A solutions specialist establishes and maintains contact with clients to determine what software or product best suits their needs. As a solutions specialist, you collaborate with the sales team to develop goals and strategies.
You utilise sales leads to call potential clients and provide information and answer questions about your company’s software products. You need to be knowledgeable of how the software can help the client become more productive and efficient and respond to client objections.
The career path of a Solutions Specialist often begins with a strong educational background, such as a bachelor's degree in a relevant field like business, technology or engineering. However, Solutions Specialists don’t necessarily need a bachelor’s degree, as some employers will only require a combination of software and customer service experience. Those who pursue higher education generally obtain a degree in communication or business. Solutions Specialists are problem-solvers who can multitask and deliver exceptional customer-facing communication.
Languages
Physical Sciences
Infomation Technonolgy
University of Johannesburg
BCom in Information Systems
University of Pretoria
BCom (Informatics) Focus Area: Information Systems
University of Johannesburg
BSc in Information Technology
The Information Technology Association of South Africa - www.ita.org.za
Internet Society of South Africa - www.isoc.org.za
Why did you choose this career?
I’ve always had an analytical personality and a strong interest in tech. The company culture is what sold me on this job with this specific company.
What is it that you do?
We are a Monday.com (a SaaS platform) partner that builds business solutions (such as CRMs and Project Management workflows) for small to medium businesses.
What training did you undergo?
The platform is very user friendly, and no formal training is required. However, to provide these professional services to clients one does need to complete certain certifications specific to the platform.
Describe a typical day
It starts with a morning meeting brainstorming the problems with our projects. The rest of the day is filled with solution building and client meetings. We cap off each day with a call to plan for the next day and share our progress.
What do you enjoy most?
The problem solving is what gets me excited to go to work every day and it helps that my colleagues are just fabulous.
What don’t you like?
Working remotely means attending lots of online meetings. The difference between these calls and in person meetings is that there is rarely a breather. As soon as you finish one call you start another. It’s mentally very strenuous.
Any hurdles you’ve had to overcome?
Adapting to remote work and maintaining constant strict self-discipline when you are essentially working by yourself.
What’s been the highlight?
The clients that have become actual friends despite never even having met them in person.
What are your future goals?
My goal is to provide such unique and robust solutions to our clients that we become the industry leader in professional services for the Monday.com platform.
Is experience as important as formal training?
No. Experience does help but is not essential. Due to the nature of what we do we are always confronted with new and unique problems to solve. No amount of experience will make that go away.
Is there a type of personality best suited to this work?
Critical thinking is very important. You need to be able to see the pros and cons for every choice you make in building a solution for a client.
What advice would you give to someone starting out?
Think outside of the box. Accept that you will always be learning and stay hungry for knowledge.
Your job in three words
Professional problem solving.
Interview date: May 2024