Santiago Escobar leads Latin American channel management and strategy for Medtronic, the largest medical device manufacturer in the region, with more than 450 distributors in 40 countries. He spoke with us about his experience attending Harvard Business School (HBS) Executive Education's Managing Sales Teams and Distribution Channels program.
For two years, I had been searching for an executive education program that could help me strengthen my channel management capabilities and hear different perspectives from managers in other industries on how they manage their sales. I finally found this program on the HBS Executive Education website, and after reading the description I immediately realized it matched my needs perfectly.
Although it might sound simple, turning the book around when developing our channel strategy and putting the customer on page one was the biggest takeaway for me. It's common practice to look at what is best for our own companies, but in reality we need to focus on what is best for our customers, and then modify our companies to deliver.
It's always helpful for me to open my mind to new ideas. This program gave me a broader perspective on how executives in other industries manage their sales process.
The living group was a great experience—it kept us all completely focused on the program. Also, the smaller meetings at the beginning of the day were key to ensuring we had all the material prepared and clear ideas to discuss in the larger classroom.
I was impressed by how well organized everything was, and how the agenda ensured we had time to study and also time to network and build new relationships with the other participants.
The program allows you to learn from a diverse pool of people who have broad experience, led by great scholars who at the same time are well versed in the latest trends of the sales environment. This is a great investment, not only for the content of the program, but also for the quality of contacts you develop in such a close environment.