We recently had a chat with one of our seasoned Enterprise Account Executives, Bob Kelm, on his experience working at a high-growth SaaS scale up.
Can you describe your job here at Cutover?
I am an Enterprise Account Executive, so my primary responsibilities are to bring in new clients and to maintain and grow our relationships with existing clients.
How did you first come to find out about Cutover?
I originally heard about Cutover from a former colleague. She had been with Cutover for a little over a year and had only great things to say about it. I decided to take an interview and after meeting with the team and executives I was blown away by the product, culture, and vision. That was when I knew this was the right place for me.
What is a typical day like at Cutover for you?
A typical day involves networking with my existing client base to ensure we are delivering on our agreed upon path forwarding and providing value in the partnership. As part of this, we collaborate with the clients on strategic next steps to help align with their initiatives. To give an example, one of my clients shared an initiative on how they can best leverage Cutover to increase automation. We shared some best practices on what their peers in the industry were doing and how this could be implemented. Together we decided to partner on this initiative, leading to a great win and leading to growth within the account for Cutover, but more importantly great recognition for our client within his organization. Outside of the existing clients, I am working with prospects to learn about what is important to them, and walking them through our platform for a good collaborative conversation on what is most important to them and how we can contribute to their success.
Why did you choose a career in tech sales?
I’ve always known I was going to be in sales. My entire life, competition has always been my biggest driver. Sales is a very straightforward measurement of where you rank against your peers. It is very similar to sports where you can identify gaps and put in the work to improve your performance. I joined tech sales after recognizing where we are headed as a society. Technology is rapidly evolving and more and more tasks and everyday activities are being automated. To have a lucrative and successful career, tech sales is the best industry.
What is it like working for a tech company in such a high-growth phase of development?
It is extremely exciting! I’ve been with the company since we were under 50 employees and I think what excites me the most is seeing the progress. You go from seeing a product, sales process, or marketing campaign start with all this potential, you think about the current gaps and have group conversations on what we need to prioritize to achieve our goals, then you see it all come to life! We have grown so much in the two and a half years I’ve been a part of Cutover and I think everyone should be excited for what’s in store in the years to come.
What are the upsides of working for a scale up as opposed to more of a larger, enterprise company in your opinion?
I think there are two critical aspects of joining a scale up versus larger enterprises. The first is culture as everyone in the organization has a deeper meaning and purpose. You are working much more collaboratively as a team with a clear mission to drive the company to a successful IPO. You develop amazing relationships with the senior team which is not typically possible in larger organizations. The second aspect is career opportunity. There are opportunities to join management with less experience than with larger organizations. A big reason for this is because everyone in leadership can easily identify who is a top performer and are therefore are more invested in your career trajectory. I think it helps you leapfrog stages in your career.
Where do you see your career progressing with Cutover in the near future?
For now, I am very happy with my current role. I have cultivated amazing relationships with my peers but more importantly with my clients. I am grateful for the time they take to educate me and share what their vision for Cutover is moving forward and what we need to be thinking about from a roadmap perspective to align with those goals. The opportunity to learn from the industry’s best and brightest has truly been a blessing, and I sure have learned a lot! Over the next few years, I wish to continue driving value for all of my clients. Their success is what I am most passionate about!
What are some things one can learn in terms of hard and soft skills working for a high-growth scale up?
A key attribute of being a part of a scale up is learning to be an entrepreneur. In every team, we have so many opportunities to learn and grow through trial and error, so we’re able to explore new things and see what works and what doesn’t. It helps you become more resilient and to learn that each failure is an opportunity for success because we learn from our mistakes and get to see the results. Having these internal data points gives you the confidence to take the risk of starting your own company or leading your own team.
If you are interested in finding out more about a role within our Sales team please check out our careers page where you can find our latest open positions in the US and UK.