Women in sales often have a polarizing experience. It has little to do with the work itself, and more to do with the societal pressure, norms, and bias that exist in 2021.
We’re often encouraged to hide, toughen up, and bury our emotions. The expectation is that we can “do it all.” Anything less is failure.
For lack of better words…f*ck that.
Let’s flip the script: Your intellect, emotion, instinct, and empathy as a woman are what make you both a valuable human and invaluable company asset.
Imbalance is okay. In fact, operating and achieving any goal while imbalanced is a skill not to be scoffed at. Celebrate taking time off to be with your family, kids, pets, friends, or alone with your thoughts. Bring your feelings, gut instinct, experience, and constructive emotion into the boardroom and sit at the table. Heck, stand at the head of it.
Never believe that doubting yourself is a bad thing. Doubt is a part of life. Questioning what we can achieve and how far we can stretch is a tactic to evaluate our choices. If you do something constructive with your doubt, and use it to advance yourself, it can be an asset.
And remember, the women of the future are watching. We’re here to roll out the carpet for them, and we owe them a world better than our own.
So let’s change it, together.
In the Sales Hacker video series Aha Moments, I asked 10 women: “What is one ‘aha moment’ you’ve had in your sales career?”
The conversations that followed were so authentic and encouraging that we decided to expand this conversation to other badass women in the sales world. 150 of them share their best advice and career-defining “aha moments” below.
Time to take notes.
Lori Richardson
Lori speaks, writes, coaches and trains company leaders on ways to find, recruit, retain, and promote more women in sales and helps women become part of the best profession – B2B sales.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
Early in my AE career, the company I worked for was acquired and we were all told we had to go to another state for an entire month of training. As a single parent, I could have challenged it or at least worked out weekends at home – but I was young and simply complied with the request. That company only lasted another year before they were out of business, so it was a poor use of my energy, time, and being away from my family – a lesson I work to pass on to others new in roles today.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Think of your sales career as a project or a thing so that you can separate yourself from how you view it. This way, if something doesn’t work as planned you can focus on the thing that went wrong, not you as a failure. You can take more risks. You can also build your brand as part of this project and remove any alleged “imposter syndrome” (which many men have too, but it isn’t talked about as much). Your sales career project has ups and downs. When it’s good, it is the best career out there – flexible work hours, work place, and substantial financial reward. Every industry needs sales so the education you receive working in this role can be immense.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Professional sales is a career, and it is an admirable profession. After spending a couple of years in a sales role, that knowledge will assist you throughout your life in business and elsewhere. You can rise within a company selling your ideas, or you can go off on your own and be your first salesperson. The best products, services, and ideas are nothing without a way to turn them into currency, and sellers are a big part of making commerce happen.
Anita Nielsen
Anita Nielsen is a best-selling author and sales performance coach. Using her 20+ years of trench experience in B2B tech sales and support, Anita teaches sales professionals around the globe how to leverage key principles of human psychology to help buyers make a decision in the seller’s favor. In working with Anita, sales Professionals learn to level up their performance and create customers for life using their humanity as a powerful differentiator.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
I worked for a not so great boss who was not a fan of my very human approach to working with clients, once he realized that I was getting such a positive response. He became threatened and told me that I had to follow his ridiculously complex and impractical method that required presenting 60+ confusing slides. I had never quit a job before unless it was due to a promotion or a better opportunity. I realized, though, that if I couldn’t be who I am and do what I KNEW was right by my customer, I had to go. I started my own company and I recognized for the first time in my career that who I am and what I stand for has much more value than any job ever could. Almost a decade later, running my own business based on my principles of customer care and connection, I have been more successful than in my wildest dreams.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
As women, we are socialized to be empathetic, caring and compassionate. All of these are crucial skills in sales that are often overlooked. Work on honing those skills and traits because they can be your differentiator. B2B is H2H – human to human – and most women can leverage these powerful skills to create lasting connections with prospects, personalize value, and create customers for life.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Know that who you are, what you stand for, and how you bring that into your customer relationships is the only true differentiator you have. Recognize that B2B is human to human and it is at that level that you can make your magic.
Jen Ferguson
Jen Ferguson, Award-Winning Sales Leader with +20 years of experience. She is a Speaker and Hostess for LinkedIn Live. Bringing Sales & Leadership with Heart and Ladies Happy Hour to the sales community. Jen believes everyone should have the opportunity to be seen, heard, valued, and empowered for success.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
I went through a VP of Sales Program with SaaSy Sales Leadership — the moment I realized I didn’t want to be a VP of Sales. Instead, what inspired and energized me was presenting, training, and empowering others to succeed.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Not all feedback is for you. There is a difference between being coachable and recognizing when feedback is not constructive or could be shadowed by bias. Always seek to understand, seek more input, and consult your own tribe to decide what’s for you and what is not. Believe in yourself and be open to what you can learn from each experience.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Don’t let others define your journey. Your career is what you make of it. Find the places where you will thrive.
Joyce Johnson
Founded Why Sales Network, a global sales training company to provide valuable content to develop the next generation of leaders. I’ve sold to the largest companies in the world on behalf of the largest companies in the world and now help entrepreneurs and small business owners create a B2B Sales Strategy to increase the revenue and value of their business. 8X published author, sales champion, passionate mentor.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
I’m the only one in the room because I’m good.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Use your voice, communicate your goals often and don’t lose alone! Build allies and ask for help.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Invest in your development internally and externally. Commit to being an expert at what you do.
Hang Black
A Vietnamese immigrant, dedicated mother, and seasoned technology executive, Hang Black has an extensive background in engineering, marketing, sales, and entrepreneurship. She is a globally recognized, award-winning revenue enablement executive. Best-selling author of Embrace Your Edge, Hang is a global speaker on sales, leadership, and diversity & inclusion in the workplace. She holds a BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin and lives in Los Altos, California with her two children.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
People buy from people – who can analyze big data. In my last few career moves, I was surprised to learn about the customers and colleagues who have followed me from company to company.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Sales success has often been attributed to traditionally self-centric masculine attributes of competition and aggression. With a lens of customer-centricity, women can proudly #EmbraceYourEdge with traditionally female attributes of listening, empathy, and nurturing. Wait. Both genders can exhibit both traits? Bingo.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Feed your inner imposter. She’s curious. She’s bold. And she needs a hug every now and then.
Shari Levitin
Sales Strategist, Top 50 keynote speakers, Best Selling author of Heart and Sell-(chosen as the textbook for Harvard’s Strategic Selling course) Top Voice on LinkedIn 2018. Specializing in helping sales leaders up skill teams to survive and thrive in a hybrid world.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
Trust is built of five components. Trust gets you in the door, but it’s competency, reliability, integrity and vulnerability that keep you there.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
No matter your gender, work hard and sell with heart. Genuinely care about improving the lives and businesses of your customers. Uncover human needs and behavior, and use that understanding to form an authentic connection, rather than trying to finesse a quick sale.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Never stop learning and growing. As long as you keep growing and pushing into new endeavors, you will need mentors. Take responsibility. Be vulnerable and coachable. Then, do the work: the hard work and the heart work. What you do matters, but character matters more.
Cassie Young
Cassie is an operating partner at Primary Venture Partners, where she works closely with Primary’s portfolio companies to help them build, scale and optimize their go-to-market efforts. Prior to joining Primary in early 2020, Cassie spent 15 years as a tech operator. Most recently, she held a variety of executive roles at Sailthru from 2013-2020, ultimately becoming the company’s Chief Revenue Officer. Following Sailthru’s sale to CM Group in 2018, Cassie took on the expanded role of Chief Customer Officer for CM Group’s 200MM+ martech portfolio. Cassie spent the first pre-SaaS chapter of her tech career in growth roles in subscription and marketplace businesses (TheLadders.com, GLG). Cassie is a graduate of Duke University and holds an MBA from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
No one tells your story better than your customers. At one point at Sailthru, we shifted our selling to doing significantly more storytelling around customers – including tossing up a customer logo slide and going DEEP into the use cases of 2-3 customers – and there’s never any better hook for capturing a prospect’s attention.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Really understand the P&L of the business and how various sales and customer activities flow through it. Someone once told me that they think the #1 reason women fail to grow past the VP level is that they often can’t “talk their way through the income statement,” and I couldn’t agree more. Understanding how various decisions impact the company’s margin (e.g. which activities are classified as COGS vs. S&M), cash flow forecast, etc. are just as critical as understanding the fundamental SaaS metrics such as LTV/CAC, payback, etc.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Again, I am a big believer in the power of customer storytelling for helping sales outcomes. I would encourage women starting in sales roles to “buddy up” with the customer success teams to really understand some great use cases from front-to-back (not just the headliner ROI numbers, but really understanding HOW the customer is using the product and what problems the product is solving).
Christin Myers
“My greatest professional achievements are deeply rooted in the development of the teams I’ve led. Whether creating teams from scratch or taking over distressed departments, the achievements I’ve accomplished are always due to creating a winning culture with clear expectations and a strong drive for results.
As a self-motivated go-getter I enjoy problem solving, and thinking outside the proverbial box to generate creative solutions. I thrive in rapidly growing, changing organizations where collaboration and sense of urgency is of the utmost importance.”
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
Don’t be afraid to ask for help. I wish I would have learned this earlier in my career. Asking for help shows curiosity, the willingness to learn and improve, and humility. People are always willing to help! Just reach out and ask.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Your P.I.E. matters! Your career PIE is made up of Performance, Image & Exposure. To rise through the ranks or move into your lateral dream job executing on all three are the secret sauce. Performance is 100% within your control: you decide the level of effort you dedicate each day to hitting the goals given to you by the org. Image is how you show up every day! Do people love working with you? Are you dressing to impress? When are you the go-to person? Finally, Exposure if who you know. Build relationships across your company. Pick up the (phone, Slack, email) and ask for a casual cup of coffee. Ask people about their role and how they got to where they are. You’ll learn a lot if you listen closely.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Be bold. Be curious. Be willing to try a whole bunch of new stuff until you figure out what sticks. Don’t give up. And…. don’t leave your first sales role (or company) until at least 18-24 months. Doesn’t look good on your resume. Stick it out and become a top performer!
Melissa Murillo
Melissa Murillo is an award-winning and highly skilled sales leader with over a decade of experience in marketing and business development specializing in the IT channel. She has a passion for mentoring women and helping them find their love of sales.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
My aha moment would actually be when I started my sales career. I made a jump from marketing into sales which was very risky but it was like something snapped into focus and I was finally in the role I was meant for.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Get a mentor! I have had more in my career than I can count and I wouldn’t be where I am today without each and every one of them. Not sure where to start? Invite someone who you respect and admire within the organization to coffee and ask them about their career path. See if they would be willing to meet on a monthly basis to start and bring a topic you would like to discuss. No one does it alone.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Don’t let the imposter syndrome win. You earned your seat at the table.
Nikki Ivey
Nikki Ivey is Cofounder of SDRDefenders and Head of Growth Development at Cultured Perspective, a Black owned Startup Consultancy. She thrives at the corner of career and culture and is passionate about building a diverse pipeline of future sales leaders.
What is one aha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
I had a habit of putting leaders on a pedestal. When I encountered someone who inspired me or was just really successful, I’d idolize them. In a male dominated industry this amounted to deferring to men out of habit, even when I knew my ideas were great.
But the I realized that seeking the approval of my heroes was getting in the way of me seeing *myself* as a hero. That subtle shift has made all the difference.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
You are enough. This profession needs you and depends on your participation and success. You have been tried, tested, and proven to be critical assets. Remember this when you are spoken over and interrupted. Remember this when you are negotiating your pay. Remember this anytime a circumstance makes you doubt yourself. Own your power.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Come into this profession with 3 primary themes: Mindset. Moxie. Magic.
Mindest: Be a Student, not just of the product, but of the process. These are lessons you’ll apply for the rest of your career.
Moxie: Focus on action and impact and do not be humble about your accomplishments. Become the Beyonce of B2B sales.
Magic: You have the sauce! Bring it to the table and show up as yourself every time. Show people your passion, your authenticity and create content that attracts people who believe what you believe. It won’t happen overnight, but when it does? Boom! Magic.
Rachael Rohn
Rachael Rohn’s 15+ year career has focused on leading high-growth companies across a variety of industries, including e-commerce, healthcare, and real estate, where technology is leveraged to improve the consumer experience. As Compass’s Regional President of North Central, Rachael is responsible for driving revenue growth, M&A integrations, operations, marketing, and customer success across Illinois, Wisconsin, Indiana, and Minnesota. Prior to joining Compass, Rachael spent 12+ years leading sales organizations to deliver record-breaking growth for Groupon and other tech start-ups in Chicagoland. Rachael holds a BA from Indiana University.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
The moment I realized I was in control. Once I understood that I had the power to walk away from a bad deal, I was able to stop wasting my time and focus my efforts, which often resulted in closing two deals during the time it would have taken to close one bad deal. It was a game-changer in my career.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Constantly work on developing a growth mindset. If you focus on what you can learn from every experience, every rejection, and every bad day, then every interaction becomes an opportunity for growth, and you’ll become unstoppable.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Trust yourself. You know more than you realize, you just need time to prove it to yourself.
Rosalyn Santa Elena
Rosalyn is a long time GTM and Revenue Operations leader who is on a mission to elevate Revenue Operations – the function and the professionals. She is also a huge supporter of all women leaders with a special place in her heart for working moms, being a mom of 3 herself. Rosalyn is currently the Vice President of Global Revenue Operations at Neo4j and the Host of The Revenue Engine Podcast, as well as an advisor for several high growth companies.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
About two years ago, I realized how little resources, content, and support existed for Operations professionals, but what a huge appetite there was for it! I made an intentional choice to share my experience and knowledge with others and to bring together like-minded individuals to learn from and lean on each other. To this end, I’ve been trying to do what I can to help through sharing content, writing blogs, speaking at events, participating in webinars, teaching courses, and engaging in a number of communities as well as countless 1:1 conversations. It has been hugely rewarding for me, personally, to be able to help others in whatever small way that I can. And I love seeing so many other leaders giving back in a similar manner.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
You can have it all. Career, home, spouse, family. It is tough, but it is possible. You are stronger than you think, and you have so much more potential than you ever dreamed possible. Don’t let anyone tell you differently. Oh, and don’t be afraid to ask for help.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
For anyone, but especially other women, I would tell them to know that they have a lot more to offer than they think. Whether you have 20 years experience or 20 days, you have something to offer, to share, and to contribute. You’ll be surprised how much value you can add, regardless of how much sales experience you have. Believe in yourself. And let your voice be heard.
Alyssa Merwin
Alyssa leads Sales Solutions for North America, one of LinkedIn’s fastest growing businesses, in which she is responsible for building high-performing, diverse and inclusive teams, driving strategy and defining the go-to-market approach. Alyssa is passionate about promoting personal and leadership development, fostering candid conversations, and creating a unique culture of vulnerability and inclusiveness. Outside of LinkedIn, Alyssa loves hiking and spending time with her family outdoors, and is a new mom to an eight-month old baby boy.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
A few years ago, I came to understand that certain team members were struggling to show up as their full selves at work, creating a barrier for them to be successful in certain parts of their role. While many of us “cover” at work – holding back on sharing certain parts of who we are and aspects of our life – there were certain people on our team who carried a much heavier burden each day. Whether because of sexual identity, mental health issues, being part of an underrepresented group, or any other number of factors that made them feel different from the broader group, these individuals often felt increased stress simply walking in the door each day – or showing up to Zoom meetings – in addition to pressure of performing in their roles.
While great culture and welcoming environments have always been key pillars of my leadership philosophy, uncovering this additional burden on team members has made me a much more compassionate leader. As a result, I am constantly considering what team members may be feeling, and working to create space for conversations to celebrate our differences and identify how we can better support one another.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Be confident and vocal about your career path and goals. Even if you don’t know exactly where you want to be long term, communicate the skills you’re looking to develop and the experiences you’d like to gain. As an example, if you know you’d like to move into leadership one day, tell your manager and collaborate with them on a plan to help you get there.
It’s also important to know that managers can create opportunities for you to do the job before you’re in the job – for example, hosting a team meeting, coaching a junior rep or leading a forecasting meeting. These types of experiences will allow you to show up strongly when it comes time for the interview because you will have examples and experiences to demonstrate your skill set. Additionally, these experiences may help you discover what is not the right path for you, which can be equally valuable.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
This is an exciting time to be in sales and broadly speaking, women tend to have the soft skills that are in high demand in today’s virtual selling environment – being strong listeners and empathetic problem solvers. These skills are foundational for building trust and collaborating with helping customers to tackle their challenges, and leaning on these skills will help you to kickstart a career in sales.
Most importantly, know that sky’s the limit for your career. You can build a successful, lucrative career as a star individual contributor or climb the leadership ranks to impact business trajectory and develop the next generation of leaders – and still have a family if that’s what you choose. Many companies provide the important support and resources to allow you to do both, from maternity/parental leave and fertility benefits to more flexibility than ever before. Find a company that will allow you to be your best professional self and also invest in your personal life – it doesn’t have to be one at the expense of the other!
Adrienne Greenberg
Adrienne has been in Enterprise Technology sales for over 6 years specifically focused on helping state and local governments utilize their data to drive better outcomes for our communities. She lives in Seattle and enjoys cooking, exploring local restaurants and volunteering.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
Prospects really value a partner through the sales process whether it’s challenging their assumptions or being accountable to your timeline of deliverables. Don’t lean on your product to sell its self. Your sales process and making it easy for prospects to buy makes a huge difference and can beat out a “better” product on paper.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Always be curious which can mean digging into your prospects’ priorities, new product features and value props or your competitions’ messaging.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Figure out what works for you to hit your goals. We all have unique strengths so take advantage of what you excel at. When I started as a BDR I didn’t have the highest volume of activities on the team but I made every email and call count with thoughtful messaging so I had high conversion rates for meetings and opportunities created. This also means you have to know your numbers and prove to your leadership that your method gets the outcomes they expect.
Áine Denn
“An entrepreneurial leader and advisor from a technology background. A people person with extensive C-Level experience in enterprise software, business development and operations.
In 2005 I co-founded Altify, a Dublin-based global SaaS business focusing on sales and sales best practices. I exited to pursue other interests after Upland Software acquired the company in 2019.
Now I use all of my experience, skills and knowledge in non-exec director and advisory roles. I provide methods, coaching and accountability to support companies achieve their full potential. I enthusiastically share my expertise in leadership, strategy, revenue and operations.”
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
An aha moment was when I realised the true power of my network. Genuine curiosity and interest in business, people, and the skills needed for enterprise selling helped me add direct value to those in my network. Still, I only saw the full potential when I introduced customers and contacts to each other. A robust network of men and women can support women at all stages in their sales careers. Women who ask their networks for help benefit from shared experience navigating organisations, information on roles, peer feedback on suppliers, introductions etc. Trusted relationships, connections, and domain expertise are essential in all careers, but particularly in sales.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Be yourself; you are a woman in sales; don’t try to be a female salesman. Selling has changed, the old sales stereotypes don’t apply to women, and the new world plays to female strengths. Buyers are not looking to be “sold to”. They are looking for someone to bring expertise and insight. Buyers want someone to collaborate with them over the long term to deliver their business outcomes. Women have the edge. Selling today requires our traditional soft skills of empathetic listening, communication, relationship building, and decision-making.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
“Work hard to develop your craft. Your natural soft skills will benefit you, but you also need hard skills to succeed in selling; consistent deal qualification, rigorous opportunity and account planning, excellent stakeholder and relationship management.
Your level of sales success is down to how hard you work to improve your sales skills. The most successful salespeople I know, male and female, are masters of both the art and science of selling.”
Aletta Noujaim
I’ve spent 10 years in various Sales and Sales Management roles, both in Paris and London. I currently manage a team of 15 SDRs in 5 locations. I’m passionate about inbound and outbound pipeline generation, workflows and processes, and cross-team collaboration.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
When making managerial or processes decisions, I realized recently that I was trying too hard to get it right at the very first try. When things don’t go as planned, don’t blame yourself – you don’t know what you don’t know! Trial, error, and forgiveness are key to building a performing sales org.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
At work, I’m not defined by my gender – I’m a sales executive. Be confident about your experience and your convictions, and don’t hesitate to voice them.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Our gender-based education stereotypes have pushed women to be less confident in their abilities than men, and therefore to be less vocal about their achievements or opinions. Force yourself to be as assertive as a man!
Alexine Mudawar
Carrying 8+ years of SaaS sales experience, Alexine is backed by numerous President’s Club awards, quarterly high achievement recognitions, and a consistent track record of surpassing quota. Outside of her day-to-day sales role, she is an Adjunct Professor and teaches sales courses for Aspireship, Victory Lap, and Re:Work Training. She recently Co-Founded the Women in Sales Club which serves over 3,500 members.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
I scheduled a demo on my very first cold call and that felt like the first “aha moment” of my career! It was a moment I’ll never forget because it felt like I was exactly where I was meant to be. Sales can be an arduous career path to take, so I often reflect on that moment and remind myself what an incredibly rewarding journey it’s been since.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Allow your success and skill set to speak for itself! People will underestimate you when you’re the only woman on the sales team — let them. Then show them how wrong they were when you blow your sales numbers out of the water!
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
I would tell any woman just starting her career in sales not to be afraid to own your voice. So often, we get caught up in not wanting to draw attention to ourselves, apologizing unnecessarily, and neglect celebrating our own successes. Give yourself permission to be exactly who you are, learn as much as you possibly can, accept that mistakes are a healthy part of growth, and keep pushing forward!
Alicia Berruti
I spent 13 years in massage therapy, which included running my own business, before I moved to sales. After spending a handful of years as an inside sales rep and then an Account Executive, I took on the role of National Speaker where I have spent the last few years training sales professionals all over the US and Canada how to be more human in their sales process through the power of simple video
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
Sales is fundamentally about solving problems for people. Being able to help people solve problems in their business will yield far better results than learning a new “sales tactic”
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
You have something unique to offer, find it! You don’t have to sell like everyone else
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Mental health and resilience practice need to be a part of your daily routine
Alicia Murphy
Process driven innovator focused on scalable growth. Motivated by building a powerful revenue culture where teams win together and leverage their unique personal traits to love what they do each and every day.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
You don’t need to join the boys club to find sales success.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Never compromise or feel you need to overcompensate. Bring your best self each and every day.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Find what works best for you and get a great mentor!
