From 0 to Head of Sales in less than two years
Picture this: it is 5 pm on a Thursday. Not any Thursday, but the last day of the month too. At Tiller Systems’ offices in Barcelona, the sales team is running around trying to reach — and surpass — their objectives. Suddenly, one of them hangs up the phone and reaches for the bell. He stands up and rings it 40 times while taking a victory lap around the office: he has just sold four decades of Tiller. Marine claps with each new ring, getting more and more excited every time. Just when the noise ends, she grabs a glass and lets is fall voluntarily, pieces flying everywhere. “THIS IS HOW WE CELEBRATE,” she screams as the team keeps cheering. “Well, I need to clean this up now…” and just as suddenly as it all started, everyone goes back to work.
It may sound unusual for some, but this is the kind of energy you need when running an ever-growing sales team at 30 years old. Marine joined Tiller in 2016 as a Sales Manager and has been climbing up the ladder ever since. She was looking for a job in the startup world and one of her friends suggested Tiller. “I was immediately sold when I read the pirate piece,” she says referring to a job offer: if you have the soul of a great pirate, you cannot be on mainland.
After almost a year working in Paris, she was offered to lead a small sales team in Spain. Tiller had just begun its international expansion, and true to her pirate soul she left everything behind and moved to Barcelona. She fell in love with the city and her new team: seven people crammed into a single table from 9 am to 7 pm, trying to replicate the success they saw in France. So, what do you need to lead a new sales team? According to Marine, a lot of faith: “you need to have extra for everyone else.”
Things were not easy at the beginning. Trying to gain ground in a new country, the Spaniards often felt defeated and started to lose hope. Marine made sure to keep everyone afloat. “It’s impossible to be part of the best sales team in Europe without a fight.” She found a solution in the form of beer Fridays, joint lunches and lazy Sundays at the beach: with a work hard, play hard mentality, she made the team into a family.
Her confidence paid off. One year later, the Spanish team ditched the table for a whole floor. They grew from 7 to 30 people, 20 of them just in sales. “I learned so much during that year: how to center my professional energy, control my impulsiveness… even Psychology!” With this amount of growth, she also gained a new title: Head of Sales of the whole country. She is now in charge of various sales teams, each of them with their own leads. Her advice for other startups? Easy: “keep it simple.”
As Tiller hopes to continue its international expansion, Marine is already thinking about the next step. “I see myself more and more in a pedagogical role, helping new countries achieve what we did here, like a coach,” she says while typing. “Honestly, I haven’t given it much thought,” she continues, laughing, “I don’t have the time, it’s the end of the month!”
At 1,70 meters, thin and blonde, she may fool people; but every inch of her is badass, persistent, fierce. “I once read a quote that said ‘be the CEO your parents want you to marry.’ That’s my motto… well, if you switch the CEO part with Head of Sales.” The thing is, she is capable of achieving both.
Would you like to hop aboard? We are hiring!
