Engaged Search Results 1, 2

Search Challenge
Defend Net; an East Coast venture funded start up had developed a timely network security solution for Telco and Mission Critical environments. They had a much needed product but only a limited window to bring it to market ahead of potential competitors. Thompson Associates was engaged to build a national team of Regional Sales Managers and Sales Engineers. Hiring the team quickly was critical, but the Management of Defend Net also recognized the importance of building the best team possible up front to insure future competitive advantage as others entered the market place.

Thompson Associates Solution
The search team selected recognized the need to recruit a team that could fulfill the immediate revenue and marketing needs as well as provide the depth to sustain long term growth needs as the company matured. They spent the time necessary with the client team to understand and identify what would need to be done by each of the Sales/Sales engineer to be hired to meet Defend Net's short and long term sales goals. A detailed list of key benchmarks to be accomplished was created. A script was created to market the Defend net opportunity. Next, the search team spent more time up front building a target list of the best candidates before any calls were made. Finally, an intense phone campaign was waged to bring candidates to the table and move them through the process quickly.

Search Results
The detailed planning and time spent initially paid off as the positions were filled with high quality candidates in a very favorable time frame. With few exceptions, the top players who were initially targeted were successfully contacted and many were subsequently hired.

	"Thompson Associates is unique in that they have developed and applied with great success the same techniques and methods to finding front line talent as are traditionally found only at retained firms on senior executive search." When we built out our national sales and sales engineer team, they spent time consulting with us up front, working with us to put together detailed search profiles that included not only what we were looking for in candidates but also thoughtful, critical benchmarks such as what needed to be accomplished in the first 12 to 18 months by each individual. Then they worked with us to systematically identify which companies would have the candidates we wanted and identified in advance who all the possibilities were. We knew before they even started calling, that in the end, they would have talked to nearly every candidate available, not just the ones they had in their database that were out of work at the moment. We also knew the candidates they provided would likely be employed now, and would not be "shopped around" to our competitors. Finally, they did a great job of presenting our company and our opportunity professionally and consistently every time. We were well thought of and respected by all the candidates we interviewed before we ever talked to them. In the long run, we paid the same fee we would have to a contingency firm, but received more highly qualified candidates in a shorter period of time. We know we have a major leg up over the competition by having the best in the business on our team"
	Tony Despirto, VP Sales Defend Net