Profile

I lead an organization of 300 sales and support people and am responsible for a multi-billion dollar sales quota for my client, a top 10 company on the Fortune 500 list. I spend a lot of time on building executive level relationships with clients to make sure their business needs are being met. I drive strategy and planning to develop initiatives and programs that will help us meet our business objectives. I get involved in sales forecast and pipeline management which is how we track sales to meet our sales goals. I lead and motivate our sales team and keep them enthused to execute successfully and hold them accountable to their goals. I also spend a lot of time on budget issues and financial analysis which helps me drive top-line revenue, while watching our bottom line.

I work in a cubicle in a corporate office building. There is a lot of “buzz” on the sales floor, you can always hear sales people on the floor, etc. It’s a fun environment because sales contests are always going on, bells ringing, activities, etc.

I work with executive C level people, building business relationships, setting strategy, talking high level industry trends, etc. I also have the opportunity to work with sales managers and reps at all levels, from those that are just starting their career in corporate America to seasoned industry veterans.

• I come to work, check my email, attend or facilitate a few conference calls, meetings or planning sessions
• I walk the sales floor, get an update or pulse on what’s going on, review if there are any issues or opportunities that need my attention.
• I spend a lot of time in meetings focused on our sales funnel – reviewing top deals, evaluating if we have enough in the pipeline to hit our number, spend time on deals that may need special attention, etc. I also meet with my management team to talk about the organization, strategic opportunities and areas for improvement and growth.
• Last part of my day may be meeting with partners or clients on top opportunities and strategic objectives.

• Relationship and networking skills – you have to be able to communicate at all levels
• Have to be a people person and somewhat extroverted
• Leadership skills - to be able to motivate and inspire your team and to get your sales people excited to sell
• Analytical skills - You need to understand basic finance information – how sales trends works, quota’s, how to analyze the numbers, etc.
• Strategy and planning – being able to watch industry trends, buying behaviors, being out in front of the issues, adjusting your focus of the organization as needed throughout the quarter – strategy, forethought and vision.
• Change management skills – The pace is very fast and you are constantly getting pulled away. You have to be able to manage multiple priorities and be able to change or shift priorities and focus on a dime without getting frazzled.

Typical office schedule is 8-5. I also then do a few hours in the evening at home and some weekend work. On average, I typically work 60-65 hours/week. I am attached to my Blackberry 24 x 7 to be able to respond to issues as appropriate.

Yes, 25% of the time. I travel to meet with partners, clients and 3rd party vendors. We also go to a lot of sales conferences which typically have fun activities at night. Because sales is so much about relationship building and reward, you get to participate in a lot of fun events. Example: Based on exceeding our goals, we had an incentive trip where sales reps and their channel partners were able to win an all expenses paid trip to Cancun.

I love the fast pace of my job. I like that I’m never bored, I never have a light agenda. I’m a “mover and shaker” type of a person so I like the variety and moving from topic to topic quickly. There’s always something to be done, there’s always a lot of exciting ideas – there’s nothing mundane.

Way too many meetings. Not enough time to focus on the really important things – spending more time with clients, reps, etc. The sales quota pressure can be challenging - I don’t mind the quota pressure, but every year goals keep getting tougher to hit in a very challenging environment and sometimes it can be exhausting.

Watching people grow and develop professionally. Seeing a team take on something monumentally huge but coming together, collaborating and working as a team to pull it off.

My mother. She was a single working mom, had a great work ethic and worked relentlessly to provide for us. I saw her as a very strong woman and it was during a time when not a lot of women worked.

I used to like things to be “perfect” and “right” and would get stressed when things didn’t go just so. Then I had a client and dear friend tell me not to sweat the small stuff – “We aren’t curing cancer” he said. That helped me to put work in perspective. Yes, we have to hit our goals but every problem has a solution, so just take it in stride. This advice has helped me become a better leader.

I have a gut instinct or “6th sense” for business and every time I follow that it serves me well. In those instances where I doubted myself and have let someone else talk me out of going with my “gut” – I have regretted it and wished I would have just listened to my instinct. I’ve had to learn that business isn’t 100% facts and figures. If you have enough relevant data and your instinct is telling you something, trust it.

You have 45-55 years to be in the job market – don’t feel in a huge rush to get through school and start making money. It’s okay to take time to get a higher education and spend time cultivating and learning, because you’ve got your whole life ahead of you to work. You can be anything you want – take the time to become that. Don’t feel like you have to settle on a profession because it takes a shorter path.

I would spend more time on the front end with education, learning, gaining knowledge, cultivating my skills and giving myself as many options as possible so you have a lot of choices and are not narrowly limited.

I also would have held off a little in starting my family so young. I was married at 18 and had my son at 22. My son is a special needs child and I was so focused in his early years in establishing my career that it was difficult to balance both. It’s okay to take time for your journey.

I like to go hiking, I like to play the piano and most importantly, hang out with my son.

I’m passionate about being a good mom, providing for my son and making sure he is cared for. I’m very passionate about making sure my son gets the care he needs to be successful. I enjoy helping other parents who have had children diagnosed with Autism and helping them maneuver through all of the information to find resources to help their child and family.

The way I balance work and motherhood is choosing to work for a company that respects working mothers. I am a single mom so if my son is sick or having an issue at school, I have to be there. I have a company that lets met do that. It might mean I have to do email at midnight or catch up on weekends but as long as I’m getting the work done, my company is very flexible and supportive. At end of day I have to make a conscious choice that my son is number one and I make no excuse or apology that I am first and foremost, a mom.

I was always a natural leader and was always involved in leadership roles in high school – student council, cheerleading, esteem team, etc. When my son was born I was taking some time off to be with him and I started my own business. This business involved having doctors outsource their medical billings, taxes, finances, etc. to me and I would do the work at home. I ran that business out of my house for three years. The job really helped me learn how to solicit new business, manage client relations and meet a variety of expectations from multiple sources. I also compose music and was spending a lot of time with music and technology. I was laying scores down in MIDI, constantly working on my computer and learned a lot about technology through my hobby. My sister recommended I apply for a technology sales position. I didn’t think I could do it and she reminded me everything I knew about technology via my music so I applied and started out as a technical sales rep. Because I tend to lead, I then went on to managing a sales team of my own, eventually directing multiple teams in the enterprise storage and server business and was then promoted to vice president. I worked extremely hard and put in a lot of blood, sweat and tears. I would do everything I could to learn and never went anywhere without a technical manual or business article in hand. I also spent a lot of time building great relationships with clients and establishing my reputation so when opportunities came up for career progression, I was ready.

My music - linking technology to music. I started to realize how much technology could enhance my music and how much I had learned from my hobby that I could apply in a corporate setting.

Perception challenges – people would sometimes assume at first glance that I was a “ditzy blonde”. Every time I would conduct a technical training the engineers were shocked when they saw I was the one who would be training them. I was able to overcome that when I would speak because I knew my stuff and was able to build credibility quickly. I used to also get challenged about how young I looked to be the vice president. I don’t get that as much anymore and now that I’m getting older, I’m thinking that wasn’t such a bad thing…