SalesGym Interview Series
The SalesGym Interview Series brings you fresh thinking from Sales Leaders that can help you lead, manage and train a higher performing sales team. You’ll gain insights into what top performing sales professionals are doing that are giving them their competitive advantage.
SalesGym Interview Series
Bridging Classrooms and Technology with Sales Leadership
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In this episode we welcome Sarah Calkins, who is a regional sales director at Accelerate Learning, to share her remarkable journey from geology educator to ed tech sales leader. We talked about the pivotal moments that shifted Sarah's career trajectory and how her passion for learning didn't just shape her teaching but also her approach to selling innovative educational tools that are shaping the lives of students in the classroom today. Her story is a vibrant illustration of how an educator's heart and skills can thrive in the sales arena, along with how up and coming sellers and sales leaders can navigate some of the difficult challenges that arise along the way.
Transitioning From Education to Sales
Speaker 1Welcome everybody to the Sales Gym podcast , where we discuss topics related to sales , training and human behavior . My guest for the podcast today is Sarah Colkins , who's a regional sales director for the company Accelerate Learning . Sarah spent her career immersed in the world of education and ed tech and she has a fascinating background in geology and work in the classroom , which has been driven by her desire to share her passion for learning with others and make an impact on the world . Today we'll be exploring that passion and how she's made a successful transition from being an educator to a seller and then to , finally , a sales manager , and the lessons she's learned along the way . So if you're in the audience and you're making a career transition into selling or leadership role , this podcast is going to be extremely helpful . With all that said , sarah , welcome to the podcast .
Speaker 2Hey , dean , it's great to talk to you .
Speaker 1Well , sarah , let's go ahead and just start from the beginning with the education career . So you have an education that's focused in geology and you spent some time in the classroom and you share a little bit about what that experience was like and maybe how that's influenced your thinking .
Speaker 2Absolutely . I guess if we sort of rewind back to the very beginning , during my college days I had an amazing experience to work at an outside environmental camp and it really shaped sort of my thinking . I was at the time , I was in school , I was studying geology , I loved all things nature and this was an opportunity for me to take the things that I was learning in college and apply them to the real world , to be out there , to be with kiddos , to sort of see the things that I was learning about through the eyes of seven-year-olds I think . Now I mean , my kids are teenagers and I had little seven-year-olds like what tiny little babies . There are things I worry about with my kids being teenagers and letting tiny babies off learning about rocks and swimming in lakes and things like that .
Speaker 2But it was an opportunity for me to really see that the things that I loved could translate to the curiosity for little ones . So how could I be in a place where I was sharing the things that I loved about earth , science and geology and the world in general , but sort of make it bigger than myself , right , get out there and inspire curiosity in kiddos ? So from that perspective I shifted towards applying what I was doing in college , but more served the education track . So I went then and started my career in high school teaching and had sort of a twisted and turned journey through there , did a little bit of middle school teaching , taught college for a number of years , so really loved the opportunity to take all the things that I loved about the world around us and share it with kiddos , big kiddos and little kiddos .
Speaker 1Now , whenever it comes to your experiences in the classroom and being able to share that with these kids , obviously you decided to stay in education . Now you're in ed tech sales , but before you were in the classroom . What you get out of being in the classroom whenever it comes to building those relationships with kids and just kind of opening your eyes to what the world has to offer , why is that so motivating to you ? I think you touched on some previously run curiosity when we talked . That really just stood out to me . So I'm just curious what your thoughts are as far as what you get out of being in a classroom and now just getting really cool tools in the hands of kids and teachers so they can have better experiences .
Speaker 2I think it's so typical we talk about those aha moments but really to be part of that , I think it's such a you know Colloquial thing to say , oh , I want to be part of those aha moments . But I think when you're like actually a part of them , when you're actually watching them happen , you know , with kids in the classroom , I get it now when I'm in front of customers and I'd like go back and have the opportunity for them to share the things about the product that they love , like those are my aha moments now . But I think it's really , like I said before , just that serve curiosity piece . Curiosity is gonna inspire , change . Curiosity is , you know , the thing that makes people look at things in a different way . I think curious people are the people that change the world .
