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What else can I be doing to drive revenue? How do I optimize our go-to-market strategies to ensure effectiveness and ROI? If questions like these keep you up at night and occupy your thoughts by day, have we got a podcast for you.
Welcome to Market Mastery presented by The Bridge Group, the podcast where sales professionals learn to advance their careers. Join host and revenue expert Kyle Smith as he talks to elite B2B sales and revenue experts about the strategies they're using to win in the market.
From cultivating a killer company culture to navigating compensation questions, we'll provide you with the insights, education, and strategies you need to thrive.
For more from The Bridge Group, visit www.bridgegroupinc.com.
Nora Giannetti [00:00:00]:
Sales is different than your normal 9 to 5 job where everybody's getting paid the same salary. Sales is ultimately a reflection of the work that you put in. And I know that I have the determination and drive to get the work done and see myself succeed. And I know that I'm going to reap the reward of that in the future.
Kyle Smith [00:00:18]:
Welcome to Market Mastery, the podcast dedicated to uncovering revenue driving strategies for sales leaders in B2B tech. On today's episode, I sat down with Nora Giannetti, who's actually a go to market analyst for the Bridge Group, a junior at UMass and the soon to be president of the UMass Sales Club. And we talked about some of what pulled Nora towards the sales profession, how she's evaluating companies going into soon to be full time employment and some of the things that she's looking to learn over the course of her her collegiate career to set her up for a successful sales career. So great episode. Give it a listen. Thanks. To get kicked off. For those who don't know you, if you could do a quick introduction of who you are, kind of what you're up to and then we can take it from there.
Nora Giannetti [00:01:09]:
Yeah, absolutely. So my name's Nora Giannetti. I'm currently in my junior year at UMass Amherst. I'm in the Eisenberg School of Management as a finance major. But outside of that, I'm very interested in sales. I just recently became part of the sales club and that's been an amazing experience so far. But outside of school and the professional world, I love traveling, hiking, exploring new places and really just seeing what else is out there.
Kyle Smith [00:01:36]:
Cool. And so why did you join the sales club?
Nora Giannetti [00:01:40]:
I joined the sales club because I had no idea what I wanted to do with my career and I also wanted to try something new. So our current president came in to speak at my Marketing 301 class in and I was like, you know what, it's something new to try. It's right after this class is done, like why not? Let's go see. And then just from there I ended up joining the competition team. Competing in two different competitions, making it really far realized that I loved sales. I loved the competitive aspect. I loved the people involved. It was just an all in all a great experience.
Nora Giannetti [00:02:13]:
So I'm very happy I joined.
Kyle Smith [00:02:15]:
Have you fully committed like your. I want to pursue a career in sales.
Nora Giannetti [00:02:19]:
I would say so, yeah, for sure.
Kyle Smith [00:02:21]:
Okay. And so what about the competition and the club like really hooked you? You mentioned the fact that the competition itself kind of hooked you in and the people. But anything else that really got you hooked on the idea of sales or the sales club in general?
Nora Giannetti [00:02:36]:
Yeah, absolutely. I'm a very competitive person. I've been competitive my whole life. I was a competitive dancer for eight years or so. And I always loved winning, which that was always great. And I mean, losing comes with that too. But just putting myself out there and just having friendly competition was always something that sparked my interest because it was always either a way to just have, like, personal satisfaction. If I could go and put my mind to something that was difficult, but then achieve it, it was always more rewarding in the end.
Nora Giannetti [00:03:09]:
So with sales, it was really similar. Like in the professional world, you're competing for somebody's business or you're competing to land a new client. But in terms of sales competitions, it's also just the same way you're competing against other students to hopefully make it to the final round, if not win the whole thing. I had the great opportunity of making it to the semifinals at nisc, which is the northeast intercollegiate sales competition. And then I was a finalist for a fastenal sales competition. So that was so much fun just being able to compete and just get out there like that. So it's much different than dance, but all in all, it's the same thing.
Kyle Smith [00:03:45]:
Yeah, yeah. Scratches that same itch. And so now you're going to be going into, well, finishing up your junior year and you will be taking over the sales club as co president, correct?
