A sales career can provide exciting and lucrative opportunities for people with the right personality and attitude.
Like any career pathway, it has its challenges, but if you’re willing to invest time and effort, you’ll discover a career rich with reward and recognition, learning and progression opportunities, and meaningful relationships.
That’s certainly been the case for Jade Stevens, who shares her inspiring career story of progressing from sales graduate to empowered manager.
She is currently the Sales Manager—Sales Development Program for Softcat, a leading IT infrastructure provider. Jade has enjoyed eleven years with the company, giving her a unique perspective to share with others.
When asked about her journey into sales, Jade is quick to point out it’s something that would surprise her younger self:
“If I could speak to my younger self, I would say: You can’t imagine how amazing your career will be. Despite how unexpected, just go with the flow; it’ll all work out okay. After university, I never considered a career in sales or technology. But ‘falling into’ working for Softcat was the best thing that ever happened to me.”
With such an impressive career trajectory, we were keen to unpack Jade’s tips for success. Here’s what she had to share:
Being resilient and having a strong support system is a great advantage.
As many sales professionals can attest, getting the ball rolling can take time, effort, and hard work, especially at the beginning of your journey. Jade found the Account Executive role at Softcat and thought it would be a great starting point:
“I found the role pretty tough during those first few months, being a woman in tech at quite a young age, sometimes was a challenge. But Softcat was really supportive, enabling me to opt to work with customers I was comfortable with. The culture and encouragement from my colleagues and managers made me want to stick with it despite the challenges.”
Jade acknowledges (and we agree!) that it doesn’t matter what point you’re at in your career – challenges are an inevitable part of life and work.
After gaining more experience, she faced another challenging period. As a self-described spontaneous and sociable person, the pandemic was difficult for her, as it was for many of us:
“Work was a great distraction, but I struggled with the lack of interaction with my colleagues and adjusting to working fully remotely – it really impacted me mentally. I’m grateful for Softcat’s support and creativity in keeping the culture alive. From virtual cocktail-making classes to our daily virtual huddles, that helped.”
There are many opportunities for learning and progression.
One piece of advice Jade offers will resonant with many (in and out of sales roles:
“Career progression isn’t linear, and you don’t need a promotion or new job title to progress and develop.”
Four years after starting at Softcat as an Account Executive, she took her first step into management, becoming responsible for a group of sales apprentices alongside her own sales role.
“I went on to lead this apprenticeship program before taking on the responsibility of our newly formed Public Sector Sales Development Programme in 2019. A year later, the program expanded across our corporate sector, leading to my current role leading the Sales Development Programme for Softcat. I’ve learned so much throughout my career – including these past four years, progressing significantly while in the same role.”
Within the program, Jade is responsible for recruiting, onboarding, and ongoing development of the company’s entry-level sales talent. Building on this passion, she has recently started her master’s in Senior Sales Leadership.
“I feel very fortunate that Softcat is supporting me through my masters. I’m only a few months in, and—even though it’s already proving challenging as I juggle study with my day-to-day role—I know it’ll be so worth it in the end.”
Keen to see what a sales career at Softcat could offer you?
You’ll experience opportunities to celebrate with reward and recognition.
Jade shares that she’s experienced fantastic incentives, rewards, and recognition as part of her role. One standout was her first vendor incentive trip to Croatia:
“It was incredible! Another was when I was shortlisted for CRN’s Manager of the Year award a few years ago, which was a proud moment. Even now, I feel fortunate to work for a company that rewards its people for their hard work. Whenever I talk to my friends in other companies and sectors about Softcat, I’m reminded just how special it is.”
For Jade, the best rewards extend beyond these moments to the purpose-driven elements of her role, too.
“I’m most proud of the brilliant team I’ve built and developed over the last four years. We began as a team of three and are now 11 people strong. They’re incredibly talented, and I’m very lucky to work with them every day. I’m motivated by results: both seeing my hard work pay off, whether that be sales performance or supporting someone to develop and succeed over a period of time.”
Work-life balance benefits can support you to perform your best.
Many organisations have embraced work-life balance as a way for team members to bring their best selves to work. For sales and other professionals, it’s an opportunity to improve physical and mental well-being, feel more productive and less stressed at work, and lead to better time management.
It’s something that has helped for Jade. Although, admittedly, it’s taken some time and practice to achieve the right balance!
“These days, I take regular annual leave to enjoy my passion for travel and live music and try to avoid working longer hours where I can. The flexibility with hours and ‘work from anywhere’ culture has helped with this balance over the last few years to visit family and friends who live a few hours away. I even work from my parent’s house on Friday afternoons. It’s made such a difference.”
Jade is now motivated to achieve personal and work goals:
“I’m looking forward to starting a family, passing my master’s (ideally with a distinction!), and making a positive difference in gender diversity in my career. I also hope to leave a legacy of transforming how we develop our new sales talent for the better.”
And for anyone hoping to achieve career success, whether in sales or another field, here’s Jade’s final piece of advice:
“Success means something different to each person. For me, it means accomplishing something that means something to you as an individual. It’s not money or a specific title. Success is something you can find and make in everyday life.”