Aliisa Rosenthal
Aliisa has worked in tech sales for 15 years. She was the first sales hire at Mixpanel and ran their downmarket segment. She then went to InVision where she managed west coast enterprise sales. She’s currently VP Commercial Sales at WalkMe, where she manages a team of 40 sellers. She originally hails from New Orleans, LA and graduated from Brown University.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
When I first became a sales leader I felt like I had to be in the weeds of every deal. The first time I took time off and a deal closed without me, a lightbulb went off: allowing my reps and managers to succeed without me was true leadership. I didn’t need to be in every deal to build a winning team.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Invest in your cross-functional partners. Never win alone.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Women are traditionally taught to be nice. In sales, you need to ask hard questions and avoid quick yesses. This often goes against our instincts. I found practicing in front of a mirror helpful at first, and eventually it became second nature to challenge. I still do it with kindness and curiosity – and that’s okay!
Alyssa Kleinman
CipherHealth is a SaaS company focused on helping healthcare providers improve patient outcomes and experiences. As a business operations leader, I focus on implementing cross-functional, agile processes that support the growth of the business.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
Your career does not have to be linear, and you may find that what you are best at is best suited for a different role and career path.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Look for ways to be a problem-solver by making suggestions in how challenges are addressed inside and outside of your role. Identifying problems is only a small piece of the puzzle and you can set yourself apart by leaning in to take action and offer ways to overcome those problems.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Try to be transparent and helpful to people both internally and externally, you never know how and where opportunities will arise.
Amy C. Waninger
Amy C. Waninger is the Founder and CEO of Lead at Any Level. She works with organizations around the globe that want to build inclusive cultures and diverse leadership pipelines for a sustainable competitive advantage. She is the author of multiple books including “Network Beyond Bias: Making Diversity a Competitive Advantage for Your Career.”
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
Ask questions until you have exhausted your questions before you propose a solution.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Build a robust, diverse, and inclusive network
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Your word is your bond. Don’t sell anything you can’t deliver.
Amy Looper
Cybersecurity sales leader, founder of Relativity Sells, and MISC (mother in sales coach) helping new mothers return to the workplace confidently and free from anxiety.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
Money and awards aren’t the best rewards. Long-term trust, respect from clients & co-workers matter the most.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Trying to be a superwoman will result in burnout and failure. Be the leader your kids will be proud of- If you’re juggling professional and personal hats, read your heart on what to prioritize. It will serve the current chapter that you’re in.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Just be yourself. Don’t put on any masks to try to “fit” into any male-dominated team. Serve your customer and rewards will be returned.
Amy Reczek
“Amy has a passion for the art of strategic communication and
sales techniques within business. After 17 years as a respected high-level Senior Sales Executive in
corporate sales Amy founded Sales and Presence working with sales teams to drive revenue through how we communicate.”
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
Sales steps and tactics are ever changing, what works today might not work tomorrow. And to always keep in mind it is about the client, not the product you are pitching.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Trust in your abilities early on, speak up and stay authentic to you.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Be a sponge, take in all that is around you and adapt what works for you.
Amy Slater
Amy Slater is Global Vice President and GTM leader for Cybersecurity company Palo Alto Networks. She has spent her career in sales and sales leadership positions across the technology landscape. Her mission is to improve and transform culture wherever she is. She has a passion for helping and empowering people, to get extraordinary results and ultimately grow revenue.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
People do want to listen. It’s about being relatable and human. Talk to business people about their business. Not your business.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Be your own best advocate and know that you are not a “woman” in sales. You are a sales professional.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
You own your path. Don’t be afraid to change your course.
Ana Swarup
2x Founder leading sales, marketing and operations teams. I am passionate about solving big problems and building creative solutions for maximum impact.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
Resilience is key
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Stay curious about the problem you are solving. Listen!
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Just because you haven’t heard back doesn’t mean they are not interested.
Andrea R Austin
Andrea is a passionate leader who thrives on the challenges of today’s business environment, leveraging company and resources, mentoring and guiding resources beyond their comfort zones, developing new and innovative opportunities, understanding the dynamics of emerging technologies and markets, harnessing the unique challenges and benefits of software, and working with customers to execute and implement strategies necessary to achieve a competitive advantage. Proven track record of win-win approaches leveraging technology and teamwork to resolve complex business challenges.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
I control my attitude.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Figure it out … all challenges can be overcome. It is your job to just find a way to make things happen.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Be present; You control your attitude; Have fun; Make someone’s day, everyday.
Ang McManamon
Ang McManamon is a tenured sales leader and strong operator. She has built sales organizations in SaaS, proptech, hiring solutions, and restaurant technology. She is a huge cheerleader for her team and advocates for helping women with career growth.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
My first sales job – I realized that I loved meeting people, building relationships, challenging myself to exceed targets and most of all being part of a team. Lastly, it was fun. Sales doesn’t feel like a job when you love what you do (and what you sell).
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Be vocal, I was too quiet early on in my career instead of taking charge, contributing, being more vocal and challenging my team and peers.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Continue to work on your skills. Never be complacent – we can always get better at some aspect of selling, but it’s having the motivation to do so.
Angela Chapoy
Sales leader within HVAC industry
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
Winning is better than being ‘right’.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in Sales?
Do what you say you will do, follow through.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Never stop learning. You don’t have to know it all; seek feedback from trusted advisors.
Anna Britnor Guest
Anna helps tech B2B companies to grow globally through sales and leadership capability development. She has over 30 years’ sales experience in tech and hosts the Revenue Riser podcast. She spends her spare time waterskiing, wakesurfing & paddleboarding.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
That competitors are not superior. In my early days I thought that every competitor was smarter, quicker, cheaper, better connected, better regarded etc and therefore I/we had to be the best. Never underestimate competitors but if you’re good at what you do and you understand the customer better than your competitors, you’ll find your edge without having to be best at everything. It all comes down to how you align with the customer and their needs better than anyone else.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Blow your own trumpet: be confident in your skills and capabilities. Get used to talking about your achievements. That’s not about bragging or being arrogant. It’s about confidently and assertively explaining your ideas, capabilities and your achievements. If you can do it (or even just think you can do it) and you want to do it, then speak up and go for it! If you are confident in your abilities, it’s easier for others to have confidence in you, to support you and back you up. And then amazing things are possible!
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Go for it! Follow what excites and interests you. Don’t be afraid to carve your own unique path – it’s actually the only path that will work in the long run. And build a network of people you respect – I can’t stress this enough for mutual feedback, support, learning and growth.
Anne Slough
Anne is a principal analyst in the Sales Operations Research Service at Forrester. She has an extensive background in developing business plans, diagnosing operational gaps, implementing results-oriented sales initiatives with organizations of all sizes, and helping organizations create and live their brand promise.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
When I was reporting to a CEO. I managed a team of senior sales people and carried an individual quota. I was responsible for an entire product line, developing it, selling it, delivering it, expanding it, etc. I knew that I was grossly underpaid in relation to the monetary and intellectual value I was contributing, especially compared to my male counterpart. I asked for a raise and gave empirical evidence in support of the raise. I received the raise, but it as positioned as though a favor was being done for me, that it was somehow a gift to me. It was then that I realized that as a woman I somehow believed that if I just worked hard enough, my contribution would be rewarded without having to ask. I realized that no, that isn’t the case. It’s okay to make your value visible and based upon those contributions, it’s perfectly okay to ask to be rewarded.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Do some self-assessing about what your value proposition is and what your value system is. Find organizations to represent and sell for that align with your value system and is complimentary to your value proposition. Try to avoid selling for selling’s sake. It may be financially rewarding to be a “mercenary salesperson,” but for most people, it won’t be intellectually or soul satisfying.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Sales is the absolute best job. You will learn about how businesses operate, succeed and fail. You will meet incredible people and not so incredible people and both will teach you valuable life lessons. You will have the opportunity to travel to amazing places, that you probably, otherwise, would have never chosen to go to. If you are successful in sales, you will have the flexibility to pursue other passions (family, travel, hobbies, etc.), BUT, you must be okay with the pressure of the number. If that kind of pressure makes you nervous, causes you angst, then sales will not be a satisfying career. If that pressure is exciting to you, motivates you, gets your adrenaline flowing, then sales will be the most satisfying job you’ll ever have. The number and the ability to meet/exceed the number is the great equalizer. Gender will become obsolete if you are a peak performer.
Anneke Seley
#12 at Oracle (Start-up to $1B) and first woman sales and P&L leader. Designer of Oracle’s Virtual/Digital Sales Division. Founder and Managing Partner at Reality Works Group. Over 550 client engagements designing and implementing data-driven and technology-enabled revenue generation.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
Your team’s unique strategy can change the way companies go to market decades later.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Advocate for yourself as well as your clients and define your own success criteria.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Develop relationships in product development, legal, finance, marketing….across your company (in addition to your customers’ companies in the appropriate groups).
Arley Nevar
Arley found her way into Enterprise Tech Sales through a series of absurd coincidences and a lot of luck. With even more luck, she landed herself at a company that prioritizes mental health and her mission is to help other outcasts find their own way into such positions without all the absurdity.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
The conversations you insert yourself into that are outside of your job description, even when they are not your responsibility, even when you are just a fly on the wall, even when you are not producing revenue, can be the greatest classrooms for you to learn and grow.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Be honest about what you enjoy doing and don’t settle for anything less. It took me a long time to admit to myself that I don’t enjoy transactional SMB sales. Now that I’m in the Enterprise space, you couldn’t pay me enough to go back to triple digit dials a day. You deserve to be happy at work and there is no prize for suffering. Don’t do what you don’t like any longer than it takes you to learn what you need to know to get where you’re going.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Don’t let the pay a job provides take your attention away from the joy and stress it brings, because these are all equally important.
Ashleigh Early
Ashleigh Early focuses on helping companies and sales professionals achieve sustainable growth by emphasizing empathy and humanity through science. She has spent her career leading inside sales and business development teams for Silicon Valley icons like FireEye and Okta. Ashleigh also runs “The Other Side of Sales” Podcast which offers weekly episodes to help sellers embrace their unique strengths and make b2b sales culture truly inclusive
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
Don’t try to sell like everyone else. Sell like you. Not everyone has to like you, in fact they won’t! So what if you’re not a Mariah Carey – be a Whitney, or Christina or Gaga! Find who YOU sell like and your audience will find you.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
When *doing* something scares you – do it. That fear of action may feel like it’s protecting you but it’s usually holding you back from whatever the next big step is.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
You belong here – and you’re in for an amazing career beyond your craziest dreams…I promise the nightmares are temporary and get easier to bear with time.
Ashley Levesque
Ashley Levesque grows teams and strategies that empower employees and transform businesses. In her time as a marketing and communications professional, she has built departments and functions from the ground up in industries ranging from manufacturing to SaaS. At Banzai, Ashley is responsible for empowering marketing teams with the skills and confidence they need to connect more deeply with their prospects and customers.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
That marketers have a greater power and responsibility than simply generating leads and kicking them over the fence.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
If you want to make change you have to make it from within. Don’t stand on the outskirts shaking your fist at the sky. Support the women around you in doing the same.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
It’s a marathon, not a sprint.
Ashlyn Brewer
As a vice president at Standing Partnership, Ashlyn designs programs that help her clients drive sales and accelerate growth. With clients from the Fortune 500 to the mid-sized and privately held, she has broad experience helping companies improve their sales and marketing performance.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
One major aha moment I had early in my career was that you have to lead with the problem you’re solving. If you lead with the “about us” stuff, like your company history, location map, etc., you’re going to lose them. There’s no reason your sales deck or sales script needs to look like that, but a lot still do.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Find or form a group of ambitious peers who you can learn from, vent to, and collaborate with over the course of your career. Everyone wants mentors, and they’re extremely valuable, but don’t discount what you can learn from others at the same career stage as you are, both within your own company or elsewhere.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Be as picky about the culture you’re working in as you are the salary package. Early in your career it’s all about learning and advancement opportunities, so find a culture where you can see the roadmap, and where you know your ambition will be valued and rewarded. Don’t let yourself get stuck when you’re just getting started.
Asia Gladden
Student of Sales. Mentor and coach. Theorist.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
It was my seventh interview for my first leadership role. And I realized I’d just had nothing left to prove. I was a leader and if it wouldn’t be seen at my company someone else would. My whole attitude changed. I’d found the one thing I was still lacking. Self-assurance. Also, I did get the job.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Bring yourself to the job. You don’t have to play a “man’s game.” You don’t have to be anything but your brilliant self.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Bring yourself to the table. Learn from everyone around you, but never compromise what you know is right.
Beth Sunshine
“Beth Sunshine is a passionate leader who brings a genuine desire to impact the lives of others to her role as Partner and VP Talent Services at The Center for Sales Strategy. She does this by helping organizations to improve in two critical areas: Talent and Culture.
Talent: Beth innately understands how great leaders improve sales performance and win the war for talent. She uses her expertise in talent analysis and strength management as well as our state-of-the-art tools to help her customers recruit, select, develop, and retain the very best.
Culture: Beth also recognizes that hiring top talent and providing world-class training is not enough if a company’s employees are not engaged. Her personal mission is to close the engagement gap that exists for many organizations which is why she leads our Up Your Culture division of the company. Beth works with our team of experts to help companies create a culture of engagement, reduce regrettable turnover, increase productivity and revenue, and grow key customer retention.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
The most successful salespeople are the ones who are not only driven to be the best at what they do, but are also driven to provide the very best solutions to the customer. Sellers who strive to stay on top of market trends, understand their customers’ business and serve as true subject matter experts are of incredible value today. No longer viewed as “salespeople” these people are seen as partners.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Understand your innate strengths and weaknesses and spend as much time as possible practicing in your areas of natural strength. That is counterintuitive for most of us; we tend to focus on our weaknesses and spend the majority of our time working to fix them. Since we can only get about 10% better in an area of weakness, there’s a very small ROI there. Focusing on our strengths on the other hand… that’s where the magic happens! You can get up to ten times better in an area of strength! Are you naturally curious and great at uncovering information when meeting with a customer? Don’t forget to spend time on that then! The time you spend training and practicing the things you do naturally well will separate you from everyone else!
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
While you need to follow an effective, repeatable sales process and you need to master your product or service, you also need to find your style. No two people sell in the same way. Are you a people person? How can you increase and improve your interactions with people and sell through those relationships? Are you highly analytical and curious by nature? How can you become famous in your industry for your knowledge and expertise? Figure out what makes you different from everyone else and leverage that!
Becky Kuperhand
Becky Kuperhand is a Managing Partner at Apex Assembly, where they unite F2000 decision makers to solve critical business challenges at IT and IT Security executive forums. During her 9 years as a sales and partnership leader, she was known for finding and developing talent, creating and implementing business processes, and always pushing her limits to improve herself, her team and her relationships. With a background in advertising and publishing, startups and software sales along with executive events, Becky has diversified her network and her knowledge. “Always deliver more than expected!
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
Going from an individual contributor to a sales leader responsible for a team was a huge shift in my early career. I quickly had an aha moment that has stayed with me forever.
Once I realized that you mange business and lead people and those do not cross – I found my leadership self. A reminder that most leaders need from time to time!
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Be agile, be open to new ideas, perspectives and techniques.
Our strength is in our ability to be confident in the skills we have and open to growing in areas we lack – and to see the difference.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Some people say sales is an art or a science. I say its a form of communication. Learning to use your voice to communicate in the most successful way – that is sales. Find your voice, and choose the product or service you will be selling carefully. Make sure you believe in it before you sell it because authenticity is louder than anything.
Brett Jansen
“As the Vice President, Strategy and Market Development, I am responsible for the long-term roadmap for new market developments for the Commercial Business: Value Based Care, Payer strategy, Concierge Medicine, Ambulatory surgical centers and EMS.
In addition, I am the executive growth leader for two new verticals:
- Strategic Clinical Sales
- Community Health Sales
- Chair for the Women @ Butterfly Employee Resource Group”
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
You should listen more than you talk when having a conversation with a client. You can learn so much more about how to solve their problem and get them to buy by just asking the right; targeted questions.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
I was once told I had sharp elbows. I took that as a compliment. Don’t be afraid to be assertive, exert confidence in every room you walk into and become the expert at both a micro and macro level in your field so when you speak up, people listen.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Get in front of as many clients as possible. Have as many conversations as possible. Make it so that people feel comfortable talking to you, get people to let their guard down by listening more and observe people’s body language; match it and let them feel like they are controlling the conversation.
Bridget Gleason
Bridget has 20+ years of go-to-market experience with a proven record of success building and leading both enterprise and high-velocity sales organizations for start-up, early stage, and high-growth SaaS and PaaS technology companies—achieving double- and triple-digit growth in revenues and customer retention. Often asked to present at sales and leadership events, she is recognized for her expertise in sales acceleration and scale – building sustainable, repeatable and successful go-to-market engines. Bridget is currently the Global VP of Sales, Customer success and Technical Services for Tidelift, an remote-first company in the managed open source space.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
When I realized that I could excel at my job AND enjoy it at the same time. I didn’t have to let the pressure and stress overshadow the great parts of leading a sales team.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Be you. Trust your instinct.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
You can do it!
Brittany May
I’m a highly motivated, passionate, entrepreneurial, and results-oriented sales leader with 6 years of experience across various products and a proven track record of success in selling SaaS solutions. Today I help investment managers harness the power of community and technology to automate regulatory compliance.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
One of my “aha moments” involved learning about The Golden Circle concept from Simon Sinek’s Ted Talk and experiencing a shift in the types of conversations I was able to have when I put this into practice. People are busier and more distracted than ever before so by adjusting my approach and starting with my why, asking the deeper questions, listening, relating (how), and offering a brief product description (what), I began to encounter buyers who would open up and let me in. They felt understood, respected, and far more trusting, and because this approach was much more conversational, they gained an added level of comfort, were willing to spend more time with me and were more likely to maintain a higher level of engagement from the start. Stop talking so much so you can sell what your customers need rather than beginning the conversation by selling what you have.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Get out of your own way. Someone else getting what you want has nothing to do with you not getting what you want. Focusing on what someone else has, what they’re achieving, and how they’re doing it rather than putting your head down, going after what you want to achieve, and paving your own way is only going to waste energy and hold you back from being great. Sales is competitive but most people miss the mark by not realizing the biggest competition/roadblock is actually with yourself. Comparison is the thief of joy. For me, the road to success in sales involves staying mentally focused on my own business and tapping into my strengths while thinking of creative ways to progress deals and constantly learning from those around me. When I’m centered in this way and only worried about what I’m doing and what’s in my control, I have the capacity to contribute to a supportive and empowering team environment. This is when my potential for success is greatest.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
“Getting started in Sales might seem intimidating, so my best advice would be to take a step back and think of something you’ve been able to excel at in your life and apply that same methodology.
When I joined my first Sales Team of 32 SDR’s (28 of which were men) with no direct experience and technically no clue how to begin attacking my challenging quarterly target, I was grappling with some serious imposter syndrome. My boss pulled me aside and convinced me that Sales was not all that different from the world I knew so well. Having played Water Polo for many years at the collegiate and professional level, he reminded me that I was constantly in a high-pressure environment, competing against my teammates for that starting position while simultaneously working together to achieve a common goal, and making a conscious effort to stand out as a leader on the team. So be it Water Polo or Sales – or any other skill you have been able to nurture, develop, and excel at over time – the recipe for success all boils down to mindset, passion, discipline (creating good habits), and relatability. One last bit of advice for starting out in the world of Sales – I want to stress the importance of everything I learned in my first sales role. While entry-level sales tends to be a very humbling role and deterrent for many, I still use the same skills, strategies, and disciplines today. This is why I encourage new sales professionals to fully embrace the role, build a strong foundation here, and I promise you will reap the benefits for years to come.”
Brittni Kinney Ratliff
Brittni Kinney Ratliff is a vice president at Influence & Co., a content marketing firm that helps companies strategize, create, publish, and distribute content that drives measurable results. Influence & Co.’s clients range from venture-backed startups to Fortune 500 brands. Brittni specializes in high-level strategy development and is an expert at helping marketing and business leaders identify the content tactics that will help them achieve their goals. She is also one of those people who will work her dog and CrossFit into any conversation and she makes no apologies about that either.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
Early on in my sales training, one of our executives was mentoring me one-on-one. He would “ghost” my phone calls and offer feedback afterward. It wasn’t until I was training a news salesperson that I realized how many times that executive was likely biting his tongue, knowing I wasn’t answering a question as thoroughly as possible, wasn’t confirming budget or next steps or even losing the sale simply because of my inexperience. He had a long term vision for my role and by letting me fail a little, he set me up well for a successful sales future. He could have cut in, introduced himself and saved sales but he didn’t — he listened and corrected and let me make my mistakes and then grow from them. If that executive hadn’t relinquished control and if he wasn’t as willing to take a few small losses for a greater return later, I know I wouldn’t be as good at this job as I am now. It’s changed the way I think about my interactions with coworkers who are newer in their roles, training and my own growth in this career.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Know your company and industry better than your customer could. When objections, hesitations or concerns arise, the best way you can validate them and work through them is to have confident expertise in your product or service. Take time understanding how current accounts are going, what successes certain verticals have seen, what issues or patterns cause your customers or account teams the most headaches. The more you can speak to actual examples of ways your company has both seen successes and navigated tough clients, the more likely you are to help set expectations and mitigate risks in the partnership. You don’t ever want to be the salesperson that tells people whatever they want to hear or exaggerates capabilities. Know why your clients leave, know why they stay, know what clients are the hardest for your account teams to see success with. Be an indisputable expert in whatever your company does.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Reject the urge to exist in a silo. It’s easy to do in sales but the more space you put between your department and others, the further you remove yourself from the customer experience after the contract is signed. Stay innately curious about your own industry, product and customers. Also, cultivate detail orientation. There are so many unknowns and unpredictable scenarios in sales but the one thing you can control is your timeliness in response, your ability to follow-up, the helpfulness of the resources you send, etc. With so many outside variables determining your success (budget cycles, access to decision makers, approvals) control what you can: your own work ethic.