Nora Giannetti [00:03:59]:
Yes. So me and my co president, Nicole, will be running the club next year. And then going into our spring semester, I'll be competition chair. So planning the whole spring competition, which will be a lot of fun.
Kyle Smith [00:04:12]:
Okay, and so what are some of the things you're trying to accomplish as you move into that leadership role within the sales club?
Nora Giannetti [00:04:18]:
One of our main goals is definitely just to grow the amount of members and really just gain more of an awareness of the club. A lot of people around campus don't even know that the club exists. So really just teaching people what sales is and how to strengthen their professional networking or their sales skills, whatever it may be, just growing it as a whole, but then also just providing more workshops and more support to students in any way we can. Those are some of the big things we're touching on now. And we have more meetings coming up in the future, so I'm sure those will get refined more.
Kyle Smith [00:04:50]:
There's a lack of awareness for the sales club, but there's just lack of awareness of what the profession of selling is at the collegiate level. I know it's getting better, but why do you think that is?
Nora Giannetti [00:05:01]:
I think there's a huge, I don't want to say stigma, but I guess stigma might be the right word in the situation around sales. I knew when I first went into the sales club, my mind was I'm going into the sales club just to grow in my professional speaking ability. And that was my main goal when I started. And I told myself I'm never going into sales, I don't want to become a salesperson. I guess in my mind it was always the car salesman or the people going door to door at my grandparents house trying to sell them on solar or something like that. And that was really just what was in my mind of a salesman in general. But really just getting to know the profession more. It's so much more than that.
Nora Giannetti [00:05:42]:
Like you can turn your profession into something that's making a true positive impact in people's lives. And that's something that I'm definitely drawn to. But I really think that there isn't that awareness. Like it takes a while to figure out that yes there is cold calling involved, but it's not just trying to go door to door selling solar or trying to upsell you on every single car feature that there may be. And I'm not saying that that's a bad thing, but I'm just saying that that was my initial thought when it came to it.
Kyle Smith [00:06:09]:
No one has bought enterprise software when they're 20 years old or even earlier. 17, 18. Right. It's like your only experience is from a consumer perspective. So that's the only thing you've ever known. And so as you're thinking about now pursuing this career in sales, does it change the courses that you're going to take? Do you think about having a different academic pedigree as you're thinking about what you ultimately want to do with your career?
Nora Giannetti [00:06:36]:
Yeah, absolutely. I would say my spring schedule is a really good reflection of that. I'm taking our sales class with our Marketing 301 professor, Matthew Glennon. He's also the faculty advisor for sales club. So I'm really excited to take that class. And medical sales has always been something that sparked my interest. So I'm taking a medical ethics class as my final gen Ed. But it's in the realm of something that I want to do so starting to tailor my coursework towards that is really helping.
Kyle Smith [00:07:08]:
But why? Why medical sales? What's interesting about that?
Nora Giannetti [00:07:12]:
I'm still like pinpointing that exact reasoning as to why. But I would say the main thing is everything that I've learned about medical sales so far, it's about being at the forefront of innovation and just creating solutions that's having a positive impact in people's lives. I know that, like myself personally and like my family and friends, some of us have been exposed to different new medical innovations or new medical technologies, and it's changed their lives for the better. So being at the forefront of that and being able to change people's lives or even save their life, or being at forefront of that and of the change and just creating that positive impact was something that I think would be really rewarding. I know in some cases you can sit in the operating room with the doctors and the nurses and watch the tools being used or watch the devices being used. And I think that's really cool. I mean, I would have loved to be a doctor, but I didn't have the science in me to go to medical school. So, I mean, medical sales is probably the closest I'll get without going into that program.
Kyle Smith [00:08:14]:
Okay. And when you're thinking about things beyond just the. What you get to do, the positive impact you can make, the nature of the conversations that you can have, is there anything else that's particularly appealing about pursuing a career in sales for you?
