Connecting, collaborating and building relationships, with Bridget Gleason [Episode 551]

Bridget Gleason is VP of Sales for Logz.io and my regular partner on Front Line Fridays.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

After two years Andy is back to todo lists, because he got behind and his calendar was full. He hopes to keep the situation temporary. Bridget’s company had a good quarter. That gave her 12 hours of relief.

Andy trained reps to cold-call sell computers in the Bay Area. One rep partied every night, and never changed his clothes. He burned out. Another rep, who had forged his transcript, left a customer’s office in the middle of a meeting.

Companies used to hire hundreds or thousands of new grads, to see who would stick and who would wash out. Bridget has not seen such colorful hires in her experience. She maintains a professional decorum.

President’s Club is taken as a time by many reps to go drinking. Bridget talks about why people go into sales, and not safeguard their reputation.

There is some expectation of ‘bad boy behavior,’ in sales, including harassment. Andy mentions recent episodes of senior executives forced to resign because of abominable behavior towards women. Bridget fights against stereotypes.

In some firms, executives know of bad behaviors, and let them go on. If you don’t address them, they become the norm. Call out harassment. Bridget’s CEO called out someone joking over the line, and Bridget and her team addressed it.

People aren’t always self-aware. Talk about incidents before they become a big thing. Be accommodating of diversity. We need diversity. Make people feel comfortable for their voice to be heard.

Essential skills in this age include relationships, teamwork, and collaboration. A sales rep must master these.

As we welcome technology, and adapt it to achieve what we want to achieve, recognize what it is not set up to do, such as connecting, collaborating, and building relationships.

How we treat other people, in and out of the workplace, determines how we will master building relationships. Research correlates behaviors towards people outside of work with behaviors towards those inside of work.