Brittney Yastrub
Sales Manager focused on front of the funnel processes. I started my career in tech sales 4 years ago as a SDR and have since scaled two SDR teams. When I am not working, I like to enjoy the outside here in ATX or plan my next travel adventure.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
I struggled at first when it came to making cold calls. I felt like I was an inconvenience in my prospects day and that lack of confidence came through in my delivery. One day something clicked and I thought about my paycheck with and without hitting my goals. I realized my psyche was the only thing getting in my way of hitting my OTE. It was a huge turning point for me. I completely separated my personal identity from the reaction of those on the other end of the line. I no longer felt like an inconvenience, but instead was someone who had a solution their problems. If they reacted negatively to my call – that was on them and not on me. My new perspective resulted in more meetings set which resulted in more conversations and more success.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Be your own advocate. There were many times early in my career that I would get to my reviews and completely forgot all of the great things I personally contributed to the team in the last quarter or year. I recommend keeping a book of all of your accomplishments so when it comes time to fill out that self assessment or ask for that raise that you are prepared to justify it. Do not assume your leadership sees all that you contribute.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Be proactive with your own development. Depending on the company that you are starting your career with, there could be varying levels of support when it comes to onboarding, management, training, etc. You are not limited to what they can provide you. Take what you are given and of course ask for more, but also know there is a wealth of knowledge out there in various books, on LinkedIn, and in the different sales communities that exist. As Trish Bertuzzi says, “Own the success of you.”
Christie Walters-Hebert
As Regional Director, Global Accounts at Convergint and in similar previous roles for multiple technology companies, Christie knows how to drive a successful sales team in the midst of the chaos and tension that is the day-to-day of running a business. Christie is also a certified coaching professional with a focus on coaching strategic sales teams and is co-host of The Why and The Buy podcast.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
My biggest aha moment has been when I realized that I could go SO much further when I worked in concert with others. I was a doer early on in my career and in reality it wasn’t until I stopped just doing and started connecting that my career really flurished.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Invest in a coach. Hiring a coach was the single best thing I have ever done for my career. So much so, I decided to become a coach myself. Your coach can help shine a light on your blind spots and hold space for whatever you need at that time. Sometimes a cheerleader, sometimes a driver, sometimes a safe place to land when things aren’t fair or don’t make sense.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Find your tribe. Invest the time in a group of professionals that you can learn from. You will never feel like you have the time but it is so crucial to build those relationships early.
Dani Buckley
Dani Buckley is an experienced leader, passionate about helping teams sell smarter and faster, and an educational and entertaining speaker and livecast host. She’s overseen the growth of LeadG2 through the pandemic, almost doubling the size of her team post-pandemic due to her strategic leadership, focus on client results, and finding new ways to help others sell smarter and faster through inbound marketing and sales enablement.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
That sales is truly all about problem solving. Every step of the way. Whether it’s uncovering needs by asking smart questions and being curious, or presenting solutions in a way that is easy to understand and helps the buyer make the best decision for themselves. We’re problem solvers and that can actually be fun!
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Be yourself! Might sound cliche but truly it’s your authentic, talented self that will shine and when you try to be someone else or act a certain way, people will feel that. Your own unique leadership style, skills, and personality are what will propel you forward and help you find the right roles that are in alignment for you.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
You’re going to need to use your brain a lot – but don’t forget about your intuition. It will actually help guide you to the right roles, right prospects, right conversations, and so much more.
Danielle Perlstein
After teaching high school English in Chicago, I joined an early stage EdTech startup and launched my career in sales 8 years ago. My passion now lies in working for mission-driven startups and helping to build their sales teams.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
That no matter how many tips or best practices I read on LinkedIn posts or hear on webinars, I can only implement the ones that are authentic to me. I have to stay true to myself and my personality first and foremost because buyers can see right through someone who is phony.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
The moment I realized I didn’t have to compartmentalize every single piece of my identity (i.e. mother, wife, sales leader), was the moment I started building stronger relationships with the people I was selling to. I thought I had to keep my personal identity separate in a sales presentation, but (when appropriate) sharing different aspects of my life actually made me more human and created more opportunities to connect with my buyers. With this growing culture of “bring your whole self to work”, this shouldn’t be limited to your co-workers, but also to your customers.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Manage up. Don’t wait for your manager to provide you with all of the support + opportunities you expect. Instead be proactive and seek out those opportunities yourself. Offer to lead a team meeting if your manager could use support, or let them know how you learn best if coaching isn’t as effective as you would like. The sales reps who sit and wait for everything to come to them are the ones who won’t grow in their career. Be proactive and manage up!
Davina Vargas
I am lucky enough to call myself a supporter of people. I have found out early in life and in my career that that is where I do my best work. It drives me and gives me the necessary energy to want to improve and succeed.
I started my journey in retail sales and although there were accomplishments to be proud of, I was one of the lucky few who took a chance and completely changed gears. Moving out of store side sales, I was able to get into an HR role. Although I absolutely loved the role, I found that it was with the wrong company. Being in that role taught me a lot of how not to be and what support of your people should really look like.
I moved from that role into a sales and development role with a startup in the tech and entertainment sector. The beauty of this transition is that it taught me how to be a forward thinker and how to maneuver with less. I was stretched to think about innovation and encouraged to take risks. I am now at a very interesting time in life. A time where I have officially achieved my dream role working for an amazing tech company. As the Sr. Leader of Diversity,Equity, Inclusion and culture, I am positively challenged each day to live the company principles and do more than just show up and work.
When I am not working, I am lucky enough to spend time with my 3 kiddos (two human, one fur) exploring new cities and attending their sports events.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
There is more than one path you can take to get your desired outcome. There are also a ton of companies who would love your skills. Don’t be afraid to walk away from a negative situation and join a company that sees your value.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Don’t be afraid to trust what you know is right. Your skills are unique to you, trust them.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
I would tell her to NOT take a cut throat approach to anything you do. Often, as women, we feel we have to be twice as tough, twice as gritty to show colleagues that we can get things done. Stay true to you, it’ll always win in the end.
Deb Calvert
Deb Calvert authored DISCOVER Questions® and Stop Selling & Start Leading, founded The Sales Experts Channel, is President of People First Productivity Solutions, and a certified sales and executive coach. She’s one of the “65 Most Influential Women in Business,” a Top 30 Global Sales Guru, and an inductee into The Sales Hall of Fame.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
People will respond to you the way you present yourself to them. If you’re deferential, they many not take you seriously. If you lack confidence, they won’t be confident in what you’re selling. If you see yourself on an equal footing (and why wouldn’t you?!), they’ll see you that way, too.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Don’t hold back! Say what you think, ask for what you need, stand up to what’s not right, and don’t accept any limitations others may try to impose on you.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Be yourself. There’s no need to emulate stereotypes of sellers or to use the exact words and tactics of your sales manager or colleagues. There’s no value in donning a pseudo-personality that feels inauthentic (and looks that way to others, too). The best of you is what buyers will respond to best.
Dianne Kleber
Dianne Kleber, VP of Sales Enablement at Paradox, is an energetic sales leader who is passionate about helping teams exceed their professional and personal goals. With experience from startup to M&A and a focus on sales process, enablement, and coaching team members, Dianne knows what drives conversions and wins. When she’s not working, Dianne is enjoying the outdoors or reading a great sales leadership book!
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
Early in my sales career, as an individual contributor, my aha moment came as a bit of an afterthought. I was raised in a family of hard workers and over achievers, and so when I started in sales I applied that work ethic and focus to my role and had quick success. I started my workday earlier than some of my peers, stayed a little later, made the extra calls . . . and succeeded! My aha moment came as I was recognized for my efforts and realized, to succeed in sales you just need to do the work. Simple concept, not simple work!
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Own your success – Being a successful salesperson, whether female or male, is about setting excellence goals and achieving those goals! Make your numbers, align yourself and learn from the top talent in your company, be confident in your abilities and always be learning new skills. To stand out to your prospects, peers and leadership, figure out what you do well and make it your differentiator. Finally, be agile and flexible. Remaining continuously curious and open to change will help you gain deeper insights into what your next successful chapter will be!
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Learn as much as you can from the masters. Read every book you can, subscribe to every blog, listen to every podcast, and then get to know the top performers at your organization. Find out from the top talent what makes them successful. How do they win deals? What is their process? What do they say and do to win? And after you learn as much as you can, spend time to figure out what you do well and perfect it – make it your differentiator – and continue to improve everywhere else. Never stop being curious and learning because even if you’re the #1 salesperson at your organization, there is always someone ready to take that spot from you.
Dominique Levin
Currently CEO of Winning by Design, revenue consulting and training company focused on B2B recurring revenue business (600+ clients, 500+ G2 reviews, and 2nd fastest growing company in Silicon Valley). Previously CEO at LogLogic (acquired by TIBCO), and CMO at AgilOne (predictive marketing) and Totango (customer success software), amongst others. Author of The SaaS Sales Method for Customer Success and Predictive Marketing.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
That even in B2B people buy with their emotion first, and rationalize with facts and figures. One of my clients sold cloud-connected sprinklers that saved money and helped the environment. Still, sales took two years. Only once they learnt city managers had a personal frustration related to testing sprinklers, they convinced city managers to prioritize cloud-sprinklers, reducing sales to nine months.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Be yourself. Focus on truly understanding how you can make your customer’s business successful by asking smart, well-researched questions, and then tell stories about others you’ve helped. Modern sales is much more like customer success than it is about selling. Nobody wants to be sold to. Women tend to be better listeners, with more empathy. and better storytellers and so often outperform men in sales.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
There are only two jobs in any company: building product and selling product. So you’ve come to the right place! There is no better starting point for a career than close to the customer in sales. It can take you anywhere.
Emiley Oster
Emiley is an established sales and business development leader with extensive experience working with technology, software and SaaS companies. Emiley has been growing and developing B2B revenue teams for over 10 years and is currently based in Portland, Oregon.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
When done right, selling is about solving problems for people. This helped me get over the fear of rejection when making sales calls.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Find a great mentor early on in your career.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Sales can be a very rewarding career. Find a good company and a great product to represent and have fun!
Emily Blau
Emily manages the global sales engagement team at Proofpoint – a leading cybersecurity company. Emily started as a BDR and quickly moved into management. She now manages a team that optimizes sales engagement platforms, and overseas the sales communication strategy.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
When I was managing a new team, we had a department wide sales competition. At the end of the week both finalists were from my team using sales strategies that I had taught them.
This experience made me realize that I love to coach, and I could inspire others to reach their potential.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Challenge yourself and go for the positions that will stretch you. You will develop faster in the positions that push you rather than those you think you are 100% qualified for.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Your first sales job will never be your dream job. However, every position is valuable and if you work diligently, you will develop skills that will be essential throughout the rest of your career.
Emily Davidson Dukes
Started out as a teacher, then to outbound SDR world, then to closing on the AE team. Really wish Brene Brown was my mom.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
People want the truth over anything. They just want to be heard & treated like a human, and after this, everything else is so much easier. No fancy tricks or pitches or lines, just be. Human.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Speak up & state the obvious: if you’re awesome at something & its because of your gender or specific skills you developed due to even a disadvantage you had to overcome (thanks societal pressure), make it heard loud & clear. The “disadvantage” becomes your mark of pride.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Develop your assertive & witty side if its underdeveloped. Be ready to feel uncomfortable, but lean into it. Be proud of yourself for even the smallest wins. Have. Fun.
Emily Newton- Burford
I am Emily! At any given time you can find me outside with my husband and two fur kiddos ( Charley and Bingley). I love any excuse to meet new people and explore new places. I am forever trying to find a new hobby; currently into woodworking and have built a table and plant stand!
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
The aha moment I have had is a shift from being so attached to the outcome or the sale to being attached to the ability for the product I sell to actually positively impact someones business or life. If you are passionate about helping people and not passionate about just your commission, the goal becomes easier to attain…. HELP PEOPLE.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Find something to sell that you are passionate about. Then you can be what makes you, YOU. Sales is tough, but individualizing yourself and allowing your unique personality to be experienced in outreach and conversation helps you to come across as genuine, not robotic. Aren’t we all, in this technological era, craving that genuine human connection?
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
There are so many growing opportunities for women to lead in sales. Find a woman who is in the role you want to be in down the road and ask to learn from or be mentored by them. Remember that work is not life, it is a means by which to live life! Enjoy the work you do, but also learn what fills you up outside of work and pursue it!
Emmy Johnson
Emmy is an experienced Sales/Business Development veteran with over 10 years of experience building high-growth and high-performing teams. Emmy has spoken at major events and has been featured on several sales-related podcasts and blogs. She is also a huge proponent and advocate for women in sales and is a mentor for #GirlsClub. Most recently she built the entire global sales development function from scratch at the cybersecurity firm ZeroFox.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
I learned the hard way to set small goals for myself and focus on consistent, incremental improvement. Sometimes large goals seem insurmountable and so we give up before we see success. For example, if you make 10 calls a day on average, making 50 calls per day feels next to impossible. Making an extra 40 calls per day right off the jump is hard to sustain. However, if you add an extra 10 calls per day that doesn’t feel so lofty…you make 20 calls per day the first week, then 30 the next week, 40 the next, and finally 50. By then you have created a habit and have worked your way up to your 50 calls per day goal.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Don’t compare yourself to others or be afraid to fail. Try new things and think outside the box. Just because something worked for someone else does not mean it’s going to work for you. Find your own style and success will come.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Naturally, we do not like to receive tough feedback, but the only way to improve is to ask for it. You have to understand your shortcomings in order to fix them but we can’t assume that they will be offered… ASK! In that same vein, be your own harshest critic. Really try to diagnose where you think you could improve and seek guidance from those who do it best. My other piece of advice is to always advocate for yourself. Don’t expect others to recognize you for your success or even notice it. Sometimes you have to bring it to their attention.
Eva Poppe
“Currently, at Unity Technologies, Eva has over a decade worth of global experience in the technology and telco industry; establishing overachieving inside operations, whether that be in sales or a sales development function.
Her DNA is Sales in Tech; Eva orchestrates people to maximum effectiveness and performance by setting the pace, anticipating the future, leading with innovative thinking, and continuously improving ways forward.”
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
- Woman are better Sales people in Tech. (And still underrepresented)
- Sales is a skill you need to learn and master. It’s not just: „I like to talk to people“ 3. Data and numbers are an essential part in Sales to be highly successful.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
- Get yourself a group of mentors and supporters. They can lift you up and might not even know their role with you.
- Be aware about the imposter syndrome – AND do consciously something about it when you got yourself caught with it.
- Create your own brand.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Go bold!
Gretchen Keefner
Gretchen Keefner is VP of Bullhorn’s Enterprise business in North America, responsible for the growth of the company’s largest and most strategic customers. Gretchen has been a leader in staffing and recruiting technology for the entirety of her career. Prior to joining Bullhorn, Gretchen was VP of Sales for Chicago-based startup Envoy, following twelve years with CareerBuilder where she led Enterprise staffing sales and eventually launched and led CareerBuilder’s healthcare business unit. Gretchen holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Illinois Wesleyan University and an MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. She serves on the Women In Leadership Council for the American Staffing Association and is an active mentor through ASA and Chicago Innovation.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
If you aren’t sharing yourself – how you win, how you approach things, what you think – you are doing a disservice to others and to yourself. People want to know why you are good and they want to know your opinion. It’s not selfish to add value.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Get comfortable with being uncomfortable – that is how you grow. Stretch into the next role, take on the big complex account, call the C level that scares you. You will always rise to the occasion and you will always come out stronger.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Be curious and authentic. Never go into ‘sales mode’. People want to buy from people they like, people they trust, and people they believe understand their problems. Focus on getting to know who you are talking with and what their struggles are. The deals will come.
Hannah Clinton
Having being fortunate enough to wear different sales hats in my career I found myself continually drawn to enablement which is where I have made my career. At TripActions we pride ourselves on offering world class sales enablement which I am hugely proud to be a part of.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
If I am not the smartest person in the room then I am in the right room. Why? Because it means I chose to work for a company with high talent density and that I have an opportunity for continual growth and learning.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
ABC. Always be curious. Learn from the success of others and don’t be afraid to ask for help! Seek out the best and brightest in your sales org, surround yourself with winners and be relentless about discovering exactly how they do it.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Find yourself a mentor early on and know that it might take a while for you to find your rhythm – and that’s ok! Sales requires grit. Work out where you get your grit from and harness that in your lower moments. Then when you start to win, celebrate and be proud!
Hannah Frey
“Hannah Frey is a Client Executive at IBM responsible for key government clients in New York. Throughout her career, Hannah has been focused on providing public sector clients with innovative solutions and IT services tailored to government, healthcare, human services and education, consistently exceeding quota and earning awards in both sales and consulting.
Hannah is currently pursuing her MBA at NYU Stern School of Business, in the Executive MBA program.”
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
That the more I challenged myself and faced my fears, the more I surprised myself, the better I got and more confidence I built! — it has been quite a snowball effect!
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Don’t wait until you’re confident to show up…Show up until you’re confident!!
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Challenge yourself and always remember that “growth and comfort do not coexist” – Ginny Rometty
Hannah Rawls
Hannah Rawls, Founder and Financial Advisor of Rawls Street Financial Advising, decided to make the switch from logistics to Financial Advising when she realized her true passion was helping American individuals and families to prepare for the future and retire comfortably. With 64% of Americans on track to retire with insufficient savings, she seeks to find a way to help address this deficit through education, financial planning, and investment management.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
Being yourself is the best way to build connection with a prospect. Some people might not like you, but most people will appreciate the authenticity.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
You are the expert in your field and the strength of another’s opinion does not dictate truth. Do not be afraid to stand your ground with push back when you know you are right. Do not try to accommodate their ego. In your mind, you might be trying to be gracious, but they see it as a weakness 9 out of 10 times.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Yes, you might be treated differently as a female in your field; that will come as both a good and a bad thing. Know your subject matter. Be confident.
Hannah Sutcliffe
I’m one of the co-founders of MOONHUB, a VR training company. I’m trilingual, an advocate for encouraging women in business, and have been listed as an influential woman in tech.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
For me, being named as an influential woman in tech has been the absolute highlight of my career journey so far!
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Don’t be too pushy, it can be a turn-off. Put yourself on the receiving side – talk to the potential client how you would talk to yourself. Equally, don’t let yourself be intimidated by others; we’re all human at the end of the day.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Believe in yourself. Confidence comes with time, and you’ll look back on yourself in a few years in awe of what you can achieve. Yes, you might have to speak a bit louder, and put yourself out there more than your male counterparts, but there will be a time when we no longer have to do that. You can do this.
Heather Reed
Sales Leader with 17+ years of experience in building successful sales teams across multiple industries. Well-versed in revenue operations and recruiting, training, and developing sales professionals in various functions and stages of their careers. Current emphasis on scaling the people, process, and tech behind inbound & outbound XDR functions.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
Challenge your own paradigm. We all have beliefs about what other people think or bouts of imposter syndrome. But what happens when we’re wrong about those things? A coach once challenged me by asking ‘What are all the ways the opposite of that are true?” It’s amazing the growth opportunities you can create for yourself by challenging your own perspectives.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Get a mentor or business coach outside of your current company. I was always unsure of how to find one until one day I got the courage to ask someone I admired and respected to be my mentor – and they said yes!
– Don’t be afraid to ask, people are more willing than you would think.
– As your career evolves, so should these relationships. Seek new mentors/coaches in different functions, industries, etc.
– This is for your benefit so come prepared with your ideas or objectives for this relationship and define the timeframe.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Identify your core career values, the things that bring you purpose and fulfillment through your work. Ensure you align your function with being able to achieve and live those values. It may take time to hone them, but it will make difficult career choices that much clearer because you can view them through the lens of what is truly important to you.
Heidi Bullock
Heidi Bullock is an experienced marketing executive who has built a 20+ year career working at both global enterprise technology companies and start-ups. She is currently the CMO of Tealium, the trusted leader in real-time customer data orchestration. Prior to Tealium, she held leadership roles at Engagio and Marketo.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
It’s always good to know how to do the demo.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Be close to the details. Don’t make assumptions. Have a clear understanding of your goals, the path to take to achieve your goals, and most importantly – going the last mile to make sure your buyer has what they need.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Identify top sales people and observe them.
Heidi Solomon-Orlick
Heidi Solomon-Orlick is an award winning 30-year sales leader. She currently serves as Vice President of Global Sales for VXI Global Solutions and is Founder and CEO of GirlzWhoSell, an organization committed to closing the gender gap in B2B sales and to building the largest pipeline of diverse, early stage female sales talent.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
One of the biggest a-ha moments for me was realizing that I did not have to “sell like a man” to be successful in sales. 30 years ago, when I started in sales, it was predominately male and deals were being made on the golf course or at the bar. Unfortunately I was terrible at golf and was uncomfortable with those social situations so I knew that I had to find another way. I realized that trying to sell in a way that felt inauthentic did not work for me. I chose to be different. I became an expert at my product or service and focused on building long term, sustainable relationships and establishing trust. Once I realized that it was not an either/or scenario I began to thrive. I could be feminine and still be in the top 1%, I never looked back.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
My best career advice is to apply for sales jobs even if you don’t meet 100% of the job qualifications. Women tend to think that we need to justify our worthiness and/or defend our experience. It is a proven fact that men will apply for a job if they meet only 60% of the qualifications listed. Women feel that they need to check all of the boxes. The job qualifications listed are generally unrealistic nice to have’s. No one will have everything. The bottom line is, if you don’t apply you will never have a shot at the opportunity. Oh, and don’t forget to ask for what your worth when you do apply! Do not settle for less.
Kindness, understanding and sticking up for your team will get you farther than any particular sales manager training.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Sales is about serving not selling. It is about solving problems, developing relationships, creating solutions and building trust. As a woman, you have the natural personality traits and mindset to be successful. Be authentic and leverage those traits to your advantage without apology.
Holly Koob
Ed tech manager with 20 years experience in inside sales and sales development.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
Caring about your people matters.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Kindness, understanding and sticking up for your team will get you farther than any particular sales manager training.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Truly listen to your customers – both internal and external – to be successful in your role.
Isabella McKeon
Isabella leads the sales team at Suzy, an agile consumer insights platform for the enterprise (and is hiring for both AEs and SDRs!). Companies use Suzy to get instant, iterative feedback from any target consumer in minutes.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
It’s always important to remind yourself that luck is when preparation meets opportunity. If you continuously put in the work, you will see the results. But sales is a rollercoaster, so have faith in the process and celebrate the wins as much as you can.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Trust your gut, surround yourself with great mentors, and take feedback as a gift.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Practice, practice, practice. Sales is a craft and the more hours you dedicate, the better results you’ll see. And welcome to the most fun career in the world 🙂
Jacqueline Manitaros
Jacqueline Manitaros has over 20 years of sales experience and over 15 years leading sales teams. Jacqueline is passionate about developing sales strategies, team coaching, and implementing self motivation tactics to help improve performance.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
Do you and ignore the naysayers. Find as many mentors as you can and always pay it forward to others who are up and coming.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Sell with integrity.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
The world of sales is awesome and can lead you to see many places, you control your earnings, and always be learning new leading edge tools/apps/programs etc. Always stay relevant.