Nora Giannetti [00:08:29]:
I would say the money, absolutely. The financial stability it provides, and just knowing that the amount of hard work that I'm putting in, I'm going to get that in return. It's sales is different than your normal 9 to 5 job where everybody's getting paid the same salary. Sales is ultimately a reflection of the work that you put in. And I know that I have the determination and drive to get the work done and see myself succeed. And I know that I'm going to reap the reward of that in the future. So I definitely say the financial stability that comes along with it is really, really reassuring.
Kyle Smith [00:09:02]:
Yeah. And not that there's no politics. There's always some level of politics involved, but less, it's if you can run a report and just say, I am this much better than other people in my peer group, it starts to become difficult to deny you career advancement opportunities. Or I mean, your comp plan is designed so that you get incentivized to perform at a higher level. And it's not who are you friendlier with? Or who do you have better relationships with? So you're not doing that internal politicking as much. It still exists, but there is a separation because there's a numerical value to what you brought to the company, which is that the beauty of this profession, in my opinion.
Nora Giannetti [00:09:42]:
Yeah, exactly. And I mean, the main goal is your upper level managers and executives want to see you succeed, but they also want to see their company succeed. The incentives come along with that. The more business you bring in, the more you're going to get as a whole.
Kyle Smith [00:09:53]:
Definitely. Okay, so between now and May 2026, upon graduation, you're obviously going to be continuing to pursue your degree, but there's other steps that you're taking, one of them working for the bridge group. So what made you reach out to me basically directly to say, hey, I would like to do some work for you, be an intern, go to market analyst and actually start to get some real world experience. Why did you want to do that?
Nora Giannetti [00:10:22]:
I met you when you came to campus to speak at the sales club. And I remember just learning as much as I possibly can. My mantra for this semester and just this year in general has been learn, learn, learn and just see what comes of it. So I remember when you came to speak, just talking about sales consulting and a lot of that was also connected to entrepreneurship and really just strengthening those two things as a whole, I guess you could say I was an entrepreneur over the summer, so I ran my own business and that was a great experience. And then now that business is no longer existing and that's okay. But I remember when I started to reach out, I thought I was like, this will be a really good opportunity to learn. Their job is to strengthen other salespeople. So as a whole, I'm going to be strengthened and I'm going to be trained and I'm going to have the opportunity to learn and grow.
Nora Giannetti [00:11:14]:
So that's when I initially reached out and then the go to market analyst position came about and it really was all about learning. And when I was thinking about what I wanted to do, I realized that this was the best possible situation for me to be able to learn and have that connection.
Kyle Smith [00:11:31]:
Yeah, definitely. I mean, the beauty of these roles is just exposure. Rather than saying, here's how one company does it, you could say, here's how 35 companies are executing their sales process and recommendations that were made, the positive impact that was seen from it. So just in terms of pure exposure and learning, I definitely think that there's a good fit there, which is going to be awesome. Tell me more about the business. So you had a business over the summer?
Nora Giannetti [00:11:53]:
It started in Hawaii. So I went abroad to Hawaii last semester. They had a really good entrepreneurship program through their campus and I never was involved in anything at UMass before Hawaii. And so when I discovered their entrepreneurship program, they had competitions to basically pitch your idea to investors for grants. So I did that. And I did a completely random gluten free baking business idea because it was somewhat specialized in the fact that it's gluten free, but it's also baking, which in my head, I could bake really well. And I did. I just give myself a little pat on the back for that.
Nora Giannetti [00:12:30]:
I can bake a mean cookie. And so it just kind of combined all of that. And then I ended up receiving a lot of grants to start my business. And I ran it at farmers markets all summer as well as doing private orders on the side. And it was a great experience. I learned so much about starting your own business, the legalities behind it. Ultimately, I was really selling my product over the summer. If I didn't realize it then, I'm realizing it now.
