Joe is a Relationship Manager, C-Level Communities at CDM Media.
He won a 'Rising Star Award' in 2019.
Before this I worked in finance, did a lot of bond/trading for seniors and other 3rd party organizations as well. The sales pitch, the sales acumen is very similar. Much different audience, much more client facing.
Essentially my role here, at CDM, is to communicate and connect with c-suite individuals and information security. The goal for me is to get them to attend our regional summits or our special events. More importantly, bringing the c-suite folks into the CDM fold.
In terms of becoming a sales person, I think that just came naturally. I have seven siblings, I can remember a time when my grandmother gave out a dollar to everyone, but my pitch was “listen Grandma I need three bucks, despite what you’re giving all the other siblings I need three and here’s why.” Sometimes she gave me two-fifty but whatever. In terms of overcoming actual adversities, ya plenty of it. Born and raised in Brooklyn, that comes with its own… stigma. When I got this job I lived 35 miles away, so I would travel 70 miles a day, here and back. Which was kind of arduous, that was a bit challenging but I kind of saw a light at the end of the tunnel that made it worth it to me.
When I came and did the interview, what really drew me was that a lot of the senior RMs and the directors have their tenure. Some of these guys and girls have been here for 4, 5, 6 years which tells me as a sales person the organization is doing right by them. If a sales person sticks around it means two things, first thing is they’re making money, second thing is they’re being treated appropriately. Those are my two major factors that made me say “listen this is the move, here.”
Just two weeks ago I did 10 delegates in one week, which was a pretty big deal for a guy whose been here for just under 6 months. That was a huge win for myself and the team as well. I take all wins personal, man. Even if I have 1 delegate in a week that’s a win for me.
This was a hard one for me to answer, you got me on this one… I don’t know, I’m a pretty open book. I don’t really hide much. I do have a massive family I guess that’s the thing most people don’t know about me. I do have 7 siblings, my ma had 14 sisters. That’s a huge thing. Other than that, what you see is what you get.
I would switch my job to JayZ, coolest guy ever – he’s from three blocks from where I’m from. His business acumen is bar-none. Just being able to run a global entertainment industry, a global business in general. For CDM I’m in the department I want to be in, obviously the goal is to climb higher within it. I’d want to stay in the RM team but I’m open to moving around for sure. At the end of the day my goal is to be in the leadership piece.
To be successful, not just here but any sales role, you have to live breathe and eat your craft. The last couple weeks I’ve been spending hours on the weekend to just develop my network, branching out to executives. Be ready to have the door slammed on you, be prepared to hear no, but also be prepared to turn those NOs into Yeses, be prepared to work your butt off. When everyone else asleep you gotta be up. That’s pretty much the key to success.