Selling Your Way to Success, an Interview with Tech Sales Veteran Mike Hook
I had the pleasure of interviewing Mike Hook. From his first selling job as Cutco’s third best seller in the country to becoming Vice President of Sales at LineLeader by ChildcareCRM, Mike brings ten plus years of experience, high energy, and proven results to rapidly evolving SaaS companies.
Prior to LineLeader by ChildcareCRM, Mike was an integral part of a highly successful FinTech software company that scaled from $12 million to over $100 million in ARR at a $1 billion dollar valuation. During his time there, he went through two acquisitions adding four new products and had direct experience with company integration initiatives, department creation, crafting new value propositions and market positioning.
Aside from his history in tech sales, Mike leans on his expertise to build sales teams, identify market opportunities, develop partnerships, and strategically increase ARR through multi-product sales and cross-selling efforts.
Thank you so much for joining us!
How did you break into a career in tech sales?
By accident and good fortune!
It was the summer of 2012. I just graduated from the University of Arizona with a degree in Marketing, but wanted a job in sales. To me, sales was the gateway to doing the things I loved — traveling and seeing live music (things I still love today). I knew success in sales would result in money, freedom, and flexibility to do the things I wanted to. I was right.
The path to my first job at PayLease (now Zego) wasn’t easy. In 2012, the economy was starting to bounce back from the financial collapse of 2008 and 2009. This meant there were more than enough qualified and experienced workers to fill open roles. It wasn’t uncommon to see entry level jobs requiring multiple years of experience. Experience I didn’t have. (This still happens in some places today!)
I searched for jobs on LinkedIn, Monster, Indeed, my college job fair, and Google with no luck. Every application denied or not replied to. That’s when I turned to family and friends. That’s when I found PayLease, but not tech sales — yet.
Eager to get my foot in the door anywhere, I interviewed at PayLease for a customer service role. Providing phone, chat, and email support for residents online payments and our clients (HOA’s, Multifamily and Single family rentals). During the interview process, I called out my goals of being in sales and my desire to learn and grow in a company. There’s no better place to learn a business than in customer support. That is as true today as it was in 2012.
I got the job. Excelled and within two months a role equivalent to an SDR/BDR opened up. Four months after that I was promoted again to a full cycle seller. That’s how I got my start!
What has been your biggest challenge in your sales career?
COVID impacted child care differently and more intensely than most other industries. Centers closed, government subsidies fueled deeper staffing issues, unemployment, and parent fears crafted a perfect storm where we had to re-evaluate how to do business. We took an all hands on deck approach to revisiting how we engaged with customers, prospects, and our industry as a whole.
Not only did it require a new sales approach, it required a new style of sales leadership. At an executive level, we were focused on building a strategy where our business was able to still grow and make every dollar count. This doesn’t matter to individuals who are selling on the front lines. In a profession where “No” is more common than “Yes,” motivation and staying true to our vision became even harder.
Despite the challenges we faced in our industry, business, and amongst our teams we came out successful. Keeping our people. Growing our business. Carving out a new reputation in the industry. That’s why this isn’t only the most challenging moment of my career. It’s the one I’m most proud of.
What is it that most excites you about sales?
Selling is in everything!
You sell to prospects so they’ll use your platform or service. To employees so they’ll follow and execute on your vision. To managers and boards so they’ll believe in your ability to execute.
You sell to founders when acquiring them (or to be acquired) and to PE/VC firms to get funded (or fund a company). You’re even selling when working with customers so they stay and grow with you.
I’m lucky to have done almost all of these things and the common threads that run through them are understanding the problems and uncovering opportunities someone or some business has. Then, being able to connect the dots and think critically and strategically to put a solution in front of them. Ultimately, if you’re successful, coming out the other side much better than when you started.
If you had to share, “words of wisdom,” with a new Sales Rep who’s about to start their career, what would they be?
Dive into becoming an expert in your industry, buyer, and profession with fierce dedication and passion. This is contrary to the old adage, “if you’re the smartest person in the room you’re in the wrong room,” for good reason.
The path to becoming an expert leads to success and success to opportunities. Additionally, people want to talk to experts and learn from experts. Focus on this in both theory and practice. Read, talk with people, and learn. Don’t forget to act and put what you’re learning into practice! There’s no better teacher than doing.
How can our readers follow you on social media?
You can find me on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/mike-hook/ and Twitter @mikeymhook.
This was very insightful. Thank you so much for joining us!
