Introduction

Before I joined Advanced, I went to university and studied product design which I had a lot of fun doing and really enjoyed. I decided not to pursue a career down that avenue after graduating because I came to realise that it’s a very competitive industry to get into - especially if you don’t live and breathe design on a day-to-day basis.

That meant that I kind of entered a transitional phase in my career where I was starting to work in a few hospitality roles at a few local bars and nightclubs which was a lot of fun but the working hours were crazy, and eventually I started to figure that working there wasn’t going to give me the career or the fulfilment that I was looking for.

However, I must say that I wouldn’t be in the position I am now, as a Senior SME (Small-to-Medium Enterprise) Account Manager, at a relatively young age. Working in hospitality gives you transferable skills and experience in dealing with people that’ll be useful in most jobs that you do – especially if you end up working in a customer facing role like I am now.

How did you end up at Advanced?

I kind of just fell into it, in all honestly. I was job hunting and applying for lots of roles at various companies on LinkedIn, and that’s when I came across Advanced. I hadn’t heard of the company before, but soon realised that it was one of the largest software companies in the UK and could potentially be somewhere where I can take my career to the next level. There was a vacancy available as a Sales & Marketing Associate, which seemed suited to the skills and experience that I had, so I didn’t hesitate to apply straight away.

What really stuck out to me during the interview process was that it was quite fun; some of the tasks we all had to do can only be described as ‘The Apprentice’ style, with all the people onboarding having to work together and complete various tasks and challenges.

I worked in my initial role for 3 months, before moving into a role within Business Development (BD) as an BD Executive, and then from there my aim has been to keep progressing throughout various roles within the business.

What was your first impression of the business when you joined?

It just seemed like a fun place to work above everything else. I liked that a lot of people were of a similar age to me - at least that was the case in the department I was working in at the time. Therefore, it was quite easy for me to come in, get along with people, and just connect with a very welcoming team.

What’s the story behind your ‘Quick Career Progression’ at Advanced?

So, I would say that it’s been a combination of me having the right attitude to want to progress, and then making the most of the opportunities available to you here at Advanced, especially within the SME team. I feel like I was very fortunate to have the support and the guidance needed from my manager and colleagues who have helped me out a lot during my time with the business.

However, when I joined the sales team in April 2021 as an exec, I just kind of went for it and got stuck in by speaking to as many customers as possible and by not being afraid to try new things. I would say that it was having the mentality of diving in headfirst is probably what has led me to be quite successful so far within the SME team at Advanced.

I’d say that I developed that attitude when I was at university and was definitely a contributing factor to my success. Even though I haven’t done anything that’s specifically relevant to product design, there’s a lot of transferable skills that I gained from the course that have set me up in good stead to succeed within my career. The fundamentals of what I did then, and what I do now, really aren’t that different; it’s all about understanding the challenges that are in front of you, and then working out how to then alleviate those challenges that you face.

What is it about working in sales that you particularly enjoy?

What makes working in sales great for me is that I do enjoy working with the customers and helping them by figuring out resolutions to the challenges that they face within their businesses. The most rewarding part of the job for me is when you’ve been working on a deal that starts to come together, and then you can really see how our software is going to help the customer to either take their business to the next level, or to just remove a pain or process that they’ve had to deal with for a long time. It can be an immensely rewarding line of work as it’s always satisfying to see the customer happy with the service we’ve given them.

I’d also describe sales as being quite gamified in a way, in the way that what you put into the process is what you’re going to get out of it, and then you start to see a pattern start to develop where you keep progressing by hitting all of your targets.

Why do you like working at Advanced?

I really like the culture that’s been embedded into the business; I feel like Advanced looks after its employees and does give a lot back in terms of incorporating initiatives such as Summer Fridays (Friday afternoons off throughout July & August), which I am really enjoying at the minute. The fact that they give time back to employees during this period really helps to boost morale and motivate people more.

Looking back to when I first joined the business, people are always supportive here as they know they were in the same situation once as a new starter. It does help you settle in massively when you’re working with people who are of a similar age and stage of their career.

Everyone at Advanced is willing to help out where they can, and there’s obviously a lot to learn when you join a new business. There’s so many different products that you need at least a base-line knowledge and understanding of, and in my experience, people have always been very helpful in getting me to come to grips with that.

It’s great to come into my local office (The Mailbox, Birmingham), which is a great place to work, full of great people, in a great location. From a work perspective, it’s good environment to come and work in; everyone that you meet tends to be upbeat and friendly.

What are your next steps going forward?

I guess my main goal is to keep progressing in sales going forward. I want to have a successful career, and I want to keep enjoying what I do. Currently, I’m just looking into how I can develop my own skills to become a better salesperson, and to understand more about the sales process – knowing how to ask the right questions, that sort of thing.

There’s obviously a lot of opportunities to keep advancing here at Advanced, so I can see myself having a long career here where I can hopefully keep on progressing up the ladder within the sales department. However, like I said, my main goal is to enjoy the work that I'm doing and just have a successful career in sales really.