John Walters
Basingstoke,Hampshire
Summary
Talented and reliable results driven sales professional with 20+ years expertise in Channel development and leadership skills. Demonstrating a strong ability to foster empathy and build meaningful connections, ensuring effective collaboration for win-win outcomes. A keen interest in technology and problem solving has helped many organisations and individuals realise their ambitions and more efficient ways of working.
Overview
2025
2025
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification
Work History
Network Security & SD-WAN Sales Specialist
Virtual1 (now PlatformX Communications)
01.2021 - Current
- Promoted to establish a sales proposition for Firewall & SD-WAN managed service in readiness for growing market opportunity and to reduce churn risk in legacy connectivity estates
- Collaborative engagement across Virtual1 - Product, Commercial, Pre-Sales, Engineering and Support – and with Fortinet to structure requirements and create internal and external supporting collateral.
- Working with key Partners (Resellers and Service Providers) to qualify opportunities and attending and influencing meetings including with End Customers or Prospects.
- Evolving content creation and delivery of training for internal and external customers and presenting at industry events and webinars.
- Identifying market insight and collating feedback for product and process improvement. Integral member of an internal strategic forum, providing guidance to business analysts on planning priorities for roadmap resource and automation.
- Scoping business plans with Partners aspiring to create their own MSP value-add multi-tenancy platforms for Fortinet-based services.
- FY25 performance for recurring revenue and margin at 88% (Billing value 31 Dec '24).
Head of Reseller
Virtual1
04.2018 - 01.2021
- Responsible for 300+ Resellers & smaller SPs. Achieved YoY average 103% performance of new business annual recurring margin and revenue retention targets through upsell initiatives.
- Recruited and trained 5 new Account Owners. Plus, 2 Partner Campaign Executives and later promoted to Desk Based AM roles.
- Worked with BAs on PowerBI reporting to monitor trends. Created customer tiers in Salesforce CRM with strategies for Activate, Optimise, Reactivate and underpinned with Defend methodologies.
- Implemented a Partner Profile with structured Call Out activity to ensure we understood customer needs and gained valuable competitor insight to adjust sales strategies as required.
- During Covid-19, applied team-building initiatives to keep people connected and engaged. Also designed and delivered, with collaborative input from Pre-Sales, a series of online Technical Education sessions for Team continuous learning.
Regional Sales Manager (Reseller Sales)
Virtual1
04.2017 - 03.2018
- Responsible for structure and development of new territory-based Sales team.
- Input to marketing campaign storybooks delivered with well executed sales initiatives to a support network expansion programme and Software Defined Networking launch resulted in new business sales performance of 108%.
- Appointed to Virtual1 Management Team.
Head of Strategic Accounts
Virtual1
04.2016 - 03.2017
- A challenging Player-Manager role, retaining 2 key accounts personally and a team of 3 sales persons to inspire and mentor.
- Blended performance for new business was 92%.
- Segmented and evaluated the account base and restructured into Reseller Sales and Carrier Sales.
Account Director
Virtual1
08.2011 - 04.2016
- Grasped the opportunity to influence the Channel with disruptive technology, and set about networking, influencing, and supporting Reseller Partners to differentiate and win value-add managed network solutions.
- Whilst consistently over-achieving sales targets YoY, also identified ways to implement structured processes for scalable growth.
- Contributed collaborative effort to win successive industry awards and establish a presence at Comms Business and Comms Dealer events in particular.
Channel Sales Manager
Viatel UK (acquired by MDNX)
01.2006 - 08.2011
- Consistent high performance rewarded with responsibility for Strategic Reseller top 5 accounts development, focusing on value-add MPLS solutions.
- Created go-to-market strategies, sales storyboards, infamous white-board training sessions, and initiated collaborative support groups.
Channel Manager
Netkonect Communications
02.2001 - 12.2005
- Promoted from Account Manager. Selling Reseller Web Hosting Packs, Domain Names, and Managed Servers in Docklands.
Previous Employment
Insurance Industry (1991-2001)
- A-Plan Insurance
- Derek E. Cummings (Lloyd's Broker)
- Endsleigh Insurance Services
Previous employment
Hospitality Industry (1986-1990)
- Old Thorns Golf & Country Club
- Whitewater House Restaurant
Education
ACII -
Chartered Insurance Institute
/1994 - /1998
Catering Theory & Practical 706 1&2 -
Farnborough Technical College
/1987 - /1988
O-Levels -
Frensham Heights School
/1981 - /1986
Skills
- Proactive thinking
- Influential communicator
- Relationship-building
- Stakeholder engagement
- Sales strategy development
- Persuasive presentations
- Consultative selling
- Sales forecasting accuracy
Affiliations
- Basingstoke Park Run & training for London Marathon 2025
- Motorcycling, MotoGP, & Farnham RUFC
- Gardening & Power Tools, Music, Reading & Podcasts
- Travel, Cookery & Entertaining
Certification
During Virtual1 employment:
- Fortinet NSE1, NSE2 & NSE3
- Acronis CyberFit Cloud Sales Foundation
- Institute of Sales Professionals (Alate Sales Alumni)
- Miller Heimann, Effective Partner Planning
- MC3 Best Companies
- i2i People Management
References
References available upon request.
Timeline
Network Security & SD-WAN Sales Specialist
Virtual1 (now PlatformX Communications)
01.2021 - Current
Head of Reseller
Virtual1
04.2018 - 01.2021
Regional Sales Manager (Reseller Sales)
Virtual1
04.2017 - 03.2018
Head of Strategic Accounts
Virtual1
04.2016 - 03.2017
Account Director
Virtual1
08.2011 - 04.2016
Channel Sales Manager
Viatel UK (acquired by MDNX)
01.2006 - 08.2011
Channel Manager
Netkonect Communications
02.2001 - 12.2005
Previous Employment
Insurance Industry (1991-2001)
Previous employment
Hospitality Industry (1986-1990)
ACII -
Chartered Insurance Institute
/1994 - /1998
Catering Theory & Practical 706 1&2 -
Farnborough Technical College
/1987 - /1988
O-Levels -
Frensham Heights School
/1981 - /1986
Similar Profiles
Sandeep JayaprakashSandeep Jayaprakash
Pre-Sales Consultant Network Solutions at PlatformX- TalkTalk GroupPre-Sales Consultant Network Solutions at PlatformX- TalkTalk Group
John LittonJohn Litton
Consumer Sales Associate at Verizon Communications/Frontier CommunicationsConsumer Sales Associate at Verizon Communications/Frontier Communications
Joel HenryJoel Henry
Independent Contractor at Cox Communications, DirecTV, Frontier CommunicationsIndependent Contractor at Cox Communications, DirecTV, Frontier Communications
Stacey WhitingStacey Whiting
Placement Coordinator at Probation ServicePlacement Coordinator at Probation Service
Harvey HodgkinHarvey Hodgkin
Maintenance Labourer at Complete Contract Services LtdMaintenance Labourer at Complete Contract Services Ltd