The tech sales industry provides a tremendous amount of growth while simultaneously providing a great opportunity for successful individuals to continue to make more money than most managers in other industries.
Welcome to our Break Into Tech Sales mentor interview series!
In this interview, we hear from Nasim Bolandparvaz about her journey from studying for the LSAT, to becoming a hyper-successful Account Executive at Yelp, to now building a department from the ground up at a startup that was listed as #3 on LinkedIn’s Top Startups List for 2019.
Mentor profile:
-
Name: Nasim Bolandparvaz
-
Company: Samsara
-
Role: Manager, Renewal Sales
-
Alma mater: UC Irvine
-
LinkedIn profile
Can you describe your own journey of breaking into tech sales?
“Completely coincidental! Studying for the LSAT, wanted a quick high paying job, found sales, became baffled that for the first time in my life I was just naturally good at something. That combined with the fun atmosphere any recent college grad craves – I was hooked!”
What is your role at Samsara?
“I currently manage our Renewal Sales team. As the first manager of this department, it’s my job to create and implement the necessary processes to successfully renew all of Samsara’s clients.”
Can you describe a typical day in your job?
“A typical day is already scheduled for me by the time I open my eyes. I block off the first couple hours of the day for responding emails, preparing for the day’s meetings/client calls, giving my reps a focus item for the day, and closing the loop on any open agenda items from the day before.
The rest of my day is spent with my team, on closing calls with my reps and in leadership meetings strategizing on the growth of the Renewals Sales org.”
Which skills do you use on a daily basis?
“The two most common skills I use are negotiation and management skills. As a sales manager, I’m constantly asked to put on my sales hat and help negotiate a deal over the line—this is probably my favorite hat to wear. More often than not, I have my management hat. This is my leadership side that aspires to motivate, understand, and push my reps to their full potential.”
What is the hardest part of your working day?
“The hardest part of my role right now is learning to “show my homework.” As a successful sales professional, I was only measured on my output. So it never mattered if I could show my work; it was just a matter of getting results.
Now, as a leader building out a new department, I am constantly asked to provide how I reached a conclusion, in order to be able to create a replicable model.”
Do you have any productivity tips that help you get through the working day?
“The best way to be productive, is to know what you need to get done and have a system of getting it done. For me, that system is my calendar.
I spend time every evening, ensuring I have time scheduled in the following day for everything I need to get done. In the morning, I spend time ensuring that I am prepared and have all the tools to accomplish what each time block is scheduled to accomplish.”
What advice would you give to someone going through the tech sales recruitment process?
“To remember that sales isn’t for everyone, and the only way to tell if it’s for you, is to spend 12 to 24 months, giving it all you got. In the grand scheme of your 50+ years of working life, that’s a drop in the bucket.
If sales is for you, you will spend a lifetime doing a “job” that will feel more like play. If sales is not for you, you’ll probably have made some great memories and awesome friends in your sales career.”
What’s your favorite sales book?
Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss – for anyone learning to negotiate big deals.
Accidental Sales Manager by Chris Lytle – for any sales professionals who do so well they get promoted into management roles.
What’s your favorite thing about working in tech sales?
“Everything. The tech sales industry provides a tremendous amount of growth while simultaneously providing a great opportunity for successful individuals to continue to make more money than most managers in other industries.
In tech sales, you can define your career while working alongside intelligent, hard working, tenacious, and creative individuals. I may be a little biased, but there’s no better industry to work in.”
Click here to connect with Nasim on LinkedIn.