Alexander Cole

Critic
DISC Type : C

Category Manager - IT Sourcing at Best Buy

Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States

Overview

Alexander is an IT Sourcing Category Manager at Best Buy with experience in international manufacturing and managing multi-million dollar service agreements. He holds a degree from the University of Minnesota and a Certificate of Chinese Studies from Peking University, excelling at stakeholder engagement and building strategic partnerships.

Outside of work, Alexander identifies as a "musician in the office. " He is passionate about personal growth and makes it a resolution to learn something new every year, which recently led him to start playing the drums. He thrives on building relationships and helping others succeed.

He placed second in a Chinese as a Second Language speech competition at Peking University.

Personality Overview

Precise

Negotiator

ROI Driven

They prefer to do logical analysis and value evidence over emotions.  They enjoy working alone and do not rely on others very often. They are quite likely to negotiate on pricing or other key terms.

Topics They Care About

IT Sourcing
As a Category Manager at Best Buy, he is responsible for navigating multi-million dollar IT service agreements and buying opportunities.
Category Management
His career at Best Buy and UNFI has been focused on category specialization and management across retail, IT, and service categories.
Learning Music
Describes himself as a "musician in the office" and shared that he recently started learning how to play the drums as a New Year's resolution.

Media Appearances

Alexander has no verified media appearances

Work History

1-2023
Category Manager - IT Sourcing at Best Buy
2-2022 - 1-2023
Senior Category Specialist at Best Buy
2-2021 - 2-2022
Category Specialist at Best Buy
12-2019 - 10-2020
Merch & Sourcing Analyst at UNFI
7-2019 - 12-2019
Import Sales Specialist at UNFI

Education

2015 - 7-2016
Certificate of Chinese Studies from Peking University
2012 - 2015
B.A. in Political Science from University of Minnesota

More Information

Social Presence :

Prographics :

Exp : 12 Location : Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States Job Level : Middle Designation : Category Manager - IT Sourcing at Best Buy
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Insights For Selling To Alexander

During A Call Or A Meeting

DO's

  • Be ready to answer many clarity-seeking questions and requests for information
  • If you can, show them industry reports or analyst comments instead of sharing anecdotal stories
  • Be ready for penetrating questions and critical examination of your pitch

DONT's

  • Don't give superficial answers, they are easily rattled by them
  • Avoid pushing them too much to involve other stakeholders unless it is critical
  • Don’t rush them till they have clearly gotten all the necessary information

When Cold Calling

When Writing An Email

While Negotiating & Closing

    The secret to closing fast with Alexander is

  • Strong evidence of ROI, effective pricing, and proven data points matter the most to them.
  • Will you ever get a clear answer from Alexander

  • It is not very hard for them to say no if they are not convinced about the decision.

Insights For Deal Planning

    How fast (or slow) will Alexander move?

  • They are neither the fastest nor the slowest decision makers, they are somewhere in the middle.
  • Can Alexander take some risk or not?

  • They can bear some risk if their analysis backs the decision.

You And Alexander

Personality Compatibility


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