{"id":1524,"date":"2009-07-13T10:44:38","date_gmt":"2009-07-13T15:44:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.peaksalesrecruiting.comblog\/inside-the-sales-culture-at-dell-peak-sales-recruiting\/"},"modified":"2023-03-08T19:45:30","modified_gmt":"2023-03-08T19:45:30","slug":"sales-culture-at-dell-computers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.peaksalesrecruiting.com\/blog\/sales-culture-at-dell-computers\/","title":{"rendered":"Sales Culture at Dell Computers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Geoffrey James at the Sales Machine recently interviewed Michael Dell and posted his interview. I have included some of the most interesting comments from Dell.<\/p>\n<p><strong>On Competition: <\/strong>\u201cSometimes it\u2019s a battle, but sometimes we\u2019re clearly working with a number of companies to grow an industry. I think the leading companies tend to be able to grow together. This industry is so large. To give you an example, this year our industry will grow more than the size of any single company that competes in it. The growth this year of the PC industry is more than Compaq\u2019s PC business or IBM\u2019s PC business or Apple\u2019s PC business. In that sense, I think, the leading companies in an industry have an opportunity to work together. In fact, in the computer industry, it\u2019s really required that they work together because the products are so interconnected. \u201c<\/p>\n<p><strong>On the types of employees they hire: \u201c<\/strong>We do look for certain kinds of employees, particularly in the areas where it\u2019s a sales or service orientation. We have a lot of processes within the company that really involve everybody in understanding the customers\u2019 desires.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>On the kind of work environment at Dell:<\/strong> \u201cI think people look to the company as a place where they want to build a career and a life and not as a place where you come here for a little while, then leave and go somewhere else. We definitely want to build that sense of belonging and being a part of something. \u201c<\/p>\n<p><strong>On sales management: \u201c<\/strong>This is a business where you really have to understand the products. You can\u2019t just manage people and numbers and expect to win. The business is technically complicated enough where you would make too many wrong decisions if you weren\u2019t really understanding the core product.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>On Dell\u2019s Company Culture:<\/strong> \u201cIt\u2019s open and not particularly formal in terms of orientation. I\u2019d say it\u2019s much more of a meritocracy than, perhaps, other companies. People don\u2019t go around calling each other `Mr.\u2019. and `Ms.\u2019. Everybody calls each other by their first name. You can show up for work in blue jeans if you want to. There are areas of the company where you never, ever, wear a tie. There\u2019s certainly no assigned parking spaces, or executive anythings. It\u2019s basically an open, free-form culture where you can bump into everybody and talk, and everybody goes through the same sort of process. I get E-mail all the time from people anywhere in the company Anybody can send me a message and I always send them a message back. I walk around the company all the time and talk to anybody in the company, everybody in the company. That\u2019s very common. I think it\u2019s important because as the company gets larger, you can definitely lose track with what is actually going on. It is often very different from what appears to be going on.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>On Exercise: \u201c<\/strong> That can be pretty helpful. We encourage it inside the company and it certainly works for me. We have a fitness center and, generally, we have an active, athletic kind of workforce. People get out and do things and we certainly encourage that by sponsoring those kind of events and giving people every opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Read the full interview here -&gt; <a title=\"Michael Dell - Sales Machine\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.bnet.com\/salesmachine\/?p=4069\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sales Culture: Interview with Michael Dell<\/a><\/p>\n<p>relpost-thumb-wrapper<\/p>\n<div class=\"relpost-thumb-wrapper\"><!-- filter-class --><\/p>\n<div class=\"relpost-thumb-container\">\n<h3>Related posts<\/h3>\n<div style=\"clear: both;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"clear: both;\"><\/div>\n<p><!-- relpost-block-container --><\/p>\n<div class=\"relpost-block-container\">\n<div class=\"relpost-custom-block-single\" style=\"width: 150px; height: 215px;\">\n<div class=\"relpost-block-single-image\" style=\"background: transparent url('https:\/\/g9d6c5a5.rocketcdn.me\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/train-sales-team-150x150.jpg') no-repeat scroll 0% 0%; width: 150px; height: 150px;\" role=\"img\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"relpost-block-single-text\" style=\"font-family: ProximaNova, sans-serif; ;  font-size: 15px; color: #6eba57;\">7 Tips on How to Train Your Sales Team for Success \u2014 And Measure Your Results<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"relpost-custom-block-single\" style=\"width: 150px; height: 215px;\">\n<div class=\"relpost-block-single-image\" style=\"background: transparent url('https:\/\/g9d6c5a5.rocketcdn.me\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/10\/twenty20_ac487e85-4752-4985-8eac-f0840d7d1af2-150x150.jpg') no-repeat scroll 0% 0%; width: 150px; height: 150px;\" role=\"img\" aria-label=\"Six Reasons Not To Promote Your Top Reps to Management\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"relpost-block-single-text\" style=\"font-family: ProximaNova, sans-serif; ;  font-size: 15px; color: #6eba57;\">Six Reasons Not to Promote your Top Reps to Sales Management<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"relpost-custom-block-single\" style=\"width: 150px; height: 215px;\">\n<div class=\"relpost-block-single-image\" style=\"background: transparent url('https:\/\/g9d6c5a5.rocketcdn.me\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/b2b-sales-team-structure-150x150.jpg') no-repeat scroll 0% 0%; width: 150px; height: 150px;\" role=\"img\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"relpost-block-single-text\" style=\"font-family: ProximaNova, sans-serif; ;  font-size: 15px; color: #6eba57;\">B2B Sales Team Structure: A Simple Strategy for Creating a Winning Team<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- close relpost-block-container --><\/p>\n<div style=\"clear: both;\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- close filter class --><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>close relpost-thumb-wrapper<\/p>\n<div class=\"abh_box abh_box_down abh_box_business\">\n<ul class=\"abh_tabs\">\n<li