DISQUS

I once worked as a pre-sales rep for Nortel Networks.

Before I was hired they asked me to describe a router. I said it was something that routs information. Then when they asked me to describe a switch, I got worried because I had never heard of a switch (other than a light switch) in the computer world. I was candid with my lack of knowledge.

I think they hired me because I am female (There were no other females on the team at that point). Maybe my gregarious personality got me hired. Either way it was not my computer expertise.

I was trained for a couple of days in which I learned what it means to be hot swapable. I even learned about ATM s (not the cash machine but Asynchronous Transfer Mode used in switching.

Still my job description was to help companies choose the right hardware for their needs and help them design a network using Nortel products.

There was no way on Earth I could do that!

So this is what happened:

Someone would call with questions.

I would write them down as best I could.

I put the person on hold.

Then, I would go and ask the one guy from our team of ten or so who actually understood the questions and could answer them. This would usually require standing in line because no one else male or female knew how to answer these questions or even so much as understood the questions being asked.

The guy who knew his stuff never answered phones because he was to busy answering all questions.

Sometimes he would get exasperated and finally pick up the phone and talk to the customer but only rarely.

Most of the time I didn't understand the questions being asked or the answer that was given. I just did my best to transmit information.

The system wasn't designed this way, we were just lucky to have someone on our team who knew what they were doing. I would guess other teams like this didn't have that luxury.

So, this is just a little snapshot into my pre-sales experience. I thought you may think it was interesting.