Aimee Frank, VP of Commercial Sales, SaaS Company
On the Power of your network & the importance of mentors:
“I think this applies to your whole career and life outside of work as well- have really good mentors and have people you can lean on and go to for advice, because no matter how strong and independent you are and as much as you do on your own, being able to lean on other people who have been in that position before, they’re going to be able to give you insight that you’re not going to be able to find on your own. I think that’s really imperative. I had really great leaders that I worked with that kept me going and pointed me in the right direction. Stay positive, find people that you can bounce ideas off of and have an end goal in mind. Have budget if you’re living in New York- create a budget for yourself and stick to it because money goes really quickly here. ”
On the DNA she looks for in a candidate when hiring:
“For me, I care more about qualities you can’t teach. I can teach someone a product, I can teach them technology, all of that stuff is coachable. Things I can’t teach- I can’t make you self motivated. I can’t make you someone who is coachable that wants feedback. I can’t teach you curiosity- are you going to go meet with a customer and genuinely want to understand their business?. Other things are aptitude. I really try and focus more on those intangible qualities rather than scrutinizing a resume and previous experience. I find that if you can find someone with those intangible qualities you can coach them on the rest. ”
I was able to sit down with Aimee and discuss making it in NYC, the power of your network, stepping outside of your comfort zone, the DNA she looks for when hiring, being pregnant in the workplace & creating a “women’s club” in a “boys club” culture.
Tune into the podcast for the full interview.
On the mindset it takes to be successful:
I mean it was scary. If you talk to really good sales people- & I'm sure you feel this way too- I was in the mindset that I was going to bet on myself. I will bet on myself that I will outwork and out hussle anyone and I will find a way to have success. I played sports my whole life and I'm definitely driven like an athlete and have that competitive attitude and I just knew that I would out hussle anyone- and I did. I made twenty-five grand my first year and then started making over six figures in years two and three just on 100% commission. So that was my mindset. I can out hussle and outwork everyone else around me. And, you know, I was young at the time. I didn't have a family, or kids to take care of so I could afford to gamble and make sacrifices because it was only for myself.
On creating “creating a “women’s club” in a historically “boys club” culture:
I think men have been doing this for years and that is just helping each other and creating relationships and pulling each other up. We talk about there being“bro culture” and all it is - is men helping other men. I think it’s so important that women, instead of seeing each other as competition, we help pull each other up, we’re helping each other and supporting each other, because at the end of the day we are going to have challenges that men aren’t going to understand. When I started my career, unfortunately, I really didn’t get support from a lot of the women that I worked with. I think they saw me more as a threat than as someone they would help mentor. That was really difficult for me- I promised myself that for the rest of my career no matter what I did I would never be that women. I believe I’ve stuck to that. I think it’s important that we are doing the same thing men have been doing for years and creating these network and helping to empower other females.”