Mark Braxton (Poly)
Kickstarting his career in car sales and then pivoting into the police force as a crime scene examiner, Poly A/NZ distribution director Mark Braxton made tracks back into a sales career with NSC selling Panasonic’s critical systems to SMBs. Since joining Poly 15 years ago, Braxton has held several management roles across the region and shares his advice on being cautious of the unintended consequences of our actions.
What was your first job?
As an avid fan of cars, I landed my dream job as a fleet sales cadet at City Ford, Crown Street Sydney. There I had the opportunity to learn the fundamentals of sales and marketing from several smart people. It was a foundational role that provided me with the professional skills to further my career.
How did you get started in the IT industry and progress to where you are today?
After completing my cadetship, I decided to try something different and joined the NSW police force where I became a crime scene examiner.
Ten years later, I returned to my first calling – sales. I joined North Shore Connections (later known as NSC), where I started selling Panasonic’s key systems to SMBs. Subsequently, I progressed to selling Fujitsu and Lucent (now Avaya) PABX telephony and call centre solutions to enterprise and government customers. I later moved on to another channel sales role selling Nortel and Alcatel telephony call centre solutions.
In 2008, I joined Poly – which was Polycom at the time – as a channel account manager. I have been with the company for 15 years now and have held several management roles in sales operations and channels across A/NZ, Japan and Korea.
What are some of your plans for Poly in the coming months?
As the world begins to learn to 'live with COVID-19', our team is very much focused on continuing to help businesses navigate their way through the future of work – whether that be a successful return to the office, adopting a hybrid work model, or going fully remote.
We are committed to working with our channel partners to deliver the right solutions for our A/NZ customers, powering them with the right tools and technology for the modern workplace.
What has been your biggest business mistake, and the lessons you've learnt from that experience?
Earlier in my career, I had the opportunity to learn one of the greatest business lessons – to listen carefully and ask for feedback. The ability to know and understand customers is crucial in building trust and deepening relationships. Asking for feedback helps you to understand your customers and their needs better.
What are some of your ambitions – personally and professionally?
Looking forward, I am very eager to learn more and contribute to the company’s continued success. I am also determined to drive long-term growth and strengthen our position in the A/NZ market by building and bolstering our relationships with channel partners, alliances, and customers, as we continue to find better ways to deliver seamless collaboration experiences in the hybrid work era.
From a personal perspective, I am committed to lifelong learning. It's important to me to acquire new skills and knowledge for continued self-improvement professionally and personally.
What has been the best piece of advice you've ever received?
To be always cautious of the unintended consequences of our actions.