Jacquelyn Nicholson
“Jacquelyn Nicholson is a wife, mom and sales professional with decades of global business experience, who is an avid runner, competitive shooter, and a trained sommelier.
A native of Illinois, she has lived all over the US, from IL to NH, NY, NJ, and CA, most recently settling in TX in 2021. Jacquelyn has traveled the world extensively for business and holds masters and bachelors degrees in Engineering from the University of Illinois. She and her husband Paul have two children, two dogs and a respectable wine cellar just outside of Dallas.”
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
That my most fervent desire is to work with a handful of the largest companies in the world and focus exclusively on selling to and serving them as a senior executive who has the gravitas to meet with their C suite.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
You have nothing to defend, so stop apologizing or explaining yourself. Limit the information you give people, as if you’re the most senior, serious person in the room. I tell young women to behave like Judi Dench, who plays M in modern Bond movies. Would M tell someone that? No? Then neither should you.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Don’t jump ship every time you’re uncomfortable. Life is uncomfortable – get used to it. Never leave for a lateral move unless you have no choice. Get promoted where you are.
Jaime Diglio
Sales leader at Slalom. Jaime coaches leaders and their teams on all things growth. She specializes in mindset, self awareness and unlocking potential. Elevating the inner game of sales.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
Early in my career I was surrounded by men and therefore trying to learn to sell “like a man”. I remember thinking to myself, this doesn’t feel right. I can’t do this. It feels forced and not genuine. Over time, I found that when I led with humility and curiosity, I had success. Clients can feel when it’s forced. Remember, your energy is contagious. Remove the ego, be your authentic self and the success will come. We all have our own unique style. Focus on finding what feels right and fits for you.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Get comfortable with being uncomfortable. You’re often going to be the only female in the room. Use your female brain to your advantage. Listen for the clients listening. You will always identify things that your male peers won’t. Use that to make the client feel seen and heard. Raise your voice, embrace your doubts and when people say you can’t, remember…actually, I can.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Remember your F words. You will use them frequently.
FAILURE – is normal, it makes you stronger.
FEAR – is constant, learn to notice it and squeeze out the doubt.
FOCUS – is required, get clear on what you want and remember you can do anything, but not everything.
Jamie (Gray) Holt
I joined Flowhaven in 2021 as an SDR. Prior to Flowhaven, I was an MPS Manager with Xerox Business Soultions Southeast and and Account Manager at Berney Office Solutions. During my tenure at Xerox Business Solutions Southeast, I helped the company develop, grow and maintain accounts across the Southeast.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
That managers could truly be nurturing. A shining example is when a former manager, Kent Dendy, would tell me after making a mistake and feeling worried or frustrated, “mistakes mean you are working”. I now remind myself of that every single time I make mistake and it helps me shake it off and move forward.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
You belong here. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Never be afraid to reach out to people who are succeeding in spaces you want to be successful in. More often than not, they are willing to share key factors with you that helped them get where they are.
Jen Igartua
Jen Igartua is the CEO at Go Nimbly. With her deep experience in sales & marketing alignment and her passion for all things RevOps, Jen spends most of her daytime hours combatting the things that prevent companies from prioritizing the right work. She’s a lover of improv and applies many of its core principles to her work.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
The nerves in sales went completely away once I started being genuinely curious. I could show up to discovery calls and dive into their business pains and gaps.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Simple: support other women.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
A big part of trust and rapport is through creating certainty. This is both true in sales cycles and with your team. Make it clear what you’ll be doing and when, and then do it. When I keep to this I have such a better pipeline – it’s noticeable when I let it slip.
Jennifer Brandenburg
Jennifer Brandenburg is a veteran sales executive with over 25 years of experience in the technology industry. Jennifer is a thought-leader and expert in growing sales, inside sales, renewals, channel sales, sales operations and marketing organizations.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
When I choose to show that I was passionate about my career and was truly an expert in Inside Sales.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Follow your instincts and be confident in your role and who you are. Be proud of your identity and accomplishments and always take a seat at the table.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Be a good listener, use empathy and follow your gut. By demonstrating those 3 skills you will win deals, establish relationships and demonstrate confidence.
Jennifer Dougherty
Passionate Servant Leader enabling Sales Organization across the Globe in High Growth, Pre & Post IPO Organizations
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
Learn how to make people think your ideas are their ideas. Become a great internal consultant and you will be able to create change!
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Be a constant learner and continually stretch yourself – become comfortable being uncomfortable!
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Don’t give up – it’s a hard road and there will be far more men than women along that road so help one another and lift each other up every step of the journey!
Jennifer Colosimo
Jennifer Colosimo is the president of FranklinCovey’s enterprise division, accountable for profitable growth globally as FranklinCovey transforms organizations by building leaders, teams, and cultures that get results in 160+ countries.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
It’s more important to make your conversation relevant to the client situation and ask insightful questions than it is to make sure they know all the features of your solution. Too many sales interactions are “presentation dumps.”
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Be curious, authentic, and add value to your clients throughout the sales process. Career growth in sales comes from helping your clients succeed.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
You don’t need to know everything. You just need to work on continuously getting better, always learning and practicing what you learn.
Jenny Vance
Jenny is a revenue leader and GTM strategist. Her unique entrepreneurial experience is helping over 300 companies scale their revenue strategies. She excels in founder-led to scalable sales motions.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
Option 1: Early in my career, I was asked my opinion about enterprise pricing for a new product. It was new to me. I started by listing all the disclaimers to caveat my opinion. Our CEO said “I didn’t ask for your disclaimers. I asked for your opinion.” That was an aha moment that if I’m asked for my opinion I should share it. Anything else is me sabotaging myself and discrediting myself before I even share.
Option 2: I am good at sales. I had someone tell me for a decade that I wasn’t good at sales. “You’re a marketer. I’m a sales leader.” It was the constant mantra and it simply wasn’t true. I am a great sales person and I’m a great sales leader. And, it’s totally ok for me to say that!
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Don’t let anyone else tell you what you are or are not. This is a red flag. Instead, strong coaching sounds like “I am not seeing these behaviors from you that could yield more success. Let’s talk about how we can work together to help you grow in that area.” Avoid coaches and mentors that use definitive statements about you or your capabilities. Seek mentors and coaches who have a growth mindset about your potential.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Keep your feathers! Every time you have a success, take time to put that feather in your cap. Mentally recap and celebrate that win. Remember the struggle leading up to the win.
There will be a time when things don’t go your way. In those moments, reach up and feel those feathers. Remember all of them. You’ve succeeded before and you can again. Now, get back to work with the knowledge that you can find a way through the current challenge because you’ve done it over and over.
Jess Dodge
Jess Dodge is the Vice President of Revenue at Globalization Partners where she is responsible for strategic growth planning and execution. She has led high performing sales and marketing teams for over 15 years and has been named a Tech Target MVP for Marketing as well as one of Sales Hacker’s most dynamic Women in Sales.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
My biggest aha moment early in sales was when I realized that the best sales people say every word with purpose. Filling air time is not what the best sales people do – asking the right questions and posing new questions based off the answers will accelerate your ability to solve your customer’s problems.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Get really good at articulating what you want. When you have a clear idea of what you want, it is easy to build a path to accomplish that. When you have the path, you can easily insert experts in your network who can teach you best practices, help you grow and highlight opportunities. Sit down and take the time to build a plan for YOU!
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Build rigor into every day because time is your most valuable asset.
Jess Roman
SaaS leader with 10+ years of diverse experience. Built and scaled Sales and CS teams in both the American and Canadian market for Meltwater. Now responsible for scaling the Enterprise team at TripActions as the company moves upmarket.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
Enterprise sales is a team sport. Take up space and know when to pull in the right internal resources to get the deal across the line. You are managing the external process as much as you are the internal ones.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Take the call – when recruiters or hiring managers reach out, hear them out, constantly re-asses your market value and don’t wait for formalized mentorship opportunities, if someone’s advice could help guide you – take the first step.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Don’t take your foot off the gas! Be intentional with your career advancement and asking for a path to that next promotion.
Jordan Arogeti
Jordan Arogeti is a top-producing AE at Salesloft. Jordan started her career in technology as an SDR and has grown rapidly to the Enterprise segment serving some of the most prestigious companies in the world. On the side, Jordan and her husband also run Arogeti Endeavors a general startup consulting and angel investment practice.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
Just one? I think the biggest aha moment I had was when I shifted about thinking about sales from my perspective to the perspective of the Customer. Not only did I get better but I could serve their business in a more meaningful way.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
In this day and age, it’s popular to change roles, companies, and skillsets fairly frequently. My career advice is to find a profession you love and go super deep into it. It’s rewarding to have a true competency in an area to become a reliable expert.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Women have a tendency to worry about “imposter syndrome” or be concerned they aren’t qualified enough. If you want to explore sales dive in, fail fast, and understand that rejection isn’t personal, it’s business.
Julia Bourne
Julia Bourne is leading a team in the Automotive Aftermarket industry focused on driving global revenue within our brands. Julia is passionate about driving revenue and forming innovative solutions for our industry.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
Thinking I can do everything on my own is futile and I have to seek out help to be able to help myself and my team succeed.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Take ownership of your journey. Reach out to women in your field to seek out advice and make yourself known in your sales communities. Don’t wait for anyone to give you permission to go after your goals.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Seek out sales groups and communities that can help you launch your career in the right direction. There are so many women and men who want to help you to be successful! *I am open to receiving any and all questions*
Julie Hansen
Julie Hansen is a 3x sales author and creator of the Selling on Video Master Class.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
Sales is less about saying all the right things and more about being very present and passionate about what you’re doing and who you’re talking to at each moment.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Feelings aren’t facts. If you wait to feel ready to make that call, ask for that promotion, take that job, you’re doing yourself a disservice. Surround yourself with people that can give you a true reflection of who you are and what you’re capable of.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Jump in with both feet! Allow yourself to make mistakes and don’t beat yourself up for not being good at every aspect of sales. Get training to fill in the gaps – everybody has areas where they need help.
Julie Maresca
Julie Maresca is the Head of Enterprise Sales for North America at Slack and has been with Slack since 2016. Julie is responsible for GTM strategy, optimizing sales performance, and building great teams. Prior to Slack, Julie held a variety of Sales Leadership roles at LinkedIn, Dashlane, and Careerbuilder.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
One of the biggest aha moments in my sales career was when I learned that sales is a team sport, not an individual one. My results were great yet I received tough feedback (looking back the feedback was a true gift) that I wasn’t performing at my best because I was only optimizing for my individual performance. And in order to grow as a sales professional I had to think about how I could scale my learnings across the team and the org. This really changed my thinking and pushed me to visualize success in terms of transforming not just my career, but those around me.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Be your authentic self. I’ve achieved success in my career because of who I am as a person, how I engage people and customers, and how I make people feel. I’ve never tried to be an executive, I’ve just tried to be the best me!
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Be driven, be coachable, be a lifelong learner, but be confident – we really need you!
Karolyn Hart
Karolyn Hart is the President of InspireHUB Inc and has been covered in The Wall Street Journal, Reader’s Digest, The Globe and Mail, CBC, The Chicago Tribune, GCN and SD Times. She was recognized as one of the Top 99 Limit Breaking Female Founders by Arianna Huffington’s Thrive Global and her technical white papers have been published by various industry magazines. She was recruited in 2013 to help address the pediatric healthcare crisis in South Africa at the request of the Nelson Mandela family. That work would lead to the creation of InspireHUB and the development of the award-winning IHUBApp™. Today, that platform is transforming how digital experiences are created (apps, websites, hubs, portals) within a safe environment.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
I was listening to Zig Ziglar explain how the sales profession is the most aspiring and inspiring professions of all. Without it nothing that we dream, chase, or build would ever find success.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Never stop learning. The marketplace is shifting so rapidly that what worked for you last year, may not work for you this year. Your job is to serve your frontline sales leaders and that means coming armed with the latest intelligence and tools that can make their lives easier.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Be yourself and embrace your unique strengths, humor, and way of seeing the world. For example, I once organized a field-trip for a group of women executives who loved history. We spent the day in a making our rounds through a museum instead of a golf course. In the end, it’s about building relationships and people crave authenticity more than anything else. Embrace your authentic self and you’ll not only have more opportunity but also enjoy the experience far more than any other way!
Kasey Jones
Kasey is a thought leadership and growth coach to founders, executives, and their revenue teams. She helps them define the vision for their future, tap into their unique strengths, and create the fastest path toward business growth.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
No one cared as much about my career as I did. Even the best managers aren’t going to be spending the time, care, and attention to further your career that you can. Become your own self-advocate and ask for advice and help to get where you want to go. No one is going to tap you on the shoulder and create opportunities for you. You HAVE to do it yourself.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
As soon as possible, begin building a powerful network of mentors, advisors, and peers who’ve got your back — not just at your company, but in your role, industry, and community. Use these conversations as opportunities to learn and grow, to help and support others, and to navigate the complexity of a career in business. Everything in life is easier when you have people that support you.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Sales is the perfect entry point to a career in business. You will learn to write and communicate. You will learn how decisions are made and companies are run.
Be a student of the craft of sales. That skill will serve you whether you stay in the field, transfer to another department, or start your own company.
Kate VanLue
I’ve been selling for over ten years and have found my home in tech start-up sales. Sales leader, early stage strategic thinker, and Mama of 2.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
Early on in my career, I was intimidated by talking to the C-suite or prospects I felt were far above my pay-grade. I was afraid to ask questions that, I felt, displayed my inferiority. Now I realize it’s a strength to ask all the questions, even the dumb ones, and that nobody in the C-suite got there without asking them themselves. Be infinitely curious and embrace it.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Own who you are and don’t hide it. It took me far too long to realize that I can be the same person in my personal life and my professional life. Talking to a prospect or a team member should be like talking to a friend or family. Be super authentic and never apologize for it.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Don’t let anyone ever make you feel bad for winning. Always celebrate.
Katherine Mays
“My expertise lies in creating relationships between companies and their customers & prospects that will drive revenue growth throughout their lifecycles, individually and at scale.
I am a community leader looking for ways to bring diverse individuals together. I promote innovation through inclusive collaboration, communication, and organization.”
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
If you don’t ask, the answer is always no. I spent a lot of time waiting for an opportunity to come to me, but one day, when I really wanted something to happen but it wasn’t, it clicked that I would have to be the one to go out and make it happen. I did my research, I looked for connections, I made my pitch, and I succeeded.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Sales may be a numbers game, but relationships are always personal. When I figured out that taking more time to really understand who I was talking to, what they care about, and why they should talk to me, everything changed. When you can find a way to make your own knowledge helpful to someone else, you tie your success together for your mutual benefit. Symbiotic relationships have an advantage on so many levels: trust, longevity, value, support.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
If you can clearly articulate what you want and why you want it, you’re already a step ahead! To take the next step, convey why the other person should want that thing too.
Katherine McConnell
Katherine McConnell connects people and ideas to create impact and revenue traction for early-stage startups. From upselling add-on milkshakes to $150million dollar deals on Wall Street, she then launched the Women’s National Basketball Association’s NY Liberty team and ran Burton Snowboard’s international Chill Foundation before shifting gears from intrapreneurship to startups. Katherine is now a revenue strategy consultant and committed to increasing opportunity and equity for women in sales; Three-time LinkedIn Top 100 Sales Star.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
I sold books door-to-door in college, and while I’m a big believer in playbooks and process, I had an epiphany while sipping lemonade on the couch of a potential buyer. The script wasn’t a rigid checklist I just need to get through – I had to actively LISTEN to what people were saying and connect what I was offering specifically to their needs. All jobs can teach lessons!
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Join and become active in a sales or women in sales/revenue community! They offer an incredible opportunity to connect with other women sales/revenue professionals, get & give advice, and continue to learn and develop as a professional and person.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
- Know you are not alone – even if you are ‘the only’ on your sales team, the ‘women in sales’ tribe is ready to support you!
- Ask for advice and find mentors
- Learn how to advocate for yourself
- Continue to develop your skills
- Build up your LinkedIn profile & activity
Katie Carty Tierney
Katie Carty Tierney is an Area Vice President for the Americas at BMC Software. She entered Sales through unconventional channels, having started her career as a software engineer, then taking a break to build her family (four children in five years!), and then re-entering the workforce as a Solutions Engineer. By saying “Yes” when other people said “No,” Katie took advantage of opportunities to grow her career at BMC and now looks after a sales team responsible for over $200M in yearly revenue.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
My Aha moment came early in my Sales career. I was the newest Solutions Engineer on the team and we had a request to do a demonstration for a very well-known analyst firm. Despite the immense pressure and high stakes that deterred others, I put my hand up and said I would do it. I thoroughly prepared, and delivered a flawless demonstration which led to some very positive analyst coverage. It also led to a promotion and new opportunities within BMC. What I learned in that “Aha Moment” was that by saying “Yes” when everyone else said “No,” and then executing on my commitments, I could build the Sales career of my dreams.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
The best piece of advice I can give women is to be willing to go out on the edge. I see too many women who are afraid to take risks without the guarantee of a reward. There is always a reward when you take a risk – even if that reward is simply a lesson learned.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Be authentic. Be yourself. Don’t try to mold yourself into some version of you that you think other people want to see. If you’re authentic and true to yourself, you will be better able to engage with your customers, build trust, and help them accomplish their goals.
Kelly Klein
Kelly Klein is an outstanding sales leader and coach with 13+ years of experience. Her passion lies in helping salespeople become top performers by coaching them to use their natural talents to excel in sales. She focuses on each individual and customizes her coaching to fit their specific needs.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
I don’t need to mask my emotions at work. My emotions are not a weakness; they are one of my greatest strengths.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Believe in yourself and your abilities, no matter what. Show up, work hard, drive results, be heard, take risks, fail, keep going, and, most importantly, have the courage to be yourself.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Be yourself and don’t apologize for it.
Kelly Shafer
Sales is not my passion. I’m fascinated by the art and science of it, but my passion is making an impact on workplace diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), and sales is simply the mode of transportation I’ve chosen to help me get there. My favorite sales role is being a quota-carrying AE, but working in sales management, training, and enablement has allowed me to have a well-rounded understanding of the function so I can make my chosen mode of transportation as effective and efficient as possible.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
That I won’t be successful by replicating a successful rep. When I first started in sales, I tried to do exactly what the person training me did. I was doing fine, but when I started to internalize what I learned and filter that through my own authentic lens, that’s when I really started to see success. Your personality is an asset!
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Support other women in sales. If you’ve found success, look behind you to see who else you can bring alongside you.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
That you belong in sales even if you don’t see a lot of other people who look like you. More women continue to get into sales and sales leadership, thank goodness, but imposter syndrome is real. Imposter syndrome is also a very logical response (it makes sense to feel like you don’t belong if you’re the only woman or woman-of-color in the room), so don’t beat yourself up for feeling that way. If you do feel that way, acknowledge that the environment is what’s wrong, you aren’t, and just keep doing your best.
Kharisma Knepshield Moraski
“More than 20 years experience in sales and operations leadership across various industries including technology, retail and advertising.
Experienced and strategic GTM leader that loves driving revenue growth.”
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
No is often more powerful than yes.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Know your own worth. Set your boundaries and hold yourself and others accountable to them.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Never take an offer as it is first given. Negotiate your worth and do so with a total package balance in mind.
Kristen Twining
Kristen is a 15-year veteran in the technology sales industry, with demonstrated success in building teams, large-scale transformation, acquiring new markets, and accelerating growth. She has been widely recognized for her leadership, was named as one of Sales Hacker’s Top Female Sales Leaders in 2020, and was most recently recognized as Industry Era’s 10 Most Inspiring Women Leaders of 2021.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
That sales is hard and there is more to it than relationship building. It’s an art, it’s strategic, it’s process-oriented, and it’s always being one step ahead.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Be vocal, ask for what you want, and raise your hand for help. Women can have it all, but we have to be upfront with ourselves, our organization, and our leaders about what support we need to achieve our version of success and balance. Lastly, be confident in who you are and the value you bring. Confidence is a muscle we have to exercise daily, but so incredibly important to how we position ourselves, how we come across, and how the belief we have in ourselves will lead to others believing in us.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Push the boundaries, stand up for what you believe in, and know your worth.
Kristina McMillan
Kristina is a recognized thought leader on topics such as B2B GTM trends, sales development, innovative pipeline strategies, sales and marketing technology, and lead generation. She has published over 100 industry-leading research papers on the strategies, benchmarks, and best practices of high-growth sales and marketing organizations.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
Earlier in my career I learned the difference between complaining and selectively sharing my grievances. I learned that every organization has things they do well and things that could be improved, but each individual can only do so much. By focusing my energy on the areas that would have the most positive impact on organizational goals meant that I got to work on the most important problems in our business.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Trust yourself and take risks. Progress comes from a lot of small sound decisions that build up to success over time.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Don’t wait for people to offer help, ask for guidance from every person you interact with. Show everyone how much you genuinely care about learning and growing, and they will remember it when new opportunities arise.
Lacy Mile
I’m a Cultural Revenue Leader & Diversity Change Leader known for building teams from the ground up and turning around under-performance and low morale. I have a niche for working with people, motivating, & educating to attain the highest potential contribution from the team.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
Staying with the theme of confidence, realizing it’s okay not to know everything. You can also always be confident in what you don’t know as well. It’s not a weakness, it is you knowing yourself and being genuine which is a strength.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Confidence and drive are key. Especially in sales, people can smell it if someone is not confident. You are there for a reason, you know you are great, go in with that confidence.
Drive is the other one. Unfortunately, we will always have to work harder. Be the hardest working person in the room, never stop grinding, learning and growing.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Use your uniqueness to your advantage. Women are naturally better at some things that make them some of the best salespeople, use that. Also, bring other women with you along the journey. There is room for all of us and a good support system is invaluable.
Laura Hopkins
Laura Hopkins is a global Enterprise SaaS sales professional who has spent her career in sales and sales leadership. She’s passionate about partnering with her clients to help them achieve their goals and believes that “sales” is simply helping her clients solve problems – often ones that they weren’t even aware of.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
I think so often we can sell ourselves short. Sometimes we are the “smartest person in the room” regarding our market, environment, or the solution we are selling! That is – we’re the expert and sometimes our clients are yearning for that expertise and the right recommendations. Lean into the confidence that comes with that!
