Sean Gentry’s Post

Very good interview tips

Introducing Catherine Doherty, Senior Manager of our MDR Commercial team! 🙌 In a recent Q&A session with me, Catherine shared valuable insights on her career and experiences at DocuSign: Q: What's a valuable lesson you've learned in your career? A: "One lesson I've learned is the importance of building a dynamic team with individuals who have varying skills and attributes. This ensures growth and development as a team, coach, and leader. Q: Can you tell us about one of your favourite moments at DocuSign? A:  I had just started at DocuSign and we ran an IMPACT day together to plant trees and I remember thinking how it had so much synergy with the growth trajectory I was about to embark on with this team, our business partners and my own personal development. Q: How do you manage your work/life balance? A: I learnt the art of planning and planning in advance a fair few years ago and making sure everything is calendarised. I learnt through truely owning my calendar and plotting out the tasks that would have the most impact to my business, will ultimately improve my personal life also. Q: Can you share a piece of advice for newcomers to the industry? A: Set yourselves goals; Personal and Professional - Progress, purpose and performance typically go hand in hand. Having a very clear why and vision for what will underpin your day to day success will lead you to driving results. Also share your goals with your peers, mentors and managers to keep yourself accountable. Apply now to join Catherine's team at DocuSign! Or PM me for more information 😀 https://lnkd.in/db_EVbjh Catherine Doherty Danielle Weston Scott Davies Andrew Bourne Andrew Yau #hiring #teamdocusign #careergrowth #careeradvice

#Fridayfunny I realize that I have not done much in my career :) If you go and visit profiles of "some" sales people that were on my teams, they have done everything I thought I did. Sure they were a part, as I was a part of a bigger machine, but I know what my achievements are. I was SVP sales NA for Radian6 and we were acquired by Salesforce. But I don't say that I negotiated the sale of Radian6 to Salesforce do I ? Well, if they had my role, some of my old team members would it seem! (this is merely an example, not implying that the statements below come from the R6 crew which was great in all meanings of the word!). - But you get my drift.... Some of these reps actually claim that: -They appropriated the sales results we had in a number of companies(the number reflected our team number not their actual achievement). -They built the onboarding processes that I had put in place at other companies(but it was built before they arrived). -They won logos that were either already won by others or to which they barely contributed to win. -They were key in securing financing rounds in more than 2 companies (but I don't remember them in the room with the VC). Padding a resume is nothing new but it seems that on LinkedIn, anything goes... It came to a point that one of my ex team members was passing those accomplishments to a recruiter as his, and dropping my name in the process somehow. He didn't get the job but the recruiter called me and asked me if I was interested because they figured out that all the achievements that were peddled were mine. It made for a funny conversation. How do you know that the achievements you see under a name on LinkedIn are real? Do you actually care to talk to someone that legitimately contributed value as opposed to being there when it happened. I have to assume that the same goes for selecting salescoaches, lifecoaches and others, yes, like me, that live at the expense of people wanting to get better. How do you know you are hiring someone that knows what they are talking about? How do you vet people on LinkedIn, as employees or coaches, or else?

Over the past couple of months, I've had the pleasure (and challenge!) of transitioning into a role where I lead a dynamic sales/business development team. One of the perks? Crafting killer training material for our new rockstar recruits. I got to thinking about the basics of sales and, let’s be honest, we all leave a lot of voicemails. Especially when building your pipeline… So what exactly makes a “GOOD” voicemail? Here are the key components I’m teaching my team to ensure our voicemails get a callback: 1. Clear Purpose: Start with a concise reason for your call. If your listener is confused, your voicemail is doomed. 2. Value Proposition: Highlight what's in it for them. People like benefits – give them a reason to call back! 3. Call to Action: Be specific and direct. “Call me back... or don’t, I guess?” won’t cut it. 4. Don’t Sound Like a Salesperson: Be human. Nobody wants to feel like they’re talking to a sales robot. Mastering these elements can turn your voicemails into effective communication tools that foster engagement and drive results. Happy dialing! 📞✨ #VoicemailTips #CommunicationSkills #ProfessionalNetworking #SalesStrategy #Womeninsales #salestraining #businessdevelopment