Speaker 1You know , whenever you talk about you know this curiosity's aha moments you've seen in the classroom . Obviously that was a big source of inspiration for you . It's what drove you in education . You've also made this transition into ed tech sales , so there was something in there that sparked your desire to move from just being in the classroom To being in front of teachers in classrooms , teaching them about different products and services they can use to inspire kids . What made you want to make that transition ? What happened there ?
Speaker 2As I alluded to earlier , you know , starting my College and studies , you know , making that move from sort of being immersed in the world of science to being immersed in the world of teaching . It allowed me to , you know , have something that was bigger than myself , and I felt like the transition from sales to ed tech was the same thing . It was an opportunity for me to , you know , take the things that I knew , take my background and make it bigger than myself , to go out , you know , to find a company that I really believed in what they were selling , and go and share that with educators . So I think it's just , you know , sort of that , always that greater desire to sort of expand your good , if that makes sense .
Speaker 1It does make a lot of sense and you know , I'm sure that transition was interesting . I know , as people do make career transitions , they they run into a lot of roadblocks they maybe didn't see early or they really get some of those aha moments we like , oh , I get it now , whatever it comes to the profession . So whenever you're thinking of maybe moments early in your sales career as you made that transition from educator to seller , what were some things that really stood out for you where you're like , oh , wow , I wasn't aware of that or oh , it's clicking for me now . What were your thoughts around that ?
Speaker 2So I guess , sort of to start with the negative side of that there's a lot more rejection that you face in the world of sales I mean you don't really think about .
Speaker 2Maybe your students are rejecting you right when they're not listening or they're disengaged , but we tend to take that a little bit less Personally . I think maybe we probably shouldn't take it more personally . If they're disengaged , we probably need to , you know , read the room and make some changes to that . But I think when you're going into sales there's that rejection I I broke into sales in that you know higher ed market , so these are folks that are working at prestigious universities and have doctorate degrees and studying things that you know I know literally zero about .
Speaker 2One of my very first calls was to an ornithologist . I got home and had to look up what that was . So I think , facing that rejection being kicked out of offices , having objects you know Hucked at me to be really real , this guy took a stuffed bird and tossed it at the door and said I don't let people like you in my office . That's tough , you're not . I mean , maybe things are getting hooked at you at schools , but it's a different level , I don't know . So I think that was probably one of the hardest things for me is like you're gonna face a lot of rejection and it's okay . We tend to take it really personally , but I think it's when you can sort of step back from mad and be like you know what . Maybe he's having a mad day , maybe this isn't the thing for him , maybe you know I'm not the best fit or whatever the instance is , and really you know , sort of remove that personal rejection from it .
Speaker 1So , whenever it comes to the the positive side of things with you know or you're not getting you know stuff birds throwing at you and you're dealing with that rejection whenever it comes to more of those , like I'm clicking , I'm starting to feel like in my element moments . What was maybe a story behind that or thinking behind that , where you realize like I can do this , like , despite the rejection , despite how this may feel in sales , this is actually where I belong and I think I really want to be here . What maybe stood out for you as a moment that happened , a story that happened , or just a way of thinking that changed when you ? That made you Think this is where I belong . I should be doing this . I .
Speaker 2Think it was the realization that I was actually selling in the classroom , that I knew what I was doing . Right , put a lot of pressure on ourselves when we transition careers or , you know , we're sort of entering a field it's hard to break into sales , right , we want somebody that has experience , but how do you get experience from the beginning ? So I think it was trusting in myself that I had gone that far . Right , I had gone through the process . I'd had other jobs in the interim between you know little stopovers and recruiting that I had between the classroom and ad tech selling .
Speaker 2But I think it was like I know what I'm doing , I'm smart enough to be here and I've been selling all along . I've been selling , you know , my belief in its curiosity . I've been selling my belief in that you know children should understand the world around them . So I think it was just sort of bolstering , like my own confidence to say you know I can do this . There's gonna be rejection along the way , but I've been selling my whole life , even in just sort of the everyday things that you do You're selling , you're listening , you're learning , you're solving problems . So it was really just that confidence like , girl , you got this , go do your thing .
