanding is certainly not a bad thing. You should also deal with certain topics yourself and be willing to learn so that you don't put your foot in your mouth when talking to a customer. It doesn't hurt to be extroverted, even if many salespeople try to sell their products as quickly as possible. The challenge is that a customer can have very different views on the products or challenges and I have learned that you have to listen. This is the only way to add value and you will always get the customer more interested than a product feature ever would.

The many opportunities and voluntary support for employees working from home, as well as individual working hours, are great. I am also very happy with my team and even when things get heated, the people in flat hierarchies up to the management board are available and support me in discussions with customers. This is a strong point that I have not yet seen in a company of this size.

Approachable, because I have noticed how important customers and their concerns are to my colleagues. The focus is on the customer and this is also how the work is organized internally. Innovative, because they are already investing in the future and working on topics such as artificial intelligence, which will influence future versions of Beta products. Expertise, because Beta is simply an expert in the mainframe field and will continue to exert a strong influence on the market in the coming years with the topic of the cloud.