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Don’t let “impostor syndrome” overtake you. Find yourself a small group of talented (sales)women that you trust and can share ideas with, get feedback, and reinforce/encourage you. You aren’t EVER alone in your journey!
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Don’t be afraid to try all sorts of roles/jobs. A solid sales career isn’t a linear journey up and to the right; it’s often a squiggly line that represents a variety of experiences that provide the foundation and understanding for your long-term success!
Laura Zinger
Laura leads and empowers a team that never stops shattering revenue goals at the number one price reporting agency in the protein space. She hosts industry podcasts and webinars with her barrages of bad jokes and passion for market intelligence, educates while entertaining through public speaking, and eats books for every meal of the day. Laura absolutely loves living in New Jersey with her husband and two awesome kids who thankfully tolerate her sense of humor and obsession with personal and professional growth.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
I was training a new salesperson and trying to explain how to put the prospect in the driver’s seat while demonstrating a solution. I was searching for a good metaphor and stumbled across holding a puppy. When you’re walking past a pet store and see a bunch of adorable puppies staring at you through the glass, it’s easy to take a moment to soak it in and keep walking. But if instead you go into the store and they hand you one of those precious furballs, everything changes. The puppy loves you. You imagine the walks and road trips, the tug of war, the cuddles and happiness. There’s hardly a possibility that you are walking out of that place without a puppy in your arms. So now every time I train a new salesperson, I make sure to tell them that every time they demo, they must ask questions that help the prospect imagine themselves using our intelligence and ask them to explain how much better life will be. Understanding that prospects need to hold the puppy changed my entire trajectory and throttled me toward success.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Take up space in your well earned seat at every table. Never apologize for boldly asserting your authentic self. Advocate, not only for each and every client, but for you, your career, and those of the other women in your world. If you want to win, make it clear that you are the only choice. Lastly, lean into your expertise while endlessly seeking to expand it.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Don’t just find one mentor, find many. Read all of the books. Ask every question. Make sure both you and your prospect have learned something valuable after every interaction. Oh and, don’t take yourself too seriously- just be real.
Lauren Kiefer
Sales Manager with a background in SaaS, On-Demand (Rideshare) & Advertising. Passionate about coaching, career development and retention.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
When I was selling at Twitter, I realized midway through a sale that unless I got my customer to think about the platform differently, they were never going to generate the ROI they needed to continue spending with us. I ended up sitting them down and gently explaining to them that while I understood why they were thinking they way they were thinking, I needed them to shift their thinking. I wanted them to see me as a consultative parter instead of a sales person and actually trust my advice on how to help them meet their goals. I learned that the customer is rarely right. Too often sales people default into old school thinking and are afraid to push back or be the product expert for their customers. When you let the customer lead the sale for a complex product or offering, you miss the opportunity to coach them and guide them towards solutions that will actually help them meet their goals. Being afraid to push back or speak up often translates into smaller deal sizes, poor results, unsatisfied customers or worst- all of the above. Its crucial to build trust quickly and identify clearly when they are thinking about your product incorrectly so that you can drive the sale and the end results you need.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Focus on what makes you different instead of always trying to fit the mold. I come from a varied background and when getting into SaaS my first inclination was to stay quiet and learn quickly. What I quickly realized however, was that sales acumen is the same across any industry and I could make my background my superpower. I knew how to handle all different types of customer interactions/issues/opportunities and I applied all my prior learnings to coach my team through all kinds of situations. At the end of the day, all customers want to feel heard, valued and respected. They want a consultative partner who will drive to their goals and leaning into what makes you different can be what truly sets you apart from a competitor. Never underestimate yourself or your experience.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Don’t be afraid to ask for what you need to be successful. That applies to all things in sales. When you are first starting out, make sure your manager knows what you need to perform at your best. That could be clear, consistent feedback, or the opportunity to take on side-projects that align to your broader career goals. When you are working with customers, you need to feel comfortable asking discovery questions to understand what their goals are in order to truly drive ROI and be a trusted partner. As you advance in your career, you need to ask about your possible blindspots or any areas of development you need to focus on to get to the next level. I think it is human nature (for some) to overthink or to keep their heads down and assume that if they work hard, great things will come. The reality is that we need to be unafraid to ask the tough questions or ask for the information/support we need to be successful.
Lee Fridman
Account Executive at Docebo (Enterprise SaaS) carrying mid-market deals from lead to close.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
That without trying too hard, I was already doing the right things, focusing on listening, being empathetic, reading emotions, etc.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Don’t take no for an answer. Learn to recognize self-doubt and get out of your own way. Don’t take anything at work too personally, it will help you stay level-headed. Despite the male-dominated culture prevalent in sales, women have innate abilities that are crucial in navigating a complex deal. Believe in yourself.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Watch and learn. Read books on sales (Inked, Never split the difference, etc.) Focus on your life, on creative pursuits, on making yourself happy. Learn from the top sellers in your org – listen to their calls, understand how to sell better. Most importantly, never take anything too personally, and know your worth.
Leigh Anne Siino
Leigh Anne Siino is a senior leader in IntegriChain’s Sales organization, taking a collaborative approach with Life Sciences manufacturers of all sizes to guide them through their market access and commercialization data and business process transformations. She is a thoughtful advisor to her customers on commercial operations including gross-to-net, finance, legal, and compliance challenges and solutions with more than a decade of experience with various Life Sciences manufacturing and consulting organizations. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Ramapo College of New Jersey and a master’s in jurisprudence (MSJ) specializing in pharmaceutical and medical device law and compliance from Seton Hall University School of Law.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
Enthusiasm. Above all else, if I brought the enthusiasm, authentic enthusiasm, and stayed true to me and my character and values, I would win any deal.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Stay true to you. Your journey, your character, your experiences, strengths, and weaknesses, are what allow you to connect and build trusted and authentic relationships. And isn’t that at the core of every deal? What makes you you, makes your selling approach unique, stand out, and makes experiencing you memorable.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
You don’t have the pave the way yourself, there are plenty of other women who have done so; stick with them, accept the help and advice…it’s the leg up men have had since forever, and now it’s available to you.
Leila Mozaffarian
Leila is a Senior Account Executive at Sprout Social, she went to school at the University of Oregon and lives in Seattle. She loves the opportunities the sales world has provided her personal and professional life. She has been a part of the Sales Success Community for three years, spoke at the 2019 and 2020 Sales Success Summit and participated in a B2B Sales Mentors Book with her story “You Can Have Everything.”
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
A little prior to the pandemic but more so when we went to full time remote life – I realized I had the best job in the world. I got to work from a computer, get up early/late, work early/late, while living my day however I needed to for myself and my family. There’s so much flexibility in sales. All I needed was a laptop. To me it was similar to what you see as those “dream jobs” where people sit in coffee shops while making money. There’s no limit to growth – financially, personally, or professionally. I could make as much as I want depending on how hard I work, I can get promoted anywhere in the world, and I can complete my job whenever I wanted. To me – it’s not a 24/7 “sales never sleeps” job. To me, it’s freedom.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Block out the noise. We have enough on our minds as is, we focus on the details, care about what other people think, are competitive, and the list never ends with our racing minds. All you need to do is focus on yourself – How can I improve? What can I change? What do I control? Who can I learn from? You don’t need to worry about others pushing you to be better – In sales, all you need is to focus on you!
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
In the beginning of your journey, you might start off having less success than those around you especially depending on the industry. However, you will most likely also learn to fail faster, become stronger from those mistakes both personally and professionally, and your perseverance and natural tendency to nurture will not only make you achieve success but exponentially climb to the top. So every time you think (even if it takes 12 months) – maybe I am not meant to be #1 or “being a woman” is an obstacle for me in sales – stop and reflect on all the women who are in the top 1% at major companies because that “obstacle” is the way.
Lenore Lang
Experienced Enterprise SaaS Leader with a demonstrated history of scaling sales teams. Skilled in Building Sales Teams, Enterprise Software, Negotiation, and GTM Strategy.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
If you do not ask the question you will never know the answer
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Speak up and take ownership of your career
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Own your journey, take ownership of your development. Anything is possible!
Leslie Venetz
Leslie Venetz is working to transform sales into an inclusive, respected profession. As the Founder of Sales Team Builder, she supports 1-50 person teams by creating a buyer-centric sales culture. She also creates content for the next generation of sales professionals on TikTok @SalesTipsTok
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
That my sales superpowers – emotion, enthusiasm, empathy – were the same qualities my sales managers had been trying to “train out of me” for years. They didn’t possess the same skill sets. It made those managers nervous to see me exceed every goal using skills they couldn’t. Their instinct was to squelch what made me special.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
For decades, all of the sales methodology and training that’s been created has come from a singular perspective – the white male perspective.
It’s no surprise that it can be difficult for diverse sales talent to find their own voice and connect with buyers in a way that breaks the norms but is authentic to them.
It’s OK to not meet other’s expectations when they don’t align with your moral compass. Find your own North Star.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Connect with the Women in Sales community to share stories, lessons learned, and new ways to connecting with clients that leverage your strengths.
Actively seek out knowledge from diverse sales talent. The more exposure you have to different types of sellers and ways of selling, the quicker you can find what works best for you.
If you can, find a female & a male menor. The more allies you have the better.
Libby Galatis
Starting in an inside sales role and now having hired over 275+ SDRs, I’ve witnessed first-hand the positive impact a strong sales foundation can have on a person’s career. I’ve developed a passion in sales education and have been fortunate to be able to promote memoryBlue’s mission in front of collegiate sales programs all over the country. I now manage a team of high-volume sales recruiters and co-host memoryBlues Podcast: Tech Sales is For Hustlers – Campus Series.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
During a classroom presentation years ago it clicked that my job as a sales recruiter goes beyond selling my company and the opportunities we offer. My aha moment was when I realized that in recruiting for my company, I’m also selling sales. This realization allowed me to be a better recruiter – I’m educating about the value of sales skills, how they translate into every career path imaginable. I was tearing down misconceptions that I myself once had about sales – and in telling my story, and sharing the stories of other professionals with paths like mine, that’s when it clicked. I realized that I was creating “aha” moments for the students I was speaking to, too.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Women tend to approach the art of influencing more delicately and strategically than our male counterparts – and statistically, women salespeople outperform men. It’s not necessary to be a communicative bulldozer to find success in sales. Don’t be discouraged if the tactics used by your male peers on the sales floor differ from what comes naturally to you. Be resilient, trust the process, and develop a blended sales style that works for YOU. Success will come!
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
For a majority of us, sales doesn’t come easy-but that doesn’t mean you won’t be amazing at it. Learning any new skill will inevitably cause discomfort. Do you know how many times, and how horribly, I had to play “hot cross buns” on my saxophone growing up before I learned how to actually read sheet music and play the thing? I’m still haunted by those 3 musical notes to this day but somehow ended up being second chair. Trust that in your discomfort you will adapt and you will learn. Try every approach possible until you find one that works. The best salespeople in the biz had to fumble on their first cold calls – trust the process!
Lily Youn
Sales leader with years of experience leading sales development and full cycle sales teams. Enjoys growing startups to successful exits, and helping clients make their jobs more efficient with amazing software.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
The aha moment I had in my sales career was when I realized that having women in sales leadership roles is important for those early in their sales careers. It was refreshing one of my companies grew to see female sales leaders. Thus having role models to encourage me to go into the path of sales leadership.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Don’t be humble by sharing credit with others for the work that you did. Be your own best advocate.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Sales is tough, but women are tougher. Set your goals, let your voice be heard, and find a great mentor to help guide you.
Lindsey Johnson
Grew up in Michigan, in 2015 Amazon moved me to the Bay Area working in supply chain. I was lucky enough to find great mentors to make the switch to sales. Been in tech sales for about 5 years now selling SaaS products from series A-D companies.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
Being able to adapt to change. Go with the flow, especially in the start-up sales world. Once you have the ability to deal with ambiguity, things will become much easier!
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Find a mentor/sponsor within your company. Having a strong mentor that can help give you feedback and skill development while being able to champion you internally to leadership as you move up in your career.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Focus on developing skills to deal with ambiguity of the sales role. Find a mentor to help guide and develop your sales career/skills.
Lindsey Liranzo
I’ve been in SaaS sales development for 12 years and have spent the last 3.5 years in my favorite role to date at Zoom. I live in San Jose, CA with my husband Mike, our two boys Jace and Jordy, and our two English Bulldogs, Bronx and Birdie.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
My biggest aha moment was when I realized the importance of believing in what you are selling. In sales, we tend to value the power of persuasion, and the type of person that can “sell water to a whale.” I tend to lean the opposite way and believe in the power of authenticity and vulnerability. You can literally SEE and HEAR the level of passion someone has for the product they sell. Once you work for a company that sells a product you truly aren’t passionate about, and once you recognize this moment in yourself, you’ll find a bigger and better company that aligns with your passion. That is when your real sales career begins.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
It’s important to be confident but humble. Know your strengths and keep track of your accomplishments (both big and small) so you’re able to speak to them and how they translate to value for the company. Be humble by understanding your opportunities for improvement. I try to self-reflect at the end of each day and ask myself how I could have handled a situation better or differently. I’m constantly asking myself if I’m helping or hindering, and know the importance of leveraging the collective experiences and insights of those around me to get sh*t done.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Don’t underestimate the power of vulnerability and levity in your career. It’s easy to take yourself too seriously at work, especially as a woman. We want to be looked at as equals to men and come across professionally. This leads to women being afraid to be truly themselves. They won’t let their uniqueness show, they dim their light to match those around them, and they downplay the other important roles they play outside of work like wife, partner, mom, caregiver. A wise sales leader from my early in my career once told me “we aren’t heart surgeons, no one is going to die on our table.” Anyone who has worked for me since has now heard this phrase because I think it captures the realness in what we do as sales people SO well. We can get so caught up in the numbers, in the quota, and in the stress of sales that we forget to just be people. Know yourself (both the good and the bad), be honest, have integrity, and don’t be afraid to let a joke fly. Be you, you’re even better than you know, and you’ve got this!
Lindy Jones
Lindy Jones is the Vice President of Sales Operations at Goodway Group. She has been working virtually since 2008 and has spent her career as a leader, coach, and advisor managing technical overhead and optimizing operational infrastructure to drive continuous improvement. In her current journey, she is stretching her Sales Ops team to full on Rev Ops responsibilities.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
Expertise is overvalued. More value is provided by being insatiably curious, asking great questions, and active listening.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Don’t put your job before your career. Every role is both a job AND a bridge. Have integrity and do good work, but don’t let loyalty or being grateful to have “this” job keep you from taking risks and pursuing opportunities that increase your growth and impact.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Advocate for yourself and don’t be afraid to communicate and celebrate your wins! Sales is the business of people: build and leverage human connections.
Lisa Bauer
VP of Corporate Social Impact & Partnerships \| Bringing together People, Profit, and Purpose \| #GirlsClub Mentor
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
The moment I first walked into a Nordstrom store and how they served me, I knew at that moment that is what I wanted to do as a career. Make people feel like the sales clerk just made me feel. Sales is an honorable profession, and deeply satisfying if you do it right and have the right mindset about it.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Prioritizing rest and protecting your energy is just as important as hitting your goals. Be authentic and focusing on serving, the revenue will flow from there.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
It’s one of the most rewarding professions and supports a flexible family lifestyle. It’s not about the hours you work, but about results. Work smart and it’s a profession where you CAN have it ALL.
Lisa Welch
Dynamic sales leader with over 25 years experience building high-performance sales teams and relationships at the executive level of F1000 companies. Expertise in vertical industries and sales of technology, solutions and services, achieving 50-100% YoY growth consistently.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
Getting tapped on the shoulder by an SVP at Oracle who recommended I try a sales leadership role because of the success I had in selling and because of the respect I garnered from my peers and senior leadership at the company.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do or achieve anything you want. Form an internal “bench” of trusted, high caliber resources to help you achieve your goals.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Make sure to build a “trusted posse” of resources and mentors that you can depend on for honest advice and guidance.
Liz J. Simpson
I help organizations leverage Linkedin to drive revenue growth. I also empower thousands of women through the #BigMoney Movement to land corporate clients.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
I had a major aha moment when I took time to invest in my own self-discovery journey. Self-awareness and acceptance are competitive advantages. You begin to lean into your own strengths. Your authentic communication style shines through. Furthermore, as you learn your own motivators and behaviors- you become curious about what motivates the decisions of others. You can hold space in a conversation to simply listen without being attached to an outcome. Someone’s “no” doesn’t become your defeat. You shift from wanting to sell to helping clients buy. That shift is a gamechanger.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Build authentic relationships. We are all in the business of people. The deposits that you make into your relationship bank accounts yield massive returns over time.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Strap in. Lean into the discomfort. You will continually be stretched as you grow in your sales career. This is a career where you directly control your income through the outcomes you create. For women like myself, that’s a huge motivator! Take massive imperfect action. Become obsessed with learning buyer psychology. You must understand how and why people buy.
Liz Wendling
“Liz Wendling is a nationally recognized speaker, sales consultant, and author of 6 books. Her two most recent are The Heart of Authentic Selling and Sell Without Selling Your Soul.
Liz is driven by the mantra, It’s not WHAT you sell, it’s HOW you sell that matters. Liz understands the sales challenges that professionals face in today’s competitive environment and shows them how to make a profound difference in their sales approach, language, and process —online and offline.”
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
My aha was realizing that I did not have to become a clone of all the other salespeople in my office. I could be myself AND make my quota with a great mindset and solid skillset.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Stop watching what others are doing. Watching with others are doing will slow you down and make you doubt what you are doing. You could be following someone who is going in a different direction than you.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Find out WHO you are and what you stand for before you move forward. When you move forward from a place of centeredness, you always make the right choices.
Lori Hopper
Lori is a sales leader in the technology industry with over 8 years of experience, countless awards, and has earned every President’s club trip that was offered. She is a thought leader that wants to change the stigma around women in sales and the need for mental health support through asking more questions and holding companies accountable. She most recently completed her curriculum to receive her certified professional coach (CPC) and is awaiting certification.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
Not every person is a client and it is OK to be rejected. Nobody owes us an explanation of why, either. Instead, focus on building relationships rather than selling a product/service. Watch the success follow.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Take care of your mental state. Find a way that works for you to avoid getting stuck in rejection depression. No matter how good we all are, we will be rejected by somebody.
Our product won’t be what they need, they won’t like salespeople, they’ll be too busy to talk — there are so many different reasons we get rejected every day.Do not let this stop you.
Get back on the horse, and act like the boss you are!!! Remember, if we don’t get rejected, we never know how to improve. Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn, but promise yourself you will never lose!
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Do not put up with any company or anyone that makes you feel small. Find a place where your gender is celebrated, not the subject of a joke. YOU are worth it and there are companies out there that will not only support you, but empower you. Trust me, you’ll be better off anyways!
Luciana Juarez
Profit-driven tech sales manager with language skills (Spanish / English), business acumen & a unique mix of international & local experience spanning 12 years.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
The moment I joined my current role and realised how important is to have accurate data to make better informed decisions and plan ahead. Data is key! If you cannot measure your performance, you cannot improve it. Know your numbers. That’s the first step towards success.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Start small, join a growing startup & learn on an on-going basis from your peers & senior leadership. One of the best things about sales is that often you don’t actually need a degree to get started. You can start with a junior role, learn from your colleagues & keep testing and trying new things. Sales is an ever evolving environment! Those changes can be challenging, but in my opinion this is one of the most rewarding careers.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Don’t be afraid! Be confident. I know it can be scary, but know your product, know its value and go get those prospects. As long as you are providing value to them, it’s perfectly fine to make a cold call or send a cold email. Sometimes I see men seem more confident or less affected by rejection. Let’s empower women to feel that way too!
Maggie Callahan
As a New Englander, I’m a lover of direct and honest conversations, a gritty work ethic, and the power of connecting genuinely with others. I feel as though my role as an Enabler is truly designed to help people recognize the greatness that already lives within them and encourage them to take it and run with it.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
In my last year as an individual contributor, I was working an opportunity that would’ve pushed me over my quota and into accelerators. It was nearing the end of the quarter and I was antsy to win and celebrate (aka I was really only thinking about myself).
I got on the phone with the prospect to negotiate final pricing and my deal absolutely fell apart. The classic, “we’re not sure we can stomach this any more. We need to get more buy-in. We’re not sure this solution meets the mark for us.” I was crushed. But rather than responding with a solution or empathy, my response was, “we’ve been working this for over 8 months and it’s nearing the end of this year. I’m confused considering I’ve already forecasted this to my leader. Are you sure you can’t swing it for me?”
I spewed my commission breath all over them. And it backfired brutally. The opportunity still closed but it closed for $20k under my quota. I missed my final year by inches.
In that moment, I had an absolute punch in my ego. I realized that regardless of my previous 3 years of experience, I still had the ability to fall back into bad habits. I recognized that it’s critical to come back to the understanding that we’re working with other humans, not machines or robots. I acknowledged that when we try to do this job to only serve ourselves, it usually ends up hurting us.
I tell this story in new hire trainings now to help Reps understand that it’s normal to make mistakes, no matter how tenured we are AND that the more we can think, act, and speak in our customers language, the more we avoid potential run in’s like mine.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Never hesitate to ask the questions you have. I see it too often that women close off their curiosity because they worry that a question may sound unintelligent or inexperienced, when in fact, it will usually open up a whole new world of discovery and opportunity. Whether the question is to a potential customer regarding their current pain, a leader or exec concerning a raise or pay equality, or even a peer who is crushing it on the team, you’ll always be happier that you have more clarification than less. True responses are better than our assumptions.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Get involved in everything you can get involved in. Go to the happy hours. Go into the office, if that’s an option. Meet with people across all areas of the organization. Ask a million questions. Get to know your peers personally, not just how they work. Observe everything around you and listen intently for what you like and what you don’t. Both with serve as great lessons.
Maggie Zahm
Maggie Zahm is sales leader known for building and leading high-performing teams at start-ups, early stage, and high-growth SaaS organizations. Her passion for mentorship led her to start the Women in Sales group at Sprout Social, and she’s dedicated to hiring elite talent, developing career paths, and coaching individuals to reach their highest potential. Maggie is deeply involved in the Chicago sales community as a regular contributor to Sales Assembly and mentor at VentureSCALE.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
The moment I realized I have lot more fun (and success) by enjoying what gives me purpose and fulfillment instead of letting myself be defined by a number.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
If you don’t ask, you can’t get a “yes”. Any time you don’t ask, you’re giving YOUR opportunity to someone else. An opportunity to be considered for a new role, to speak at an event, to get more support, to receive a raise. If someone can have it, make sure it’s you.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Exposure is everything. Get as many at-bats as you can, shadow experienced reps and leaders, ask a zillion and one questions. You won’t know what lights you up until you try it!
