For over 20 years, Offer Australia has played a key support role to the increasing number of US technology vendors entering the APAC region. We achieve this through placement of initial Country Managers/TAMs teams into the Asian and Australian markets. In recent years, we’ve seen a rise in demand for the Technical Account Managers (TAMs).
How we define a start-up!
We define ‘start up’ as a pre-IPO US technology vendor, which is in the process of establishing a presence in the European and Asian markets. A typical APAC startup vendor is in aggressive growth phase, soon to be acquired or floated.
What is a TAM?
Alternate titles for TAMs (Technical Account Managers) are CSOs, Sales Engineers, Presales or CTOs. TAMs are usually highly technical, with highly developed personal skills, enabling them to strategically engage and sell at C level interactions. When expanding into a new region like APAC and Australia, many start ups are now hiring TAMs as the number one, or two, resource in the region
Why are TAMs so sought after?
TAMs are highly technical individuals who can convey complex information in a consultative business manner to C level management to carriers/enterprise customers. Unlike a non-technical sales hunter, a TAM can actually work alongside large companies and offer strategic advice, ultimately leading to new business opportunities.
“TAMs are the new breed of ‘super sales people’
Good TAMs are rare to find in Australia and across APAC
A good Presales/TAM professional is highly polished, capable of presenting and working within an APAC startup environment.
Working for a startup is quite different to working for a larger established vendor. Often, a TAM has little opportunity for career advancement in joining a new startup. Instead, they’re motivation is the excitement of launching technology into a new region whilst profiting from pre-IPO shares.
TAMS in Sydney and Melbourne commonly attract higher remuneration packages than country managers. Vendors are increasingly requiring this talent whilst accepting that there is a higher cost for these people.
So what is the difference between a Presales person and a TAM/CSO?
- Presales generally support the sales person in all technical and presales activities with the client. They perform POCs (hands-on when needed) and generally don’t initiate the customer discussions.
- TAMs work across assigned large customers, engaging in C level discussions. They are responsible throughout the full life cycle of the sales process. They also share in the commission on the sale, as do the sales people.
For more information about finding great TAMs, or to learn more about Offer Australia, please contact: michael@offeraustralia.com.au.
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