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Podcast: Grit
Date: January 11, 2021
Title: How Kelly Wright Went from Selling Door to Door to Board Director at Fastly
Length: 49 Minutes
Episode: 17
description:

Kelly Wright has had a remarkable career in sales, from her early days selling books door-to-door to joining Tableau as a developing startup and helping them grow into a multi-billion dollar company as a key member of their executive team. Today, she is board director at Fastly, a leading cloud services provider.

In this episode of Go to Market Grit, Joubin and Kelly discuss Kelly’s incredible career path, including her decision to attend business school, how she landed at Tableau, and how she secured a position as board director.

In this episode of Go to Market Grit, we cover:

  • Kelly’s thoughts on Tableau’s high profile acquisition by Salesforce.
  • Kelly’s career journey and how she ended up at Tableau as EVP of Sales. Kelly also talks about her early experiences selling books door to door and how she built up grit and resilience.
  • Why Kelly went to business school, even though her calling was in sales.
  • What Kelly saw in Tableau and why she decided to take a leap of faith and join the company.
  • How Kelly measured herself as the first account executive at a developing startup without a formal tracking system in place.
  • How Kelly dealt with change management during her early days at Tableau.
  • The concept of hiring for culture fit and why Kelly prioritizes this when searching for new team members. Kelly also talks about interviewing quickly at scale and how she determines whether interviewees have the potential to be successful.
  • Kelly’s advice on how to get on a company board.
  • Kelly’s definition of grit.

Recent Podcast

Elite Selling Podcast

How to Supercharge Your Sales Career with Kelly Breslin Wright

Sep 2024

Length: 52 Minutes

Takeaways: 

  • Personalize your outreach and make it about the recipient, not just your product or company
  • Take the time to research and understand the person you're reaching out to
  • Stand out from the crowd by doing things that don't scale, such as sending personalized notes or videos
  • When seeking promotion, focus on developing the necessary skills for the next role rather than rushing to climb the ladder. Understand the skills needed for the next level and proactively develop them 
  • Take on additional projects and demonstrate your value to the company 
  • Be intentional, focus on the team and the company, and not just yourself 
  • Exceptional founders effectively communicate the company's mission and vision

 

In this episode, Kelly Breslin Wright shares insights on the ingredients of being an elite seller and how to supercharge your sales career. The conversation covers topics such as effective outreach strategies, personalization, and the right approach to getting promoted. Kelly emphasizes the importance of personalizing outreach and standing out from the crowd. She also highlights the need for research and understanding the person you're reaching out to. When it comes to getting promoted, Kelly advises against rushing and emphasizes the importance of developing the necessary skills for the next role. In this conversation, Kelly Breslin Wright shares valuable insights on how to supercharge your career and find the right role. She emphasizes the importance of understanding the skills needed for the next level and proactively developing them. Kelly also highlights the significance of raising your hand and taking on additional projects to demonstrate your value to the company. She advises individuals to be intentional, focus on the team and the company, and not just think about themselves. Additionally, Kelly discusses the qualities of exceptional founders, including their ability to communicate the company's mission and vision effectively.

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