Meet Megan Smith, Director, Deal Desk and Upmarket Technique at HubSpot. Initially pondering she was destined for a life in academia, Megan pivoted to (and located her calling in!) gross sales assist. After profession stops at Google, LinkedIn & Dropbox, she’s now making her mark at HubSpot.
And when she’s not fixing issues for our clients in scalable methods, she’s a proud mom who enjoys studying, listening to true crime podcasts and watching movies together with her household.
What’s #HubSpotLife like via her lens? Handing the mic over to Megan…
Are you able to inform us a bit about your background and journey to HubSpot?
Once I was in faculty doing my undergrad in Historical past and English, I assumed I used to be destined for a life in academia. Upon spending two years engaged on my grasp’s, I noticed analysis wasn’t for me. I received the chance to begin at Google on a short lived undertaking and began engaged on supporting gross sales groups. I felt a deep satisfaction within the work and needed to maneuver nearer to gross sales assist.
I moved to LinkedIn and spent 4 years on their Deal Desk crew. I moved from particular person contributor (IC) to supervisor for the primary time and though I discovered my preliminary transition to individuals administration robust, I actually beloved main a crew. After spending time at LinkedIn, I needed to see what I used to be going to do subsequent. I wasn’t certain if I needed to maneuver to an even bigger group or be part of a startup.
I took an IC position at Dropbox, turning into their first Deal Desk rent internationally. I grew the worldwide crew from one individual to 6, received the chance to tackle international accountability for Deal Desk and Channel Operations and by the point I left, I used to be main a crew of 15 individuals! However Dropbox wasn’t simply transformational for me professionally it was additionally a time of super private change. I received engaged, married, and had my first baby there.
I then made the transfer to HubSpot, taking the chance to construct a Deal Desk crew from scratch. I lead a crew of 8 unimaginable individuals, doing superb issues for a few of our largest and most complicated clients. I additionally received the chance to increase my scope final 12 months and now additionally oversee Upmarket Technique and Gross sales Packages fixing issues for our upmarket clients in a extra strategic long-term manner.
Describe a typical day in your position.
As a mother, work-life steadiness is extremely essential to me. The kind of position that I and my crew do might be very excessive strain with a lot of altering timelines and last-minute issues to unravel. Once I interviewed at HubSpot I used to be assured sufficient find the precise job for me and my household that I used to be in a position to say “in order for you somebody who’s going to work 16 hours a day that’s not me”. In consequence, my day seems to be a bit completely different to lots of people.
My morning begins round 7 am, I do a fast examine of emails and Slacks and rapidly try to get a way of what the day will convey. I then drop my daughter at daycare. I come again on-line round 9 am and make a to-do record. I maintain a weekly record after which a each day record, ensuring that I maintain monitor of each the day-to-day and longer tasks. I examine in on the crew’s efficiency, offers they’re engaged on, deal with any escalations and try the pipeline for the approaching days so I can get an perception into what’s developing.
Nearly all of my colleagues are within the US so I meet with my EMEA crew within the morning and tick via my to-do record.
Round 1 pm my conferences begin and that retains me going till 5 pm. I end work on daily basis at 5 pm with extraordinarily few exceptions. 5-7 is core household time and I attempt to keep away from checking in on work till after my daughter’s bedtime at 7.
Inform us about an issue you are working to unravel proper now.
We’re all the time making an attempt to unravel issues for our clients in scalable methods. The job of the Deal Desk crew is to unblock and assist offers in a manner they remedy for each the Buyer and HubSpot. Proper now with the macro-economic local weather, we’re making an attempt to make sure that we’re closing offers as effectively as attainable whereas making certain that we’re assembly our clients the place they count on us to be.
How are you fixing for the shopper?
I’m fortunate in that my entire job is about fixing for our largest and most complicated clients. It’s my job to deeply perceive what motivates our clients to purchase and what they count on to see of their offers. We try to supply some delight to the entire clients that contact the Deal Desk’s desk!
In your personal phrases, what makes working in tech at HubSpot distinctive?
Gosh, so many issues! The persons are positively one. I received recommendation early on in my profession that went “when you’re the neatest individual within the room, discover a completely different room” – I really like HubSpot as a result of individuals problem me to be higher and to develop. I’m all the time studying and creating. Moreover, empathy is a giant a part of who I’m as an individual, I attempt to all the time lead with empathy, and to have that mirrored again within the firm’s core values is actually fantastic.
Are there any trade tendencies or subjects which are thrilling to you proper now?
My crew and I are all the time striving to remain updated on deal tendencies. I spend quite a lot of time researching to know purchaser expertise tendencies. The macro-economy is in no way enjoyable or thrilling, however watching new purchaser tendencies emerge because of this and seeing how these tendencies current themselves in our HubSpot offers is tremendous attention-grabbing to look at and perceive.
When you might return to the start of your profession and provides your self one piece of recommendation, what would it not be?
It is a robust one, there are such a lot of issues I’d love to inform my 23-year-old self. However I believe I’d lead with “you might be sufficient” and observe it up with “you don’t have to vary who you might be to excel”. I strive to not take myself too critically and like to inject humor into conditions, early on in my profession a supervisor advised me to “not be the humorous lady” as individuals wouldn’t take me critically. It crushed me. I’d love to return to that model of myself and let her know there’ll come a time when who she is shall be valued as she is.
What do you love to do exterior of HubSpot in your free time?
Like many dad and mom, my free time is generally taken up with household and my daughter. When not doing varied kid-based actions, I like to learn, hearken to true crime podcasts and watch movies with my husband (though we hardly ever agree on what to see!)
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