Speaker 1I love that . I love the way you put that . You know . With that said , I'm kind of curious what your transition's been like , because you've gotten from a seller to now being in a sales leadership role . And for those of us who've made that transition and maybe people who are on the edge of making that transition it's a different skill set . It's one thing to be able to go out there and say you know , I understand the product , I know how to talk about it , I can have a conversation with you . It's another . We run a team full of people and actually manage people . So , whenever it comes to making that transition to a sales leader , what are some of the challenges that you've faced and that you've had to overcome whenever you've actually made that turn ?
Speaker 2I think the point that you bring up that just because you're a good seller doesn't mean that you're gonna be a good leader is so important . It's definitely a different set of skills that you need to possess in order to lead a team right , I was also .
Transitioning From Colleague to Leader
Speaker 2I was promoted from within , so I was colleagues with folks one day and then leading the team the next day . So that was something that again was sort of a , you know , a big career change , a great big career challenge . But you know , how do I make these people that ? You know , one day I'm calling and I mean , let's be real , we all have moments where we complain to our colleagues . How did I go from , you know , sort of being that person that would commiserate on hard days with them but also , you know , would celebrate with them , to having to be leading them and , you know , asking things of them that maybe I didn't have to do before ? So I think that was something hard .
Speaker 1Now , whenever it comes to that , I've personally seen that transition and been part of that transition , not just in sales , but back when I was in the Marine Corps .
Speaker 1And you get promoted and initially maybe you're hanging out with your peer group and you're all going together and drinking on the weekends and you're goofing off and complaining about leadership together .
Speaker 1It's just kind of what you do whenever you're in that role and then when you get promoted , you're expected to be a part of leadership . You're expected to be able to be an example for others . You're expected to be somebody that people come to for advice and help and you're expected to sometimes have tough conversations with them . So when you're making that transition , I'm kind of curious what have you seen to be some ways to build up some like trust and respect from the group , where they start to view you not just as a peer , as they did before though that may still remain but somebody they look to more as a leader to take some marching orders from and actually feel like , yeah , this person should be in charge , they should be helping me , they should be guiding me along the way . What are some advice you have for maybe new leaders who are getting into these roles to establish that relationship .
Speaker 2I think the most important thing that you mentioned is that trust . Right , you have to build trust of these folks that you're not only there to sort of help and guide them and lead them , but also that they can trust you that you're going to advocate for them , that you're kind of going to be the intermediary between the daily day to day things that they're doing and then , sort of at the top of the ship , who's steering ? I think the communication between those two avenues is so important . I think once your team gets to see that you're kind of willing to put your neck on the line for them and to have top conversations with leadership to support them , I think that really inspires trust in your folks , right , I mean , they're going to trust that you're going to go to advocate for the things that they need . But then when it turns around and you need to ask something of them , because you respected them , because they respect you , they're more likely to carry out those things .
Speaker 2Now , am I perfect in that realm ? Absolutely not . I could certainly drop the hammer a little bit more often than I do . I think that's again sort of part of navigating that transition from being a colleague to being a leader . I think being real with them too , having real relationships , I think , letting them know the real side of you that I don't know , you're a person , they're a person and I think , just having a relationship another word that you said in your sort of question there I think that relationship and that trust is important , not just with your customers but with your team too , kind of being a servant to their leads . I think I'd take in a servant leadership approach to leading my team .
Speaker 1Well , let's go and dive into that . You mentioned servant leadership . I know oftentimes there's kind of two philosophies whenever it comes to leading a team . There's this kind of top down dictatorial approach where it's you're going to do what I'm telling you because I'm telling you to do it , and then there's more of that servant leadership which is like here's what we need to accomplish , here's kind of the things that I'd like you to do . How can I enable you ? How can I help you ? What do you need from me ? What are your thoughts on getting the idea of servant leadership right ? Whenever it comes to that , obviously you do have to be the one who brings a hammer down sometimes , because that's just the way it is . However , we do want to feel like we're doing it in a way where people feel like we're doing that for everybody's best good the organization's good , for their good , for the good of the team . How do we strike that balance ? Because I know that can be a very difficult thing .
