“Technology can do enormous good in this world, but what my time in the Peace Corps taught me is that I don’t ever want to lose being focused on people and knowing that it’s that relationship between two people that is most valuable to me.”
The 2x Women in Tech Podcast with Chelsea Behrens
Leigh Carter, Senior Solutions Consultant at Zendesk
Presentations and pitch decks can be highly effective, but there is no sales technique more persuasive than empathetic, inclusive communication. That’s where Leigh Carter, a Senior Solutions Consultant at Zendesk, excels and adds value.
Beyond process and procedure, customer-centric software-as-a-service (SaaS) products such as those offered by Zendesk encompass a narrative, collaborative dimension that Leigh believes is especially well suited to women. “What (we) bring to the table is this sort of inherent, intuitive ability to drive consensus,” she says. On this episode you’ll learn what differentiates consultative from transactional sales, which so-called “soft skills” are associated with the job of solutions consultant and creative strategies for bringing stakeholders into alignment. Leigh’s actionable sales advice includes: Doing your homework, being prepared to pivot and leveraging the power of numbers – concrete metrics – to get everyone onto the same page. The conversation wraps up with Leigh’s wish for the tech industry as a whole and a personal reflection on the incomparable power of interpersonal connection. “Technology can do enormous good in this world,” says Leigh, “but what my time in the Peace Corps taught me is that … it’s that relationship between two people that is most valuable.”
Key Takeaways:
What it looks like to be a senior solutions consultant at Zendesk, a provider of software-as-a-service (SaaS) products related to customer support, sales and other customer communications.
The sales, communications and tech skills Leigh deploys most often on the job:
Communication: Interpreting and establishing client requirements.
Integration: Ensuring that the platform fulfills requirements.
Deal management: Supporting and maintaining customer satisfaction.
Leigh is a bridge builder, typically partnering with a sales professional on her team, facilitating the development of a solution that aligns with what prospects truly require.
The tech industry first captured Leigh’s attention with its fresh ways of solving problems and innovating solutions.
Practical Mindset: When Leigh assesses new technologies it’s with the end user in mind. Is this solution accessible?
Career Evolution: Leigh has moved over the course of her career from an orientation towards big ideas and initiatives to a more human-centered approach based on discovery.
Two Strategies for Solutions Selling Success:
Do Your Homework: Take time to research prospects, understand the kinds of projects they sponsor and their preferred style of engagement.
Be Prepared to Pivot: People can be neuro-divergent and connecting can take on a variety of forms depending on how individuals take in and process information.
Emotional Intelligence and intuition may be so-called “soft skills,” but they are critical when it comes to communicating value propositions that are accessible and respond efficiently to a business challenge or requirement.
Leigh reflects on her early experience in SaaS sales – a transaction-oriented “turn and burn” experience that she did not find gratifying. Consultative engagement made a better fit for her skills and interests.
As a solutions consultant, when you make the right recommendations and demonstrate the value-add, you’re providing companies with a great experience that they remember and are eager to repeat.
Women’s intuitive storytelling ability and empathetic style of consensus-building brings individuals with distinct, divergent issues into alignment.
The Two-Fold Power Numbers:
Metrics of any kind provide teams a concrete, common language on which to base conversation and collaboration.
People connect to the priorities and rewards signaled by data.
Leigh’s Ideal Tech Vision: To see more outward facing activities that broaden the focus by integrating everyday interactions with people and problems outside the industry. She wants those who are inward-gazing to consider:
Are we engaging with people experiencing other industries and challenges?
Are we harnessing all the energy available to make the planet better?
A Perspective to Consider: Technology offers many beautiful facets, but there is nothing to replace the extraordinary meaning in the simple relationship between two people.
Parting Thought: Leigh encourages women interested in entering the tech sector to look at the human dimension of organizations and where solutions can bring value.
Episode Resources:
Leigh Carter on LinkedIn
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