Are you ready for IBM?

• Relationship Sales

  IBM competes in a market-driven environment and is focused on satisfying each Client's unique business needs. Understanding Clients' strategies and properly attending to their requirements, locally and globally, is critical to IBM's success in the marketplace.

  The Relationship Sales Discipline is responsible for developing and managing the overall business relationship between IBM and its largest Clients. The concept of the Relationship Sales profession is based on the principle that Client-valued opportunities are best identified and validated and solutions best provided by individuals who have in-depth knowledge of the Client's business and industry.

  The Relationship Sales professional is responsible for the following:

  • Establishing and maintaining the overall IBM business relationship with one or more Clients, or responsibility for specific LOB and/or IT relationships within a large account owned by another Client Executive or Managing Director
  • Understanding the Client's business and industry and where they place value
  • Understanding the Client's domestic and global plans and operations
  • Developing and implementing an IBM strategy for the Client that adds value to the Client's business while ensuring IBM's revenue and profit objectives are met
  • Integrating IBM products, services and solutions to the customer
  • Assisting the Client in development of an e-business strategy which is based on the Client's business model and incorporates IBM e-business solutions
  • Ensuring that IBM delivers on promised results
  • Influencing and contributing to the client's business strategy as a peer member of the senior management team
  • Monitoring key IBM activities within the Client environment.
  • Identifying and validating IBM opportunities, communicating information with appropriate members of the extended team supporting the Client, and gaining Client commitment to solutions
  • Ensuring overall client satisfaction

  The Relationship Sales career is based on an individual's ability to work as a strategic partner to influence Clients' senior management. This is accomplished by understanding their key strategic business requirements and issues and providing appropriate e-business and technology solutions to ensure their success. Within this environment, IBM will continue to have product-driven and market-driven transactions, but the primary focus will be on working with the client to provide business solutions that allow them to achieve their strategic business initiatives.

  The Relationship Sales professional is the primary owner of a very large account, part of a very large account team, the owner of a few individual large accounts typically within the same industry or a manager of a group of large accounts. He/she is expected to be knowledgeable about all IBM products, services and solutions and should engage the appropriate expert (sales specialist, consultant, business partner, etc.) to address the Client's specific requirements. He/she should be able to identify and validate appropriate opportunities based on his/her knowledge of the Client and IBM's products and services offerings. The discipline offers continuity and career/earnings growth tied to the Client's success with IBM solutions.

  In summary, the Relationship Sales professional has the mission to build strategic relationships between IBM and their Client(s) and to attain IBM's business objectives. Their success is dependent on the value they bring to their Client(s).

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• Category Sales

  We continue our commitment to provide total solutions to our customers with the announcement of the Category Sales Discipline. This Discipline within the IBM Sales Profession will focus on the professional development of Coverage Software Sales Representatives (Coverage SSR), Software Sales Representatives for Business Partners (SSR-BP), Software Sales Representatives for Distributors (SSR-D), eServer Managers (eSM), eServer Territory Managers (eTM), Lead Development Representatives (LDR-> SWG, STG, and eCRC) Client Services Managers (CSM), and Territory Services Leaders (TSL). Other roles will be evaluated for addition to this sales discipline.
  
  Many customers value a broad review of business problems and potential solutions, rather than a specific technology recommendation. They expect IBM to evaluate and recommend the right set of solution offerings from IBM's portfolio. To meet these increasing demands IBM must continue to enhance the sales competencies and skills of those IBM Sales Professionals who sell an entire portfolio of products.
  
  The Category Sales profession is responsible for developing and managing the overall brand portfolio between IBM and its customers. Category Sales professionals will build relationships with their customer in both the IT disciplines and within lines of business. They are responsible for identifying business opportunities and applying their knowledge of their assigned portfolio to the clients business problems.