Margaret Weniger
Margaret is a sales executive turned founder. She spent over a decade of her career building, scaling, and leading high growth software sales organizations ranging in size from teams of 2 to 115. In 2020, she founded Rising Tide, an organization focused on transforming the business world by bringing a balance of power between men and women to create environments that foster diversity of thought, collaboration, and evoke creativity. Margaret is also the host of the Rising Tide podcast, a podcast featuring female leaders and the story behind their career success.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
I remember as a sales manager when I truly understood how to get back into hitting our number. It allowed us to create a game plan and forecast with confidence. It also takes the mystery out of sales success when you can use data to understand what % of deals you win, what your average deal size is, what your average sales cycle is, and how many calls/emails you need to create a pipeline to hit your number. Knowing these help you know when you are pacing ahead or behind enough in advance that you can actually do something about it.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Find your authentic voice in selling. You have a set of strengths and experiences that are special to you. Rather than try to mimic what top reps do, take time to understand why top reps do what they do and then experiment with how you can do that, leveraging your strengths and in a way that feels authentic to your style.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
New doesn’t mean unskilled. Chances are good that in preparation for the interview you took time to identify transferable skills from previous experiences that would be valuable for sales. Make sure to remind yourself of these, especially early on while you are building your pipeline. For additional tips you can check out this article with things I wish I’d known starting out my career.
Maria Tribble
Maria first discovered sales as a young teen in a waterfront town that held summer craft markets in the local firehouse. Since then, her career in Technology Sales has allowed her to travel the world from Toronto to Barcelona to Rome to NYC to Costa Rica and beyond. She now dedicates much of her time to elevating the sales profession and sharing her experiences as a woman in sales through groups like Women Sales Pros, Women In Revenue, and Girls Club.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
Maintaining relationships with a network of recruiters is a great way to invest in yourself and others outside your company. Having a conversation with a recruiter does not make you disloyal to your current employer but rather makes you loyal to yourself. Imagine taking a call where you learn about a perfect role for one of your previous coworkers – you’ll be able to connect those two humans and send more positive energy into the world.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
You are never alone. Whether you’re winning big deals or spinning on an obstacle, another woman has been through the same thing. There are countless groups you can join to find a community of women just like you. A few of my favorites are #girlsclub, Women Sales Pros, and Women in Revenue. Joining a community is the best way to invest in yourself and your career.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
You are now a professional negotiator – for your customers, for your company, and for yourself. A positive negotiation experience leaves each group satisfied and ready to do business with each other again. The prospect you talk to today becomes part of your network whether they buy from you now or 10 years from now when you’re somewhere else.
Marina Golemis
Sales leader/collaborator always looking to push the boundaries of possibilities and excellence. I’m only as strong as my team so it’s imperative I surround myself with those I can learn from and vice versa. Wife and mom out to prove that women really can do it all
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
There is a very short dotted line between success and resourcefulness. You don’t know what you don’t know until you learn it so build your network and out yourself in a position to grow constantly
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Surprise the room by coming in assertive and confident, like your male counterparts. Use your high emotional intelligence to truly connect with your prospect
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Figure out your “why” and never lose sight of it. Sales can be trying and it’s important to zoom out when the day to day gets challenging and remember the big picture.
Marlen von Roth
“Marlen von Roth is the Sales Director Cloud EMEA at SUSE, working with clients on developing cloud based digital strategies to meet the demands of the modern world. Marlen has over 2 decades in the software industry and prior to SUSE worked at vendors like Red Hat, Docker and EnterpriseDB. She is also a passionate advocate for woman and girls in STEM and the cloud.
Marlen was named CRN women of the channel in two consecutive years and recently named by Computer Weekly as Transformation Leader of the Year.”
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
It was my first sales job, and I was hungry for success. My goal was to make sales — lots of them — and put up an impressive number. My strategy was making as many calls as possible. That was the number I tracked and the number my manager looked at.
Suddenly, I realized I was going about it all wrong. While it was a numbers game, I was looking at the wrong numbers. I could bang out a ton of calls to random people and get nowhere — or I could change how I was playing the game. I realized I needed to start identifying high-quality prospects so my calls were likelier to lead to sales.
I became more selective. I researched each prospect to make sure they met my ideal customer profile, then I determined whether they were ready for a sales approach or needed nurturing.
Being choosier saved me time and improved my win rate. Before ever approaching a potential client, I knew they could afford my solutions. And digging a little before making the call meant I always had access to a decision maker who had the authority to say “yes” to what I was offering.
It’s easy to get stuck in a rut and continue down the same path even when you’re not getting good results. That’s why you need to take stock of your techniques and approach, be honest with yourself about how well you’re doing, and make some changes.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Chase the dream, not the competition
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
anybody can sell, as long as they are passionate about their product or service. If you’re in sales and you’re not passionate, then you should probably find something else or have a conversation with somebody and try to find that passion and make sure to learn from your mistakes
Mary Grothe
Mary Grothe is a former #1 MidMarket B2B Sales Rep who after selling millions and breaking multiple records, formed House of Revenue™, a Denver-based firm of fractional Revenue Leaders who currently lead the marketing, sales, customer success, and RevOps departments for 10 companies nationwide. In the past year, they’ve helped multiple 2nd stage growth companies between $2M – $20M, on average, double their MRR within 10 months, resulting in an average ROI of 1,454% and an average annual revenue growth eclipsing $3.2 million.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
One big aha was when I realized I could be just as successful in sales without being a jerk. My first run at sales, I was age 22-27, I was the number 1 rep, and I wasn’t very nice. Ultra competitive, would steamroll over others in order to win, because that is what I thought the game of sales was… I wasn’t completely awful, I still did great work and brought honor to the profession and solved a lot of problems for my clients, but the second time around, when I was 31-34 years old, I had a maturity and grace that I didn’t have before and I was able to prove that I could be a humble, kind, graceful person and still be a top performer… selling nearly a million per year in ARR and still breaking records.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Stand firm yet bring empathy to the sales process and also to your internal and external counterparts. In my sales career, I made sure my clients were very well taken care of, but I also nurtured and developed my relationships with my operations team and service team. In my sales career, I treated everyone with dignity and respect, and everyone won.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Learn your buyer and understand their “day in the life”. Empathetically align with their challenges and be 100% emotionally all-in and committed to serving them and making their lives better. If you keep that as your north star, you will succeed. Cut out the other noise around you and show up strong, with heart, and you will win.
Mary Henderson
I help coaches, consultants and business owners systemise, digitalise and commercialise their knowledge, wisdom and skills into a brand and digital business
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
Solving a major problem that my predecessors couldn’t positioned me as the ‘go-to’ person, in the tech industry. I was known as the person that can fix a very specific complex problem. That is how I started to build my brand currency which started 21 years ago. That is also how I created my demand and controlled my worth.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Become a specialist in ONE area that you love so you can be known as the ‘go to’ person in your INDUSTRY for that specialisation. This is how you create your own demand.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Build a circle of influence that will advocate for you and help you move towards your goal.
Megan Williamson
Recently been coined the #NomadinSales on Linkedin and here at Upwork. I’m connecting businesses to talented individuals around the world to create economic opportunity to all. All while constantly traveling the world.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
The more you are authentically yourself with your organization AND your clients, that’s when success and happiness truly combines.
Oh and also respect your time and call your clients out when needed. You should always be equally respected.
Leaning into those two things took me from the average sales performer to the top performer and retaining my annual quota four months early.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Lean into being your true self and do not let stereotypes dictate your behavior.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Use your voice.
It feels strange at first because you are new or you haven’t proven yourself yet… put those thoughts aside. If you have an idea, do it. The more you are willing to try, fail, learn, succeed, whatever the outcome is… the more you’ll find how you sale and how you will succeed.
Melissa Gindling
Melissa is the General Manager of Commercial Customers at Lev, a Cognizant Company. She has spent the last 15 years in customer-facing roles and has always focused on their growth.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
The money won’t be there every year. Plan for that.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Sales is a wild mix of art and science. Sure, there is a playbook and you will find success in following it. What makes you excellent at the job is the art. It’s the trust-building, it’s the internal selling, it’s the team dynamic. When all those things come together you can make magic.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Find a company that won’t require you to stretch the truth in order to make the sale. Also, make sure you know what the truth is (aka, know the product/service super well).
Melissa Lui
I’m a working mom of a rambunctious daughter. I enjoy building high performing sales teams that focus heavily on training and development.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
When I started forming my own leadership perspective/style during my first frontline leadership role. I started realizing the type of leadership & communication style that I did not embrace or want to promote, it was a very powerful moment for me. Once I figured what my style was, I’ve carried it as my north star throughout my career and it’s never steered me in the wrong direction.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Don’t be afraid to use your voice. You have an unique perspective that is unique to the sum of all your experiences put together, own it. No one is going to care more about your own career than yourself so make sure you prioritize your own growth and development along your journey.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Don’t try to figure everything out on your own. Find your tribe of mentors, sponsors, supporters, and advocates. It helps you learn so much quicker, progress faster in your career, and you just never know what that network you start building early on can help you unlock later on.
Meridith Elliott Powell
Meridith Elliott Powell is the President at MotionFirst. She is named one of the Top 15 Business Growth Experts to Watch, and Top 41 Motivational Sales Speakers, Meridith Elliott Powell is a business growth strategist and award winning author who is passionate about helping her clients learn the strategies to turn uncertainty to competitive advantage.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
We were trying to build a sales team with a group of financial service representatives that were good at customer service but had not interest in selling. We hired the best consultants and gurus from all over the country, got the best sales training and still nothing. We were not moving the needle. One afternoon after still another training session where the team was just not buying in, I went downstairs in my office to grab something. I was walking across the main lobby when I noticed our tellers, some of the professional resisting sales training, were standing behind a teller line that was covered with the little paper tennis shoes you use to raise money for the March of Dimes. There must have been a thousand of them. I thought – wow- why are they so ready to ask every customer who comes in here for a dollar to support the March of Dimes, but they will not ask our customers any questions to help them with something as important as their finances? Then it hit me – we were training them all wrong. They were willing to raise money for the March of Dimes because they felt they were helping people. Our sales training was out how to grow our financial services organization. My aha moment was that if you want sales to be sustainable, if you want people to be motivated and excited by it, then they need to see sales for what it is – helping people. Your organization grows and your team thrives when your sales process is focused on helping others.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Find your voice. Somewhere along the way I bought into this idea that if I worked hard someone would notice, and when that did not work I thought I will work harder and certainly they will notice. They didn’t. Being good at what you do, and working hard, are your ticket to entry. If you want to succeed you need to be clear on where you want to go, be willing to do the work to get there, and have the courage to ask for what you want. No one cares more about your career than you do, and if you expect someone else to tap you on the shoulder for your next promotion then you may be waiting a long time.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
First, you have made an excellent decision. Second, choose your jobs early in your career based on who you are going to work for and what you can learn. The money you make and the freedom you have in your 40’s. 50’s and beyond is based on how much you learn in your 20’s and 30’s. Choose those early jobs to gain wisdom. Also, build your network, it will change your life.
Michele Robinson
I got my start selling with an in home, business to consumer role. I quickly transitioned into inside sales, learning a ton about business, then shifted into director of sales position. Now I am fortunate enough, and having worked hard, to hold the VP of Revenue title at a hyper growth mode company.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
It sounds super cliche; as I broke into SDR and inside sales work, I had the most important aha moment of my career. Everyone vacuums their floor. There is not one person you or I will come across that is above vacuuming. When you picture that, it makes it that much easier to talk to people at all levels or an org.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Being a woman is your superpower. You have the ability to really leverage your personality. Above everything, deliberately think about why your customer wants to engage with you and push on fixing the pain they are facing.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
If you are just starting out take the time to learn everything and ask all of the questions. To project confidence, stand with your hands on your hips (power move) and control the room. Word choice is important. Lastly, do yourself a favor and have a mentor.
Michelle Koenig Vu
Michelle was born and raised in Omaha, NE but has lived in Chicago for the past 12 years. She studied Art in college but never doubted having a career in sales since she has had a sales quota since she was 15 years old.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
I was doing door to door office supply sales, (yes, this is what a BDR role used to be 🙂 ) after a week of rejections I got my first sale, I realized that feeling of achievement, was one that I couldn’t ever stop driving for.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Harness the power of positivity. In sales, you are guaranteed to have highs and lows, its how you handle the lows that will make your career. Figure out your motivators, write down your ‘why’ so that you can push through when you’re in a low.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Don’t be afraid to speak up with your ideas and opinions, I look back at my early career and I wish I had done just that.
Michelle Wideman
Passionate Sales and Success leader who thrives on building strong teams, fostering career advancement, and putting customers first. With over twenty years of software experience and four kids(including triplets) I can definitely empathize with the struggles of work-life balance and desire to have a thriving career and family.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
When I got tapped for my first C-level title without even applying for the role. It validated that working hard and doing the things I love spoke louder to those around me than any resume I could have submitted. It reinforced that we are always interviewing for our next role by our daily interactions and how important it is to truly “show up” for every meeting.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Always be true to yourself, work hard, and lean into your strengths. I love helping people succeed and food(especially when I was pregnant). No matter what time of day I had an onsite meeting there were bagels, pizza, or cookies that came with me. Customers and prospects always loved it and colleagues I worked with years ago still remember it. My passion in life is helping others achieve great things. This includes investing in customers to ensure their software implementation leads to a promotion to BDRs that want to become AEs, or AEs that want to move into leadership. When you genuinely invest in others, they invest in you and it creates an extremely powerful, winning team.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Work hard at the job you were hired for, but also volunteer for cross-functional projects that give you exposure to more people and other departments. I started in sales, but found I have a passion for Customer Success and having cross-functional experience helps prepare you for executive-level leadership roles. Create your personal board of directors that you can leverage as a sounding board throughout your career. This board can help validate new ideas, technology, companies, and most importantly salary negotiations.
Mikaela Fitzwilliam
A growing sales leader at an HR tech start-up that loves the connection and relationship developed with each person. My motto is: It’s all about the people!
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
Rejections are the name of this game and it’s important to make sure we always view ourselves as human beings who deserve respect even when the people we are trying to engage don’t treat us that way – it is only a reflection of who they are, not who we are or what we are trying to do. It’s not to say that it isn’t hard and that it doesn’t feel good sometimes, its just learning how to maintain equilibrium.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
There are always a lot of information and opinions on how to “do things” in sales but always remember that being yourself and doing what you feel is right will get you the best results!
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Make sure to always have fun with it and that each message comes from you! If your personality isn’t on your side, you’re not going to see as much success. Most prospects buy for the people and the product, not just the product.
Musidora Jorgensen
Musidora is Area Vice President and Head of UK Energy & Utilities at Salesforce. This sees her working with customers to digitally transform their businesses to gain greater insights into their own customers. She has been selling and leading teams within the IT industry for over 20 years, both within the UK Enterprise Private and Public sectors. Musidora is passionate about supporting more women in the STEM industries and is an active mentor, coach and sponsor for women in sales. She won the Best Sales Mentor category at the EMEA Women in Sales Awards 2018, as well as being recognised as one of the Yahoo Finance HERoes Top 100 Female Future Leaders 2020 and one of the 50 Kindness & Leadership Leading Lights 2020 as well as on the longlist for Computer Weekly’s 2021 Most Influential Women in UK Tech. Musidora also sits on the advisory board of The Youth Group; a UK based organisation focused on improving the odds for young people, across the world.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
That there is no magic formula to being successful at sales, rather it requires hard work, a willingness to learn and maintaining a positive attitude consistently and in equal measures!
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Seek to learn at every opportunity; be that with your customers, within your business or your own career development – don’t be afraid to ask questions and keep a beginners mindset.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
That you don’t need to conform to what you think a typical salesperson needs to look/act like; that you can be successful being your authentic self and that it’s one of the best jobs you can do that is fun, varied and which will challenge you every day, so jump in with both feet and go for it!
Natalie Nixon, PhD
Natalie Nixon, PhD is a creativity strategist, author of the award-winning “The Creativity Leap” and the president of Figure 8 Thinking. A globally sought after speaker, Natalie was named one of the top 40 women keynote speakers of 2020 by Real Leaders and has been featured in Forbes and Fast Company. She received her BA (honors) from Vassar College and her PhD from the University of Westminster in London.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
The expression, “Don’t ask, don’t get” comes to mind. Knowing my worth and value and asking for it pays off monetarily, and it is also priceless for my self-confidence and sense of purpose.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
My career advice is internal facing: follow your heart. After you’ve earned all the degrees, checked off all of the certifications and are more than qualified, listening to your intuition is key for strategic decision making. And when you feel the nudge to make a shift start with a side hustle. That prototype will teach you a lot about merging what clients need with your talents and skills.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Show up, be yourself and push through any self-doubt by building your own inventory of courage. That is, recount all of the moments (small and large) where you experienced fear, and pushed through anyway. All of those collective moments help you to make the next leap, and then the next.
Nicole Morsilli
Nicole Morsilli has spent the last 8 years in individual contributor roles in the cyber security space, primarily working for young companies working on their go to market strategy. Having served in nearly every type of sales role, Nicole understands how the business is impacted by certain decisions and enjoys sharing that knowledge with her colleagues and peers. Today, Nicole measures her success by the success of those around her.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
Be confident, be visible, be vocal. Sales is a tough business to be in and can be very humbling. But if you have done your job, you know your product/service, you know your market, and your know your customers – speak with confidence that what you have to say is valuable!
What is one aha moment you’ve had in your sales career? Its ok to lose. Our losses are just as important as our wins. Be humbled by them, learn from them, and move on.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Listening is key to understanding the problems we are trying to solve. But you also have a voice and don’t be afraid to use it with confidence. Just because you aren’t the loudest in the room does not mean that your thoughts do not matter.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Success is not a chia pet. It doesn’t grow with water in 5 days. If you remind yourself – progress, not perfection – every day you will continue to add to your momentum and success as a seller.
Noelle Hunter
Noelle is an accomplished sales professional with 8+ years of leadership experience. She’s successfully lead various teams from Sales Managers to Enterprise AEs to SDRs (and everything in between). When she’s not selling her heart out, you’ll most likely find her hiking with her pup.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
A little under two years ago, I moved to a new company after 6+ years at one organization. Immediately, I started questioning whether I was actually capable of selling in a different industry, if I was capable of leading these teams, if I was capable of being more technical… (and the list goes on). The point is, I was uncomfortable and started questioning my abilities in every aspect. I was miserable and frustrated and not able to appreciate how my reps were growing like crazy, breaking records, and making huge strides in their careers. The Aha moment was when my team finished the year at 110% to goal and I finally realized “Oh, I can do this.” I didn’t HAVE to spend the last year doubting everything I did and thinking they must have made a mistake recruiting me. I’m grateful for the experience and the lesson in confidence I’ve learned.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
“No” is the most powerful tool you’ll ever use. You do not have to work 60 hour work weeks for years at a time without vacation to “earn your place.” You can create healthy boundaries and still be effective and respected.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Being a woman in sales is a wonderful thing! That said, adversity is inevitable and not everyone is kind. Don’t be afraid to stand up for yourself or others around you when needed. It might be uncomfortable but long term, you’ll never regret standing up for what’s right.
Patricia McLaren
Co-founder and CEO at RevShoppe. I am passionate about serving Outreach customers and creating the “aha” moments for leaders thinking about their sales strategies in new ways – and uncovering new opportunities that were previously buried under complexities. Aside from RevShoppe, I’m a traveler and yoga enthusiast, and I love bringing yogic principles of honesty, discipline and wisdom into the professional world.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
People respond really well to vulnerability in this profession. At the end of the day, the person behind the “role” wants to be seen and accepted. Don’t forget you are dealing with human beings going through their own version of this human experience and if you can connect with them, you’ll cultivate relationships that extend way beyond the transaction itself.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Be fearless and take action. As women we can sometimes justify why we shouldn’t do something, or why we should wait and allow others to step forward with ideas or decisions. If I didn’t push past my own fears and get started on ideas, RevShoppe wouldn’t be where it is today. We set our own limitations. If you believe life is limitless then it will be for you. Belief is only a thought, so you must take the first step and make your ideas a reality. Someday you’ll look back and be amazed at how far you’ve come.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Be authentic to who you are and know what you bring to the table. Specialized expertise is sought after, and if you have something unique (which I promise, you do) then let it shine and don’t hold back in fear. Don’t dim your knowledge or personality for anyone because it could be exactly what catapults your career.
Patti Pokorchak, MBA
I was NOT a born sales professional so I’m living proof that anyone can learn how to sell, even us shy geeks. I take people from Sales FEAR to Sales FUN to Sales SUCCESS in a very short time. I combine decades of professional sales experience with a marketing background of creating several multi-million dollar brands to help you create a profitable sustainable lifestyle.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
I was once 10x more expensive ($10,000/day for training vs the embedded consultant at $1K/day). Using facts and my killer question: Do you want to risk 20 engineers’ time for 2 days on an unproven instructor with an unproven one-off course or go with the world-leaders in tech training? When people see the value, they will find the money.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
NEVER stop learning how to improve your sales and people skills.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
You do not have to be sleazy, aggressive, or manipulative to be successful in sales. Curious and caring are my secret powers in selling millions around the world in two languages. Just know your product, your industry, your competitors and work smart and hard. It’s about building relationships and asking great questions. Selling is LISTENING not talking.
Paula P Carneiro
After a career documenting and improving processes for multinationals, Paula moved to the sell-side of her career, specifically in automation. She has spent the last several years moderating panels, conducting keynotes and writing thought-leadership pieces simplifying the concept of “digital transformation.” Paula is a very active networker and leans into social selling and enjoys mentoring budding BDRs to prospect better.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
I woke up one day and realized that I am not motivated by money like most sales personalities are- I had to find a way to build in “giving back” as part of my prospecting cadence. I came up with several interview series’ to help clients build thought-leadership content around their careers, and begin to uncover pain points in a more authentic format.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Clients only buy from people they trust. You only earn someone’s trust by showing up as your authentic self and offering to help them- always find a place to give of yourself before asking for a signature and a deal.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Always transmit a message of value, not cost. That way your negotiations are less of a bidding war, and more of an alignment discussion.
