Orchestrated program which delivered 224% Revenue Growth in first year. 
Upon joining Business Objects (now part of SAP) was assigned a territory including a few GE divisions.  Over time, it was learned that Business Objects' largest customer was General Electric, but the revenue stream was stagnant -- about $2 million per year and the client was unhappy.   Our competitor was killing us.

My remarkable start (Winner of the "Top Rookie" award for highest quota achievement) caused them to assign GE to me.  It was a tall order as I was new to the industry and had only a handful of contacts in GE. 

The good news -- I had a great job.  The bad news -- I had nothing else.  There was nothing.  No global accounts program.  No team, no plan, and no strategy.  The approach had been the classic 1.0 sales approach "When it moves, shoot it." 

So we started from scratch -- executing our plan.  Led team in crafting a comprehensive Go to Market strategy. We crafted our Value Proposition.  We mapped our Success Stories.  We developed metrics to measure results.  Recruit (worldwide), motivate , nurture , train. 

My most important step was finding a "Lighthouse" win, as we knew we need to get the word of mouth marketing machine going.

We found the ideal lighthouse -- a Digital Cockpit (Management Dashboard) for the Chairman and CEO of GE Capital Corporate, Mr. Denis Nayden, parent company of 22 GE Capital companies around the world. Seated from left: Denis J. Nayden, President and Chief Executive Officer, GE Capital Corporation; Nigel D. T. Andrews, Executive Vice President; and Michael A. Neal, Executive Vice President. Back row: Dennis D. Dammerman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, General Electric Capital Services, Inc., and Vice Chairman and Executive Officer, General Electric Company; Edward D. Stewart, Executive Vice President, GE Capital, and President and Chief Executive Officer, GE Card Services; and James A. Parke, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.

The project was so important, every vendor was invited.  Microsoft, Oracle, Hyperion, Cognos, and SAS wanted it BADLY  -- they had the same goal I did. 

Working with a strong pre-sales person we identified key resources, impressed GE with our fit to their vision and won the deal. Mike Stout, CIO, awarded me and my team the business.

The out of box product was not a fit. I was fortunate to have a top-notch services leader -- as 6 months programming was needed, using our programmers and GE programmers from India. 

The success of this was critical to my long term success, so I personally initiated and led a weekly conference call with leaders of the global teams to identify problems and resolve them quickly.

Upon completion of the custom development, GE was so delighted they changed their plan -- originally 17 executives were to use it, but they rolled it out to 174 worldwide.

As hoped, we began getting strong word of mouth support -- and my name became well-known across GE.

The best example was when I met the CIO of GE Plastics.  She told me her name and I introduced myself.  She replied "So YOU are the famous Jeff Ogden I've heard so much about!"

Then we executed the rest of the plan: GE-specific marketing materials, presentations, and GE-sponsored webcasts.  In order for me to motivate all these dotted-line sales resources, I knew that I had to make selling GE easier than selling any other account in their territory.  So I crafted a comprehensive selling process that used global conference calls with me to seal the deals.

At the end of the first year, my team's results were tabulated. Revenues exploded from $2.1 million to $6.8 million -- an increase of 224%.

Though we lack numbers for the competitor who previously was killing us, we never once lost to them -- hence their business was flat to near-zero growth.  The EVP of Global Sales lamented "We were never once able to beat you, Jeff!"

Management: "We Need This Deal!"
Challenge: Win the largest deal in company history, at The Home Shopping Network for a very small, young firm.  And it is up to you alone.

All investments compete against alternative uses of capital, so I put myself in the CEO's position and asked  "How would I evaluate this business proposition if it were handed to me?" 

We decided he would look for a clear, concise justification document from his VP of Logistics covering  Return on Investment and implementation plan which covers "As Is" and "To Be" operations.  I called the VP of Logistics and suggested we tour the distribution centers.  He agreed.  We also worked closely with my implementation partner, Unisys. 

Once we completed the surveys, I penned the document from the customer's point of view -- as if the VP, Logistics had written it himself.  I flew to Tampa and presented it to him.  He read it and said simply "Wait in my office." and walked out. 60 minutes later he returned and tossed the document on his desk.  "It is done.  Go to the CIO and get the paperwork signed."  (See comment from this man on Endorsements page.)

A multimillion dollar deal was inked at a miniscule discount.  (Under 10%!)

Interesting side note: (Jeff met George Steinbrenner at the airport, talked at length with him and Jeff and George sat together on the flight home.)

From Worst to First
One of the opportunities I found at Business Objects was with Heineken USA.  They embarked on a new initiative they called Knowledge Management and hired a new Chief Knowledge Officer (CKO).

They looked for software to support the initiative, inviting in three Business Intelligence vendors: Cognos, Business Objects (me) and Brio for a Proof of Concept.

The score after completion of the POC:
First Place)      Brio
Second Second Place) Cognos and
Dead Last)     Business Objects: Me and my team.

We had a serious problem. Our product was not competitive.  Still, we did not give up.

Brio was eliminated due to company's shaky financial condition -- which cut the list to two.

IT declared Cognos the winner and recommended them to the CKO. (I later learned the Cognos sales team told management it was a 'done deal' and put it on their forecast as 'Committed.')

The CKO told IT he wanted to personally meet the two finalists before giving final approval to Cognos selection.

Cognos was up first and, as I predicted, they "unloaded the bus" -- Cognos executives in suits delivering canned vendor PowerPoint presentation on how  great their company and products are.  (They are great, by the way.)

When one is losing a game -- Change the rules. 

I decided to use a very different approach. I came in alone -- armed only with a notepad. No PowerPoint presentation and no executives.

I asked simple questions.  "Mr. CKO, where were you before coming to Heineken?" (I knew the answer.) "I came from an university." I said "So this first initiative is all important in getting off on the right foot in your new career? "  "Absolutely!"

I said "Mr. CKO, I have but one thing to say to you: If you select us, I will personally do everything in my power to ensure your success."  The meeting ended.

The next day, my phone rang. the CKO said "Jeff, I'm pleased to tell you we've selected Business Objects." The deal was done. 

Later, Cognos invited me to visit their headquarters to meet their executive team.  When I was in the room, the Executive VP at Cognos turned to his his VP of the East Region and ask how they lost Heineken USA when it was a done deal.  Bob replied, "Face it, Tony, we were outsold by a vastly better salesperson."