  Principal Responsibilities

  • Sell IBM offerings directly to customers or through IBM Business Partners
  • Develop and maintain expertise in assigned client
  • Engage and qualify sales opportunities
  • Match IBM solutions to customer requirements
  • Present value of IBM solutions to all levels of customer management, to close business

  Attributes

  • Knowledgeable of offerings
  • Business minded
  • Influential
  • Effective Communicator
  • Negotiator

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• Territory Sales

  The Territory Sales discipline mission

  The Territory Sales Discipline is a world class sales force working with small and medium businesses, reflecting the finest example of a high performance sales culture. This culture has been built by offering:

  • Stimulating and rewarding sales career paths.
  • A broad and challenging learning environment that cultivates outstanding sales skills.
  • Career development programs that identify, recruit, and motivate individuals possessing excellent sales capabilities.
  • Today the discipline is stronger than ever, having been restructured to drive higher levels of growth by capturing new, high volume buyer groups, primarily outside of the traditional customer IT and line of business (LOB) organizations.

  Key elements

  The key performance criteria for this discipline include:

  • Driving double-digit revenue growth across the territories of small and medium businesses.
  • Participating in/or managing a territory team of diverse resources, skills and role.
  • Identifying and optimizing the use of resources which may include ibm.com centers, partners, face-to-face sales reps and partner reps, and Territory Marketing Managers.
  • Seeking out high-value, high-growth opportunities in existing or new IBM IT or LOB customers.
  • Having skills in customer relationship management.
  • Being capable of rapidly rebalancing customer focus and attention in a large territory of small and medium businesses.
  • Being skilled in IBM's Signature Selling Method.
  • Having knowledge in IBM's e-business strategy, products, offerings and solutions.
  • Being skilled in consultative sales techniques.
  • Having responsibility for revenue, territory growth and customer satisfaction.
  • Understanding marketing effectiveness including marketing selection and marketing management.
  • Leveraging business partners.
  • Territory Sales discipline coverage model leadership.
  • Identifying, managing and closing opportunity.
  • Selecting and deploying sales and marketing resources and programs.
  • Selecting of channels.
  • Integrating marketing management into the territory sales plan and strategy.
  • Managing the selection and use of business partners.
  • Ensuring customer satisfaction.

  Most importantly, the success of the deployment of the Territory Coverage Model depends on seamless teamwork within the territory. The Territory Sales Discipline will be the catalyst that will ensure that this teamwork takes place, leveraging new customer sales and maintaining the highest levels of customer satisfaction.

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• Sales Specialist

  The Territory Sales discipline mission

  The Sales Specialist Discipline is defined within the Sales Profession. Sales Specialist professionals are experts in IBM offerings and are responsible for selling these offerings directly to customers or through IBM Business Partners. IBM offerings include hardware, software, services and specific industry solutions, and sales specialist professionals are responsible for subsets of these offerings. As offering experts, sales specialists can best match IBM solutions to customer requirements. Sales Specialist professionals are assigned to specific opportunities where they possess the sales and technical expertise required to conduct all phases of the sales cycle. They are responsible for winning the business and the customer's satisfaction with the engagement and offerings.

  Principal Responsibilities

  • Sell IBM offerings directly to customers or through IBM Business Partners
  • Develop and maintain expertise in a set of IBM offerings
  • Engage and close sales opportunities
  • Understand competition and develop appropriate sales strategies
  • Match IBM solutions to customer requirements
  • Present value of IBM solution to all levels of customer management.

  Attributes

  • Sales and technical knowledge of offerings
  • Business minded
  • Influential
  • Communicator
  • Negotiator
  • Creative
  • Team Player

  Skills

  • Selling and closing techniques and tools
  • Knowledge of Offerings
  • Negotiation
  • Communications
  • Market awareness

  Experience

  • Sales engagements
  • Contract negotiation
  • Value added selling
  • Applied knowledge of offerings

  Specialties

  The Sales Specialist Discipline is made up of many specialties. Sales specialties are defined for sets of IBM offerings -- products (hardware or software), services, or specific industry solutions. Within a specialty there may be further defined subsets of offerings called focus areas. Specific skills and skill proficiency requirements are defined for each of these focus areas and specialties. For the detailed list, see the section on Specialties.