Paula White
A globally recognized sales leader, Paula has leveraged her talents to scale Inside Sales Teams into multi-million stand-alone sales channels. Paula White has an unwavering passion for music and education that she applies to bring new perspectives and open new possibilities for leaders.
Outside of her work, Paula is an avid concert goer and has found joy as both a lyricist and a co-producer on six songs. She details the transformative power of this in her book, Side B: Remix Your Leadership Style.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
When I learned that not every sale is the same, letting the customer tell you what they need is the number one rule of sales. Once you have that, you can use your techniques and consultative approach to secure the sale.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
There are many talented and strong women in sales that are sometimes overlooked, being seen as delicate and sensitive. It’s time to look through a new lens: It is ok to be empathic and nurturing. In fact, it is necessary. It is ok to cry. In fact, it shows the passion and grit you have for your career. I encourage every woman to take the time to invest in themselves to understand their personal strengths and let them shine. Most importantly, be grateful for each day.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Learn and study the craft of sales, be decisive and be sure to sell authentically as yourself, we all have a gift of selling. Find your own unique sales gift!
Penny Springer
I work closely with sales leaders, marketing and product to develop learning materials, content, training, tools and resources to drive growth and sales excellence. To develop best in class enablement I utilize my years of experience carrying a quota, along with classroom curriculum design and instruction.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
Being creative in how you deliver a presentation can be very effective, you don’t have to be serious to be taken seriously.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Be strong and outsell your male peers. Be true to yourself and communicate effectively to win deals.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
You will succeed only if you accept your mistakes as learning opportunities.
Preeti Pinch
9+ years in sales started with another saleswoman planting the seed in a then shy, quiet, introverted new grad to consider sales as an actual career. Sales has blessed me with endless opportunities, lifelong friends, mentors, clients, community and a knowing that anything is possible. Humbled to have been voted by clients & colleagues as one of Sales Hacker’s Top Account Executive for two consecutive years.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
The network and connections you make with people are owned by you and are very valuable. You can carry those relationships into your next role, next company and next deal. Avoid being transactional, find ways to build long-term relationships and grow your network. It’s true when they say your network is your net worth (have to give kudos to a sales director who shared this insight with me when I first started my career).
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
If I had to pick just one it would be to treat your clients the way you would want to be treated. That includes before, during and especially after the sale is made. Be brave enough to say “no” to clients who won’t truly benefit from your product/service (or even referring them to the competition if it’s the right thing to do). Sales karma is a true thing.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
As important as it is to learn the sales skills required to prospect, demo, negotiate, overcome objectives, etc., make sure mindset and mental health are top priorities too. Find ways to stay positive, manage stress, focus on short-term and long-term wins, connect with others who will support and celebrate you. Focus on abundance, there is endless opportunity and wins out there for everyone.
Quyen Chang
BioQuyen (aka “Q”) is a leader with 15+ years of experience focused on scaling, mentoring, and enabling successful revenue teams at Salesforce, Zenefits, FinancialForce and Airbnb.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
There is no work/life balance; it is all about work/life integration.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Review your to do list and outline the impact and effort level. To help you prioritize, do the high impact items first. These are the things that will help you move the needle and focus on the right things.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Always ask questions, focus on building relationships, schedule time to prepare and prioritize getting feedback from others to help you in your development.
Rachael Stachel
I’m a top performing Account Executive with 9 years of diverse experience in SaaS, digital advertising, and technology. My favorite things are peanut butter and chocolate, traveling the world, and closing deals.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
When I learned it’s important to tell customer’s how to buy, instead of me asking what the next steps are in their process. I lost a major deal because I wasn’t taking control of the process and telling them what was next. I used to think I would come across as bossy, but what I realized is people need help understanding how to buy. This maybe their first time making a software decision, but I’m the expert who has sold to multiple customers. Even in my personal life when I’m making a major purchase I’m relying on that salesperson to make it a smooth experience.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
My advice is simple, be confident. When I first started in sales I was always so nervous and intimidated by my co-workers and my clients. What I’ve learned over the years is we are all human and people like to buy from others who are authentic. Confidence first and the sales will come.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
To be persistent. You’re going to hear lots of no’s, but when you get a yes there is no better feeling! It’s so important to focus on the positive instead of the negative and believe in what you’re selling.
Rachel Shi
Rachel Shi is a B2B tech sales & partnerships professional based in Toronto with a track record of success selling into startups all the way to the Fortune 500. Currently she is Founder-in-Residence at Entrepreneur First, a global talent investment platform, making the transition into entrepreneurship. Outside of work, she coaches sales reps on how to live and sell better.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
That your career is simply a series of choices. Don’t like where you are? Make a different choice. You are never limited by as much as you think you are. Break free of the idea that life happens TO you, and that you make life happen FOR you.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Adopt a 100% ownership mindset. Nothing will ever happen if YOU don’t make it happen. Once you understand where you are in life is because of all the choices you’ve made up until this point, you can get to work.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Commit to a lifelong learning journey. It doesn’t matter whether you’re 5, 10, 20 years ahead – maintaining a student’s mindset is what keeps you sharp. Control this and you’ll be unstoppable.
Rakhi Voria
As the Vice President of IBM Global Digital Sales Development, Rakhi Voria manages a team that is responsible for the strategy, implementation, and revenue of the Digital Sales Development function globally. Within the DSD sales force, there are ~350 Digital Development Representatives and Business Development Representatives responsible for driving client engagement, deal progression, and closure of select deals. She has a strong passion for advancing women in sales and millennials in business and shares her thoughts regularly on these topics by speaking at conferences and writing publications in Forbes as a member of the Forbes Business Development Council.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
That women are better at sales than men! In fact, Xactly reported that women outperform men by 3%. Women have characteristics that make us a good fit for sales, like our ability to build relationships and trust. In my first sales role, I quickly noticed that many of the women on my team had different styles than our male counterparts, and often we were closing more deals because of it. We often said the same thing as the men, but in different ways. There’s nothing wrong with having different approaches in sales — it can help you come off as empathetic and understanding.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
My biggest piece of advice would be to throw out the idea of a career ladder and instead focus on gaining a set of skills and experiences that will set you up for the long run. The traditional notion of a linear career path and “climbing the ladder” no longer exists. Because there’s no universal path to success, focus on broadening your skill-sets and experiences, whether that’s through stretch projects, travel, or cross-group collaboration. Remember, sales is one of the most marketable and transferable professions. Marketing, business development and corporate teams, in particular, are often looking for people with sales backgrounds. Sellers understand what customers want, and this experience can be invaluable for building programs and offerings that are relevant for customers. Because sales helps you build a foundational knowledge of a company, there are a variety of career paths that you can take afterward. I personally leveraged my sales background to help build and scale sales teams at both IBM and Microsoft.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Be yourself and believe in yourself. According to Gartner, our profession has the second largest gender equity gap across all business functions. You may often be the only woman in the room, but use that to your advantage and don’t downplay the qualities that make you unique. As women, we have characteristics that make us a natural fit for sales, like our ability to build relationships and trust. We often come across as more empathetic and understanding compared to men. So be sure to capitalize on your strengths as women – they are some of the best leadership attributes!
Rana Salman, Ph.D.
Rana Salman, Ph.D., collaborates with sales, marketing, and enablement leaders to improve sales effectiveness and overall customer experience. With over 20 years of marketing and sales experience, Rana has spent a significant amount of her career as a sales consultant, working with midsize and Fortune 500 IT organizations. Rana leads Salman Consulting, LLC., which specializes in designing sales strategies and creating effective content, tools, and training required to optimize the end-to-end customer experience from pre-sales to post-sales.
Being a sales practitioner, Rana is a no-fluff type of consultant, “I practice what I preach! People buy from people! And while you may have an amazing product, your salespeople are crucial to your growth strategy.”
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
I have several aha moments:-) One in particular: I’ve sold to different industries: IT, Healthcare, Higher Ed, non-profit, retail, etc. And while each industry has its unique challenges and initiatives, my aha moment was simple yet powerful. No matter what I’m selling and what industry I’m selling to, I am selling to a human being with feelings, emotions, fears, dreams, aspirations, etc. To connect with them and add value, it’s not about me, my products, or my fancy technical words. It’s about engaging in an authentic conversation that focuses on them—what they’re going through. It’s about doing my homework and showing them that I care, listening to understand rather than respond, designing a solution that benefits them, and knowing when to walk away because it’s not the right fit.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
1) Increase your self-awareness; While self-awareness is painful, it is a gift that can help us improve and reach our potentials. When I was starting sales, I remember recording myself delivering a whiteboard and evaluating myself. I cringe every time I think about it, but it was transformational and helped me improve my sales skillset. Years later, I still conduct self-awareness exercises, and I’m learning every time.
2) Be in control of your success: Have a goal, work hard to achieve it, ask for input/feedback from those that have done it, and learn and grow. Know your value, and always be learning!
3) Ask for help: For me, as a young mom starting in sales, it wasn’t easy. However, I surrounded myself with amazing people and a supportive husband that helped me manage my life and not give up on my dreams and career while still be there for my babies. My boys are now older, and they appreciate so much the sacrifices and the hard work they saw me put throughout the years. We are leading by example.
4) Take calculated risks: Don’t be afraid to take calculated risks that will help you achieve your goal; If you see a role that you believe you qualify for, take that jump. Don’t let fear of failure get in the way. I always ask myself: “Why not?” “What is holding me back?” and based on these answers, I can quickly evaluate if my reasons are legitimate or just total fear that can paralyze you.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
1) Be intensely curious and don’t be afraid to ask questions and learn from other top performers. I remember not only attending other top performers’ sales calls but also recording and transcribing these calls after hours and then making it my own and practice, practice, practice.
Rebecca Ulyatt
As a continuous learner and seeker of knowledge, I have had the great privilege to work and learn across large global businesses! Helping others to achieve their goals has always been a passion and now I combine that with my first hand sales experience by enabling sales functions to become efficient, effective and human in their customer interactions!
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
Realising that selling is just about having an open conversation. Yes you have to know your business and quickly understand how you can help your client, but for the most part…it’s just a conversation. Be curious. Enjoy the interaction. People are amazing!
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Selling is not dirty and it is not about tricking someone into buying. It’s all about the journey of one human helping another human find a solution for a challenge/issue they currently face. It’s about listening, being creative, showing genuine empathy, bringing out your curiousity and collaborating openly – something us women are absolute naturals at! As a solution seller there is no better feeling than delivering a game changing solution that you and the client created together!
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Learn as much as you can…continuously. Read, watch videos, go to seminars, talk to the “high flyers” and then do all the best stuff in your own style! The customer will buy you first.
Renu Gupta
Renu is the VP of Sales at Thrive Global. Prior to Thrive, Renu was a Director of Sales at Slack for Large Enterprise where she helped build the sales team and processes, close revenue from new and current customers in the Fortune 100 space. She has also worked for other technology driven organizations like Dropbox during their hyper growth stage to lead their expansion in the Enterprise segment.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
Really understanding the meaning behind “if you don’t ask, you don’t get”.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Fortune favors the bold.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Numbers speak volumes in sales regardless of what or who you identify with. Put your head down, do good work, and let the numbers speak for themselves!
Reva Pellerin
With 10+ years of sales experience, Reva began her career with Oracle as a Business Development Rep and moved into an Account Executive role for Oracle Marketing Cloud (Eloqua). After building both SME and Enterprise skill sets as an Account Executive at Vidyard, Reva shifted her focus to managing Vidyard’s Business Development team. Most recently, Reva has returned to an Account Executive role at Vidyard, helping some of our largest and fastest growing customers expand their relationship with Vidyard. Outside of work, you can find Reva chasing after her daughter Vale, knitting, and learning how to garden.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
My aha moment is when I realized there is a difference between a strong and proven sales methodology and your personality. I did not need to be a ‘shark’ in sales to follow a strong sales methodology. When starting a career in sales, it’s natural to try and emulate what others are doing, especially the top performing reps or your manager. However, I always felt anxious and lacked confidence to speak the way I was coached to speak. In a new world, I worked for multiple leaders who helped me lean into my own style. They always emphasized the key to success in sales is following a proven sales methodology but that doesn’t mean you need to leave what you bring to the table at the door.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Your selling style does not need to match your peers. Some traits or habits you feel you need to change are actually what make you a great sales rep. Be confident in what you bring to the table and find your style. A learning mindset goes a long way as well. So as you build confidence in your style, don’t forget to constantly be learning about ways you can improve your sales process.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Many of the best sales reps I know are women. Just because you may see more men on your team does not mean they are there because men are naturally better at sales. Keep a learning mindset. When you hit your stride or find success, it is natural to begin easing off on the preparation, research, organization, etc that goes into making every call with a prospect or customer successful. But the reason you are seeing success is because of those inputs. So always be sharpening your skills and getting a bit better on every call.
Sally Duby
An early trendsetter in sales development and inside sales before it was fashionable. Sally is CSO and Partner at The Bridge Group helping B2B tech companies get the most out of their SDR and inside sales teams
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?Hard work and achieving quota alone won’t get you promoted as a women. If you don’t make your career intentions known you will likely struggle to get where you want.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Make sure you talk to various Sales Leaders in your company and let them know what direction your want to take your career. Ask for their advice on what you need to do to make it a reality.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Find a company that has women in roles you want to be in. If you aren’t sure find out how many women in general are in the sales team. Find mentors within your company and outside of your company. Observe what women in your company that are in a role you strive to be in are doing.
Sam Hietsch
I started my career at ADP in Pittsburgh after graduating college in 2015 and have been building a career in sales ever since. I am currently based in San Francisco as an AE at SetSail where I strategize with sales leadership teams on how to drive sales productivity (selling to sales about sales gets pretty meta!)
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
No one is stopping you from forging your own path to success. Whether your company has a defined career path or is so early that no processes exist at all, you don’t have to wait around to make something happen. There’s no guardrails when it comes to brainstorming improvements that can be made. If you have ideas, don’t wait around for people to ask about them. Share them with others and you can start to make things happen.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Put yourself out there and get out of your comfort zone. It’s extremely critical to get different perspectives at times, whether it be working with other people in your company in different roles or departments to understand what they do a bit more, or reaching out to people at different companies to pick their brain on their experience and career path. This helps you grow your network but also helps give insights into how organizations work outside of just the specific function you sell to or work in so that you can understand the broader impact your product has on an organization as a whole
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
You were hired for a reason (or if you’re looking for a new opportunity, you have reasons why you would be a good fit). Remind yourself of why you are the best person for your role every single day, and also check in with yourself consistently to see if you’re on a career path that you want to be on. Be confident. Make it happen.
Sara Breen
Not sure if you want this in first person or third person… but I’ll do my best! I started my career as a high school English teacher, and jumped into Chicago tech sales in 2014. I started as a BDR, and worked my way into managing the entire BDR org. From there, I realized that teaching and enablement were my favorite parts of management and got into sales enablement. I lead enablement for the Sales Development org at Okta which is about 180 young reps looking to begin their career in sales.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
Everyone is learning on the fly! When you start in a new role or company, you might think, “Oh my goodness, everyone is so smart and knows everything and I will never get there.” That is typically not the case. Everyone has been learning and practicing and perfecting their roles, which is why they are where they are. Try to get 1% better every day and soon you will be an expert in your field.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
It’s never too late to start over or learn something new. Often times people think that a career is linear, and that is not true. Keep growing, learning, and asking questions and you can take your career wherever you want to go! From sales, to marketing, to enablement, to management, to ops. All roles are important in a successful revenue organization, and it’s vital to find what you love, run at it, and then become the expert and go-to person that your company can depend on.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Raise your hand and speak up! Whenever there is an opportunity to learn something or help someone, take it! Be sure you are prepared and present in meetings so that your team knows you are reliable and focused. Exceed your KPIs, get to the top of the leaderboard, and keep climbing!
Sarah Jane Hicks
Sarah is a theatre school graduate, current MBA student, former top-performing SDR & SDR Manager, and current Lead Coach at Predictable Revenue. Her passion for performance has equipped her with the tenacity, agility, and creativity vital in SDR and SDR Management roles. The experience she’s had prospecting, building a dozen SDR teams across different industries, and learning from sales thought leaders on the Predictable Revenue Podcast make her a great asset to the business development leaders she coaches.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
That I didn’t have to play by the rules if I hit my numbers. Outbound is all about agility and there’s no one way to get it right. As long as you’re creating quality opportunities and bringing in revenue, you can forge your own path.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Sales has traditionally been man’s world but more and more incredible female leaders are staking their claim on the industry. Find your voice and make it heard by becoming an expert in your space and taking every opportunity to teach others – at your company, on podcasts, on webinars, in LinkedIn posts, etc.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
It’s tough. You’ll face rejection, long days grinding and long nights stressing. But the sooner you figure out your own process and strategies the better – then it’s smooth sailing.
Sarah Kauter
Sarah is the CEO of multi award winning agency VerriBerri, which was founded in 2009.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
People buy from people. Be yourself and do what you do best.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Don’t lose who you are in the race to the top. Stay true to your moral compass and you’ll always do well.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Don’t think you can’t do both. I have 3 children and run my own company. It’s all about time management.
Sarah Lacey
Founder of Linking Indy Women and Head of Partner Engagement at Adobe, I am passionate about technology, partners, supporting my community, and personal leadership.
I thrive in environments where there is opportunity to learn, make an impact, and give back. That’s why I enjoy my career at Adobe so much.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
Sometimes you can solve a problem faster by taking a break from it.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Surround yourself with women that challenge you. Support is fantastic, but women who challenge you to grow outside your comfort zone are so valuable.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
You are capable, your ideas matter, and everyone starts at the beginning. So show up, speak up, and enjoy the journey!
Shannon J. Gregg, PhD
Shannon J. Gregg, PhD, MBA, is an aficionado of sales technology to increase efficiency in the sales process, and an early adopter and adoption influencer for sales technology systems, particularly Salesforce.com and technology that integrates with the Salesforce platform. Shannon is known as a change agent, particularly in M&A environments (VC/PE), with successful track record of integrating process, product/service pricing and pricing methodologies, and notably, global teams, with cultural sensitivity.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
You cannot rely on others to recognize your hard work; you’ve got to be your own personal PR firm. Let others know about your accomplishments!
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Always ask for it – whatever “it” is for you. The opportunity, the stretch project, the sale, the mentorship, the facetime; if you don’t ask, you’re already at “no,” so don’t let the fear of rejection stop your cause!
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Sales is the best profession. Remain intellectually curious, seek out a personal board of directors who will give you the gift of feedback, and stay the course.
Shari Begun
I am recognized as a ROI-driven Sales Executive with global experience across multiple countries, leading sales strategies focused on large multinational Tier 1 customers and penetrating new and emerging markets. I increase sales YOY revenue by over 45% and lead teams of over 100, earning multiple honors based on sales contributions. I drive sustainable profitability growth by building visions and cultivating long-term, profitable client relationships. I bring a deep understanding of multi-level, complex sales cycle management processes and build world-class sales organizations.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
Once I reached my goal of having the largest customer at a former employer, I knew I could do more and decided to go after bigger roles.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Have confidence in yourself and trust your instincts
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Watch how others do client meetings, handle tough obstacles, etc. and adopt what works for you!
Shruti Kapoor
Shruti is the founder and CEO of Wingman. After spending years in the trenches in Finance she was so shocked by the lack of quality data in sales that she decided to build the solution herself – Wingman
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
When you are stuck, go and sign up for a demo of another SaaS product – put yourself in the buyer shoes. So many things will suddenly become clear!
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Not being good at blowing your own trumpet can be a big asset – can you get the buyer to sell it to themselves?
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Don’t be afraid to ask uncomfortable questions – whether that’s to your manager about the complan or to your prospects about their budgets.
Simran Duggal
Simran has been in SaaS sales for 6+ years and loves the thrill of a fast paced, growing team! Simran cares deeply about intersectional diversity in the sector and looks forward to the day where C-Suites and leadership teams represent the population more equitably. She lives just outside Toronto with her husband and 20 month old daughter.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
When I learned to deep dive into my closed lost deals. It shifted everything for me.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Trust yourself and don’t be afraid to stand up for what you believe in. The day I found my voice in the workplace was not only freeing but I garnered respect from my peers and leaders.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Find mentors that support and challenge you, regardless of who they are. Be open to feedback but most importantly have fun! A career in sales is demanding and can be a rollercoaster so enjoy the ride!
Stefanie Boyer
Dr. Stefanie Boyer, Professor of Marketing at Bryant University, is the Co-Founder of RNMKRS, TEDx speaker, Executive Director of the Northeast Intercollegiate Sales Competition, recipient of the prestigious American Marketing Association Sales Educator of the Year Award. Stefanie coauthored The Little Black Book of Social Media, Strategies to Ignite Your Business, Influencer, and Professional Brand. She brings unique and valuable experience to the classroom and to organizations that want to build their client base.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
Sometimes people will buy from you when you don’t expect it. Sometimes people won’t buy from you when you do expect it. Keep your mind, heart and ears open so you don’t exclude great customers.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
1. You are more capable than you realize. 2. Surround yourself with people who lift you up and encourage you to succeed. 3. When you have power and influence, use it to boost people up around you and create an environment that encourages others to do the same.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Find the best sellers, take them to lunch, learn from them like a sponge, network your brains out, offer to help people on projects. Talk to customers, focus on having great conversations instead of 100 calls a day. Follow the process. Lean into objections.
Steph D’Aguilar
I am a tenured tech sales professional that has spent the last 7 years of my career at Salesforce. Outside of work, I’m passionate about mentoring and coaching others, playing sports and being active and cooking.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
That being your most honest, authentic (and sometimes vulnerable) self is a sure-fire path to success.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Don’t assume that your work will speak for itself. If you want something (ie: a promotion, a stretch assignment, a raise, etc) make it known and make the ask explicitly.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Find your network of supporters and advocates (whether in your company or external to your company) early and connect with them often.
Stephanie Chung
With over 30 years of experience catalyzing transformative growth in the aviation sector, Stephanie Chung has been widely recognized as a trail blazer. As the Chief Growth Officer for Wheels Up she focuses on revenue generation through new client acquisitions within the sports, entertainment, and corporate sectors.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
Buyers don’t care about your product or service. They only care about how your product or service will make their life and/or job easier.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
You have what it takes to be the best. Be mindful of your self talk, get rid of stinking thinking, and spend your time doing things that produce results.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Sales is a worthy profession. Study the craft, become proficient in understanding buying behaviors, learn how to actively listen, be empathetic, and solution focused.
