News Archive

A: USF’s Professional Sales Club and Sales program were critical in my preparation for my career in sales and specifically within Gartner. As a Founding Father to the Sales Club, who’s purpose is to help students develop the skills necessary to thrive in a sales career, I had the unique opportunity to travel across the Country to compete and represent USF in collegiate sales competitions. During those competitions you practice real sales skills and learn life lessons (Like quickness of learning, active listening, how to conduct a business and sales meeting) all of which were directly transferrable to my role at Gartner. While serving in leadership roles through the Sales Program, Dr. Hammond helped me and other students become exposed to real business executives for networking purposes so by the time I graduated and stepped into my role I was confident speaking to a team of C Level executives and well ahead of my peers who had not had those types of opportunities.

A: Because of the experiences gained in Dr. Hammond’s sales program, I was incredibly humble yet confident in my ability to execute. Dr. Hammond’s networking and sales roleplay events were incredibly similar to the training style that Gartner adopts (Which made training transition seamless). However, going from a full time student to full time career is a daunting task for anyone. The top challenges I faced in my transition were:

• Time management – in sales , unless you’re being micro managed, you have a lot of time on your hands and it’s up to you to allocate it and determine what’s most important
• Accountability for Execution – in college, you can fail a test and still make an A, you can do a bad assignment and still get grade forgiveness… in the real world of business , sometimes you only get one shot at a first impression. It’s critical to nail it
• Managing your personal brand – It’s mission critical, especially when you join a world class organization like Gartner, do manage your personal brand and be incredibly intentional with your actions. Every action in the corporate world is a reflection of your character and acting with the utmost integrality is critical at all times

Luckily, carrying leadership roles in the Sales Program at USF provided me with the opportunities to practices these skills and not only ensure I act with integrity when other people are around, but more importantly it gave me the chance to practice my time management skills and gave me the chance to build my personal brand with integrity so that when I faced challenging situations I could navigate them more confidently because of the preparation and lesson’s learned in school.

A: Ask for help early and ask for help often. I’ve found incredible successes as I approach my second full year at Gartner. I’ve taken on 3 promotions and entered a new role this January even despite the global pandemic. My top 3 tips for anyone going for a career in sales or business in general are:

1. Have a Limitless Mindset - treat everyday as if someone else is going for your spot and you need to defend it daily. By having a limitless mindset, you’ll think big and be able to achieve much greater successes
2. Be Humble and be Hungry – with a humble attitude you will always appreciate the little wins when you are faced with challenges and with a hungry mindset, you’ll always strive for getting 1% better each day… it can be tough when you’re faced with adversity but if you are humble enough to ask for help , your peers and leaders can help mold you into a great winner!
3. Be intentional with your personal brand – You only get 1 first impression in business, with your team, your leadership , your clients and prospects. I’ve found great success by preparing for all situations as if it were the most important meeting of my life, and by having a brand of always caring for others and acting with integrity, opportunities will find themselves in your path more often than you’d think.

A: Although I’ve exceeded most of the qualitative metrics that define success at Gartner, my most proud accomplishment is becoming a trusted leader and peer in my company. Knowing that people can count on me gives me a sense of pride and honor that far exceeds the public recognition for hitting 2 president clubs in 10 months.  I started at Gartner June 2019 and went territory sales live in September after 2 months of training. I became the first person from my hiring class to Achieve President’s club (known internally as “Winner’s Circle”) and accepted a promotion from an account manager to an executive role. Starting Jan 2020, I became a mentor and leader in my region after taking on a promotion to an Account Executive role. I achieved my second Winner’s Circle honor in September of 2020 which means I sold over 130% of my annual plan in just 9 months which is what put my into a position to take another promotion into Gartner’s fastest growing sales channel for my most recent promotion into Business Development as of Jan 2021. I welcome this challenge with open arms as I look to continue the momentum built this last year.

For someone in role less than 2 years this type of accomplishment is rare and would not have been possible without getting off to a fast start.. which I attribute much of the skills I learned to the Sales Program at USF and the experiences I gained through the program.