In the Big Apple, business stops for no one. With that in mind, we pulled six salespeople away from their desks for a New-York minute to ask them about their passions and motivations. It’s especially important to enjoy your work when it involves selling customers on a specific piece of software and more broadly, a company vision. Otherwise, personal fulfillment and success will never align.
They told us about how they got to their current position and what helps them keep up their pace.
Darla Iuliucci, Regional Field Sales Manager, previously closed the books on her teaching career, but she’s taken her syllabi/notes with her. That academic information and motivation has come in handy at her Newsela sales role. She told us that doing a job she’s passionate about (among supportive teammates) makes the work significantly easier. She’s always been a lifelong learner and she’s not going to stop now.
Tell us a little bit about the product/s you sell and why you're genuinely passionate about selling them.
Newsela’s educational content platform truly transforms classrooms. Today’s teachers face a massive challenge: finding content that’s accessible for every reading level; is culturally relevant; aligns with lesson plans, standards, and ever-evolving state mandates; and doesn’t take hours to search for every week. Newsela checks those boxes. With content from over 70 of the world’s most respected news and educational partners — covering topics ranging from U.S. history to social-emotional learning and LGBTQ+ studies — Newsela builds a more inclusive classroom by expanding representation, providing choice, and empowering new teaching methods. Students, teachers, and school districts love it. It’s an amazing product for me to get behind and one that fits right into what our buyers want.
And when their curiosity carries beyond the classroom, students become more empathetic, engaged global citizens.’’
Beyond a commission, what motivates you to succeed in your role?
As a former classroom teacher, I’ve seen first hand how great content can open up a student’s world. And when their curiosity carries beyond the classroom, students become more empathetic, engaged global citizens. With Newsela, I get to support that on a larger scale, which makes my role all the more energizing. I not only love that I’m helping make a true impact on K-12 learning, but I get to do that with an incredibly supportive team (from our sales training and enablement leaders who teach me about our users and buyers each week to our sales engineers who join me on large, complex sales to my sales colleagues who celebrate our collective wins).
Andrew Nagelberg has his plate full at SevenRooms. The Senior Account Executive pitches the operations, marketing and guest engagement platform to organizations in the hospitality space. Their software allows users to plan out reservations, reduce their fees, and streamline a large portion of what can quickly become otherwise clunky in an ever-evolving industry. Nagelberg takes his wins and losses as they come, but is always looking straight ahead.
Tell us a little bit about the product/s you sell and why you're genuinely passionate about selling them.
SevenRooms is an operator-focused, data-driven platform that combines operations, marketing, and guest engagement into one best-in-class, front-of-house solution. We arm operators with the tools they need to drive efficiency, boost profits and increase the level of hospitality they provide their guests. The opportunity to work with the world’s leading operators to solve their real-world problems gets me pumped up every day. Not only do I get to work with them in that capacity, I get to watch their businesses grow and see a huge boost to their bottom line as a result of the work we do together. During my time here, it’s been awesome to see prospects have ‘aha’ moments as they start to truly understand the value of our technology and the impact it will have on their businesses holistically.
It is incredibly exciting to be a part of a company that is turning an industry on its head.’’
Beyond a commission, what motivates you to succeed in your role?
It is incredibly exciting to be a part of a company that is turning an industry on its head. Having a real sense of ownership alongside amazing teammates in a fast-paced, high-growth environment is an experience unlike any other. Working through challenges, learning from losses, and celebrating wins is all part of the fun.
For Peter Miller, Account Executive at Teampay, it’s important that everyone in the company –– from the CEO to summer interns –– is on the same page about product transparency and continued growth. He’s on board with selling a product that saves users time and allows them to, quite simply, do their jobs. Teampay uses Slack as a communication tool to merge and condense expense-related tasks. Below, Miller explains why he loves to show it off.
Tell us a little bit about the product/s you sell and why you're genuinely passionate about selling them.
Teampay’s spend management software provides a proactive, automated approach to purchasing that turns the traditional process on its head, saving our customers time and delivering an experience that employees actually enjoy. It’s not often that you get to sell a product that is at the forefront of a new space. I’ve suffered through the pains of time-consuming, tedious expense reporting in previous roles, and getting a chance to sell a solution that has helped me personally is special. I know it will improve the lives of our customers.
