Meet Taylor K, a Senior Enterprise Account Director on our Enterprise Sales team. Taylor recently celebrated his fifth Yelpiversary.
How did you know that you wanted to pursue a job in sales?
After graduating from college, I began my career on the agency side as a media buyer. One of my responsibilities was to meet with sales representatives to obtain information about their products to see if they could help reach my client’s goals. After countless meetings and upfronts, I became infatuated with the sales process and made it my goal to become the person standing at the front of the conference table. I always had a knack for building relationships and leading a room, so sales seemed like the perfect fit for me.
What is your advice to someone interested in sales?
Sales is like an art. It’s all about using your emotional intelligence to build a rapport with buyers and establish a trust-based relationship. My advice is to first make sure that you believe in yourself, and figure out what motivates you. Put yourself in the buyer’s chair, work your way backward, and work on the skills it takes to relate with that buyer. Ask more questions in your current day-to-day. Don’t just scroll past LinkedIn articles in your newsfeed – read them, bookmark them for the future, and take down notes. I have an ongoing document of bits I’ve learned about sales, leadership, communication, and everything in between. Be a storyteller, be empathetic, pay attention to data, and do your best to relate to anyone and everyone.
Why did you want to work at Yelp?
To be successful in sales, I believe you have to be passionate and confident about what you’re selling. If you think about Yelp, there’s no other company like it out there. Yelp’s audience comes to the platform when they know what they want but they don’t know where to go, making it an incredibly strong data source. Yelp gave me the chance to partner with some of the largest and most strategic businesses to help them utilize this data to grow their customer-base. That’s a dream for performance marketers, and I knew I wanted to be a part of it.
What does a typical day look like in your role?
I work on the Enterprise team at Yelp where we partner with some of the largest businesses in the country. I’m responsible for every aspect of a sales cycle from prospecting, high-level negotiations, aligning on KPIs and measurement strategies, and signing agreements, to then managing and scaling the partnership. On the prospecting side, I spend time researching my book of business and building strategies on how Yelp’s platform can help these businesses surpass their goals. I analyze data, research prospective contacts, and build a story. I then execute my strategy inclusive of everything I’ve learned with the goal of connecting with a prospect and moving the sales cycle forward.
With my existing book of business, my day-to-day consists of making sure my clients are receiving the best customer service possible. I am always looking for opportunities to learn more about their upcoming initiatives and challenges and showing them how Yelp can help. I dive into campaign data to tell a story on what more we can be doing to further grow their business. As the Yelp face of my accounts, I’m continuously collaborating with every department in the Enterprise division – including Customer Success, Sales Analytics, Sales Planning, and Leadership.
What is your #1 tip for staying productive while working from home?
Establish a routine as if you were going into an office. Wake up, make your bed, shower (I personally feel more productive in a collared shirt, with sweatpants), have a coffee, outline your tasks, and start the day with a positive attitude.
How do you stay motivated to hit your goals when you’re having a tough day?
To be successful in sales, you have to be disciplined in the fact that you’re going to have many tough days, although you’ll have even more exciting days! I look at a challenging moment during my day as motivation to push even harder. If I’m having trouble getting over something, I’ll write down my thoughts, take some time to think about them, and plan how I’m going to move forward – and then I don’t look back.
How does Yelp support your work-life balance?
I’d turn this question around and ask, how does Yelp not support my work-life balance? At the end of the day, our families, health, and happiness come first. Yelp understands that and gets five stars on work-life balance.
Want to work with Taylor?
With the help of our comprehensive training program, ongoing support, coaching, and development opportunities, you can take your career to the next level at Yelp, whether you’re a seasoned sales professional or just starting out in the industry. Check out our open opportunities and apply today!
