*Month technically but I had to shoutout Denzel
4 Weeks
Bootcamp is over. 4 Weeks felt like too much time and too little at the same time. At times I wanted to just go live and start selling but at other times I felt like I still had so much to learn. But finally, after a month of nonstop Zoom meetings, video playlists, email assignments, and sales pitch practice I start selling today. But am I ready?
Imposter Syndrome is defined as a psychological pattern in which an individual doubts their skills, talents, or accomplishments and has a persistent internalized fear of being exposed as a "fraud". It is commonly discussed these days as a key feeling by many Millenial professionals as they progress through their professional journey. I can’t deny that I have felt it before; while working and while volunteering. Especially when I met people near my age who I perceived as doing better or bigger things. I thought about whether I should be at that level yet and if I was moving too slow. But the interesting thing is I have felt none of that at my current position. It is very clear my skill level to me and those around me including my managers. I have never done tech sales and my background is in Civil Engineering. So there is nothing to discover which provides a sense of relief and distance from the imposter feeling.
This does bring its own challenges and nuances. I don’t want to rely on the lack of background to always be a safety net or fall back on. I don’t want to use it as an excuse for anything or a reason that I can’t meet a goal or even surpass it. While I don’t have specific experience in Tech Sales, I have a wide range of skills and talents from working as a professional for 5+ years and volunteering for nonprofits for even longer. There are hard and soft skills that I can bring to the table and use to surpass my lack of background. This is also why I appreciated the BootCamp and training my company has in place for Sales Development Representatives. I had a month of learning both the product I would be selling and the sales skills and methodology needed to succeed.
Starting at a Startup
This isn’t the first time I have worked at a small company. I spent 2 years working at a Civil Engineering firm where I was 1 of 2 employees. That is an experience that requires its own post. But this is my first time working at a Tech Startup and one that is growing fast. While Replicated has been around since 2015 they have grown in size from less than 25 to 100 in the past year alone and went fully remote during that time due to the ongoing Pandemic as well.
Replicated has an open and transparent workspace culture that makes it very easy to learn about the company and be informed about what is happening. Beyond the company handbook and resources, I can just slack anyone in the company with questions including the C-Suite. All the major department channels are open and you can join, view, and discuss as you want. We are encouraged to meet with as many people as we can to introduce ourselves and get to know the company. We were even told to do this with the CEO so I scheduled a Meet and Greet with the CEO and Co-Founder and he accepted! It is this direct connection with the company personnel that has really helped me get my bearings and let me know that if I have any questions or need help that I don’t need to suffer in silence. Plus as the company grows so much of the processes are being created or refined and you can be a part of those conversations or even help with shaping them. This contributes to having a stake in the company and succeeding as it succeeds.
Upcoming post ideas…
What are y’all interested in reading about? Below are some upcoming drafts I have in the works. Let me know if there is anything you’d like to see!
Day in the life of an SDR (at a tech b2b SaaS company)
My home office setup
Conference Recap (Going to my first con next week!)