  Career Path

  Within the Sales Specialist Discipline, these positions, from low to high, are defined:
  
  Sales Specialist ---> Advisory ---> Senior ---> Consulting ---> Senior Consulting

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• Solution Sales

  IBM continues to provide a Total Buying Experience for our clients with the announcment of the new Solution Sales Discipline. This focus facilitates for all IBM sellers the ability to deploy the right skills (employees, partners, suppliers) with the right experience, over the right opportunities, resulting in the delivery of a superior client experience. The Solutions Sales discipline will help IBM capitalize on the solutions market opportunity and ensures that sales professionals who sell business and technology solutions have a recognized career path.
  
  The Solution Sales discipline is defined within the IBM Sales Profession. The Solution Sales Representatives will be responsible for selling a defined set of IBM solution offerings applicable to their industry and territory. This includes select BCS-led consultancy and IGS offerings, and the installation of one or more ISV or industry solution partner applications. Skills that will be developed through this discipline range from selling, closing and negotiation techniques to knowledge of and experience with integrated solution offerings.

  There are three roles in the Solution Sales discipline:

  Business Solution Sales

  • Supports large engagements
  • Independent Software Vendor (ISV) or Industry focused, selling BCS led services
  • Focused on a set of defined business solutions

  Technology Solution Sales

  • Supports the defined solutions that are technology/infrastructure based
  • Knowledge of industry/ISV/industry solution and how it relates to IBM technology
  • More details to follow

  Territory Services and Solution Sales

  • Identifies services and solution opportunities in small and medium businesses
  • Deep knowledge of the IGS Offerings
  • Knowledge of the ISV/region solutions within their territory

  Principle responsibilities

  • Identifies and validates solution opportunity for GBS, other GTS services, that may involve ISV and Industry offerings, and other IBM brand teams to aggregate the sale of IBM's portfolio around the opportunity.
  • Develops and maintains knowledge to address client's business issues (which may include client, industry or technology related pressures) with solutions that improve the client's return on investment (ROI).
  • Works in a collaborative fashion with client teams and partners who are involved with the client and or the sale.
  • Leads the sale with the key decision leader/client.
  • Develops and maintains business relationships.

  Attributes

  • Sales knowledge of industry/ISV solution offerings/IGS offerings/technology offerings
  • Business minded
  • Influential
  • Effective communicator
  • Negotiator
  • Creative
  • Team player

  Skills

  • Selling and closing techniques and tools
  • Knowledge and experience of integrated solution offerings/IGS offerings/technology offerings
  • Negotiation
  • Communications
  • Market awareness
  • Relationship

  Experience

  • Complex solution sales engagements
  • Contract negotiation
  • Value added selling
  • Applied knowledge of offerings
  • ISV/IIS and industry partner relationships
  • Broad IBM experience/understanding of IBM units - SWG/HDW/Services

  Specialties

  The Solution Sales discipline is comprised of industry-specific specialties. Within each role there may be defined further subsets of offerings or focus areas, specific skills and skill proficiency requirements.
  Career path Within the Solution Sales Discipline, these positions are defined from entry to advanced:
  
  Sales Representative ---> Advisory ---> Senior ---> Consulting ---> Senior Consulting
  
  The discipline provides a direct career path from the lowest solution sales representative position to the highest solution sales representative position. This allows an employee with exceptional sales and solution skills to advance through the career.
  
  The difference between a Solution Sales Representative and a Senior Consulting Solution Sales Representative is a function of increasing skill, capability, experience, expertise and responsibility. As a professional develops skills and assumes more responsibility, he or she can aspire to higher levels of both compensation and status.