Time for #textonly Friday thoughts. Today, a few quick ones for biz dev folks: 1. If you reach out and don't get a timely reply, using a progressively more aggressive and assumptive tone in your next 5 notes is not going to work. "Well David, I guess Avant Executive Search & Talent Advisory doesn't need more clients" is a really stupid thing to say. Stop it. I'm not using the service at that point because to me, that kind of selling is a red flag about your whole company. 2. Customization only works if it's done REALLY well, by you. Copying and pasting a few lines about how you like *insert copy from our website* still reads as automated and spammy. 3. If you did a good job describing your service in your first note - AND it was something we could benefit from - AND whatever it helps with is a top 2-3 priority for us presently, I will almost always get back to you and at least get your demo and keep you in mind. 4. If we don't need your service and you did a professional job in your outreach, I will still do my absolute best to reach back out as quick as I can and thank you for your note, let you know it's not a fit right now and wish you luck. 5. If I take the time to message you back that we don't need X right now, and you don't acknowledge that with a quick thanks for letting me know, I'm not at all mad about it but you missed an opportunity to make yourself more memorable to me in the future. Why should you care? Things change. Maybe I will need what you're selling in a few months. Maybe I will talk to someone who could benefit from your service next month and remember the person I had a nice interaction with who is selling that exact thing to make a referral. It's a crowded field of sellers on here, but with a little extra effort you can still easily stand out in a positive way! #businessdevelopment #fridaythoughts

Can't believe that today marks one year at DocuSign! Still so grateful! Thank you to my awesome team and managers for everything! To all of the aspiring devs, or bootcampers out there: I didn't think I had what it took to graduate my bootcamp, I almost quit, twice, but I didn't quit, and I had what it took to graduate. It took me something like 6 months, and hundreds of applications to get my first SWE job. I felt like I was never going to get one...then I did. It was freelance, and I had no idea what I was doing...but I got stuff done. Out of nowhere a friend put me up for a job at DocuSign. I told him that was a mistake, because I have no idea what I'm doing. I thought I "bombed" my first interview and told him "sorry", but I got a call back for another, bomb, and another, bomb, but my interviewers saw something in me I couldn't see in myself, that I could do this job. I have spent the last year in near constant panic...because I have no idea what I'm doing! But, I just keep showing up, figuring it out, asking questions, and asking for help. And you know what, I still have no idea what I'm doing...but what I've come to understand in the last year, is that, the only difference between success and failure is instead of saying to yourself "I can't do it", saying, "I haven't done it yet!" 🤙 One of my favorite quotes from a night I was considering giving up is from Shannon Largman "you only look like you know what you're doing once you've figured it out!"

I learned to say NO, and that changed my life. As an SDR, I was expected to do things that didn’t help me meet my targets. Often, they were distractions. - Helping teammates  - Joining out-of-work gatherings - Invites to unnecessary meetings - Engage in informal group discussions - Become part of activities “involuntarily” And so many other things. Truth is, while they all had good intentions, they often became distracting. Because at the end of the quarter, I can’t blame anyone for missed targets. So, say no to things that can distract you from your targets. Want to chill at home instead of going to the happy hour? Do that. Want to be with family instead of team dinner? Do that. The point is to do things that can help you get closer to your goal and get paid. Some people work fine with “distractions,” and that’s their thing. But you don’t have to follow what everyone else does. Most successful sellers have their priorities straight. And they seldom hesitate to say NO. So, there’s a lesson to become better at sales. Cut through the noise and focus on what matters to you!

From SDR to Senior Director of Sales Development, Rachel's 14-year journey at Salesforce shows it doesn't matter where you start — it only matters how determined you are to get there. 🌟 Learn more about her career journey: https://lnkd.in/gD5FzXB4

Thrilled to engage with fellow software sales professionals! Let's dive deep into the world of software solutions, exchange best practices, and uncover new strategies for success. Whether you're a seasoned pro or just starting your journey, let's connect and propel our careers forward together. Drop a comment or message to start the conversation! #SoftwareSales #Networking #ProfessionalDevelopment

I’ve been trying something new lately and it’s working. It’s changed the way I hire, buy businesses and sell services. When I put something on paper, I’m more likely to make a deal happen. 1) Instead of sending an acquisition offer email to a founder, I send them a letter of intent (LOI). 2) Instead of sending a job offer to a prospective hire, I send them a formal offer letter. 3) Instead of sending a proposal to a client, I send them a DocuSign. In the midst of buying a business because I went from first convo to LOI in 24h. Founder loved it. Not sure the deal would have gone through if I didn't make it feel "real" so fast. Putting it on paper speeds up the entire deal-making process. And we all know how much time kills deals. You invite competition to compete or people just chase another shiny object, not your shiny object. Sure, paperwork scares people off. And I’ve certainly scared off my fair share of folks. And yeah, it adds more time to the process. But I’ve got some templated LOIs or proposals, I’ve started to use to make it pretty quick. Anyways - sharing in case this is fruitful to someone out there reading this. It turns out putting it on paper is a shortcut not talked about nearly enough. Don’t just think it, ink it—put it on paper.