Lori Jiménez: How to Increase Sales; Hiring Tips from Google; Best Way to Grow Sales Teams | E1043

One of the most important characteristics, in my opinion, with a great salesperson is being curious. It's someone who can ask a question, who can ask the next question that's connected to that first question, really listen to the first answer, not just for the answer you want to hear, (laughs) but the answer you maybe don't want to hear.

(music) Laurie, I am so excited for this. I- I heard so many great things from many past guests, especially the wonderful Rich. So thank you so much for joining me today.

Oh, thanks for having me. Appreciate it.

Now, I always love to start with some context. So tell me, how did you make your way into the world of sales and come to lead some of the most incredible sales orgs as you have done?

Oh, thank you. Um, great questions. I discovered sales at the ripe age of 15 and a half, um, which was the day I got a worker's permit and could get a job. So I was fired up to get a job and make some money. I, uh, applied for a few retail jobs in my hometown, and the owner of two kind of neighboring boutiques met me and said, "You're hired. Start tomorrow." So, so excited. So I march in on my first day, ready to get working, and he said, "Here are the keys to the other store. Uh, go open it up. Um, there's a shoebox of cash in the back. Use that for the cash register. I'll show up in a few hours and teach you what to do." And I was terrified (laughs) . So he's like, "Open the store and get going." So I'm like, "All right, I'm gonna do this." I go and open the store, and soon after opening the door, customers started coming in. So I had to start selling. (laughs) I did a terrible job. Um, I don't think I charged sales tax to anyone that day. I'm sure there were some very (laughs) good deals made. But what I got from it was the energy of working with customers, like how fun that is, how energizing that is. Um, it's a thrill of partnering with someone, even in- even in the retail capacity in a small boutique. So I got energized by it, and I stayed in retail throughout high school and college. Um, and then fast-forward, I graduated from college during, um, the s- recession in the early '90s. So not a lot of jobs. I was still working in retail, and I was at a barbecue and talking to my oldest sister's friend who had been in the workforce for a number of years ahead of me, and she said, "Hey, Laurie, I work at a software company. Um, we're doing kind of this group call interview for salespeople. Are you interested?" And I was like, "Both hands up." (laughs) "I will... Let me get a, like, a job with a career path sounds good." I knew nothing about the company. I didn't know what they sold. I didn't know how they did it. I didn't know anything about the market. I just really wanted to just get in and get a- get a, you know, kind of a firm job. So I went to the interview, I got the job, and that company was Remedy Corporation, which was later, you know, became part of BMC. I think their software's still on the (laughs) still askew at BMC, which is amazing. And, um, was really, like Harry, so fortunate. It was a formative part of my career, not just 'cause it was my first, but I met mentors and friends that I still talk to just a- as recently as this week from that company and was super fortunate to experience an IPO with them. So just saw, like, what high growth was all about from the start. So that- that was my story. That's how I got here.