I am motivated to do what I do because when I succeed, we all succeed.’’
Beyond a commission, what motivates you to succeed in your role?
I am motivated to do what I do because when I succeed, we all succeed. The camaraderie and support of the team here –– and not just people in sales –– hits me when I walk into the office each day. I feel grateful to work for a company that values and invests in its employees. From Andrew (our founder and CEO) on down, everyone is on the same page, dialed-in and enthusiastic about collaborating to reach our company goals.
Freight forwarding isn’t necessarily dinner-party conversation. The concept can seem difficult to understand and unnecessarily complicated. While it might still remain in the transit, supply-chain ethos, Flexport has made it their mission to change all that. Maryana Kessel, Senior Global Account Executive at Flexport, told us how they go about creating a seamless experience from beginning to end.
Tell us a little bit about the product/s you sell and why you're genuinely passionate about selling them.
I’m passionate about Flexport because freight forwarding is the front line of global trade. Now more than ever, our customers need to be able to access information about their supply chains at a moments notice and make data-driven decisions about their business. Traditionally, each party in the supply chain manages processes in their own systems and uses emails, fax, and phone calls to collaborate, creating a fragmented and frustrating customer experience. Our platform centralizes data and communication, creating a seamless experience for managing shipments and gaining valuable insights into their supply chain. We power an experience that enables our customers to be proactive, strategic, and agile. It’s rewarding to see our clients thrive in partnership with Flexport.
We power an experience that enables our customers to be proactive, strategic, and agile.’’
Beyond a commission, what motivates you to succeed in your role?
When our customers have an exceptional experience with Flexport, it not only improves their daily workflow but also ultimately helps their businesses be more successful. In numerous situations, my clients have been able to allocate resources to strategic priorities when working with Flexport, instead of spending time connecting the dots of spreadsheets and emails. We have helped customers execute critical product launches, rerouting cargo when one store sells out faster than another. I love being in the trenches with my customer. Every critical shipment, product launch, or streamlining opportunity is a moment to see the inner workings of another business unfolding. It’s a privilege to have such a meaningful impact.
Taking business risks can be a good thing. In fact, most C-suite employees are not usually known for their risk-averse nature. But opening up your company’s security to possible loopholes isn’t a risk anyone wants to take. That’s where Comply Advantage comes in. They use data science and machine learning to better understand risk and keep their clients apprised of potential breaches.
AML Sales Executive Rodrigo Regi told us exactly why he’s so excited about the future of the business.
Tell us a little bit about the product/s you sell and why you're genuinely passionate about selling them.
I love the product that I sell because our technology is disrupting and innovating the compliance space, and we are making a real difference in preventing financial crime and identifying criminals. We're using cutting edge technology such as AI and Machine Learning, which makes it more exciting to talk about and more appealing for our clients to explore.
We are making a real difference in preventing financial crime and identifying criminals.’’
Beyond a commission, what motivates you to succeed in your role?
What motivates me is having a real impact in the growth of the US market, and being aware that my success here will have direct effects for the next round of fundraising and development of the product. The more we grow, the closer we will get to reaching our IPO.
Social media influencers attract views and engage their audiences online. Chris Curtis of CreatorIQ attracts marketing professionals who manage those social media influencers. He might not do so with glittery filters or witty captions, but don’t think he doesn’t take his clients’ success seriously. The Senior Director of Sales tells us how he keeps up in an industry that changes at the drop of a tweet.
Tell us a little bit about the product/s you sell and why you’re genuinely passionate about selling them.
I sell software solutions that allow marketing professionals to manage their global influencer marketing programs within a singular system of record. We’re in the middle of a transformational shift regarding how large organizations communicate with and market to their customers. I’m passionate about partnering with some of the world's leading brands and providing a solution to critical business problems. It’s difficult not to be passionate about the problems we’re solving.
It’s difficult not to be passionate about the problems we’re solving.’’
Beyond a commission, what motivates you to succeed in your role?
The success of the clients I work with truly motivates me. I get to watch their careers advance due to the success we’ve helped them achieve. We’ve also been incredibly effective in putting together a team of thoughtful professionals who teach me something new every day. It’s hard to not be motivated when you look across the office and see a unified team striving toward a common goal.
