Your name: Martín Díaz
Your title: Account Executive
How long have you been at your company? Six months
What attracted you to work at Asana? How did you know it would be a good fit?
When Asana approached me, I was immediately sold on a few things. It was evident to me that they really care about every employee’s growth and career trajectory on both a personal and professional level. Not only are they intentional about strong hiring leaders, but they also offer benefits like free executive coaching and mentorship programs. In addition, the product itself was worth selling. Asana has had tremendous success on the merits of the tool, which is not always the case in the tech space. In a sense, Asana is developing the work management category itself and I was excited about this unique challenge and opportunity.
As a Windy City native, the clincher for me was Asana’s investment in Chicago. They’ve built a new office and are hiring rapidly this year. Asana has also built a program to hire and train underrepresented groups in tech, so we now have an incredible pipeline of talented Chicagoans getting their shot in this industry. Maybe I’m an optimist—I’m a sales guy after all—but I’m extremely bullish on the impact this program can have on the city and hope other tech companies will follow in Asana’s footsteps.
What does a normal day in your job look like?
I usually start my day by running data reports to understand how my clients’ Asana usage is trending and then I identify opportunities or areas that need attention. I also set aside time to create tight and tailored messaging for email and LinkedIn. The inbox is where great intentions go to die for a sales rep, so I believe it’s crucial to create effective messaging to drive engagement.
I have client meetings scheduled each day. This might be a demo of the platform for a specific use case, time spent creating a business deck with a client for their leadership team, or negotiating the size, scope, and terms of a deployment with an executive. A normal day also includes amazing meals from our Asana culinary team and, when I shut down for the day, a three-on-three game on the penthouse basketball court in our Chicago office.
What are you working on right now that excites or inspires you?
I’m currently working with a few unicorn tech companies. While there’s tons of enthusiasm around these companies’ vision, many of our day-to-day contacts come to us feeling nervous about keeping up with the pace of their growth. We’ve spent the last few months digging into their project processes, identifying areas for improvement, and building elegant, scalable workflows that are already driving massive productivity. When you’re working with these fast-paced companies during their ascent phase, it’s exhilarating to see the excitement for your solution spread through the organization. Helping create that momentum is extremely gratifying and the relationships you build with clients along the way are wonderful.
What are the steps for career progression within the sales team at your company?
There are several paths forward for a sales rep, whether it’s taking an enterprise sales role or managing a team of your own. Not every company recognizes the differences in the skill sets needed for those roles, but Asana has clearly laid out a framework and internal success guides to grow and advance top talent. From day one, Asana is looking to help you envision your personal and professional path forward. In addition to challenging you, it also forces you to think about what you want the next step to be and how to prepare for it. Each week, my manager and I discuss my progression towards my long-term goals. This includes the logistical pieces needed to qualify for a promotion, but also coaching on the skills needed to eventually excel in that future role.