Personal Growth at LoyaltyLion: Account Executive

I was recently promoted to an Account Executive here at LoyaltyLion after being part of the sales team for just over 18 months. Discussing some of the challenges E-commerce brands face on a daily basis with sustainable growth and providing a solution for customer retention.

I sat down with our Senior Talent Partner Lily Jones to discuss the pathway to an Account Executive and what the future looks like at LoyaltyLion.

1. What initially attracted you to LoyaltyLion, and how has your perception evolved since you joined?I was also initially attracted to LoyaltyLion due to the fast-moving industry. It was apparent E-commerce boomed during COVID-19 due to consumers being forced to purchase online and I was very excited to see how the industry developed alongside the change in economy. I also completed my dissertation based on Customer loyalty and this is a passion of mine understanding how consumers' perception differs due to each interaction they receive from a brand. 
2. Reflecting on your journey within the company, what key factors do you believe contributed to your recent promotion?Company values have aligned well with my recent promotions. The company pushes me throughout and with honest feedback from my managers I’ve been able to consistently work towards targets. My team has also been very honest and constructive providing feedback throughout helping me to grow and develop within various roles within the sales team (Team Before Ego). Within sales is very easy to get fixed on doing the same things to get the same results. I consistently widen my knowledge by trying new prospecting techniques like Video, calls, voice notes or dropping very direct emails. I think always being open to learning and try something new has helped me within the role - with this also sharing my experiences with the wider team to try to translate consistent results across the team. 
3. Can you share some insights into the skills you've developed that were instrumental in securing your promotion?The Ability to adapt, within the sales department we need to adapt to align consistency in results across the team. With this also in mind, thinking outside of the box has helped me massively. If you’re having a slow month as a sales rep reflecting on previous experience and trying something new is a great way to boost some of your numbers. Resilience, especially within sales, not everyone going to say yes or be easy to communicate with. It’s important to treat every deal however big or small the same. Every no is one closer to a YES!Presenting the value, Genuinely the results we provide for brands within the industry motivates and shocks me daily. Being able to get this value across to brands not using LoyaltyLion is my task. 
4. How does the company culture support growth and advancement opportunities for employees?The company's culture is very supportive of growth. Across various managers, the feedback loop has been very strong and I’m always aligned on career development with different focus areas. It’s definitely important across a fast-moving company to make sure you have career development discussions with your direct manager to make sure you’re both working towards these goals. The company is also very supportive of collaboration. The team is also there to help whenever needed and no matter how busy everyone is there’s always someone at hand to help. 
5. In what ways has your team or mentorship played a role in your professional development and eventual promotion?My team has helped massively by providing feedback on some of my outreach to certain brands giving me points for improvement and their feedback based on previous experience. We listen back to each other's calls and provide feedback both good and bad- which allows us to have focus areas on improvement. We also regularly come together as a team on call coaching sessions where we listen back to a call and pause the call regularly to cover certain areas to improve. 
6. What advice would you offer to other employees aspiring to advance within the company?Push for regular feedback, it is out there you just need to go find it!Make sure your career path is well thought out with a goal in 1,3, 5, 10 years time
7. How does this promotion align with your long-term career goals, and what do you hope to achieve in this new role?This promotion really aligns with how I’m looking to go into a sales profession. Taking my own calls, diving into pain within the industry and demonstrating how LoyaltyLion can solve business day-to-day issues allowing them to achieve yearly goals is very rewarding. I hope to consistently achieve targets within the role to develop into a higher sales role where I can discuss business challenges with a larger mix of various-sized businesses. 
8. Looking back, what were some challenges you faced on your path to promotion, and how did you overcome them?A change of managers, or moving to a different team sometimes its difficult to discuss your career goals with a new manager who you may not know as well as a previous manager. I think getting this conversation in nice and early is a good way of going about this as well as making sure your demonstrating the values consistently to your new manager. 
9. What initiatives or projects are you most excited to undertake in your new position, and how do you envision contributing to the company's success?I’m excited to carry on taking businesses through a full 360 sales process. Having a product that's best in class within the Ecommerce industry is very rewarding (this is feedback from customers not just me). The business is putting a large focus on new business growth, being able to sell a best-in-class product that really is driving above 15:1 ROI in results to business will hello align with the growth plans of this company. 
10. Finally, what do you appreciate most about working for this company, and how do you see yourself making an impact in your expanded role?I really appreciate my team, if I ever need help/feedback or even just an extra pair of eyes my team will always do it. Everyone is very aligned and focuses on the business growth goals over the next few years and with that in mind people are always there to help (Even out of working hours). I hope I can continue developing into my Account Executive role and help drive new business revenue allowing the company to grow.