class=\"abh_about abh_active\"><a href=\"#abh_about\">About<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"abh_posts\"><a href=\"#abh_posts\">Latest Posts<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"abh_tab_content\">\n<section class=\"vcard abh_about_tab abh_tab\" style=\"display: block;\">\n<div class=\"abh_image\"><a class=\"url\" title=\"Eliot Burdett\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksalesrecruiting.com\/author\/eliotburdett\/\"><\/svg>&#8221; alt=&#8221;&#8221; width=&#8221;80&#8243; height=&#8221;80&#8243; data-src=&#8221;https:\/\/www.peaksalesrecruiting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/1cfb2152f763e6118839d97c16339339s80ampdmmamprg.png&#8221; data-srcset=&#8221;https:\/\/www.peaksalesrecruiting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/1cfb2152f763e6118839d97c16339339s160ampdmmamprg.png 2x&#8221; \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" class=\"avatar avatar-80 photo\" height=\"80\" src=\"https:\/\/media.peaksalesrecruiting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/1cfb2152f763e6118839d97c16339339s80ampdmmamprg.png?strip=all\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.peaksalesrecruiting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/1cfb2152f763e6118839d97c16339339s160ampdmmamprg.png 2x\" width=\"80\"\/><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"abh_social\">\n<div style=\"clear: both; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; width: 85px; margin: 0 0 2px auto; line-height: 20px;\">Connect:<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"abh_text\">\n<h3 class=\"fn name\"><a class=\"url\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksalesrecruiting.com\/author\/eliotburdett\/\">Eliot Burdett<\/a><\/h3>\n<div class=\"abh_job\"><span class=\"title\">CEO<\/span> at <span class=\"org\">Peak Sales Recruiting<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"description note abh_description\">Before Peak, Eliot spent more than 20 years building and leading companies, where he took the lead in recruiting and managing high performance sales teams. He co-founded Ventrada Systems (mobile applications) and GlobalX (e-commerce software). He was also Vice President of Sales for PointShot Wireless.Eliot received his B. Comm. from Carleton University and has been honored as a Top 40 Under 40 Award winner.<\/p>\n<p>He co-authored Sales Recruiting 2.0, How to Find Top Performing Sales People, Fast and provides regular insights on sales team management and hiring on the Peak Sales Recruiting Blog.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section class=\"abh_posts_tab abh_tab\">\n<div class=\"abh_image\"><a class=\"url\" title=\"Eliot Burdett\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksalesrecruiting.com\/author\/eliotburdett\/\"><\/svg>&#8221; alt=&#8221;&#8221; width=&#8221;80&#8243; height=&#8221;80&#8243; data-src=&#8221;https:\/\/www.peaksalesrecruiting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/1cfb2152f763e6118839d97c16339339s80ampdmmamprg.png&#8221; data-srcset=&#8221;https:\/\/www.peaksalesrecruiting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/1cfb2152f763e6118839d97c16339339s160ampdmmamprg.png 2x&#8221; \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"\" class=\"avatar avatar-80 photo\" height=\"80\" src=\"https:\/\/media.peaksalesrecruiting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/1cfb2152f763e6118839d97c16339339s80ampdmmamprg.png?strip=all\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.peaksalesrecruiting.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/01\/1cfb2152f763e6118839d97c16339339s160ampdmmamprg.png 2x\" width=\"80\"\/><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"abh_social\">\n<div style=\"clear: both; font-size: 12px; font-weight: normal; width: 85px; margin: 0 0 2px auto; line-height: 20px;\">Connect:<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"abh_text\">\n<h4>Latest posts by Eliot Burdett <span class=\"abh_allposts\">(<a href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksalesrecruiting.com\/author\/eliotburdett\/\">see all<\/a>)<\/span><\/h4>\n<div class=\"abh_description note\">\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksalesrecruiting.com\/blog\/books-about-sales-management-and-sales-leadership\/\">20 Of Our Favorite Books About Sales Management and Sales Leadership<\/a> &#8211; October 20, 2023<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksalesrecruiting.com\/blog\/how-to-make-progress-on-your-sales-goal-without-a-sales-leader\/\">How To Make Progress On Your Sales Goal Without A Sales Leader<\/a> &#8211; September 15, 2021<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksalesrecruiting.com\/blog\/how-cmos-can-retain-talent-during-the-great-resignation\/\">Augment Your Recruiting Strategy During \u201cThe Great Resignation\u201d<\/a> &#8211; July 26, 2021<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Geoffrey James at the Sales Machine recently interviewed Michael Dell and posted his interview. I have included some of the most interesting comments from Dell. On Competition: \u201cSometimes it\u2019s a battle, but sometimes we\u2019re clearly working with a number of companies to grow an industry. I think the leading companies tend to be able to<\/p>\n<div><a class=\"text-primary mt-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.peaksalesrecruiting.com\/blog\/sales-culture-at-dell-computers\/\">&#8230;continue reading <span class=\"sr-only\">&#8220;Sales Culture at Dell Computers&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"limit_modified_date":"","last_modified_date":"","cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1524","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sales-management"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peaksalesrecruiting.com\/wp-json\/\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1524"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peaksalesrecruiting.com\/wp-json\/\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peaksalesrecruiting.com\/wp-json\/\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peaksalesrecruiting.com\/wp-json\/\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peaksalesrecruiting.com\/wp-json\/\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1524"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.peaksalesrecruiting.com\/wp-json\/\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1524\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.peaksalesrecruiting.com\/wp-json\/\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1524"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peaksalesrecruiting.com\/wp-json\/\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1524"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.peaksalesrecruiting.com\/wp-json\/\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1524"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}