• Consultant

  Consultants provide advice and counsel to their clients for a fee. Consultants use their skills, experience, intellectual capital and an integrated set of methodologies to solve client business problems. Consultants accelerate the competitive performance of clients globally by being their preferred business & technology consulting partner and by leveraging the full power of IBM. Consultants identify new business/technology environment opportunities, align processes to technology using world-class knowledge assets and experts, stay with customers through implementation and team with clients to provide lasting value.

  Key responsibilities

  • Work in an unstructured environment creating and reusing intellectual capital to solve diverse, technology related issues that extend from the Boardroom to the machine room.
  • Be effective change agents, advisors, facilitators and/or leaders for their clients.
  • Perform engagement team activities, including research, data collection, data analysis, preparation/presentation of recommendations and project design/implementation.
  • Use issues-based consulting and specialized methodologies, assets and work products to create client deliverables.

  Competencies and skills

  • Commitment to Customers
  • Drive to Achieve
  • Customer Insight
  • Taking Ownership
  • Excellence through Innovation
  • Adaptability
  • Creative Problem Solving
  • Passion for the Business
  • Integrity That Earns Trust
  • Trustworthiness
  • Teamwork
  • Communication

  Core Skills

  • Business acumen and financial
  • Leadership
  • Competency segment methodology
  • Project management

  On-the-Job experience

  • IT trends, directions, & strategy
  • Technical expertise
  • Human behavior & organizational dynamics
  • Systems management
  • Major industries
  • e-business
  • Package integration
  • Business transformation
  • Change Management
  • Understand the client's business strategy and direction
  • Understand the client's problem and what IBM is doing about it

  Additional information

  The Consultant Profession Repository database contains key Consultant profession information including:

  • Recent profession and discipline news
  • Certification information
  • Professional vitality
  • Profession and discipline contact lists
  • New hire consultant training modules, etc.

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• Field Application Engineer

  The Field Applications Engineer (FAE) role is widely recognized within the microelectronics industry. IBM Technology Group (TG), a market leader in the area of custom-designed computer chips, relies on FAE professionals and managers to provide its customers with a single technical interface into IBM, and to continuously drive the penetration of TG products within its targeted market segments. The value and performance of FAE professionals is primarily measured in terms of Design Wins, Revenue and Customer Satisfaction.
  
  Developing, attracting and retaining the best FAE talents in the industry is critical to TG's long-term success. This has motivated the creation of a dedicated management structure within the TG Worldwide Sales organization, and the definition of a specific career path for FAE professionals worldwide. The present guide is intended as the primary reference for FAE professionals, FAE management, as well as other IBM organizations interested in the FAE role, including TG business process owners, IBM global profession owners, and Human Resources partners. It describes the specific skills and responsibilities associated with the FAE role, and it identifies some of the tools and resources available to FAE professionals as they seek to advance in their IBM career.

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• IT Architect

  The IT Architect defines - architects -- solutions to client business problems through the reasoned application of information technology. Those solutions are manifested as architectures and can include systems, applications and process components. They may also involve the application and integration of a broad variety of products, technologies and services, various systems and applications architectures, and diverse hardware and software components.

  What does an ITA professional do in IBM?

  Like a building architect, much of the IT Architect's work is focused on the front end of the solution life-cycle: listening to clients, understanding their business requirements and systematically forming incrementally more detailed definitions of the structures of an information technology solution - an architecture.

  The IT Architect may also be involved during the construction of a solution as an advocate for the client, as the ultimate authority on the architecture that was produced to address the client's business problem, and to provide technical leadership and guidance to the construction team.

  Changes to the IT Architect profession

  The IT Architect disciplines the focal point of architectural best practices and skills development have been revised to adapt to a changing industry. The profession is also looking at a more comprehensive view of the end-to-end career path for an Architect.

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• IT Specialist

  IT Specialist are the core of On Demand. IT Specialists develop proof of concepts, design, develop, build, test and implement systems. IT Specialists are the hands on professionals. Professionals who are IT Specialist have in-depth understanding of products, offering and services within their specialty. Members of this profession perform services for a fee, provide technical support for product sales or support IBM's internal infrastructure.