Nora Giannetti [00:12:55]:
Where I was trying to call to people's attention, to come over to my booth or encourage them to buy a cookie or coffee cake or whatever it was that I had, or make something gluten free sound appealing. I know there's so many gluten free things that taste like cardboard and it's true, it does. But it was really just about breaking the stigma behind gluten free food and getting that out there to the world. And ultimately it was really successful. The business did really well over the summer, but come the end of August, I was sick of baking. And I think I've maybe made one batch of cookies since I was so sick of it at that point. And so we kind of moved on from there, but it did really well. And I'll run into people on the street and they'll be like, oh my goodness, you had the cookie business.
Nora Giannetti [00:13:42]:
I was like, yep, yes, I did. So it was an amazing opportunity.
Kyle Smith [00:13:47]:
And so when you start thinking about. So as you're transitioning into senior year, you're probably going to start figuring out where you're going to work. And so when you're thinking about potential landing spots and where you will ultimately seek your full time postgrad employment, what are some of the things that are top of your list that you're looking for in a target organization that would ultimately hire you?
Kyle Smith [00:14:07]:
I find myself very picky when it comes to this. I know sometimes it might not be a good thing to be picky, especially with such a competitive job market out there. I really pay attention to location and seeing where the job is located. And if that's an area that even sparks my interest. That's more so like the first initial factor I look at because if something's in the middle of the United States, nowhere near a beach, nowhere near any anything, it doesn't necessarily appeal to me. So I wouldn't go work there. So location is definitely number one that just kind of filters things out. But then I look at what am I going to learn, what am I going to do, how am I going to make a positive impact? How is it going to set me up financially? So if I'm starting out as an sdr, even if I'm not making a ton of money out of the gates, what is the opportunity for growth? Where could I be in five years and what could I be making and doing in five years that compared to all the other companies? I would also say that I look at like the culture within an organization, really how people feel about working there, how the sense of community is that the team is.
Nora Giannetti [00:15:20]:
And I mean, traveling would always be nice. So if there's a sense of travel within the job, that would definitely add an extra appeal to that, for sure. I would really say the big things is just the company culture, location, and just the opportunities for growth and advancement within it.
Kyle Smith [00:15:35]:
The growth and advancement I would even separate to say like, yes, within the company, that'd be great. But just what does it set you up for, period? Even if you have to lead that company, but two years there sets you up and dramatically increases your earning potential and makes you a more appealing candidate for whatever next job you want. So that makes sense. On the location piece, how do you think about remote versus in office? Do you care what's your preference or have you thought about it?
Nora Giannetti [00:16:03]:
I don't have a preference right now. I mean, that could change in the next year or so. There is always a positive to an in office experience because you get to go and socialize with other co workers, you get to meet new people and have that experience. But there also is a luxury in working remote in the sense that you're in the comfort of your own home or you can really go anywhere and work in the world. So it kind of goes back and forth. I'm definitely a fan of Hybrid as well, just because you get that mix of both. But I wouldn't say that I have a preference right now. I do like remote work, so I would definitely say a job with some remote aspects is pretty nice.
Kyle Smith [00:16:45]:
All right. And then how would you actually gauge the upward potential? So I know that's something that you're looking for. But it can be, everyone could talk about it and it might be like, yeah, tons of opportunity for growth or room to grow or whatever in the job description. What else would you think about in terms of evaluating whether or not that company actually sets you up to be successful in five years after initial employment?
Nora Giannetti [00:17:10]:
I would look at just other SDRs in the company that's moved their way up, reach out to people on LinkedIn, people who are in your dream position and just look at their LinkedIn profile and see how long it took them to get there and just kind of do my research that way and really make sure that what they're preaching is true and know that if I start out as an sdr, what can I get to in five years or where would I be at in even two years? And just looking at other people within the company and seeing the growth within that.
Kyle Smith [00:17:41]:
Yeah, that's the beauty of the LinkedIn research is you can just see that these 15 people started as SDRs and were promoted after 18 months or whatever and are now in AE positions and have been for a while. So yeah, that is the awesome part about LinkedIn. So you can just see how well did they retain and advance retention, something.
