Josef Hans Lara, VP of Business Development at Elantis, shines bright in the spotlight this month. His career path in IT started in Spain, where he sold hardware and software distribution. After moving to Canada, Josef became more specialized in selling software services and now leads a sales team that is driven by long-term relationships with clients. In this interview, Josef shares how he stays on top of his game in the fast-paced world of IT. He also shares some insights into his exciting role in solution sales and how he contributed to Elantis’ growth over the past four years.
Andrea Nwobosi: Tell me about your career path and how you got to where you are today.
Josef Hans Lara: Like many people, I never thought about getting into the IT industry early on. So, I went to university to study political science and I worked in real estate. One thing led to another, and I started at a company that was selling hardware and software distribution in Spain. That’s when I started to get into the IT industry. I got to know the components of computers and software and from there, I moved to Canada and got another technology job. Back in the day, I sold software to all of North America for a company called PC Mall. After that, I started doing licensing sales for a company called Acrodex and from there, I worked at Long View Systems, where I met Dave, who is now the CEO of Elantis. I became more specialized in selling software as well as services. After that, I joined Elantis and I’m now selling our solutions and services regarding configuring and developing no code solutions.
Andrea: Could you describe for us what a typical day looks like for you here at Elantis?
Josef: My responsibility at Elantis is for the sales team and I to bring in revenue. We start by looking at the numbers: where are we regarding our goals and what we need to do to achieve them. In terms of client satisfaction and account management, we make sure we are aligned with what our clients are looking for and what they need. We also look at what the market is soliciting regarding services.
I also manage vendor relations, so I have discussions with our primary vendors—Microsoft, Nintex, and others—with regards to their business propositions and being in alignment with their needs. So, every day is busy because we are looking to send proposals and obtain and qualify opportunities. The sales team navigates the waters between a problem and a solution. That’s how we spend most of our days: finding solutions to our clients’ problems.
Account management takes a big role as well in keeping the clients happy and keeping the projects active. We don’t do development in sales, but what we do is represent Elantis in front of the customers and at the same time, we represent them [the customers] in front of our development team.
So, my typical day varies between internal meetings as well as client-facing meetings. On some occasions, travel is required for events in order to generate new leads for opportunities.
Andrea: What is your favourite part of your role at Elantis? What are you most passionate about?
Josef: I really like the moments when we can provide a solution to a problem. The magic happens when we are savvy enough and intelligent enough to say, “OK, you have that problem, this is the way we have solved it.” Though I’m not a technical resource and I’m not as smart as other people at Elantis [ha ha], I’m able to speak eloquently about it and provide the confidence to our clients that we can do it.
My second favourite thing is when we achieve the goal of getting in partnership with a client: when we propose a project and we are all in alignment with timing, budget, and expectations. When we finalize the contractual agreement, that puts us in partnership with the client. So that’s also a very good moment.
Andrea: What sparked your interest, not just in technology, but in sales and your whole sales career? Was there someone who influenced you when you were younger or earlier on in your career? Or did you just find this career path on your own?
Josef: I think when I wanted to have a job, I realized that I have an ability to connect with people. So basically, that was what drove me into having a sales role. From there, it just takes off, right? If you are able to connect with people and can successfully navigate a sales cycle, it comes naturally. You have to have the ability to not only connect with people but to listen for what they are looking for. So, I have always been navigating through the sales world, and in different roles, including direct to enterprise customers as well as channel sales. There are different tiers of sales positions; I think I have been in all of them. In my career, I have sold products as well as services.
One important thing in the IT industry is that it’s so fast moving that you have to learn new things often. I did specializations and certifications on top of licensing for many vendors, which was one of the differentiators that I brought into my roles. I was able to speak to the contractual agreements’ terms and conditions of large software agreements and I was able to understand what the technology I was selling did. When you match the knowledge of what you’re selling and the benefits it has, with all the contractual agreement terms and conditions, with knowing how budgets are decided, and knowing how people connect the dots between the legal parts of technology, the budget, and the revenue—it makes the whole thing very different as an experience in selling solutions. Then you understand everything that happens behind the scenes. I think those are some of the differences I have provided in my career path to Elantis.
Andrea: You mentioned how technology changes so quickly and that you need to stay on top of it. What are some other ways, in addition to obtaining certifications, that you stay ahead of the curve and stay on top of these changes that come your way?
Josef: You need to read, you need to listen, and you need to look for the right sources of information. Obviously, our vendor partners give us training. I research on my own what’s happening. I listen to clients telling me what they are observing. It is quite significant to keep the pace of what we are doing all the time because our clients don’t have the time either, right? So, if we make the time to get savvy about what’s next and what is working and not working, we’re able to advise our clients who are so busy with running their own businesses. We can become an ally for information. Salespeople can be informed about the latest technology and architects can help us understand if it’s too early, if it’s in its infancy, or if it’s consolidated and we can offer it. In my role, I don’t need to know it all, but I need to know enough of the direction where technology is headed.
Andrea: What attracted you to Elantis?
Josef: Well, definitely the friendship and partnership with Dave, our CEO. We worked together successfully before, and we’ve been in contact for many years. When Dave was moving Elantis from its infancy to more maturity, the project was pretty exciting and that’s what attracted me to Elantis.
Andrea: What has been your proudest moment in your career path so far?
Josef: There are a few. In my personal career, I won the national award for the best Microsoft partner. Due to my direct contribution that was significant, that opened all sorts of doors and connections that have been helpful for business since then. Growing Elantis’ business in the province of British Columbia was also a proud achievement. Now people don’t know if our headquarters are in Alberta or British Columbia since we have grown so much. There are other moments that maybe are not as spectacular that are extremely significant to me. For example, the first opportunity we had to work with a Fortune 100 client was an extremely satisfactory moment and opened the door for Elantis to work with other Fortune 100 clients. Now we can say we are a consulting company that works with very large enterprises, we have a proven way of doing it, and we are experienced at it. Crossing that threshold takes us as a company to a whole new level. It was driven by sales, so that’s one of my proudest moments.
Andrea: What is next for you in your career?
Josef: We have a plan to continue to grow and to work with great people on the sales team to create an engine of revenue that is based on long-term relationships with our clients. We work through relationships, and we are not here to just take a point solution, offer it, and move on. We develop relationships of trust as we go.
I believe that in the next few years, we’re going to open new markets. We have the plan to continue growing in the United States. We have the plan to continue growing our presence with large enterprises and Fortune 100 companies. It’s happening as we speak.
Then after that, I don’t know what the future holds. Fortunately, when I started four years ago up to this moment, more than what we couldn’t imagine has happened. The positive energy of these beginnings, these four years I’ve been here, it’s just a great base and foundation for the next five years. I believe that my dreams about Elantis’ growth and possibilities are too small, compared to the reality that is coming.