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• Product Services

  Product Services (PS) professionals deliver a comprehensive set of services ranging from remote technical support to onsite management and maintenance of full multi-platform environments.

  Product life cycle management: Planning for all HW and SW platforms (IBM and non-IBM), These teams consist of multiple product experts with knowledge of IBMs best of breed products, and provide ongoing support to our front ends. They have full access to IBM's global planning, manufacturing and product development teams to enable one global implementation process.

  Remote support: This operation performs problem determination, remote fix, service request ownership/management, action planning, technical escalation and knowledge management for over 300 IBM/non IBM platforms (HW and SW). This team acts as the technical focal point and escalation path to the product development teams.

  Field service delivery: We have more than 10,000 field service engineers providing high availability geographical 24x7 coverage across the globe. This organization continues to move towards to a more flexible low cost transaction based delivery structure providing on site support, product installation/implementation, technical audits and health checks.

  Career Development Model

  There is extensive career development available for those professionals pursuing a Product Services career in IBM. To facilitate career development, the profession is introducing the Qualification Model.

  The Career Development Model defines the skill level, competencies and experience for each career level. Previous to this, Project Services (PS) professionals skills and experience were validated only at e- Certification. The Career Development Model - starts with documented criteria for an entry level PS specialist through consulting PS specialists.

  Skill development - product certification

  Product certifications have become widely accepted in the industry and provide a means for PS specialists to validate their skill attainment and technical expertise.

  These product based certifications, such as the Novell CNE or the various ones IBM has developed, are being considered as future criteria for the PS specialist professions certification process. Project Services specialists often perform many job roles. These job roles may or may not be in the profession. Its ok if you perform some roles outside the profession; it just means youre well rounded.

  There are currently three disciplines within the profession:

  • Service and Product Planning, also known as Lifecycle Management in some geographies.
  • Hardware Support, previously known as system service representative (SSR).
  • Software Support, previously known as software services specialist (SSS).

  While there are many specialities within these disciplines based on platform, domain, complexity and offering, the profession offers career opportunities to the higher levels based on the following characteristics and key elements.

  Characteristics

  • Client contact/exposure
  • Professional growth and challenge
  • Product Services software specialist is the expert interface to clients for Integrated Technology Services software support requirements
  • Product Services hardware specialist is the expert interface to clients for Integrated Technology Services hardware and software maintenance requirements
  • You will be a key contributor to the clients value equation which builds loyalty and satisfaction
  • Upward career growth opportunity can be realized that is consistent with senior management positions
  • Technical challenge and the opportunity for personal innovation

  Key Elements

  • Service quality - As IBM's quality of service delivered improves, the results will be displayed through high client satisfaction, increased loyalty and improved wins versus losses.
  • Performance - A key measure of performance for the Product Services professional will be maintaining IBM as the IT maintenance, technical support and services provider of choice for IBM customers.
  • Client satisfaction - Client satisfaction with software service and support and with operational services provided as measured by follow-on contracts and survey data.
  • Loyalty - Adding value builds client loyalty to IBM, our products and our services. This profession will be a key contributor to value and loyalty. The loyalty indicator is our client's renewal decision for service(s) contracts.
  • Operational services contract profitability - A key measure of performance will be the success of the client's operational services contracts as measured by:
  • Contract profit
  • Contract revenue
  • Recovered cost and expense (support activities)
  • Personal utilization/revenue

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• Project Management

  The Project Management Profession establishes a consistent worldwide framework in support of the project management professional independent of the IBM organization where project management activities are performed. A project manager is the person who leads and is accountable for the success of the project. Project managers are responsible for an array of activities including initializing and planning projects, developing project cost structure, tracking and reporting project deliverables, managing risk, managing contracts, applying project management processes and tools.
  
