What do you enjoy most about working with Fundraising Coaches / Sales Reps?
On both sides, I enjoy feeling like my job is really helping people. Whether I am quickly putting a Hubspot contact into a Sales Rep's name or helping a team hit their fundrasing goal, I just enjoy making people's lives easier at work and supporting where I can. I am behind a computer a lot of the day, so communicating with different people all day long and being able to help really makes my job very rewarding.
What is the best part about being a Gold Athletics Sales Support & Recruiting Manager?
The best part is being able to help facilitate the company's growth. I moved away from the East Coast and left GA for a short period of time and came back because of GA's culture and growth-oriented structure. I love feeling the impact I am having on the team and hope that I am helping the company reach new heights in certain ways.
How would you describe the company culture at GA in 2 or 3 words?
Supportive, Growth-Oriented.
How'd you get into your role at Gold Athletics?
I started at GA as an intern back in 2018. I worked with GA through college and loved it. Then life happened and I needed to leave. After about a year and a half, I reached back out to Matt and Alex who afforded me the position I have now. There are a lot of companies that preach the culture/work-life balance message, but I feel like GA really puts employees first and helps us all tow the balance line.
What didn’t you know before you started that you wish someone had told you?
This is a tough question for me to answer since I left and came back. I kinda knew what I was getting myself into and love the upstart environment. It is a lot of work, but when you are working for a great organization, you feel valued as an employee. When no one is slamming you for inevitable mistakes, it doesn't feel like a lot of work. I think all my coworkers have welcomed me back with open arms and the new guys that I didn't know before have made such a huge effort to make sure I know what I need to know about them, their sales, and how we can help each other. At the end of the day, a growing company is going to have a lot of work to do, but if everyone is doing their share and being supportive of each other it's a super rewarding environment.
What would you tell someone hoping to enter the field as a Sales Rep?
Be prepared to hear the word no a lot and bounce back. Be prepared to do a lot of work to get that no and don't let it get to you. In the beginning the word yes is heard infrequently, but as you build out your business and make customers happy you WILL get results for your efforts. THE BIGGEST THING in sales is relationship building, which takes time.
What is one thing that makes you good at your job ? Anything you are working on this year?
I am incredibly focused and scheduled. I time block my calendar so things get done. There are some weeks that time blocking doesn't help, when "emergency" situations pop up and you physically can't stick to the schedule, but those weeks happen infrequently. I am very good at breaking things down into smaller digestible pieces and completing them slowly over time. This year I am working on being more present, both in my personal and professional life. I tend to think about things in the future, so I am trying to focus on staying in the moment to get things done rather than thinking about the 15 other things on my plate that need to happen this week.
What is changing the most in the fundraising industry?
I think the way people want to fundraise is changing. There is a lot going on in the education landscape as a whole. I think the way people coach, teach, and approach going to school is just different than it was a couple of years ago. Virtual fundraisers are much more prevalent and teachers seem to be more on top of technology compared to how things were when I was in high school. There is a HUGE plus to relationship building in person, but more institutions are pushing to do things online rather than having people come out in person.
What is your favorite highlight/memory from your job to date? Why?
It sounds a little silly, but Liz Smith got so excited when I decided to come back, ha-ha. It was just so nice to know how valued I was on the team and feel like everyone was ready to welcome me with open arms. The support on this team is unmatched.
How will your role evolve in five, or ten years? How will it get there?
I am hoping to get my MBA in the next couple of years. By doing this, I think I will open the door to more leadership opportunities within the organization and maybe help expand into different markets and/or train a team to work with me.
What kind of person would do well in your role? What type of person does well in the Sales Rep role?
Someone with amazing communication skills would do well in my role. You have to be able to speak well AND (more importantly) listen well. I try to listen more than I talk, not because what I have to say isn't important, but because listening and asking the right questions leads to gaining the most information to solve problems. In sales, asking questions serves me really well and makes the customer feel like they are making choices, even if the sales rep is guiding them to a final decision. It sounds a little manipulative, but in reality as a Sales Rep your job is to service the customer, answer their questions, and show that your product/service is the right solution for whatever problem they have.
Connect with Dane on Social Media!
Twitter: @DaneWozny_GA
ABOUT Gold Athletics is dedicated to career development while servicing the experience for not just Coaches, Supporters and Players, but employees and team members, too! The 'Interview with a Sales Rep' series was created to reach future employees and share GA's company culture, proudly. We are on a roll, sourcing top talent and showing the world what our team is made of. In order to build relationships with current and future reps, we are sharing our Fundraising Reps experience working with the team, about the industry and how we're making waves in today’s world of Sports Fundraising. Company culture is important to us and we want to share the in's and out's, on a more personal level!
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