Well, we did it again. We have officially added another bonafide quota-crusher to the powerhouse that includes Chad Balistrieri and Dale Thorn. Always Hired is pleased to welcome Ryan Lewis onboard, who is currently an account executive and recently became a trainer for our sales bootcamp. We have now assembled a team of trainers that have years of experience in sales development and account executive roles at companies like: Salesforce, Linkedin, IBM, Samsara, Twilio, and Zendrive. Many of these companies are household names with the others not far behind. This exemplifies the commitment we are making to our students: we want to give them the best training in the world. -- Ryan will be responsible for ensuring that students are keeping up with the curriculum and are ready for their upcoming interviews. With him, he brings about 10 years of experience in different industries. Ryan has a unique perspective because he was a technical recruiter early in his career before switching to sales, which gives him some insight into exactly what companies are looking for in their candidates. Since then he's been heavily involved in cold-calling (as a Sales Development Rep) and closing deals (as an Account Executive). A true master of the sales cycle as a result of his experience. Students of the bootcamp will utilize Ryan as a valuable resource to help them get the job they've always wanted. -- Here's Ryan's professional background: Current position: Strategic Account Executive @ Twilio Past experiences: Kirby, Salesforce, Randstad Technologies -- Get to know Ryan: Q: What was your first sales job? A: Selling door to door for Kirby while in college. Don't know what Kirby is? It's a 2 in 1 vacuum cleaner and carpet shampooing system that retails for ~ $2000. Think Cutco but much heavier to carry around and basically 100% commission. It is still to this day the most challenging sales job I've had, which is why it was probably the most valuable sales job I've had too. Q: How did you get your first sales job? A: It was the recession...normally I'd be working a manual labor job (roofing, landscaping, construction) but no one was hiring and my current roofing employer let all the part-time workers go. I jumped on Craigslist to find a new job, just like any other under-qualified 19 year old would do and eventually stumbled upon an add for "carpet cleaners wanted." "No doubt I could do this" I thought. When I showed up for the interview, I was greeted by a chain-smoking man wearing a short sleeve white dress shirt and tie. He took all the "applicants" in a room and gave us the pitch on "why sell for Kirby." Most people left right then but I was intrigued...so much so that I stuck around for a while and sold nearly 20 units. I was a happy man! Until tax season came, who knew you had to pay your own taxes as a 1099 worker? Q: How does someone new to the industry know if they are going to a good/legit company? A: If it's a privately held start-up, look at the founding team first. Are they accomplished? Are they well educated? Do they have a track record of success starting companies? Have they worked together before? Next, look at the investors. Which firms invested in the company? Do the firms have a track record of success? Who else have they invested in? Lastly, you want to try to get a better understanding of the product and culture. Do they operate in a crowded industry? If so, how are they different? Is the product/service "mission-critical" (necessary)? What are their reviews on Glassdoor? G2 Crowd? AngelList? If it's a public company, there is a lot more publicly available information, but sifting through it can be tricky. Try to focus on the company's fundamentals. Performance in the stock market is one place to look. Read through their quarterly reports - are they overachieving or under-achieving on their goals? Look at their Executive management team - where did they work before? How successful were those companies? How does their product/service rate against the competition? What is the TAM (total addressable market) they are selling into? What are some of the challenges associated with operating in that market? Speak to industry veterans and ask about the company's perception in the market. -- Ryan is another crucial piece to the puzzle here at Always Hired and we are excited to welcome him aboard. Since Ryan is an Account Executive, he brings valuable experience closing deals to the company. He will help impart some knowledge on our students that will help them for years to come. Curious about our other trainers? Chad's blog is here. Dale will have one soon as well. -- If you are interested in some of the concepts that our trainer Ryan teaches to the students, then go check out our free online mini bootcamp. The online sales training videos will help you learn some sales skills as well as give you a preview of what our bootcamp training is like. And if you're asking yourself: "How can I find a boot camp near me?" You can learn sales skills online because our sales bootcamp is virtual. -- So, who's next?
