Shining the Employee Spotlight on SOHO Account Executive II Ida Bland
Highlights:
- A day in the life of an Account Executive II, Ida Bland
- Supporting the future of work by providing the best solutions to different customers
On the showroom floor
Press that “Talk to a Representative” button on RingCentral’s website, and odds are, if you’re a SOHO customer, you’ll get Ida. What you won’t get is a hard sell.
“Most of our conversations are like: “These are my needs and this is what I need help with,” so I don’t really think of myself in Sales, to be honest. I think of myself more like a problem-solver. I serve people who come to our website and need help. And if we’re a good fit – that’s when the sale happens. My leadership team has been incredibly flexible – we’re genuinely interested in helping people, and that’s something I love about my job.”
To get inside, step outside
Closing deals is never a solo affair. A sales rep who knows the organization top to bottom always knows where to get an answer. For Bland, the RingCentral culture makes it easy.
“From day one when I came to the company, the culture and the energy, getting to know people on a personal level was something I wanted to be a part of. So I tried to step somewhat outside of my direct job, and get to know other people in the company. I’ve been on a couple of different committees. I’m the VP of our SMB Culture Council. I was on the soccer team for a little bit. I just wanted to get involved in that, getting to know people and understanding what they do as much as I could. Everyone’s super nice and encouraging. The people here make it easy.”
A culture of service—and occasionally, tiny wrenches
An environment where you’re surrounded by people who are devoted to helping others often becomes a virtuous circle. Sometimes that circle extends beyond the office.
“I’ve met people who have been my mentors, my supporters, my advocates, strong role models – everything. And it’s the people that have made me stick around. Obviously I believe in the product. But, I would say, culture is one of the biggest things. Nobody says no to a calendar invite, even if you just need help for 15 minutes. One guy actually left our team, and two months into his new job he calls my manager to get help putting together a piece of IKEA furniture. And he says yes! That’s RingCentral.”
A platform that performs
The future of work has to conform to people, not the other way around. According to Bland, RingCentral more than meets the challenge.
“Communicating in the cloud is the future. Having all forms of communication in one suite is ideal for any workday. Whether it’s file sharing, working on projects with clients, onboarding, checking in with current customers, figuring out what requirements are needed, I get answers on the fly. I think it’s almost made me more impatient, because I’m so spoiled in the sense that everything is at my fingertips – whether it’s audio/video conferencing, calling, texting or team messaging it’s all just in one spot.”
Set up for success
We asked Ida “What’s next?” She asked us, “What isn’t?”
“From the second I got here, I could never imagine getting bored. There’s been future positions that I’ve been able to chase after, I have long term career goals here, and I hope I continue to get the chance to stick around. I love who I’ve worked with and what they’ve taught me—I’ve definitely been set up for success for wherever I decide to go in the future here.”
#strongertogether
Originally published Jun 08, 2021
