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At MicroAge, our leaders empower a culture of collaboration to position team members across our organization for success. And our Sales leader, Tracey Hayes, MicroAge’s Vice President of Sales is no exception. Tracey joined MicroAge nearly three decades ago and has served in leadership positions throughout the company, from account development to product marketing to sales.
And with her three decades of Channel experience and Tracey at the helm, MicroAge has consistently been hailed on CRN’s Tech Elite 250 list, Solution Provider 500, and MSP 500 list. She’s also helped MicroAge make major strides in its 8x recognition as a Phoenix Business Journal Best Place to Work, carving out a sales-led company culture.
Building a thriving sales-driven culture to promote a stable and growing workplace even during the most uncertain times, we decided to ask Tracey who and what inspires her and how she came to lead at MicroAge and in a male-dominated Channel industry.
1. How did you make your start at MicroAge?
I started at MicroAge 28 years ago and tried out a variety of roles as I learned the industry and our business for deeper insights. As the Vice President of Sales here at MicroAge, a thriving and fast-growing IT solutions and services organization, I can do what drives me.
My personal mission at work is to help others realize and achieve their goals. From partnering with Human Resources to build an award-winning company culture—a Phoenix Business Journal Best Place to Work for eight years—to helping MicroAge account executives discover brighter futures while making a positive difference for our clients to helping some of them grow into sales leadership positions—servant leadership anchors my day-to-day role. Beyond job descriptions and KPIs, making an impact matters to me. I chair MicroAge’s ActTogether initiatives—a program dedicated to helping MicroAgers across the country give back to local and national non-profits and critical causes. I also lead our Client Excellence committee to continue leveling up the MicroAge client experience and our commitment to excellence.
2. Who motivated you at the start of your professional journey?
I grew up with a strong trailblazer of a mother paving the way ahead without a dated mindset on being limited as a woman to achieving only your family or professional goals. She raised all four of us, completed her Ph.D., and led organizational development as a vice president at a local hospital.
Like my mother, today I lead in a male-dominated industry at an organization that’s continued its relentless growth during the most unprecedented and uncertain times. I’ve also raised three successful children, now all bright, capable adults, and have been married for 30 years. These are my proudest achievements.
3. What has your career and ascension to leadership taught you about work-life balance?
The truth is no one should have to decide between building a career they love and showing up for the people they love. That focus on giving others space to put their families first has been a constant in my career. I’m proud to say that it’s also a value shared among the executive team at MicroAge.
We want to see our account executives succeeding both in and outside of work—they know this. That’s one of the main reasons we have one of the industry’s highest employee retention rates. We put our MicroAge team members and their families first.
4. How have you been able to create powerful momentum as the Vice President of Sales at MicroAge?
MicroAge is a sales-driven organization. Our technology sales professionals are our front-line representatives, helping our clients find intelligent solutions to accelerate, transform, and secure their organizations in a disruptive and constantly changing market. As a servant leader, I have focused on tailoring our management approach to our account executives who drive our success versus the other way around. Our sales-first strategy and culture have been a standout differentiator in a competitive marketplace, wherein good talent is tougher and tougher to come by. We listen to our technology sales account executives, give them the autonomy to build their book of business without regional territory restrictions or industry barriers, and actively partner and collaborate with marketing to provide hands-on support.
Being at a technology company, we know that now more than ever, the only constant is change. MicroAge account executives can get certified with leading industry partners and take internal courses for a deeper understanding of the latest technologies and their clients’ evolving challenges and needs. I partner with L&D to ensure we’re providing and rewarding continuing education.
5. As the Vice President of Sales at MicroAge, how do you help your business stand out from other total technology solution providers and managed service providers (MSPs)?
With too many managed service providers, meaningful client relationships get lost in the shuffle. At the average MSP, once a client is signed, they are just a number. At MicroAge, we coach our technology sales executives to be relationship-focused. Our entire organization follows a client-first approach, with 24/7 support for our service clients. MicroAge sales executives and support staff do what it takes to help clients achieve their business technology goals.
Most of our clients are on a first-name basis with their MicroAge account executive. They know that all of us at MicroAge are looking out for them. There’s no gimmick or sales strategy better than actually caring and continually helping new and existing clients find more value through intelligent approaches. That’s what we do in technology sales at MicroAge—every day.
Discover a better approach to Technology Sales at MicroAge.
At MicroAge, we’re proud to have been recognized as a Phoenix Business Journal Best Place to Work 8x thanks to our associates regularly sharing their feedback; more on that here. We are continually growing to meet client demand across our expanding services and solutions portfolio. Explore our open positions.
