Tell us a bit about yourself and what you're up to now
Started life as a learning support assistant and teach to special needs kids before making the pivot to B2B sales.
Spent time in an FX brokerage learning the craft and how to grind, before moving into tech sales with MuleSoft and moving through the ranks from BDR to strategic account executive. Now an account director at Salesforce working in financial services.
Outside of this, I spend my time watching and playing any sport I can and probably playing too many video games.
What was your journey into a career in Tech Sales
Being a teacher was great, and helped define my love of coaching and mentoring, but it wasn’t for me as a long term career, I wanted something else from life.
I went back to uni for a masters degree, where a module in B2B sales led me to want a career as an AE. After uni I spent some time learning the ropes and what was required to be successful in sales at an FX brokerage, which was a tough start to sales life but showed me that this was a career I truly wanted, as long as I was willing to put in the work and effort
I then moved into tech with MuleSoft and haven’t looked back.
What would you say are the best things about working in Tech Sales
Everyone’s going to say the obvious, which is the earning potential. That is definitely a major benefit, however there’s also so much more to tech sales. Having meaningful engagements with organisations and solving complex problems that touch billions of people in the world , being able to see the impact of my work, getting to support a large account team and having the freedom to organise my diary how I want are all incredible parts of a sales career
What advice would you give to someone who is just about to start their career in sales
One of my first CROs told me “The first year is going to be tough, but if you really want to learn and succeed you need to put yourself out there and lose some deals you really want”. This was the best advice I got, I learnt more from where I tried and made mistakes (and I made a lot of mistakes!) that taught me what not to do in the future.
Go out there, find a mentor, try different things to see what sales mentality and techniques work for you and just have a go. The worse thing that happens is the deal doesn’t happen, but there will always be another deal as long as you put the work in. And this time, learn from what happened and you will see yourself grow into a confident seller.
Why did you decide to join Tangent as a Mentor and why should others join as Mentors too
I’ve had so many people give their time and mentor me into the position I’m in. Now it’s my turn to pass on the knowledge to the next generation of BDRs and AEs. I love seeing people come from their nervous, first days of sales to grinding through the tough times to being successful, it brings me such joy and I’m super excited to work with those trying to break into this industry.
I’d say to those looking to join, you learn just as much being a mentor as you do being a mentee, and the only way to improve this profession and our own standing is to bring in and nurture the best talent from all areas. Not only for our own roles (i.e. moving from IC to RSD) but also for the industry as a whole
Ready to make a difference?
A few hours a month, a lifetime of impact. Tangent connects you with aspiring Business Development Reps from socially diverse backgrounds for short-term mentoring and an employee referral.
Sign up to be a Tangent Mentor today 👇
