Sales is a Team Sport

There is no easy year when you are in Sales. Specially when you belong to the everchanging IT sector. For me 2021 has been a particularly challenging test. Starting from my annual quota being increased more than double. And following with the fact that I did not received any inbound lead for the first half of the year. Additionally, the Covid 19 crisis is far from being over. It effects are still very present, such as, economic downturn, an atmosphere of uncertainty, and supply chain bottlenecks. Keeping potential clients to hold their investments and purchases of innovative solutions.

Nevertheless, at the moment of writing this article. Even though the difficulties I had to face during this year. I can proudly state that I already have been able to overachieved my annual sales targets. As well, I am the salesperson from my team with the highest number of New Logos. And moreover, it was recently announced that I will receive the Best Pricing Discipline award. But I am not writing this article to brag about my results. Looking back I have realized that I have been able to achieve this amazing success. Because I have been surrounded by an equally incredible group of people. All working together towards a common goal. I could not have been able to make it by myself, and this realization is what I would like to share with my network.

It is during challenging times that the value of a team of skilled professionals is highlighted. During these past months there have been several experiences where teamwork has been materialized. Bringing together the combined talents of the different team members. Providing a much higher quality outcome to the final client. I have learnt also to not take teamwork for granted. It is something that deserves to be taken care of daily, because simply it does not happen overnight. These are the three pillars that I implement on my professional interactions to boost teamwork:

• Enjoy the informal way of working. In order to come up with the best outcome possible it is needed to have a certain degree of familiarity among the team members. It is all about creating the space and time to get to know the different aspects of your colleagues’ personalities. If possible, also to get to know their more personal and authentic side. It is great to work with a talented group of professionals, but I enjoy more to team up with genuine people. This year I tried to dig deeper in my relationship with my team members by visiting my colleagues of the Lisbon office. Also, I organized a series of volunteering events together with Adam Helpt. This allowed me to meet some the new hires of the company who did not have the chance to go to the office. While having a lot of fun and a positive impact on the community.

A team that picks up trash together, stay together.

• Keep a positive attitude. I like to play the role of an energy provider. I have the mindset that every interaction deserves my 100%. We all have a lot of pressure and plenty of urgent tasks to do. So, this my way to show appreciation for the time and focus they are dedicating to me. I believe this approach has had a positive impact on my relationship with my new manager. A person who was recently promoted to the position. Additionally, it also helped me working with my assigned ODRs – Opportunity Development Representatives. Their role involves plenty of cold calling, which sometimes can be challenging and not rewarding. By keeping a positive and empathetic attitude I was able to build a deeper connection with them. Which make them be more open to my suggestions to tackle new verticals of prospective clients. This close relation with my ODRs was recognized by my company as a Best Practice. They made us an interview that was included in the training program for new sales hires globally.
• Be at their service. For me working as a team is being at disposal of your colleagues. It means thinking bigger than yourself. Trying to leave every person you interact with in a better position than before. Because you will receive what you give them in first place. It is not only being open to their requests, but also being proactive. It is trying to find a better way, putting customers at the center of everything we do as a team. This year I have started collaborating with new departments, such as Managed Services Spain. By having this service approach. I ended up as the sales representative who generated the highest number of new opportunities for them. As well, I improved the pre-sales process with the department of Sales Engineers. I proposed a new way of working the inbound leads to be more aligned in our approach. With the result of having a better understanding of the customer needs from the beginning and diminishing subsequent implementation issues.

As Steve Jobs firmly believed: “Great things in business are never done by one person. They're done by a team of people”. This year I have been able to achieve great results because I am part of an awesome organization. That is full of extraordinary people facing one of the greatest technology opportunities nowadays: Interconnecting the digital world. I find myself in an exceptional place because I belong to a team who enjoys working together, trusts one another and it is proud of what we achieve. That is, in my opinion, our biggest success.

I would like to dedicate an immense THANK YOU to the people who have made it possible: Shivam, Loredana, Christophe, Mateo, Luiza, Ines, Ana, Carlos, Javier, Eduardo, Jaime, Hasan, Rosie, Vasilis, …