  Skill proficiency changes with the complexity of the project. IBM has identified project management skills in the following categories: Client Environment, Business Acumen, Industry, IBM Environment, Project Management, Products/Technology/Services and Personal. IBM considers project management a strategic skill and has committed to improving our capabilities by providing education and requiring that every employee have some level of project management skill and that project manager's skills be developed and validated.
  
  The IBM project management curriculum addresses basic project management skills and has been consistently introducing courses for intermediate and advanced levels over the past several years and will continue to do so including a new career path for IBM Brands Project Executives. The Brands PE career path is an exciting new addition that, for the first time, provides a career path to executive levels for Brands members of the PM profession.
  
  In addition, other aspects of this profession and IBM's capabilities in project management are constantly being examined.

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• Services Solution Management

  The Services Solutions Management profession is a career path designed for practicing Technical Solutions Managers.

  Members of the Services Solutions Management profession are responsible for the development and sales of IBM Strategic Outsourcing solutions directly to customers. They lead multi-national, multi-discipline teams of subject-matter experts. They use a combination of IBM and non-IBM offerings, services, labor, assets, hardware, and software to meet client business requirements. They orchestrate the development of complex, multi-year, custom solutions and associated cost cases. The directions they establish are the foundation of IBM's solution and heavily influence sales, human resources, and contract and delivery strategies for the engagement. They are required to anticipate and develop and define innovative services solutions which match the customer's and IBM's tactical and strategic requirements. They own the definition of the services solutions and are the primary source of IBM Global Services engagement management and solution design around the world and across technical disciplines.

  Professional Development Program

  SSM skills are divided into three categories: Tools & Methodology, Winning Business, and Leadership. These skills are also arranged by degree of difficulty - Tiers I, II and III - where Tier III skills are the most challenging or advanced. In this model, the Tier I practitioner focuses primarily on Tools & Methodology, with some attention to developing sales ("Winning Business") and leadership skills. The Tier II practitioner continues to develop the more advanced Tools & Methodology, but shifts their primary focus to Winning Business and Leadership skills. Finally, to enter the very senior Tier III, the practitioner's primary focus will be on leadership, including team orchestration on complex, multi-towered, multi-national engagements, and advising on engagement process and practice, and IBM vision and strategy.

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• Technical Services

  Technical services positions perform a variety of responsibilities including installing, operating, planning and configuring complex client information systems, products or networking systems/components. Services may also include the integrating and testing of hardware/software solutions. Positions are found most often in an environment where IBM has a long term relationship to provide IT services, or in a multi-vendor environment in support of a client's business. Typically involved in the management of live production systems and/or testing environment performing systems level configuration or analyzing business requirements to define, maintain and occasionally installs computer systems, network applications/systems and workstation services. Technical services positions can typically be found in the following environments

  Principal responsibilities of the technical services professional

  • Analyzing client requirements and estimating scopes of effect.
  • Ensuring high client satisfaction for projects/engagements performed.
  • Interacting with client staff/executives, subcontractors, vendors.
  • Developing and presenting creative solutions to clients.
  • Employing formal methodologies and tools.
  • Providing technical advice and guidance to project team members, and customers.
  • Closing/supporting the sale from a technology point of view.
  • Identifying and generating incremental business.

  Attributes

  • Problem solver
  • Communicator
  • Team player
  • Initiator
  • Technical

  Skills

  • Platform/products implementation
  • Leadership

  Experience

  • System operations
  • Systems development
  • Team participation and leadership
  • IT technology
  • Planning and implementation

  Disciplines

  • Application development/maintenance
  • IT infrastructure
  • Networking
  • Systems

  Development program

  The basic training required to start within the Technical Services career path at the entry position is typically obtained in college/trade school or equivalent practical experience. The technical services professional typically grows their skills by working as a member of a project team and taking advanced technical training in their discipline. TS professionals typically grow their deep technical skills in one, or possibly two related disciplines. One develops higher level skills by taking leadership roles on engagements, and by obtaining mentoring from more skilled practitioners.

