Meet Wrikers: Holger Kleist, Lead Solution Consultant
Before coming to Wrike, Holger served the Sage Group in a multitude of roles and locations, gaining multifaceted experience through his work across professional services, consulting, management, and customer success management fields in various countries. Check out his personal journey of going from Sales Engineer to Lead Solution Consultant, and why he decided to join Wrike! 👇
Could you introduce yourself in 1–3 sentences?
Sure, my name is Holger Kleist. I am originally from Germany but have been living in Ireland for six years, a bit outside of Dublin. I am enjoying the countryside and remote working.
How did you become a Solution Consultant?
This is my journey at Wrike: I joined Wrike as a Sales Engineer a couple of weeks before Ireland was hit by the pandemic. Over time, my manager Valerio and I realized that we needed to go a step further to fit our customer needs, and the title should suit these new activities. So, it was a development and grew over time. I like to change my role/activities regularly and learn new things.
Why did you join Wrike?
I follow the philosophy of “I am not doing an interview with a company, the company has an interview with me!” Hope this makes sense. The culture made a big impact on me. Besides that, I like the solution and what Wrike wants to achieve; what impact Wrike wants to make, internally and externally.
What does a typical workday look like for you?
Oh, I can’t answer this question! Every day is different. And I really mean that. In Solution Consulting, we are a lot different than a classic Sales Engineering or Presales department. I could have a demo, scoping, or consulting meetings with my SAM, their managers, or the customer.
I have a lot of side activities, which I like. These include providing training to new hires or other colleagues, and setting up new demo ideas or strategic plans for my customers. I work closely here with all kinds of different departments inside Wrike.
So, the day can be really diverse and I like this. I am not the character for a classic 9 to 5 job.
What is the hardest part of your job? What is the most rewarding part?
The hardest part? I think I need to find the right balance. As my role is a lot about planning and thinking about the next couple of years, I can end up down a rabbit hole. I need to think of the big picture and keep the small details for my colleagues from PS. This is hard sometimes.
The most rewarding part is when I speak with a customer after one or two years and they tell me how much impact Wrike made and that we were right. This motivates me. My job makes an impact — in Wrike and in every organization of my customers. I could not do a job where I don’t see an impact.
How would you describe your personality?
Structured and focused. My colleagues often call it “the German way.” I learned in my personal career that it is not really good to get overexcited and lose the focus on the bigger picture. If there is no structure or process? Let’s build one (if needed)! The 16 personalities test describes me as ENTJ (The Commander).
What are three attributes of a successful salesperson at Wrike, in your opinion?
- Focus — for yourself. Have a target and try to achieve it. If you don’t, reflect and adjust.
- Reliability — for your customer. You are likely one of the first people they meet in your company. And, in the best case, you will stay as their trusted advisor.
- Accountability — for of your manager and colleagues. Be honest. You are not just a trusted advisor for your customers, but also for your manager and your colleagues! I think I’m one of the few people who thinks salespeople aren’t lone wolves. We should act as a wolf pack.
Is there anything you don’t like about sales?
In my role as a Solution Consultant, I am not used to the situation when a prospect or customer goes dark. Still need to get used to it. Also, sometimes the working hours. Most of my customers are around the globe, so sometimes my 9 to 5 job starts and ends a bit differently.
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?
We are humans. Be yourself. We are not perfect and we don’t know everything. Even if this is your first time applying for a sales role, you can learn a lot from us and we can learn a lot from you. Don’t try to be someone you are not. And, even though I used the wolf pack phrase before, no one will eat you.
How have you professionally furthered your knowledge about diversity since joining Wrike?
Diversity was and is always a part of my life. I am a “Niederrheiner” (a region in Germany) and I grew up at the border to the Netherlands. Belgium, Luxembourg, and France were near. So, since I was a kid, I have seen different cultures, people, and mindsets.
Today, this is what I see at Wrike. We are a global company, with so many talented people around the world. I speak every day with people from almost every continent (though we still have no office in Antarctica!).
Just thinking about it, we could use the wolf pack phrase for the whole Wrike team…
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