Your sales career isn’t broken, you’re just in the wrong industry
Last year I left my hometown of Ottawa, Canada and headed to London, England in search of something I wasn’t certain existed: a job that could fuse my career experience and my personal interests.
The roles that I’d had since graduating seven years ago — although challenging and rewarding in their own rights — had never felt entirely me.
And that’s despite having had the fortune to try out sales and business development across several different industries, from security, healthcare and video gaming to non-profit.
Whether it was businesses which felt too corporate or small companies where relationships felt too remote, something always felt a little off.
So bags packed, I was on the hunt for something new.
And that’s when I found EDITED.
In my research I discovered something that felt rare: a B2B SaaS company that was working across fashion and retail. That appealed — since a young age I’d taken an interest in fashion, even dabbled in my own design and dressmaking!
EDITED were seeing huge growth, and I wanted in. Keen to know more, I was impressed when the VP Sales replied to my coffee invite on LinkedIn.
From there the interview process was rigorous, but that in itself was reassuring. I got the chance to meet and quiz others on the team and great care was taken to get to know me at all stages too.
Thankfully, I made the cut! I’ve been here five months and I wanted to share why it was the right decision for me.
A market-leading product
My favorite thing about sales has always been the people. I like having conversations and working with a customer to figure out where the problems are and how I can help them.
The fact that EDITED software is the best in the market and is leading major changes in the industry, makes life as a business development manager pretty sweet!
Not only is it incredibly rewarding to shape actual industry change, but the conversations along the way are fascinating.
Every day I’m talking to people across a variety of teams, whether that’s buying, eCommerce, marketing, product, analysis or merchandising, in a number of different countries.
It keeps me on my toes to speak one day to a Head of Buying in India, then the next, to a Product Manager in Germany, then to a Head Designer in the UK.
Process and people
The sales team at EDITED is quite unique, unlike anywhere I’ve worked before. My colleagues are the definition of a team — we work autonomously, but there’s so much support for one another. And as business development managers we get to work right alongside sales development representatives, which creates great team cohesion and moves the process along seamlessly.
There is a healthy dose of competition amongst the sales team (we are in sales after all!) but everyone here has been incredible at sharing their knowledge and there’s a real emphasis on celebrating wins collectively.
At the end of November I closed my first deal, and my colleagues insisted we all go for a drink to celebrate. At other companies, it’s really rare for your colleagues to do that because as a salesperson, it’s easy to be focused in on your own targets. Being on a team that genuinely celebrates the success of others is really special.
I’m able to combine my experience and traditional sales mentality in a more nurturing and adaptable environment, among a team of sales hybrids.
An unbeatable culture
The biggest win for me is that EDITED begins and ends with culture. The emphasis that’s placed on building relationships was actually a shock to me when I joined.
It’s simple things that make a big difference. We have team ‘all hands’ meetings every other Monday, with all the global offices and remote workers dialling in for a catch up. We have office drinks, team lunches and I can’t wait for my first company retreat this year!
Another nice touch is the concept of a ‘donut’, bi-weekly too. That’s what we call the team Slack channel that matches you randomly with someone else in the company. You go out of the office for a coffee (and a donut). My donuts so far have been with retail strategists, account managers, designers, developers, analysts and the CEO.
Ultimately, it’s the culture here which makes EDITED very different to anywhere I’ve worked before.
Taking that leap into the unknown to find a better fit was the bravest, and best, decision I ever made! I couldn’t be more excited for my future with EDITED.
If you’re a sales hybrid (or any other kind of hybrid!) come and work with me! Check out our jobs openings or get in touch with hello@edited.com.
