Telcordia Impact Players:
Christopher Smith

Ask Christopher Smith for the reason behind his success, and you may be surprised by his response.

"People just like talking to an Australian," he laughs.

Of course Chris is joking. But his quip is an insight into how he has excelled in a job that requires him to know not only what he's talking about from top to bottom and front to back, but also how to talk about it in a way that puts his customers at ease. It's a unique skill that has helped him navigate a complex array of cultures, countries, and customs to sell and implement Telcordia OSS systems in Tier 1 customers around the world.

In fact, for someone with such a gift for understanding a diverse customer base, you'd never guess that Chris was raised on an island. Although it probably helps that it was the world's biggest island.

"Growing up in Australia was great," Chris reminisces. "Great weather. Great place to surf."

It was there that Chris received an honors degree in Electrical Engineering, as well as an MBA, from the University of New South Wales, and got his start working as a hardware designer at Alcatel. But, sensing Chris's unique aptitude for understanding and interacting with customers, his employers encouraged his transition to software and systems engineering. From there, he established a reputation as a man comfortable inhabiting the headspace of his end users. Today, Chris lives in Great Britain where he leads Telcordia's OSS technical sales activities in EMEA and Asia Pacific, and manages a team of solutions engineers. Together, they create for their clients customized solutions based on Telcordia's Elementive product portfolio.

Chris explains the basis of solutions engineering: "I look at my customers, and take all that they understand about their jobs, and how their jobs relate to everyone else's jobs. Then I determine how I can turn that knowledge into a technical solution that can be sold and delivered."

Since Chris and his team cover such a large and diverse region, they must discover new ways to apply this approach each day – a skill recently put to the test while working with a prominent customer in the Middle East.

Says Chris, "This customer's existing software was old, and they had to upgrade it. We had to convince them that, for the same money, they could migrate, and they'd be better off in the long run. It was a delicate process and it took us a year. First we had to convince the system integrator that our product was technically suitable and would make them money. But it wasn't just about selling them the product. We had to get them to where they could sell it to their end customers."

One of the most important components to success is building trust and confidence early on. And that's when Chris is especially grateful for his team.

"My team is just a fabulous bunch. It takes a special person to step off of a 20-hour flight, walk into a meeting with people they've never met before, and exude confidence, energy and expertise," says Chris. "The customer notices things like that right off the bat. From there, they form some of their most important impressions."

Chris continues praising his team. "They really are a rare beast in their industry; they're deeply technical, but also incredibly personable. They're brilliant people, with wonderful personalities."

Perhaps one of his team's greatest attributes is their capacity for cultural sensitivity. "On any given day, we could be meeting with Arab customers, German customers, Italian customers, and so on," Chris explains. "You have to understand their culture and customs. For example, the Middle East is one of our biggest growth areas. And there, work hours are from seven to three, with no lunch. Weekends are Thursdays and Fridays. If you're there during Ramadan, nothing is passing between your lips from sun up to sun down. You need to show a deep respect for all these customs if you hope to create relationships."

These challenges are why Chris loves what he does. Because, as he sums it up, "In the end, people only buy from people."

All accents aside, Chris understands that's the true key to Telcordia's global success.