When I had accepted the Account Development role with MuleSoft, I was excited beyond words. A company I respected, admired, and genuinely believed in was allowing me the opportunity to join them in doing what I love: sales.
As thrilled as I was to get started, I was set to fly out to San Francisco for three weeks of training, where I’d be living in a hotel in a city with few people that I knew, and little to no knowledge of how to actually execute the job. The nerves set in as I sat in seat 49D, waiting to get off the plane and start the next chapter of my life.
Immediately upon entering the Salesforce Tower on my first day, all of my anxious feelings floated away as I met the others in my training class and our Enablement Lead, Adam, who has a personality that immediately makes you feel at home. My energy was back and I was ready to learn.
From that moment on, I had no idea that in the next 19 nights away from home, every single week, day, and hour would count. I was going to be pushed, energized, frustrated, empowered – and I wouldn’t take a minute back.
MuleSoft’s Sales Academy is unlike any class, workshop, or training program I have experienced. Every minute of the day is strategically planned to give you the knowledge, skills, and background you need to hit the ground running when starting in your home office on day one. The sales academy is designed to make YOU succeed in the role as a member of a team, of a greater organization. You’re meant to be pushed, energized, frustrated, and empowered to champion your strengths, understand your weakness and how to improve them, and pride yourself that you CAN do this job, and be an absolute pro at it.
As I look back, I’ve highlighted three key ways the training has set me up for success as I begin my role in my home office, New York:
Challenged
While the sales skills and technological knowledge take time to soak in, the most challenging aspect for me was not only learning about a new thought leadership, but embracing it. I had come into the role with prior sales experience and found it incredibly challenging to think about things in ways I hadn’t before. As someone who loves to learn, compete, and achieve, I accepted this challenge head on and did what MuleSoft encourages you to do – run towards failure. To run towards failure, you have to accept that you won’t be perfect at everything the first time, that some concepts will take time to set in, and that you can always improve, no matter how well you performed. MuleSoft takes the negative connotation of “challenge” and flips it into a mindset – how can YOU continuously better yourself to work towards being the best version of yourself?
Inspired
At MuleSoft, we believe that you put the company first, the team second, and yourself last. From the first day of training, ADs from every region volunteered to present to my class on different topics we covered in training. I was not only inspired by their individual perspectives on the role and the insights they had to share, but by each of them stepping up to the plate to give us their time, ensuring we were ready to take on any challenges that would come our way in the role. To have such a welcoming team, from near and far, welcome us into the organization underscored that MuleSoft genuinely is a special place to work. This speaks to how MuleSoft’s mission is put into action; I am so proud to work for a company that inspires me to do better every day, not only for myself, but to better my team and the overall organization.
Confident
At the end of every session, we have a self-reflection moment – what did you do well, what can you work on. While in the beginning it can be easy to get down on yourself and only look at the negatives, I challenge you to do the exact opposite and look at what you achieved that day. When you do learn something new, master a new skill, or make progress towards something greater, that feeling of confidence outweighs any and all feelings of self-doubt. Through all the ups and downs, I have never felt more confident that I can do something after I left the training. In my final presentation, I was amazed at how much I had learned in just 15 business days, and how motivated I was to get back home, be with my team, and keep on learning.
If you’re ready for a career in Sales, are a learner for life, and love to be challenged – feel free to drop me a note, or see any of our global open roles. Come join us – we can’t wait to meet you!
