How M-Files Built Its UK Sales Team with Executive Search

When M-Files launched its UK operation in 2014, the company faced a common challenge for international SaaS businesses: how do you attract experienced sales professionals when your brand is virtually unknown in a new market? Appointed on an exclusive basis, Oakstone International partnered with M-Files to build its UK commercial team, positioning the company's vision, culture and long-term growth opportunity to passive candidates. The result was a high-performing team with 100% executive retention that consistently exceeded sales targets.

Project Snapshot

• Exclusive executive search partner

• Built the UK sales team from scratch

• 100% executive retention

• UK launch in 2014

• Sales team exceeded targets year after year

• Supported international growth

Company Background

Requirements

Oakstone’s Solution

Benefits

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Company Background

M-Files has been named as the only vendor to appear as a Visionary in Gartner’s 2016 Magic Quadrant for Enterprise Content Management (ECM).

With Series B funding of €33 million, M-Files is “disrupting the ECM market by eliminating information silos and providing quick and easy access to the right content from any core business system and device.”

The benefits of its technology include very low implementation times and high user adoption rates.

Requirements

In 2014 M-Files launched its UK operation following significant success in the US. However, it was almost unknown in the UK at the time and needed to build a team from scratch.

The difficulty was in attracting top talent to a company that was unproven in the UK market.

Oakstone's Solution

M-Files approached Oakstone International on an exclusive basis.

Oakstone worked hard to understand the client’s hiring requirements and also to convey the right messaging for the company.

We helped candidates to understand the client’s value proposition, its differentiators, market potential, company culture and working environment.

Benefits

M-Files has:

• Enjoyed 100 per cent retention of the executives sourced by Oakstone

• Built a sales team that has over-achieved its targets in the UK each year.

• Has experienced strong sales growth in 2015 and 2016, outpacing its industry peers.

The company has reported strong revenue growth in all three of its main geographic regions: the USA, Europe and Asia. Demand for cloud-based solutions has surged.

“Oakstone has consistently introduced great candidates to me over the years for a variety of sales and consulting roles. They genuinely try to match candidates to roles where there is a good mutual fit which makes the recruitment and hiring process easier and more rewarding for both parties. I certainly trust and value Oakstone’s input during the search process, whatever the role or circumstances”

— Julian Cook, M-Files VP of UK Business

More about Oakstone and M-Files

• Why is hiring difficult when a SaaS company is unknown in the UK market?

  When a SaaS company is new to the UK, candidates may be unfamiliar with its product, leadership, or long-term opportunity. Attracting top talent requires a compelling value proposition, clear growth narrative, and trusted recruitment representation.

• How does storytelling and positioning impact executive hiring success?

  Clear positioning and story telling helps candidates understand why a company and their opportunity is attractive. This also give evidence of product credibility, leadership style and visions as well as market and career potential.

• Why is retention an important measure of hiring success?

  High retention indicates strong candidate fit, cultural alignment, and long-term hiring quality. In M-Files’ case, executive hires remained with the business and contributed directly to sustained growth.

I’m Hiring

Oakstone International are a specialised SaaS executive search and recruitment firm assisting companies globally. If you are looking for executive search assistance or would like to speak to a Divisional Director about future hiring assistance in EMEA, the US or APAC, contact Oakstone.

I’m Job Seeking

As a SaaS client-driven firm, we work exclusively for clients to find people with a specific set of skills and experience.

However, if you would like to submit your CV, it will be passed on to our divisional directors, and we will consider you for future roles that are appropriate to your background and goals.