Speaker 2Yeah , I mean , and , as I said , I think that that's definitely one of the things that I I am most challenged with . But I do think everybody brings their own unique skill set to our team . So , entrusting them to you know , bring their strengths forward to support those around us . That's the other thing too . I really like to establish some camaraderie and and colleague ship amongst my team , because we've all had different experiences professionally , personally . So I think you know , respecting that that's where people come from and they do bring different things to the table . You know , I think that is really helpful in encouraging them in you know , in leading them and them trusting in you , you trusting in them . So I think , yeah , finding that balance is hard , but I think you really need to . It's that relationship and that respect and that trust that's all out of the core of it .
Speaker 1You know , one thing that I've noticed in the educational industry is it's a little bit easier to get alignment on like the mission and values guys share and a lot of companies . People are they're just selling widgets and their teams to response for if you're selling more widgets , but when you're in the education industry you tend to have more of a mission where you believe in the product , you believe in what you're doing and it makes it easier for people to understand the why behind why you're pushing out . So it's beyond just hitting a sales number for the sake of it . It's we need to get this in classrooms to make a difference in kids lives . So I'm curious what role having a really purpose driven mission has played in your leadership of sales teams , as well as just your passion for being in the ed tech industry in general .
Speaker 2It really centered around , like you said , that mission my full career trajectory has been . Can I sort of do more good for a broader audience over time ? So the opportunity to sort of watch that happen on a large scale from the role of and now I'm seeing it across 11 , 12 , 13 states , I'm seeing that happen .
EdTech Sales Impact on Education
Speaker 2When I was an account manager myself , I was sort of more sort of in the weeds of that and seeing that happen in the classroom . I was part of it . Being part of the change is what it's all about for me .
Speaker 2To work for a company that I believe in the product , I know that it works right , the numbers don't lie . The conversations that I have with folks don't lie either , whether it's my team and the positive things that they are sharing , or if it's going to a conference and having an educator come up and just share their excitement and their positivity . And it's again those like it's working , like those are the best things to hear from folks . So just you know , believing in what I'm doing and getting out there for the greater good is really the mission of my entire career Now you mentioned talking about some of the metrics .
Speaker 1You see , the data you see and the conversations you're having . How do you personally measure the impact that your work's having ? Right , you mentioned being in a classroom . You have those like light bulb moments , those aha moments for the students , and that's where you're like I belong . I love being in this role as a teacher because I see this as the result that I came to work for . What are those aha moments or those conversations you're maybe having with educators , where you feel like what I'm doing is actually making an impact on the world , and I know it because of this ?
Speaker 2I would say probably one of my moments that stands out the most in my head is having folks that maybe decided to go in a different direction .
Speaker 2I can think of one specific customer here who didn't actually end up being a customer . It was one of those deals that you work for months and months and months and you lose it at the end . Those are heartbreaking . To circle back and run into this individual at a conference a year later , 18 months later , and for them to come back and be like we didn't choose the right thing , we didn't go in the right direction it's that moment I talked to my colleagues and they said that the product that you sold to them is moving the needle in their classrooms and what I chose for mine isn't moving the needle in the same way . I think that's something that really sticks out to me like yep doing what I'm supposed to be doing because we're getting the good feedback , but we're also getting the regrets . It's not that you ever want anybody to have those regrets and feel that they didn't make the right decision , but that's sort of a zinger for me .
Speaker 1Whenever it comes to that work right like and you're hearing this all , you're hearing how it's moving the needle in the classroom these are the future . These kids in the classrooms , these are the future . These are the people who are going to be working alongside us in For Us one day . How do you feel like the time you put in into the head set is actually helping change the world and change some of the outcomes these kids are going to get in their life ?
Speaker 2I think by kids having the exposure and the ability to actually do science , we're allowing that curiosity , that inquisitive sort of thing that children have about them , to grow in prostrate If we start it young and we encourage that we don't . I think we spend a lot of time like sitting your chair and listen to what I have to say and I think it's shifting for sure . But I think to allow kids to really have that opportunity to delve in , to be curious , to get their hands dirty and to get muddy and to really see things in a real world , I think that we just change the way they look at the world . It's bigger than sort of the classroom . It's great to have all of that , but I think if we start early and we just allow that to grow and flourish , we're going to end up with a world full of curious people .
