FastSpring’s Employee Spotlight is a Q&A series that features the hardworking, intelligent, and fun people that make FastSpring great. Get to know the fantastic team behind the ecommerce platform!
Q: What is your role at FastSpring?
A: I’m a Business Development Representative Manager. My role is training, managing, and coaching a team of pre-sale specialists to build meaningful partnerships with awesome businesses!
Q: Where does your sales origin story begin?
A: So the funny thing is, I never expected to be working in sales. My background is actually in the arts, leaving school I really thought I wanted to work in something like special effects, graphic design, or visual arts. When I was younger I was totally against the idea of.. you know, working at an office—much less a startup for the matter. I had that punk rock ethos going on and just kept thinking I developed skills unrelated to the sales industry. But after some time and convincing from friends I decided to pursue my first sales job and loved it!
Q: What inspired you to join FastSpring?
A: When I first joined FastSpring we weren’t a new company, but we were still pretty young at the time. At most startups and smaller size companies, there’s always that opportunity to make an impact and that’s what really drew me to FastSpring. Being able to see my efforts directly contribute to the success of a business is something that I’m really passionate about.
Q: What is it about your day-to-day that really excites you?
A: Problem-solving! I always knew from an early age that I loved wrestling with problems and figuring out ways to solve them. I think that’s one of the perks of my job and working in sales in general. At its very core, sales is about identifying pain points and providing solutions to potential customers.
Probably one of the most rewarding things about the position I’m in is the opportunity to mentor and coach new sales talent! I love seeing people grow and develop and this role really puts me in the position to do that. Seeing someone gain industry knowledge, understand sales processes, and transform into a confident and successful sales rep is always a great feeling.
Q: Are there challenges that you face in your role?
A: This is more of a personal challenge. I’m constantly thinking of ways to help my team be successful at their job and also really enjoy the work they’re doing.
Q: Is there one piece of advice you’d like to give to new BDRs or your former self?
A: For new BDRs or someone just starting out on their sales journey:
Listen! Don’t just jump into telling your prospects how you can help, it’s more about having the emotional intelligence to hold back and use this opportunity to really understand what the other person or business really needs.
Some people enter sales because they enjoy talking… and don’t get me wrong, that’s already a great skill and mindset to have. But if you can really hone in your listening skills, and I’m talking about the ability to really digest and understand the pain points of a business. That is what’s going to help you form partnerships and truly be successful at sales.
The advice I’d give to my former self:
I’d encourage my younger self to not be as hesitant when trying something new. Sales turned out to be something I really enjoy!
Q: Outside of work, what are your favorite hobbies and activities?
A: I still really enjoy drawing and painting. I’m a metalhead and an avid concert goer. Some favorites include Skeletonwitch, Electric Wizard, and classics like Black Sabbath.
If my girlfriend is reading this, I should also probably mention that I enjoy cooking dinner with her!
The above are just a few of the highlights. We’re very fortunate to have Rob lead our amazing BDR team and look forward to watching all of the amazing things he and the entire sales team accomplishes.
Are you interested in joining Rob and the FastSpring Team? We’re hiring! Visit our career page to see our open positions.