David White

Two things have shaped my career. First, early on I worked as a sales engineer for Oracle. I spent a lot of my time in sales calls, doing presentations, and product demos. And watching my audience slowly lose the will to live…

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I wasn’t that terrible at it. The problem was the marketing messages we delivered - either verbally, or on slideware - did not connect with our buyers. So I filed that nugget away for when I pivoted into marketing…

What else did I learn? I learned to always think one step ahead of my prospects, how to handle objections, and to have enough competitive intel at my fingertips to keep the deal from slipping away. That sales experience - which few other marketers have - shaped my approach to marketing.

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What’s the second thing that shaped my career? I’ve always been willing to ask the awkward questions that nobody else does. Ever heard of Belbin Team Roles? Definitely worth a few minutes of your time if you haven’t. I’m a Monitor Evaluator and Shaper. Monitor Evaluator’s intuitively see the big picture and spot the potential problems that could prevent the team from reaching its goals. Hence the uncomfortable questions. As a Shaper, I excel at taking raw ideas and shaping them to be practical and effective.

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So how has this played out in my marketing career? 

• I build value propositions, positioning, messaging, and marketing content that reflects the buyers needs - both professional and personal

• I ensure sales teams are enabled with the knowledge to handle objections and beat competitors

• I work the entire sales and marketing funnel, top to bottom, to ensure strong revenue performance.

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