Lessons Learned from Lisa

People in my network that have worked with me in the past have most likely met Lisa Valenti. She was my Field Account Manager when I first started out in sales at Cisco. For those that do not know, I regret to inform you that she passed this weekend.

Everyone deals with the loss of a loved one differently. Lisa came into my life at a pivotal time in my career and I attribute many of my successes to her. I consider myself blessed to have had her as a mentor, colleague, teacher, friend, and "Cisco Mom." She had a magnetic personality and the patience of a former elementary teacher. Since our friendship was closely intertwined with work, I would like to share five lessons she taught me as a celebration of her life.

Let great work be your form of self-promotion.

Lisa would never tell others about the great things she was doing at work - her customers, bosses, and peers would. She would always tell me,? “if you are great at your job, your peers will promote on your behalf.” Lisa was the most diligent and dedicated person I have ever worked with. One of the best compliments that would showcase her work ethic was from my previous regional manager. He had an accomplished career in tech sales and would always say: “the best deal I ever closed was to get Lisa to come work on my team!”

Never show up empty-handed.

Lisa was adamant about bringing gifts. Even if we would run out of company swag, she would print labels and make her own. This picture is of two candy baskets she made for me to take to customers when I was in Kansas City. One time I was able to get a meeting with a new company because the customer remembered Lisa bringing in homemade cookies a few years back. She would also go out of her way to send small gifts and tokens of gratitude to the people she worked with.

Be a student of your company and industry.

Lisa always told me the that best salespeople know the interworkings of their company in addition to the product. Many customers look to frontline sales to help them navigate a large tech company. Lisa would constantly save internal information in spreadsheets so she could quickly respond to a customer’s issues. She would never tell people that something wasn’t her job and was customer-obsessed. “If you fix their problems, they will bring new business to you, I promise.”

Have a genuine interest in others.

Lisa loved to ask others about things that were new and exciting in their lives. She had the mentality that strangers were friends that she hadn’t met yet. Lisa never missed an opportunity to talk with others about their interests and would always ask engaging questions. Getting on calls with her was always an uplifting experience.

Positive mindsets are contagious.

Lisa constantly worked with me to uplift and improve my mindset. She was a bright star in the worst circumstances. Work can be stressful and there were many times she had to talk me off a ledge. Lisa would always tell me, “people do business with people they like, and if you have negative thoughts on the inside, customers will pick up on it.” Her patience and persistence helped me turn around a negative mindset and conquer my imposter syndrome. She would not only do this for me but for everyone on her team.

These are just a few of the things she imparted to me. This world needs more people like Lisa and I encourage everyone to think about the impact they can have on coworkers.

Rest Easy Lisa.