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▮OVERVIEW
▮OVERVIEW
Role: Role: Strategic Program Lead, AI & Analytics
Timeline: 90-Day Strategic Rollout
Scope: Global AI & Analytics Business Unit
▮IMPACT
▮IMPACT
+30% average quarterly deal volume
600 non-specialist sellers active in AI deals
Level 3 Operational Alignment achieved
" You got all of this done in less than 90 days? Well, good for us! It's about time we had proper playbooks and training to sell AI "
" You got all of this done in less than 90 days? Well, good for us! It's about time we had proper playbooks and training to sell AI "
-Kirsten Nelson, Sr Strategist, Customer Engagement
-Kirsten Nelson, Sr Strategist, Customer Engagement
▮Solving "Data Architecture Gridlock"
▮Solving "Data Architecture Gridlock"
Belief: We believed stagnant segment engagement was an "awareness" deficit solvable through increased messaging volume centered on infrastructure performance.
Break: Messaging failed to convert because 72% of buyers were blocked by "data architecture gridlock," rendering hardware-centric speed claims irrelevant to their core pain.
Shift: Pivoted from an "Infrastructure-First" to an "Outcome-First" strategy, de-prioritizing broad awareness to focus on vertical value translation and buyer journey completion.
Full Campaign Overview Click HERE
▮CORE OUTCOMES
▮CORE OUTCOMES
Increased average quarterly deal volume by 30% within two quarters, growing from 75 to 97 deals
Expanded non-specialist seller participation by 112%, scaling active coverage from 283 to 600 personnel.
Despite increased number of deals per quarter, maintained average revenue and margin
▮HOW WE DID IT
▮HOW WE DID IT
MISSION CONTEXT
The NetApp AI & Analytics Division was tasked with capturing market share during a period of exponential acceleration, targeting a projected trillion global business value.
THE DIAGNOSTIC
Market perception lagged technical reality because internal teams optimized for infrastructure specs while buyers demanded answers to critical "data-gap" hurdles like complexity and poor integration.
THE STRATEGY SHIFT
Established a "Level 3 Operational Alignment" mandate, unifying sales and marketing systems to prioritize high-fidelity buyer journey progression over generic lead volume.
▮KEY Decisions
▮KEY Decisions
Prioritizing "Value Translation" over "Awareness": Recognized that the primary growth bottleneck was not a lack of market visibility, but a failure to translate technical infrastructure specs into business-critical AI outcomes.
"Slowing the Message to Speed Execution": Intentionally delayed the global rollout to enforce "Level 3 Operational Alignment," ensuring sales and marketing shared the same data systems and qualification rules before scaling.
Validation via MVP Iteration: Mitigated global rollout risk by building and testing two Minimum Viable Product (MVP) iterations with select teams to refine the narrative before full-scale deployment.
Cutting through B2B Noise: Approved unconventional, humorous creative concepts (e.g., "Aardvark Island?") to challenge the status quo and effectively differentiate the brand in a saturated AI marketing landscape.
▮PROGRAM ARTIFACTS
▮PROGRAM ARTIFACTS
▮The Team
▮The Team
Executive Sponsor: Phil Brotherton - VP Cloud Solutions
Program Owner: Michael Grant - AI Strategist and Program Owner
Subject Matter Experts:
Mark Cates, Sr Product Marketing Manager
Mike Oglesby, Sr. Software Engineer, AI/ML Solutions
Vicki Chown - Campaign Manager
Rashmi Mishra Singh - Learning Development
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