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Podcast: The Founder’s Sandbox
Date: May 2, 2024
Title: Purposeful Culture Driven Sales
Length: 59 Minutes
description:

On this episode of The Founder's Sandbox, Brenda McCabe speaks with Kelly Breslin Wright, Founder & CEO of Culture Driven Sales. They discuss resilience and purpose related to the Culture Driven Sales methodology where Kelly Breslin Wright operates as a C-level executive, board director, advisor, and adjunct university professor.

Kelly Breslin Wright is an experienced executive and corporate board director for both public and private companies, with over 30 years of experience in leadership, sales, operations, and strategy roles. She has served as an Independent Director and Advisor for multiple Boards and has helped companies navigate multiple stages of growth. These include IPOs, enterprise expansion, CEO and leadership transitions, globalization, M&A, financings, business model changes, and global crises. She has a unique mastery of sales, go-to-market, leadership, transformation, strategy, growth and scaling, data and analytics, and culture.

As an operator, Kelly Breslin Wright served as President and COO of Gong, an artificial intelligence platform that serves revenue organizations to deliver insights at scale. There, she managed all go-to-market functions, including Sales, Customer Success, and Marketing. For nearly 12 years prior to Gong, Kelly Breslin Wright was Executive Vice President of Sales (Chief Revenue Officer) at Tableau Software (formerly NYSE: DATA). She joined as the company's first salesperson, where she grew Tableau’s worldwide sales and field operations from zero to $850M in revenue and managed over half of the company’s 3,400 global employees. Tableau was purchased by Salesforce in 2019 for $15.7B. Before Tableau, Kelly Breslin Wright spent time at Bain & Company, McKinsey & Company, Bank of America, Dale Carnegie Training, AtHoc, and Southwestern Advantage.

You can find out more about Kelly Breslin Wright at:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellybreslinwright/  

Culture Driven Sales Website: https://culturedrivensales.com/  

University of Washington Foster School of Business Website: https://foster.uw.edu/faculty-research/directory/kelly-wright/  

 

Recent Podcast

SASSY TALKS

Transforming Companies through Culture Driven Sales: The Kelly Breslin Wright Effect

May 2024

Length: 52 Minutes

Kelly Breslin Wright has over 30 years of experience in leadership, sales, operations, and strategy. Kelly has served in multiple executive roles, including as President and Chief Operating Officer at Gong and as Executive Vice President (CRO) at Tableau Software. Kelly is currently Founder and CEO of her own thought leadership platform Culture Driven Sales.

Additionally, Kelly has been a Board Director at public and private companies, including Fastly (NYSE:FSLY), Plum (NASDAQ: PLUMIU), Gong, Lucid, Even, and Amperity. She has advised many technology companies, including Dropbox and Asana. She is an adjunct professor at the University of Washington’s Foster School of Business. Earlier in her career, Kelly spent time at Bain & Company, McKinsey & Company, Bank of America, Dale Carnegie Training, and AtHoc. She earned her BA from Stanford University and MBA from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Episode Summary: In this episode, Kelly Breslin Wright shares her remarkable journey from selling books door-to-door to becoming a key figure at Tableau Software, guiding the company from its inception through to a successful IPO and beyond. With a focus on the critical role of culture in sales and business success, Kelly discusses her transition into board roles and teaching, emphasizing the importance of mission, vision, and alignment in creating effective teams and compelling sales strategies. Highlights include her insights on building a board for startups, prioritizing people in businesses, and her unique perspective on sales as a deeply human and culturally driven process.

Key Takeaways:

Kelly's early experiences in sales and entrepreneurship shaped her passion for helping people and running her own business.

The importance of aligning sales with the overall company strategy and having a clear mission and vision.

The role of culture in driving sales and creating a positive work environment.

The need for companies to rate people and culture as top priorities.

The challenges and considerations in building an effective board and assessing team dynamics during company growth.

Notable Quotes:

“Culture ties back to the overall essence of the company”  - Kelly Breslin Wright

"Every single person in the company is a guardian of the culture." - Kelly Breslin Wright

"The best salespeople have high empathy, are good communicators, and can emotionally connect with others." - Kelly Breslin Wright

“I have always had the same priorities…#1 People, #2 People, #3 People.” - Kelly Breslin Wright

Chapters

00:21 From Selling Books to Executive Roles: Kelly's Career Path

04:50 Teaching the Art of Sales: Kelly's University Course

11:14 The Essence of Company Culture and Its Impact on Sales

14:21 Guardians of Culture: Every Employee's Role

16:27 Balancing Data-Driven Decisions and Maintaining Culture

20:24 Core Values and Operating Principles: The Foundation of Culture

26:25 Mission, Vision, and Values: More Than Just Words

28:24 Navigating Business Challenges and Priorities

28:50 The Three Pillars of Success: People, PIML, and Culture

29:33 The Importance of the Right Team for Growth

31:48 Evaluating Leadership and Team Dynamics for Expansion

34:11 Cultural Fit vs. Experience in Hiring Decisions

39:44 Culture-Driven Sales: Connecting on a Deeper Level

42:46 Effective Board Composition and Its Impact

46:30 Legacy and Personal Reflections

48:25 Quick Fire Round

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