Meet Wrikers: Alberto Ianni, Sales Manager
Before coming to Wrike, Alberto had been working as a Sales Manager in different IT companies like Cisco and Oracle. He has been working in a managerial position for over 10 years, always trying to support his teams and customers. Check out Alberto’s personal journey of going from a Telemarketing Agent to a Sales Manager, and why he decided to join Wrike! 👇
Could you introduce yourself in 1–3 sentences?
My name is Alberto. I was born in a small town in Italy named Lesmo, close to the Monza F1 circuit race. Raised between Lesmo and Milano, I have been playing basketball for the majority of my life and also studied languages and economics. Life changed in 2010 when, at the age of 25, I decided to move to Prague. Since then I managed to find love, a lot of new friends, an experience of four years in Malaga, and, last but definitely not least, two kids: a seven-year-old boy and two-year-old girl.
How did you become a Sales Manager?
When I moved to Prague, I started to support my previous company with HR and operations-related work. The project I had been working on was focused on sales and it was expanding massively in terms of people recruited. That was the time that a spot for a Sales Manager opened up and I was lucky and good enough to be able to take it at a relatively young age.
Why did you join Wrike?
It was 2021 and I was living in Malaga with my family when we decided that it was time for us to go back to Prague and so I started to look for a new job there. At that time, I was working for Oracle in Spain and it was not an easy task finding an equally great company to work for. When I started the interview process with Wrike, I immediately had a positive feeling. Wrike seemed to be a great opportunity to work for an expanding organization with a great product to sell — in the end, it turned out like I thought!
What does a typical workday look like for you?
I now manage a team of account executives who sell Wrike to new prospects, so my daily job is to make sure my team has all the motivation, the tools, and the knowledge to go out, sell, and be successful. I typically schedule all my one-on-one meetings and team meetings at the beginning of the week, while the second part of the week is spent supporting my team with the negotiations and calls with our clients.
What is the hardest part of your job? What is the most rewarding part?
One of the hardest parts of the job is to maintain consistency month after month. As a team, we are pretty successful but maintaining this success every month can be challenging due to market factors and seasonality. But I have a great team and nothing can stop us!
The rewarding part is definitely managing a team of great individuals and seeing how they become successful day after day. It’s encouraging to work in a company that keeps you motivated in terms of knowledge, incentive, and compensation — and Wrike definitely complies with all these!
How would you describe your personality?
I am a very open person; I am direct and transparent and I like to talk and to sort out things by talking. I am a bit less “political” sometimes but, having worked in an IT environment for a bigger corporation for more than 10 years, I managed to improve this.
What are three attributes of a successful salesperson at Wrike in your opinion?
Wrike is a great solution to sell. Once you master the practice of demoing it correctly and asking open questions, you will be able to leverage it to your advantage and consequently become successful. Another attribute is definitely perseverance — targets are achievable. It depends on the effort that you put in and the willingness to get to the number. Lastly you should be team-oriented. Wrike is all about teamwork; we are here to support and help each other. With your team around you, the job is funnier, easier, and effective.
Is there anything you don’t like about sales?
I have worked so many years in sales that I don’t see anything now that I don’t like. Maybe at the beginning I was feeling uncomfortable with the sales pressure that comes at the end of every month/quarter, but now this is ordinary life! :)
If you were going to give someone who just decided to join one of the sales teams at Wrike one piece of advice, what would it be?
Leverage the people around you; they are all very helpful and they can really point you in the right direction. And then use Wrike. It is not just a great solution to sell but it also helps your daily work become more effective.
How have you professionally furthered your knowledge about diversity since joining Wrike?
Since joining Wrike, what I noticed is that diversity is definitely not a buzz word but a true testament of working together. Wrike is a great place to work and daily actions and initiatives are supporting this, helping me expand my knowledge but also influencing how I interact with colleagues, approach problem solving, and contribute to a more inclusive work culture.
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