Stephanie Middaugh
Stephanie is a fearless and spunky Revenue Enablement professional with over 11 years of experience in Enablement, Training, and Sales Operations. She is data and results driven with a track record of building impactful and scalable programs and trainings at company’s who have successfully IPO’d and been acquired for $2.5 Billion during her tenure.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
One of my “aha moments” has been that sometimes situations just suck and there’s no rhyme or reason to it. The often tricky, but important, part is to embrace that sucky moment, shake it off, and figure out how to move past it and take any learnings you can from the experience.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Similar to others’ input on this question, your experience and professional opinions are valuable to any room you are in. Don’t be afraid to speak up and share them. If you’re in that room, you deserve to be there.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
“Do not go gentle into that good night” – what I mean by this is don’t be afraid to fight for your place at the table or in the room, but do so with integrity. Sales can be challenging for women, but the only way to change that is to keep pushing forward.
Sue Dumbauld
Sue started her career in financial services career 18 years ago and has more than 12 years of experience in Sales. She has led Sales and Solution Consulting teams and in her current role as Vice President, Partnerships Strategy is responsible for the acceleration of revenue growth with key strategic partners. She is passionate about career growth and coaching others in any position she has held.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
If you don’t ask the question, the answer is definitely no. Don’t be afraid to ask questions – intellectual curiosity is a strength that should continuously be fostered.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
It is important for you to be able to articulate your contributions and impact – for your company, your team and at an individual level. Identify your skills, values and interests – Knowing what you are good at, what is important to you and what motivates you, impacts every choice and decision you make. It is also important to understand your personal brand – This is something that you should continuously focus on improving/maintaining because it often influences what the possibilities are ahead of you. You cannot plan your career without first understanding these fundamentals.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Be a sponge – learn as much as you can and practice as much as you can. Don’t be afraid to ask questions so you understand the “why”. Tenacity and hard work are crucial to succeed and building your personal brand early will serve you well with any goal you set to accomplish.
Sunanda Nair
Sunanda is a sales professional who has worked primarily at startups and fast growing tech companies. Currently she supports an amazing team at Gitlab and loves getting folks where they want to be in their careers. Outside of work she mostly spends time chasing after her 4 year old son, but also enjoys reading, poker and spending time with her family and friends.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
Diversifying my network helped me level up quickly. It’s easy to talk mostly to your peers in sales but when I started talking to folks in other roles I was able to get new perspectives that ultimately helped me be more successful in my sales career.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Keep showing up and find mentors and folks who will advocate for you in your career. Don’t underestimate the power of a diverse network and continually pay it forward for others wherever you can. Finally there are days that will be tough & be kind to yourself and remember you deserve an active seat at the table!
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Interview companies and hiring managers to ensure they will invest in your success! Interviewing is also you vetting your manager and employer and it’s easy to forget that, so don’t forget to ask questions. Who you work for when you start out can have a big impact on your career.
Susan A. Enns
Susan A. Enns is a professional sales coach, consultant and author with B2BSalesConnections.com. She has a proven track record of sales excellence over her 30 plus year career, including consecutively being the top sales rep in Canada, managing the top sales branch, and achieving outstanding sales growth in a national channel sales organization. A sales and management training expert, her work has been published in several locations numerous times and her books have sold on five separate continents. A passionate community volunteer and cancer survivor, Susan lives and works in Ottawa, Canada.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
Early in my career, my sales manager held a training session on handling objections. I was a top producer at the time, in fact the top rep in the country, yet was still quite confused by the meeting. Afterwards, I went to him and said, “John, I am quite confused by today’s meeting. I am closing sales and my closing ratio is very high, yet I don’t have to deal with these objections.” To which he replied, “Yes you do. You handle objections all the time. You just handle them long before you ever put your proposal on the table.”
The aha moment? Closing a sale is a natural evolution of the sales process. In reality, the close starts when you ask the right questions. In fact, we really don’t “sell” anything. We just help customers buy. As Spencer Johnson & Larry Wilson once said, “I have more fun and enjoy more financial success when I stop trying to get what I want and start helping other people get what they want.” Or as I like to say, better the fact find, happier the customer, better the paycheck!
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Find a mentor. Find several mentors. People are not born as “natural” sales superstars. Sales is a learned skill. I was not always a top producer. In fact, quite the opposite. But I was lucky enough to have a mentor who took the time to teach me how to sell. And your learning should never stop. Remember as John Wooden once said, “It’s what you learn after you know it all that counts.”
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
As a woman, I was definitely in the minority in each of the companies I worked for, yet I was still recognized many times as a top performer in various sales capacities, including sales management. But the real question remains: Was I the top sales representative because I was a woman, or was it because I practiced better sales and sales management techniques than my male counterparts? My personal opinion is the latter. And the bottom line is if I can do it, so can you. Aim higher!
Suzanne Ratti
Suzanne serves as a Sales & Marketing Strategist for Business Growth and is a Facilitator & Public Speaker. She is a thought leader and business advisor with demonstrated success in RevOps, Sales, and Marketing growth initiatives. Suzanne helps business leaders create business strategies and processes to encourage collaboration and synergy between sales, marketing, and operations.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
When I learned how to say yes AND no with thoughtful consideration. Early in my career, I was afraid to say no to anything, for fear of missing out. When I worked with a mentor/coach, I realized that there is a lot of value in distinguishing which opportunities or even conversations were worth pursuing or even advocating for, and those that were better left behind. This type of discernment can create respect, trust, and credibility as well as help you make better career choices.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
If you don’t ask, you don’t get! Learning to do so, with gravitas, is the key to a successful career and unlimited potential in sales. Get a mentor or coach who can help you objectively evaluate challenges, learn from experiences, and pursue the best career opportunities.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Get a mentor or coach who can help you hone your craft, objectively evaluate challenges, and learn from experiences. It can also help accelerate career growth by allowing you to pursue the best career opportunities.
Tabitha Cavanagh
I facilitate unlikely connections and transform lives one conversation at a time! I’m the person that cares about the people!
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
Fail quickly. Don’t stay down too long. Let yourself feel the things and then get back up and keep going. Learn from absolutely everything!
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Don’t copy someone else’s voice. When I first started in sales/recruitment, I mimicked my boss’s style. His delivery was so perfect. Everything seemed to come naturally and I wanted to be just like him. When I tried to speak using his language, it was awkward. I felt clunky. Find your own voice and get comfortable with who you are. You’ll make a bigger difference in the lives of those you serve if you lean into your unique traits. Be who you are and shine!
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
You have to WANT to be in sales. It’s a tough job. Some days you’ll be flying high and other days you’ll want to quit. Choose to commit even when you don’t feel like it.
Tamina Zaheri
After 5 years within the B2C space building top-notch Customer Experiences and developing Corporate Partnerships, Tamina transitioned to B2B sales in 2019. She found her calling quickly in the space and has helped to expand Stoplight’s sales team 3x while supporting Enterprise customers and prospects to validate new workflows for their development team.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
That I have to build a strong, foundational knowledge of the strategies around implementing a product as technical as ours, that strong foundation makes my company and me stand out to buyers. We aren’t just selling a product. We are supporting a vision.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Take the time to think big picture as you traverse the daily tasks to push a deal forward. Being stuck in the weeds can lead to missing out on a field of flowers. You have to be willing to put in the legwork for your own growth. Ravenously consume content from the best in your field, constantly seek feedback on your methods, and deliberately experiment with your inputs. As you experiment and look for feedback, it’s key that you never take anything personally.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Take your time to learn from the best. Find a product or service you see the value in, learn from their sales folks. Read books. Start from the foundation and move your way into contemporary thoughts. Develop your own frameworks and methods. You have so much valuable insight with fresh eyes and a fresh mind. Don’t let it go to waste.
Tana McDermott
Tana is passionate about developing and leading top performing sales teams while creating a productive team environment. She has extensive experience in business development, demand generation, inside sales, business transformation, and driving top line revenue.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
To build a top performing team, you really have to care wholeheartedly about each individual. Theodore Roosevelt said, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.” This is so true when building and leading a team. People will climb mountains for you when they trust you and know you care about them and are genuinely invested in their success.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Hire for your weaknesses
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
This advise is for anyone starting a career – not just in sales. Be forthright in asking for what you want. If you want a raise? Ask for it. If you want a promotion? Ask for it. If you want a different job? Ask for it. Things typically will not fall onto your lap.
Tania Doub
I am a woman in sales with over 20 years of selling SaaS to Fortune 500 companies. I am the author of-Work it, girl!-, a book that is focused on helping women navigate a career in technology sales and I am passionate about sharing my secrets on how to crush a career in sales!
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
Sometimes a sales job is just not right for you. Not because you’re not good enough. Not because they’re not good enough. And certainly not because you don’t belong in sales. There is a perfect sales job for every women who wants to be in sales. Don’t be afraid to go after it.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Always listen to your intuition and don’t ever be afraid to use your voice. Confidence is everything!
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
You can have a long and fulfilling career in sales, and make lots of money. Yes, even after you get married. Yes, even after you have children.
Tannis Sigurdson
Passionate People, Innovative Technology and Stellar Performance are my drivers! Global results oriented, strategic executive leader with exceptional success in Senior Commercial roles within the Healthcare SaaS and disruptive medical device industry. Superior negotiation skills and a proven track record leading and building champion teams and corporations towards delivering exceptional results against top line growth and profitability in new and saturated markets.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
My Aha moment was when I was becoming stagnant with an amazing company out of California. I had a very successful career as a Sales Director for over 15 years, and was not sure what my next move was. I was making a lot of money, loved what I did, but wasn’t feeling challenged anymore. So I picked up and left my corporate career and moved overseas to Spain to complete my International MBA. I chose Spain to give me a broader outlook on the International market, and it was the best decision of my life. I have now consulted for numerous International companies, and I love all the new global opportunities that have come before me.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
It’s never too late to change careers in any stage of your life, and target your dream job. I always get the question – “how do I get into working for this industry when I don’t have any direct sales experience?” First off, don’t listen to recruiters who tell you that you will never get an interview with that company because you lack these skills or this degree. Exceptional leaders hire people based on drive, willingness to learn, passion and what and how they can contribute to the team! Not everyone is cut out for sales, but if you are very clear on your career goals, and don’t let anything or anyone deter you from achieving them, then you can pick your dream job! You need to hustle, work extremely hard at making the right connections, and keep showing up. Remember “No doesn’t mean, No!” It just may not be the right timing, but keep checking in with that company that you want to work for on a bi-weekly/monthly basis, to make sure they remember who you are, because the other candidates will not. Stay in your lane and create your own path, and you can achieve anything you set your mind to! Good luck!
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
If you want to have a successful career in sales, then never listen to anyone that says you can’t do it, or its a “male industry” and its hard to break through the boys club! Align yourself with an experienced sales mentor, learn as much as you can about the company you want to be with, network through Linkedin and pave your own path. I hire people not necessarily based on experience. I want and prefer to hire individuals based on a “Growth mindset.” Carol Dweck, (PhD) coined the term which means – if individuals believe that they can get smarter by putting in the extra time, persistence and effort, then that can lead to higher achievement. Hence, an individual’s basic qualities and experiences can be cultivated through your own efforts! Never give up, because that is a trait of successful sales professionals.
Taylor Jones
Taylor Jones is a strategic sales leader motivated by helping organizations transform their business through digital innovation. She is currently a Regional Manager at Salesforce; the founder of BlackArrow, where she mentors sales professionals and start-ups in the tech space; and a part-time professor teaching professional selling. Both inside and outside the workweek hustle, she is an impassioned globetrotter always exploring new professional, volunteer, educational or personal opportunities through unique adventures around the globe.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
People buy from people. You can use all the sales techniques or scripts in the world but if it doesn’t feel genuine and authentic, then it’s unlikely your prospect will buy from you. People want to be educated on ways to make their job easier or make their company better, they want to be inspired through stories about how other people have accomplished the same and they want to feel like they are talking to a human who being honest with them and can actually help them accomplish what they need or want to do.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Be confident! Sales has high, highs and low, lows and it’s easy to get caught up in the lows and think that you’re not good enough at your job. Imposter syndrome is real when it comes to being a woman in sales and in sales your attitude can dramatically negatively affect your performance.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Find a mentor, or two, and learn from as many people as possible. Steal the great techniques, talk-tracks and sales processes that you love or see are successful but don’t be afraid to create your own personal style that blends many sales styles and techniques together with your personal spin.
Tessa Young
Untappd’s mission is to advance the global beverage industry through innovative technology. I lead the sales team that carries out this mission by growing sales reps that are thoughtful, intentional and absolute rockstars at challenging & changing the way people do business.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
I struggled to come up with an aha moment, but while I was trying to think of one, I reflected on this moment. When I had first moved into sales management, a woman on my team that I was coaching was becoming increasingly better as a salesperson, poised to have one of her best months ever, and surpass the best month I’d ever had. A co-worker made a comment to me that basically implied I should be worried/mad or in general NOT want her to be better than me, as if that were some sort of demerit to my own credibility as a salesperson. When he said that to me, my gut reaction was “am I even good at my job if I can’t coach people to be better than I am?” I strictly believe that being able to coach salespeople to be more successful of a salesperson than I was is an exact indicator of my success.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Remain open to all feedback and criticism, but keep perspective and know your own strengths. In an interview for an entry-level sales position, my future boss told me he was concerned about hiring me as a salesperson because I was highly empathetic (I had taken a personality test as part of the interview process). He not only hired me but also promoted me 3 times over the course of 4 years, before ultimately recommending I take over his role upon his resignation. My full circle moment was when he was announcing one of my promotions to our team and cited learning how to lead with empathy from me. If you know your own strengths, you won’t allow anyone else to label them as weaknesses.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
- Get to know and love your product. I know sometimes when you’re starting out, you have to take the job you can get. But to truly be able to sell, you need to believe in what you’re selling. If you don’t believe in it, learn everything you can while you look for another job with a product you can stand behind.
- Learn and absorb all the best practices, the pitches, the objection handling, etc., but make sure you sound like yourself. Real sales training should provide frameworks, not scripts. If you read & say someone else’s words, the prospect will read through that inauthenticity every time.
Tiffany Heimpel
Theater kid turned sales leader. Tiffany has worked in Start-Ups, Fortune 500’s and has always learned by doing!
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
When I realized people didn’t know nearly as much as I thought they did. That was very liberating and gave me the onus to reach further, fail faster, and learn quicker.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Take up space. You’ve earned the right to be there so take up the space. Ask the questions, fail and try again.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
It’s the best career you can have. You own your time, income and career path – do it!
Tiffany Kummer
I’m an intellectually curious and data-driven leader and mentor with a penchant for strategy. I’m passionate about developing people. I help businesses solve problems, build culture, and drive revenue.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
Being interested is so much more important than being interesting. People love to talk about themselves – create an environment where they can. Psychological safety isn’t just for leaders – it’s for every interaction you have with every potential client. If you create safe space, information will flow. Remember, people want to buy – but they don’t want to be sold.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Strive for employment security, not job security. Don’t wait around for development – develop yourself. Read that book, ask that question, take that course. Work on transferable skills, journal your successes in narrative format so you can access the details later, and keep track of your goal attainment in your own personal systems. Keep a “brag book.” You think you’ll remember, but you won’t – write it all down.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Get a mentor and a sponsor. They serve different purposes. Your mentor is someone, typically outside your organization, that has more experience and expertise than you do. They can advise, help, and hold you accountable on all aspects of your career. Your sponsor is someone more senior than you in your organization who will speak up for you in rooms you aren’t in. They can advise, help, and hold you accountable on all aspects of your current role in your current company. A sponsor can be an internal mentor, but they shouldn’t be your only mentor – you also need a mentor outside your organization with whom you can be very raw.
Tiffany Ruder
Tiffany Ruder is a Colorado-based full-stack marketer who specializes in creating customer-centric messaging and digital experiences that span channels and touchpoints. She champions optimizing customer experience as the ultimate conversion booster. In addition to overseeing sales for her own services, she has consulted on several customer journey projects for sales tech industry leaders.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
My aha moment was actually my very first sale. The aha that came with it – oh my, I am really able to do it; totally took me by surprise. I took a deep breath and from there it was all about optimizing and reoptimizing the process. I’m still basically doing the same thing, albeit tweaked.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Forget that being a woman might have any impact on the interaction and so will they. I’d like to believe we are defined as professionals – or not – regardless of our gender. I might be naive in saying “this is not the 50s anymore,” but I believe it is my naivete that allows me to excel in what I do. If I don’t give misogyny and sexism any space, it won’t have any power, at least in my life.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Continuing my train of thought from the previous question, I would say, to any woman, man, binary or other person just starting out – sales is not about being able to “sell ice to eskimos.” Don’t believe the magic ability war stories you will (not) hear around the water cooler / coffee machine. In 2021, sales is about thoroughly researching the market, the prospective client’s needs and smartly utilizing this data to put together a customized offer.
Tracy Sedlak
My passion is for delivering an exceptional client experience while ensuring the top line results are exceeded. I believe that as a leader it is critical to nurture our teams, encouraging their personal growth and development which will create the future leaders of our industry.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
My aha moment came when I stopped saying I wasn’t a sales person. I have always believed I was more focused on the client experience, which I am. I just happened to be building relationships and partnerships which led to business deals, making me a woman in the business of sales.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Take any opportunity you have to step outside your comfort zone and always continue to learn, each and every day.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
To be transparent, be authentic and focus on building & maintaining relationships.
Tye Miles
Tye Miles is a Business Strategist and Branding Expert specializing in personal branding for female experts and entrepreneurs, along with online visibility and business growth strategy. Her passion: To empower women to express their authenticity and leverage their expertise so they can enjoy meaningful success.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
Confidence is the secret sauce to sales success. Confidence is transferable. As a woman is sales you must speak about your products/services with such passion and conviction that the prospect’s belief is your products/services is energized. Be confident in your ability to close. To walk in such confidence you must be confident in your sales skills, your product/service, and the results of your product/service.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
The best piece of advice I have for women in sales centers around profiling and qualifying leads. The more you know about about a lead, the better you can qualify or determine if they are not qualified for your products/services. Why is this important? Becasue time is our biggest asset. When you’re up against a deadline or need to meet a sales quota, you want to spend your time serving your most qualified leads first, and then proceed with rest of your leads according to where they fall on your spectrum of qualification.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
To any woman just starting in sales I highly recommend being intentional with becoming familiar with the various reasons why people say no to your product/service, and then predetermine how you will address the objections when, not if, they arise. Remember, most people are conditioned to say no before they say yes. Don’t take the a no personally. Know that no simply means a prospect needs more clarity in order to say yes.
Veselina Panayotova
15 years of corporate experience in P&G, Ficosota and Carlsberg Bulgaria led to an establishment of a team of working mothers.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
I was a sales director of a 200+ team, predominantly male. It was never about how much I knew, it was about how I talked.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
You need to shape the sales career to fit your needs as a woman. The rules were created centuries ago when the woman stayed home and there was the salesman. Times are different and make your voice be heard.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Find a community with other saleswomen to support you during your journey.
Vivian Chen
Entrepreneur with a background in B2B SaaS, previously at Greenhouse Software from Series A to C.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
Talk less, listen more.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Your personal brand matters. The company you work for, the products you sell, how you sell will all change. But who you are and why you do what you do will make you stand out. Don’t be afraid to be yourself, everyone else is already taken!
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Sales is one of the best places to start a career and one of the most important skill sets in life. We are in fact, constantly selling, whether it’s ourselves, our ideas, or something else. Effective communication is an indispensable asset regardless if you stay in sales or not!
Whitney Sales
Whitney Sales is a General Partner at Forum Ventures seed fun. She is the creator of a B2B go-to-market methodology, The Sales Method, that helps companies scale to market quickly. Considered one of the most experienced GTM advisors in the B2B space, Whitney has invested in and advised 150+ B2B startups.
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
About 10 years ago, I realized that my friends and community saw me as more capable than I saw myself. I was looking for permission to design the career I wanted instead of taking responsibility for building it for myself. I had experience launching new products and building teams from the ground up that very few people my age had, on top of that I absolutely LOVED it. I made some hard choices and started working for myself, which led me to create The Sales Method and eventually join Forum Ventures. These insights gave me the courage to define success on my terms. I’m grateful every day for the Forum team and the opportunity and trust the founders I work with give me.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
Own your value, you don’t need to ask for permission to play bigger. Soft skills are leadership skills.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
You can’t expect people to give you anything you don’t ask for.
Zeenath Kuraisha
“Zeenath Kuraisha is a global inside and virtual sales veteran and leader who founded Asia Pacific Sales & Marketing Academy Pte. Ltd and The E-University for Sales by APACSMA.
Zeenath serves as the Singapore Chapter President, Expert Panelist and the APAC Strategic Partner for The Global Inside Sales Association, Shareholder for Institute of Sales Professionals APAC, and is an Expert Member for Forbes Business Council.
She has received numerous accolades and recognition from the industry including Sales Hacker’s 35 Most Influential Women in Sales, Best Asia Corporate Consultant by HRM Asia, Executive of the Year for Education by Singapore Business Review, Top 100 Educators by GEFL and named “50 Asia’s Women Leaders of the Year” by CMO Asia.”
What is one a-ha moment you’ve had in your sales career?
Investing in my own development rather than waiting for a company to invest in my growth. This also made me do things with confidence and knowledge to try. I worked hard beyond my comfort zone with persistence without giving up with a sharp focus on the end goal. Today that ‘try’ has made me and my Organization a Strategic Partner for The Employment & Employability Institute for Singapore’s Inside and Digital Sales talent enablement and transformation initiative, a preferred Strategic Partner for several Sales bodies and several endorsements.
What is your best piece of career advice for women in sales?
A lot of women stop at the smallest piece of barrier. They have to learn how to overcome and move on with the believe of what they can be. Women need to start to dream big! You never know until you try.
What would you tell a woman just starting a career in sales?
Meet you soon in the champions club!
Wow, what a list! I’m honoured to have been included and so looking forward to learning from such an interesting list of role models. Thank you for taking the time to create this, Sales Hacker.
Nice article, Christina!
@christinasalesassembly
I LOVE this feature so much! Thank you & @sam-hembree & Team Sales Hacker for showcasing such incredible women.
I’m truly honored to be included, and can’t wait to meet more of the other women.