Nora Giannetti [00:18:00]:
That'S important too if there's a company where every employee there has only been with them for a year or even less than two, and there's not many longer term employees, especially if it's a well established company that's been around for a long time. Also just gaining an understanding of that kind of thinking, okay, why has everybody only been here for such a short amount of time? Is there lots of turnover, lots of different things? So I think that's also something that I look at too, is that that's a good indicator of strong company culture. Just a strong company in general is just the attrition of employees. And looking into that too, how do.
Kyle Smith [00:18:38]:
You think about size or do you care at all? So like if a company has a name you've heard of before, let's just say HubSpot, like they're in Cambridge, whatever. And so HubSpot's pretty well known brand, massive company versus some startup that you've never heard of that does 10 million in revenue, do you care or do you think about those two differently? When you're thinking about a place you.
Nora Giannetti [00:18:58]:
Want to work, there is a luxury of going to a well established company like HubSpot or Salesforce or whatever it may be. Because kind of having it in the back of my mind is they're well established, they have a set training program. They have tons of employees that have gone through the same thing. So it's knowing that you're going to learn the same thing as everybody else. But I also like the idea of working for a smaller company because you're getting a more individualized experience. You're also getting probably more facetime with upper management. I mean, look at me right now at the Bridge Group. I'm working with you on a daily basis.
Nora Giannetti [00:19:37]:
You're the managing partner. And if I was to go work for somebody like HubSpot, I wouldn't even necessarily talk to any upper level executives for a long time within the company or maybe I'll get lucky if I do. So there is that luxury in the smaller companies of also watching it grow. There's so much opportunities for growth in the market out there in so many different industries. So if you start out with a company that's necessarily smaller size but it's working on scaling, you're also seeing more of your hard work pay off. You're not necessarily just a number at that company. You are an employee and you are a face in a name and you have that kind of behind you.
Kyle Smith [00:20:19]:
Yeah, definitely. Structure, stability, support on the big company side, autonomy, less rigidity on the small company side, which I'm sure you've noticed here.
Nora Giannetti [00:20:29]:
Really effective training method of just learn by doing and figuring it out and taking it day by day and then feedback, review and just keep going from there. It's been a really effective learning process rather than a by the book textbook.
Kyle Smith [00:20:45]:
Yeah, definitely. That's not us. And if companies want exposure to you and the other members of the sales club for recruiting really is probably the number one thing that they would want. How do they actually get access to you? Do they sponsor events? Do they just reach out and attend? What's the easiest way for a company who wanted to potentially tap into the the skill sets and the people in the sales club?
Nora Giannetti [00:21:09]:
Yeah, I would say reach out to us. We do a fair amount of prospecting ourselves where we're reaching out to companies. But I mean if any company is interested, reach out to Eisenberg Sales Club on LinkedIn and we will be absolutely happy to set up some conversations and anything like that. I know that we're probably looking for some more companies for the spring. So definitely reach out if you're interested.
Kyle Smith [00:21:35]:
And in a less self serving way. So yes, the sponsorships or sponsorship really is what we're talking about. Sponsorship opportunities get you access to the people in the sales club, but then what does the money go to fund.
Nora Giannetti [00:21:47]:
The money goes to us going to competitions. I know sometimes that can be really expensive. It also funds us being able to bring other companies in for networking events or different things like that. For us to put on more programs, for us to just keep our club running as a whole. Maybe one day we'll be able to get some nice zip ups. That would be nice, but that's not. That's not for right now. But really just funding our club and keeping it going.
Nora Giannetti [00:22:16]:
I know that we want to continue to grow and with that we just need some extra funds to help us get there. I haven't been on Eboard yet, so I know they'll learn a lot more about our funding process and what exactly we need. I know that definitely everything just goes to our advancement and our professional networking, our professional skill building and just being able to put on the best that we can for the other members of the club.
Kyle Smith [00:22:43]:
All right, well, thank you so much again for coming on.
Nora Giannetti [00:22:46]:
Yeah. Thank you for having me. This was fun.
Kyle Smith [00:22:49]:
Thanks for listening to this episode of Market Mastery brought to you by the Bridge Group. If you're a revenue leader in the B2B sales space or know someone who is, connect with me on LinkedIn. Don't forget to subscribe to stay updated on future episodes.