Exclusive interview with Josh Weiss

Logo & slogan at Globat.com

Meet Josh Weiss, Director of sales for Globat.com. He did more than survive the dotcom bubble burst; he thrived in the crisis, making a name for himself as one of the most dynamic men in the field of Internet business sales.

WDL: Please say a few words about yourself. What is your position at Globat?

Josh Weiss: I have been running winning sales teams in the hosting space for almost 10 years now. I was the National Director of Sales for 9netave.com, the #2 web hosting company in the world (at the time), which was sold to Concentric Networks for $64 Million in 2001. We hosted over 200 thousand web sites and registered over a half a million domains in 2 years. I am currently the Director of Sales for Globat.com.

WDL: What is Globat's history and current role in the Industry?

Josh Weiss: Globat.com was founded 3 years ago by web hosting veteran Ben Neumann. Together with his long time partner Chris Ueland, he spent the first year developing a hosting platform which could host web sites numbering in the hundreds of thousands. They quickly established a strong presence in the Budget Hosting space delivering quality hosting services at rock bottom prices.

WDL: What is your company's core focus and how is it related to your success?

Josh Weiss: Our core focus is service. Any one can rent some data center space and roll out some servers. The real difference is servicing the clients on a one on one basis. By offering free live support through a variety of venues we show our customers we feel that every web site they own is "Mission Critical" to us and we are dedicated to achieving whatever objectives they may have for the site. Some customers need less hand holding then others, but when they do need it service has to be there 24/7/365 and resolving issues need to be quick.

WDL: What are some of the other key ingredients for a successful hosting company?

Josh Weiss: A strong management team, a healthy infrastructure and patience lots of patience.

WDL: Elaborate on what you mean when you use the term 'healthy infrastructure' in context of the Web Hosting Industry.

Josh Weiss: First, the data center needs to be state of the art. Reliability and redundancy must be in place to avoid downtime and site interruptions. In addition, the internal applications for provisioning and billing need to be strong and reliable.

WDL: Let's talk about staff. Your sales employees are expected to participate in the Commission Junction Affiliate program. Can you tell us a little about this?

Josh Weiss: Globat like many other web-hosting companies rely on affiliate marketing for new business. We have thousands of affiliates referring business to us on a daily basis. Our affiliates are an extension to our sales team, are supported, and treated the same way.

WDL: What should a website owner know when choosing a hosting company?

Josh Weiss: A website owner should know one thing when choosing a web hosting company: Ultimately it is up to the site owner to know as much as possible about developing and managing a web site. I know this doesn’t sound like good marketing, but it's true. No matter how reliable and affordable a hosting company is and regardless of how much and fast the support is, a hosting company is simply a provider. Just like a landlord only supplies the square footage, it is up to the tenant to make the space successful according to whatever plans they may have.

WDL: What types of customers are going to be the most interested in your product?

Josh Weiss: Globat.com attracts a wide variety of customers. Our products and services encompass most levels of site requirements and our packages include features which could accommodate most of a site owner’s hosting needs.

WDL: You have wide experience in the IT business. If you hadn't worked in hosting services, where would you be today?

Josh Weiss: I began working at the age of 12 for my family in the Bakery Industry and at the age of 21 I sold my first bakery. You could say I went from Bagels to Bandwitdth. I also have a degree in psychology and I only need 2 years of education for a Masters in Social Work. I guess if I hadn't excelled in the IT business I would be involved in one of the two one way or another.

WDL: How does your degree in psychology come in handy when tackling sales and hiring new staff?

Josh Weiss: One of the most important elements in being a good psychologist is being a good listener. In sales, this is important in order to uncover what a prospect is looking for and knowing which service or product would best serve these needs. When hiring sales staff I always try to discover what the new hires personal goals are. Once I know this, I can help them to achieve these goals, which in turn helps my goals to be reached.

WDL: Thank you for your time.