  Career growth

  Technical services --> Advisory --> Senior --> Consulting --> Senior consulting
  
  TS professionals may progress to other careers. Many like the design component so much that they become IT Architects who spend most of their time on design projects. Others enjoy the technology leadership and become full-time project managers. Some enjoy the analysis and requirements projects and may become consultants. Still others may enjoy the technical selling effort and may become product or services sales specialists. Others may wish to continue in their technical field, but take on more challenging and innovative efforts, which would lead them to becoming IT specialists.

In recent years, the IBM Company has become more market-driven, moving toward a global brand unit and customer-set orientation. This has resulted in:

• Changes to IBM's financial systems worldwide
• The creation of a new integrated planning process combining strategic planning, operating plans and financial planning
• The IBM Market Planning process -- an integrated marketing planning approach for understanding customer needs

• Learn more

  These activities underscore the need for clearly-defined and expertly-staffed marketing organizations that will lead IBM into the next century. The IBM Marketing Professional Career addresses this need by clearly defining:

  • Marketing jobs
  • Required skills and skill levels by marketing discipline
  • Skill development activities
  • Career paths

  The Marketing Professional Career has its roots in IBM's Brand Management Initiative established in 1994. This initiative was created to improve marketing and develop quality global business strategies and plans that:

  • Lead to improved business results
  • Set the direction for meeting brand unit and/or business unit objectives
  • Define the supporting activities that create and sustain the brand "promise of value" and the business unit value proposition
  • Are defined by the business plan elements: strategy, offering, pricing/terms, distribution, integrated marketing communications, support/skilled resources and fulfillment.

  The term marketing is used only in conjunction with marketing activities and jobs. The IBM Brand Management Initiative clearly differentiates the responsibilities of marketing and sales.

  Professional Career Structure and Implementation

  The Marketing Professional Career uses a consistent worldwide framework for jobs, roles and skills and is implemented independent of organization structure or mission, wherever marketing activities are performed. The career consists of multiple disciplines, specialties and roles which align with the activities and tasks required to execute each of the business plan elements.

  Disciplines - career opportunities exist vertically within and horizontally across disciplines. The marketing disciplines are:

  • Marketing Management
  • Market Intelligence
  • Distribution Channels Management
  • Technical Support Marketing
  • Integrated Marketing Communications
  • Marketing Operations

  Specialties - individuals may perform more finite tasks required to meet business objectives by working in a specialty within a discipline. Career growth may be characterized by the ability to work in one or more specialties. The marketing specialties are:

  • Marketing Management Specialties
  • Market Intelligence Specialties
  • Distribution Channels Management Specialties
  • Technical Support Marketing Specialties
  • Integrated Marketing Communications Specialties

  Roles - individuals may perform additional Marketing Roles such as a project leader, strategist, planner or skills planner. Role assignments may last a short time -- 3 to 9 months -- or may be ones full-time job depending on business need.

  The Marketing Professional Career is implemented in all business environments from simple to complex and is based on business need and relate to its scope in terms of revenue potential, number of skilled professionals needed and/or available, business area focus, and other factors

  Characteristics of the Marketing Professional Career

  The following characteristics are common to all Marketing professionals:

  • Coordinating internal and external resources effectively
  • Developing measurable strategies and action plans that achieve goals
  • Using market intelligence to create executable business plans
  • Developing targeted programs that achieve business goals
  • Applying the IBM Brand Management System effectively to all activities
  • Knowing IBM's short- and long-term business strategies
  • Understanding competitive trends and responding effectively
  • Understanding IBM global operations
  • Working in cross-functional teams
  • Applying financial management concepts to business activities
  • Understanding the CRM processes
  • Applying the IBM Market Planning Process
  • Applying project management techniques
  • Self-motivating in maintaining currency in a selected discipline

  Career Growth

  The Marketing Professional Career supports a dual-ladder career path where individuals can pursue careers in management or non-management with comparable opportunity for level, recognition, compensation and growth. The prerequisites for career growth within Marketing are skills, capabilities, experience and responsibility.