Speaker 1What's kind of spent the last couple of questions here on the podcast , talking a little bit about one the shift that somebody might be making in their career and getting into ed tech sales and how they might do that and how they might choose the right company to make sure that they're actually choosing a product that's making an impact and then we can talk a little bit about people making transitions from seller to sales leadership . So let's start with that first one . Whenever it comes to somebody who's maybe looking for a career change , or they're coming out of college or they're coming out of a classroom and they want to get into the ed tech industry , what advice would you have for them whenever they're breaking into these selling roles ? And then how would you advise that they choose the correct company and the correct product so they can feel like they can go out there and put their name behind it , knowing that this has got to impact the future generations ?
Transitioning From Teaching to Sales Leadership
Speaker 2I think it kind of alludes back to what I was mentioning earlier , where you just have to trust in yourself .
Speaker 2There's a lot of sort of prestige around the world of sales . I think the opportunity to sort of have limitless income in some places it can be intimidating , making that trend to shout out a classroom . I think it's really just trusting in yourself , like you can do it . You are selling every day , you are organized , you're leading a team of kiddos to be better and think better and all of that . And I think it's just entrusting that the skill set that you have to do what you've done up to this point is going to apply in sales . You just have to sort of allow yourself the freedom to think of it differently . I mean , there's lots of resources out there that sort of will list some of the skills that you have as a teacher and then compare them to the world of sales and they're real and they're real . So trust in yourself , know that what you're doing on the daily can apply anywhere and there's a million different roles , whether it's sales or curriculum . You're doing it . So sort of do it bigger .
Speaker 1Thanks for sharing that . I think that's really good advice , especially for people who are transitioning from the classroom into that selling role . It is scary at first , but learning to trust yourself and that you do have the skill set , that's a really important thing , because if you believe it , other people will start to believe it as well . And whenever it comes to that last piece of advice that you maybe have for any sellers who are looking to transition to a sales leadership role maybe they're transitioning right now or maybe they're aspiring to in the next year or so what's some advice you'd add to get themselves prepared mentally to be able to make that shift from being a seller and just going out and trying to bring those deals back to being a sales leader who's helping people go out and do just that ?
Speaker 2Making that transition from a sales executive account manager to a leadership .
Speaker 2I think one of the things that maybe , if I could go back in time , I would afford myself at the beginning of that was a little bit of grace around the fact that I'm not perfect . I'm not always going to have the answer . There's plenty of things that I'm going to have to learn along the way . But just sort of allow myself that freedom to continue building that trust with my team . I think being really honest and shooting them straight like hey , I don't know the answer to that , but I'm going to go figure it out for both of us and from there will both be better for it . I think that that's something that's really important . I guess it alludes back to transitioning from the world of education directly to sales . Trust yourself , from sales to sales leadership trust yourself . Stay curious . I know I've said that a word a million times , but keep learning about you , keep learning about the company that you work for and I think you're only going to be better for it and for your team and for teachers and for students .
Speaker 1I love that . Well , thank you very much , sarah , for your time here today . Anytime I get a chance to talk to somebody who's an educator is actually impacting kids' lives . It really is a nice opportunity . I really enjoy doing it and for everybody who's listening , today we got to talk about Sarah's path from the classroom into a sales role . Then we talked about her transition into sales leadership and some of the lessons learned that she found along the way that were very helpful . We talked a little bit about mission-driven work and how important it is to be able to rally both yourself and the troops behind the idea of a mission that makes sense and is worth doing . And then we finished . But they're talking a little bit about advice for people making these transitions into selling roles and making the transition into sales leadership .
Speaker 1So I hope you really enjoyed this podcast . We're able to pull at least a few little nuggets of information that can actually help you in your day-to-day world . And if you're somebody who thinks that you belong on our podcast , you have good things to share with other people . Please reach out and we'd love to hear from you . And if it's not you yourself , if you have a mentor or somebody you work within your career . It was really impacted you and you think it impacted others . We'd also love to talk to them , so just please reach out to us and until next time , everybody stay safe , have fun . Good luck out there and I'll catch you on the flip side . See you in the next podcast .