Women Who Sell With Sarah Callery
‘Women Who Sell’ is all about showcasing women who sell, and are thriving and challenging stereotypes. We feature real perspectives of what it’s like, the barriers and the breakthroughs.
Here, Sarah Callery, VP of EMEA GTM at Clinch shares her take.
What is your job title?
VP of EMEA GTM.
How did you get into sales and what makes it the career of your choice?
When I was 21 I was sitting on the beach in Spain reading Cosmopolitan magazine and there was an advert advertising a career as a recruitment consultant for Office Angels earning 40,000 a year. I came back to the UK and went to an agency that hired recruitment consultants but they told me whilst I had the right ‘personality’ I lacked sales experience, so I got a job doing telesales for The Carphone Warehouse to get the sales experience before moving into IT sales recruitment 2 years later. This gave me my first insights into software sales.
I love selling. I love solving problems and finding solutions for customers. I love the thrill of chasing down opportunities and delivering results for the company I work for and the customers we acquire.
I recently got diagnosed with ADHD and I think my passion for sales and why I have been successful makes more sense to me now. I am a creative problem solver and my hyper-focus drives me to win. As a sales leader, I am passionate about driving successful outcomes for our customers through my team and our partners. I feel fortunate that I found a career in sales as I truly love what I do.
Are there any barriers you have faced as a woman working in sales, and how have you overcome them?
Many, far too many!
From being a young 20-something and people attributing my success to being favourited by my manager because I am female (sadly this even happened a few years back) to 20 years later being told I am too aggressive, too emotional, to being excluded by my all-male peers because apparently girls can’t talk rugby or cycling or football and don’t drink pints.
I have seen, experienced and been impacted by the lack of action from certain organisations when they can clearly see women are being treated unfairly, and this is disappointing.
When I found a voice and challenged the microaggressions, I was perceived as being difficult. Interestingly in one particular organisation, there must have been a lot of ‘difficult women’ as many spoke up but the behaviour was allowed to continue and HR did not drive the change that needed to happen to give women a safe space to thrive. But not all organisations are like this thankfully and that is why I really appreciate working for Clinch ( a PageUp Group Company), it is truly empowering as I am surrounded by a mix of male and female leaders in sales and other roles across the organisation who drive an inclusive culture and do not see gender but talent.
There are many companies like Clinch out there so my advice to other women is to ditch the boys' club cultures that still exist and find a club that’s inclusive, it's much more rewarding!
Unfortunately, there is always a lack of representation in leadership in sales, and this lack of female role models and leaders in sales can hinder women's career progression. Without visible female leaders, women typically find it harder to envision themselves in top sales roles, and with that comes promotion barriers that women face due to biases and the "glass ceiling" effect. I have my own aspirations of becoming a CRO one day and smashing the glass.
I wish I could give women the magic answer to overcoming the biases and challenges they may have to experience working in sales, for me I grew a thick skin. In sales, you have to overcome rejection regularly with prospects and I had taught myself to use that same mentality in the workplace also and not take it personally when I felt I was being excluded or rejected.
I learned to self-advocate myself effectively, I also set up a women’s ERG to advocate for other women and give them a platform to speak up and be heard and share experiences and mentorship, including negotiating salary increases, asking for promotions, and requesting resources or support and learning the art of saying no. I practised articulating my achievements and the value I brought to the team and organisation.
What do you like the most about being a woman in sales?
There are a number of things I love.
I love financial freedom, I love winning logos, I love watching my team be successful and I love celebrating the wins and learning from the losses.
Selling is a team sport and I love the camaraderie. I love that every day I am still learning and pursuing my own personal goals and I hope that I am paving the way for other women.
What advice do you have for a woman wanting to get into sales and those wanting to advance?
Find a mentor, believe in yourself and never stop learning.
I know a number of extremely talented and successful women who have been breaking down barriers smashing those glass ceilings and paving the way for the next generation of female sales professionals and leaders. And never apologise for being a woman!
If you would like to get involved with the blog series and share your story as a woman in the sales industry, we’d LOVE to hear from you. And head over to Women Who Sell’s LinkedIn for more content.
