Joseph P. Smith

My career in telecommunications sales management has spanned almost 12 years, and in that time I have always enjoyed being a part of some of the finest sales organizations in the industry.  The  largest and most rewarding part of my career thus far has been with Birch Telecom, a CLEC which served small and medium sized business in the Southwest and Southeast.  The highlight of my career at Birch was leading the teams and talented individuals  to new levels of success during my years in direct sales management. 

What sets directs sales apart from indirect (agent) sales is the team environment.  In an office setting, a manager can create an "atmosphere" that lends itself to success.  Aside from earning recognition and awards, as listed below, my career highlights include many personal stories and achievements centered around this atmosphere of success that was fostered in each of us at Birch, born from the synergy we created in our office and in our region.  Highlights from this time include:

• 5 consecutive promotions, starting in sales and leading to the senior-most manager position in our region
• Developing many of my Account Executives into Senior Account Executives, a career path which enhanced their career and personal development
  
• Nurturing and coaching my top Senior Account Executives into new career levels, including management and national accounts
• Pioneering the National Accounts program by leading the company in large, multi-location corporate sales
• My involvement in the production of Sales and Sales Management Training curriculum and videos for Birch Corporate, used throughout the company
• Utilizing the atmosphere of success created in my office resulting in the longest average tenure of any sales office in the region, with the lowest employee turn over rate
  

My current role as the Director of Channel Sales, at an AT&T Master Solution Provider agency, deals with the opposite end of the sales spectrum - the indirect (agent) channel.  Since I began in 2006, the agency has risen to the Gold Partner status and has won the Circle of Excellence award 2 years running.  My contribution to this success has mainly been in the development and ongoing maintenance of the company's sales-generating website and online search-marketing strategies.  The highlight of this phase in my career has been the ground-floor development of these inbound-marketing tools and campaigns, which is a new and crucial aspect of sales in today's telecom industry.  Combined with Social Media and Corporate Branding tactics, I now have the knowledge needed to implement these strategies to any direct sales team in the CLEC or ILEC market, generating new avenues for inbound sales leads for direct sales offices.

Awards and Recognition

AT&T / BellSouth Alliance Channel – Company recognition for the AT&T Master Agency

2009:  Solution Provider Champion Status—based on Annual Billed Revenue threshold

2009:  AT&T Circle of Excellence Award—ranked in top percentile of Solution Provider agencies

2008:  Master Agent Status with BellSouth—based on Partner development to ASP status

2008:  Gold Partner Status with BellSouth—based on Annual Billed Revenue threshold

2008:  BellSouth Circle of Excellence Award—ranked in top percentile of Solution Provider agencies

2007:  Silver Partner Status with BellSouth—based on Annual Billed Revenue threshold

Birch Telecom – Personal recognition for Joseph P. Smith

2005:  Birchievers Presidents Club Award (Puerto Rico)—billed revenue of 125% to plan

2005:  NSCAR Manager of the Year Award—based on sold & billed revenue, and reps promoted

2005:  Top Dog award—awarded for surpassing sold office quota 10 out of 12 months

2005:  MVP award—based on top sales office in company 4 out of 12 months

2004:  Birchievers Presidents Club Award (Palm Springs, CA)—billed revenue of 125% to plan

2004:  NSCAR Manager of the Year Award—based on sold & billed revenue, and reps promoted

2004:  Top Dog award—awarded for surpassing sold office quota 8 out of 12 months

2004:  MVP award—based on top sales office in company 4 out of 12 months

2003:  Birchievers Presidents Club Award (Sanibel Island, FL)—billed revenue of 125% to plan

2003:  NSCAR Manager of the Year Award—based on sold & billed revenue, and reps promoted

2003:  Gold Leaf award—based on billed revenue of 150% as a Manager

2003:  Triumph Award—based on billed office revenue over quota

2003:  Ace Award—based on sold office revenue over quota

2001:  Birchievers Presidents Club Award (Château Élan, GA)—billed within top 10% of company

2001:  Breaking the Bank Award—based billed office revenue—top office in company 3^rd quarter

2001:  Power Player Award—based on sold office revenue—top office in company 4 months

2000:  Birchievers Presidents Club Award (Kansas City, MO)—highest billed AE revenue

2000:  Quota Club status—11 consecutive sales months over 100% to quota

2000:  Premier Club award—for billing the entire annual quota by the month of September

2000:  Gold Leaf award—based on billed revenue of 150% as an Account Executive

2000:  Top Hat award—for highest sold revenue in 3^rd Quarter

2000:  Fast Start award—for exceeding $10K in billed revenue during first 3 months of employment