As Hispanic Heritage Month attracts to a detailed, we needed to conclude the celebration with an worker highlight that includes the brand new lead for the Cloudera Latin X, Worker Useful resource Group (ERG), Joel Martinez. We talked with Joel about his profession in gross sales, rising up in Excessive Level, North Carolina, and his continued rediscovery of his Hispanic heritage along with his transfer to Austin, Texas the place he at present resides.
Discovering his profession match early within the course of.
Joel joined Cloudera two years in the past as an inside gross sales consultant (ISR) out of the Austin workplace. His duties included gross sales actions similar to prospecting, enterprise improvement, and demand technology for brand spanking new and current accounts.
Throughout his tenure, Joel’s function has expanded. Now, Joel has account govt duties within the new enterprise improvement group, comprised of recent emblem groups within the central and western US. He’s liable for overlaying 2,000+ accounts, following up with leads, and creating gross sales motions to get introductions with key decision-makers.
Joel began his profession after his freshman yr in school in his hometown of Excessive Level, North Carolina. To earn some more money Joel began working at Vector Advertising, greatest often known as a direct gross sales firm that sells kitchen provides, most notably its line of cutlery (Cutco). “I discovered the way to pitch the product, upsell, and repair earlier clients,” he mentioned. This ended up evolving right into a full-time function as he superior to handle his personal staff.
After six years with Vector, Joel needed to discover the tech sector. He introduced his gross sales and administration expertise to a small startup in Durham that specialised in a distinct segment compliance software program to facilitate public data related to the federal authorities’s Freedom of Data Act (FOIA) necessities. After gaining some expertise within the tech sector, a buddy referred Joel to an ISR function at Cloudera and the remainder is historical past.
“What I like about working at Cloudera is I’m concerned in fixing huge challenges throughout industries,” he mentioned. “The businesses we allow with our know-how actually assist save lives throughout healthcare, biotech, and prescription drugs, in addition to help industries that maintain the world going, like utilities, transportation, and banking. It’s fairly cool to be a part of that. As an organization, we will have such a direct influence on lots of people globally and for me, that’s actually motivating.”
Rediscovering his Hispanic heritage, sharing with others, and serving to the group
Whereas discovering his ardour for gross sales throughout his school years he was additionally rediscovering his ethnic background by way of his continued examine of Spanish literature. Joel is of Mexican and El Salvadorian descent, however rising up he didn’t converse Spanish a lot at residence.
“Rising up, I typically was made to really feel completely different. Because of this, I didn’t wish to converse Spanish in the home or embrace my heritage—I needed to slot in. Ultimately, I noticed I used to be lacking out on with the ability to talk with my dad and mom successfully as a result of I used to be shedding my Spanish. That impressed me to study every thing I may concerning the language and tradition, not simply Mexican and Salvadorian, however all of the cultures that make up the Hispanic individuals and nations.”
Joel’s need to embrace his heritage and incorporate it extra considerably prompted him to step into the function of Latin X, Worker Useful resource Group (ERG) lead at Cloudera. “I used to be already concerned in Large Brothers/Large Sisters right here in Austin and aware of “Latinitas,” an Austin-based group designed to assist Hispanic ladies get into STEM that Cloudera has supported previously. So I assumed the ERG can be a superb level of collaboration.”
Recommendation for early profession gross sales professionals
In reflecting on his profession thus far, Joel recognized one factor to remember at any stage in a single’s gross sales profession. “I discovered this mindset from considered one of my first managers: Perceive that your success in gross sales is a direct results of how a lot you study and due to this fact the extra you realize about your product, the gross sales strategy of a company, and so forth. can instantly have an effect on your compensation. So whereas taking motion is important to a profitable profession in gross sales, devoting time to common observe and training is an funding in your future.”
He provides, “For instance, I all the time work to grasp gross sales processes and gross sales motions in and out, totally finding out the merchandise and applied sciences, how the accomplice ecosystem works, and the aggressive panorama. As well as, I’m at present finding out for an Amazon Net Companies cloud practitioner certificates as a result of I do know it would assist me higher perceive the area and, in flip, higher serve our clients.”
Residing in Austin and the street forward
Joel was excited to hitch the Cloudera Austin workplace and to check out dwelling in a much bigger metropolis. Joel says, “Previous to shifting, I solely visited Austin as soon as however I beloved town, so I used to be like, let’s give it a attempt!”
He provides, “It’s an excellent lively metropolis and that’s my favourite factor about it. There’s simply a lot to do—the river and trails are superior. I’m all the time strolling or operating and I simply received a mountain bike. There are a whole lot of social occasions as effectively, together with some nice locations to bop Salsa and Bachata.”
“Wanting forward in my profession I’d like to maneuver as much as a supervisor function so I might help scale the enterprise improvement group and begin mentoring others as I did in my earlier enterprise,” he mentioned. “I received a whole lot of satisfaction out of serving to others develop of their careers. I see how information analytics is altering the world and I’m pleased to be a part of it and create a company the place others will be part of it too.”
We thanks Joel for contributing to Cloudera and sharing your story!
