Evan Schuman's StorefrontBacktalk

Franchisee Columnist Todd Michaud has spent the last 16 years trying to fight IT issues, with the last six years focused on franchisee IT issues. He is currently responsible for IT at Focus Brands (Cinnabon, Carvel, Schlotzsky’s and Moe’s Southwestern Grill).

If I had to name just one quality that I thought made franchise CIOs successful, I would say “sales prowess.” You read that right, I said sales. The best technology in the world will not be implemented unless a whole bunch of people are “sold” on the idea first. I believe that my experience in sales plays a much larger role in my current position than my background in technology. I doubt that I would even be in this role if it weren’t for spending hundreds of meetings in front of potential clients.

Getting new technology approved in a franchise system can be extremely difficult (unless, of course, it is mandated by compliance, regulations or the CEO). There are a whole lot of “chiefs” who need to be convinced that this is the right thing. Each one has different needs, different agendas, different backgrounds and different communication styles. The CIO must “run the gauntlet” if she wants her project to see the light of day. Any misstep in this process can doom a great project.

Let’s say that you are the CEO of a midsize retail franchise chain and that your CIO has just suddenly retired to a bungalow in Bora Bora. You have done your search and have narrowed it down to two candidates to fill the role.

One of the candidates (let’s call him Mark) has worked his way up through the IT ranks over the years: starting as a helpdesk technician, moving into system administration and then application development, and most recently leading an 80-person IT team for a large manufacturing client.

The other candidate (let’s call her Carla) has been in technology sales for her entire career. She started in account management, moved to account executive and has recently overseen a sales team for an IT application company that produced $50 million in revenue.

So all else being equal, who should you chose? Carla. That is not even a tough decision. Carla knows technology and has proven that she can be successful when selling products and ideas. Mark may know technology better—and at a deeper level—but, at the highest level of the organization, that is less important than knowing how to interact with others.

I know there are several IT people reading this who are saying, “Hey, wait a minute! That’s not fair. You are supposed to put in your time, pay your dues and climb the ladder. Pulling a sales person in isn’t fair!”

Knowing technology is basically the entrance fee. I strongly believe that project management is the number-one skill to get you into middle management (manager and director) and that sales is the number-one skill to get you into an executive position. My advice to anyone looking to climb the ladder: Use multiple ladders. Make sure that you spend time managing projects and being involved in sales and marketing.

At an NRF panel earlier this month, McDonald’s CIO David Grooms was asked by the moderator what he would tell people his primary job is. Grooms said, “I’m in sales,” and then added that he wanted his staff to say, “We make hamburgers.”

So what do I mean by “sales”?