This article was originally published on my LinkedIn page on January 17, 2023.
After I shared my last post, I had a couple folks reach out to me wanting to chat about how I made that switch between career paths, and how I found my bearings in such a new environment. Not only was it my first year at a new company, but it was my first year in an entirely new role.
I've always been customer facing, but never really customer servicing, and I definitely was not a HubSpot product expert before this. But, a year and 50+ customers later, I'd say (and I hope my manager agrees) that I've gotten quite a few things down pat.
At the risk of sounding cliche, getting to this point wasn't easy. It has definitely been a period of incredible change and transformation for me.
I grew. A lot. I had to.
So I thought I'd pen down three things that shaped how I approached my growth in the hopes that it'd help you reach new heights too.
#1: Be Hungry
When I first started this role, I had a decent foundation. I've worked with many startups and SMEs to create and execute their go-to-market strategies. I've been a sales rep and a marketing executive. I've even used HubSpot before. You could say I ticked all the boxes to onboard customers who are just starting their CRM journey and knew enough to guide them on the basics of their sales, service, and marketing strategies.
I could've left it at that and I'd probably have gotten by (albeit disingenuously).
But I was hungry.
I could feel like there were so many things I didn't know, in fact, I couldn't know what I didn't know. How could I possibly rest on my laurels when I was meeting customers everyday who had decades of experience in their own fields? My own team has people from all walks of life, and there was no way we were all running our consulting sessions in exactly the same way.
I think the first step to kickstarting growth is remembering to stay hungry for more. Knowledge, exposure, experience - staying curious about what else is out there and being open about who and what you can learn from.
Fun fact: I'm really good at watching videos at 2x speed. So, I watched a lot of call recordings and HubSpot Academy videos. In a short span of time, I was exposed to so many different consulting styles, different customer use-cases, and with so much variety, to this day, I still feel like there's still so much more out there for me to learn.
#2 Be Intentional
Just like setting goals in the New Year, I found it important to be intentional about the things I wanted to learn. It helped me keep my focus and motivation up, as well as not get too stressed or overwhelmed.
‘Before’
I realised very early on that I felt way out of my comfort zone whenever customers wanted to consult on their overall marketing strategies. I've been a market*er*, but I couldn't put into words what I'd picked up as best practices along the way. Thus, the goal I set out for myself was to gain some real-world experience and frameworks to be able to confidently advise my customers.
Unfortunately, this wasn't something my video-watching-at-2x-speed could address, so I decided to reach out to my manager (Derek Pun!) to work out how I could be intentional with my time and acquire the most relevant knowledge and experience to achieve this goal.
Through my discussion with Derek, I decided to leverage our Employee Development Benefit to take a 10-week 40-hour part-time General Assembly course on Digital Marketing in July of 2022.
As it turns out, a senior of mine had been in a similar situation and this course had been extremely useful to her. From there, Derek and I worked together to figure out when it would be a good time to take the course, as well as what support I might need to manage both the programme and my daily work responsibilities.
‘During’
During the programme itself, there was a lot to take in.
Special shout-out to our instructor Elizabeth Taylor (no, not that one) for making it as informative and engaging as possible.
40 hours of instruction is a lot, but because I'd identified what I wanted to get out of this learning experience earlier, I could be intentional about the information I absorbed (and thereafter retain/put into practice).
I took note of what’s new in the digital marketing space since my last marketing gig - trends I could share with my customers, tactics I could advise them on, frameworks I could run them through.
I even took note of how Elizabeth was teaching us, as I felt her approach was so easily digestible and understandable.
‘After’
Post the programme, I felt renewed confidence in facing my customers.
For those new to a CRM and marketing as a whole, I’d found new ways to simplify concepts for their understanding and work on their marketing plans brick-by-brick.
And, in facing expert marketers, I no longer felt intimidated or uncomfortable. I could hold my own discussing KPIs, strategies, trends and tactics both inside and outside of HubSpot, as well as offer my own insights and share advanced resources they looked to their trusted consultant to provide.
#3 Find Accountability
I knew I had to keep myself accountable for the growth I was pursuing, otherwise I'd end up "lost in the sauce" or not moving forward at all.
Thankfully, there was a lot of structure already in place at work to keep me accountable (and also help with points 1 and 2 above).
From day one at HubSpot, I was assigned a mentor - a senior member of my team that's had training on guiding newbies to the team. Through weekly 1:1s and having an open conversation line on Slack/Zoom, we followed a loose structure of training resources and milestones to help me ramp up into both my technical/product knowledge and consulting methodology.
I found this approach incredibly useful to help me get the basic skills and knowledge I needed to not only do my job, but also gain the confidence needed to face customers. Though there were no formal KPIs, having a senior around to be a sounding board and sanity check created a psychologically safe environment that motivated me to want to learn faster and better.
A special shout-out to my mentors - Sophie Syed and Jermaine Charvy - for fielding all my questions, dealing with all the anxieties that came with the new-joiner imposter syndrome, and being just as invested in my success as I was.
Once I got the basics down with my mentors, the regular 1:1s I had/ have with my manager became my main forum for accountability. Derek plays, to this day, an active role in identifying gaps for me to work on, as well as jointly celebrating my successes with the larger team. In our 1:1s, we chat about how I can intentionally work on my personal and professional growth goals and iterate on any feedback/metrics that come my way.
I'll admit that I'm extremely fortunate to have had good mentors and an involved manager, but I know this isn't something that everyone has access to. One avenue I've found works similarly is to find industry seniors willing to mentor you or working with a coach. In my startup days, this worked brilliantly!
Final Thoughts on Growth
Growth isn't easy. It's certainly not linear, and that can cause a lot of extra stress and despair when not managed well.
One thing that helped me keep calm and carry on was the idea that certain skills and knowledge will come from "time in role". Some things will simply take time to sink in, will take time to practice and master. It's okay to stumble, it's more than okay to fail. As long as you get back up and try to get better. Knowing that I didn't have to get instantly good at anything was reassuring, and it helped tremendously that I was surrounded by people who understood this principle of growth.
Looking back, it wouldn't have mattered how many courses I took, how many mentors or 1:1s I had, or how many videos I watched if I didn't put in an effort to make the best out of these pursuits. Paying attention, taking notes, reflecting on what I've learnt, and asking questions or for feedback - it was all a conscientious effort to make the most of the information I was being presented with and turning that into knowledge and experience.
Growth is an investment - you get what you put into it, and that means it's still *work*. Working hard to identify the gaps, to plan your attack, and to acquire the skills and experience you need to build those bridges to the other side.
Good luck in your investments this year, everyone!
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