“A CEO just cold-called me.”
An attention-grabbing Slack message to receive if ever there was one — and one that Anna Romeka, a senior commercial account executive at Navan, recalls an East Coast-based sales manager sharing earlier this year.
As it turns out, the outreach was for good reason: According to Romeka’s colleague, the CEO — who had just agreed to a partnership with the company — was passing along positive words about his experience with a sales rep.
“A CEO taking time out to make a phone call to compliment a sales rep simply does not happen — even in normal circumstances,” Romeka said.
Romeka said the episode illustrates the sales team’s ability to continue to sell remotely, even as the coronavirus pandemic impacts the corporate travel space in which the org operates.
As in the aforementioned instance, Romeka said it’s reps’ ability to understand prospects’ individual needs and goals, coupled with authentic rapport-building — among other elements — that are crucial to push the process forward in an impacted market.
Selling in today’s climate, she said, requires thoughtful dialogue when interfacing with prospects whose companies are navigating their own pandemic-induced business challenges.
“Transparent, open conversations and asking tough questions upfront are vital to understanding each and every business we speak with,” she said. “COVID-19 has impacted every business in some way. Beginning conversations around understanding that impact is important to build trust, show respect and navigate later conversations.”
Built In NYC connected with the San Francisco-based team member to learn how the sales team has come together in order to maneuver industry change and grow their client base.
Navan at a Glance:
At a high level, how has COVID-19 impacted Navan and the industry in which it operates?
Our industry, corporate travel and expense, has been impacted quite severely. Now more than ever, I’m more impressed with Navan’ versatility and ability to adjust to the toughest of circumstances. We’re confident that travel will bounce back.
Due to the limited travel, leadership teams are seeing this downswing in travel as the most opportunistic time to improve their programs and, ultimately, implement Navan in preparation for the upswing in travel post-COVID-19. Because of this, Navan has onboarded our largest clients during COVID-19.
What adjustments have you and your team had to make in order to sell successfully during COVID-19?
The pandemic has challenged each member of the sales team to better their game by focusing on driving much more methodical, value-focused conversations that map Navan’ value to a specific business objective by understanding the intricacies of each prospective client we speak with.
To make this transition, the whole sales org has taken an acute focus to truly understanding the business objectives and goals for each and every prospective client through tactical, strategic and elaborate sales training and continued enablement led directly by our CRO, Carlos Delatorre.
Beyond that, the camaraderie while being remote has been admirable. We have weekly lunch-and-learns that cover an array of topics, like spotlighting a rep who has been successful, product updates, future virtual events and collaboration with other teams.
The collaboration among teams and departments has been pivotal in driving success.”
What have been some invaluable tools, techniques or strategies that have helped facilitate successful remote collaboration?
I believe the single most important reason Navan successfully facilitates remote collaboration is from the way our leadership team has quickly and effectively made adjustments based on feedback from employees.
For instance, on our first video conferencing-held, company-wide all-hands meeting — with more than 1,000 employees present — our CEO, Ariel Cohen, tried presenting webinar-style. Because every attendee was muted, with no camera — so that there were no disturbances — Ariel was unable to see and hear anyone and felt that the meeting was ineffective and not collaborative. At the next company meeting, everyone joined as they would for a typical video conference to facilitate a more natural meeting.
Additionally, after the team was beginning to feel some Zoom fatigue a few months into the pandemic, our CRO, Carlos, adjusted the weekly sales meeting cadence to biweekly to ensure no unnecessary time was being spent on Zoom.
These examples showcase Navan’s leadership team taking into account feedback and quickly making appropriate adjustments!
Are there any best practices you’ve picked up since selling remotely during COVID-19 that you think will inform future success?
Rapport- and relationship-building is more important than ever to driving a successful sales cycle and partnership. People are working from home with limited access to others. They’re tired. They’re tending to children who are going to school remotely. They’re canceling personal life plans, and much more. I believe that if you’re able to connect with a prospect or client on a personal level, it helps drive trust and transparency throughout the process.
The pandemic has challenged each member of the sales team to better their game.”
Lastly, what growth have you experienced in your time at Navan, and to what would you attribute that growth?
I'm certain that I, as well as every other sales rep here, have become a significantly better salesperson. I attribute this to a few reasons.
First, Navan has doubled-down on enablement and sales training throughout COVID-19 to drive deeper discovery and a unified message. Secondly, selling travel software in a pandemic calls for creativity, grit and determination. Lastly, the collaboration among teams and departments has been pivotal in driving success. For instance, a few senior AEs, our enablement team and our marketing team have been working together to create an AE-led webinar series that has been incredibly successful at sharing industry themes and thoughts and driving new business.
