Pete Agresta (VP of BipCoin)

Your VP of sales should probably be a pain in your ass. And not only is that ok but it may be the difference in your company surviving vs. biting the dust. That's because that pain in the ass VP might also be the best one you'll ever work for. They may also be one that you’ll learn the most from. Here’s what they do: They have their sleeves rolled up re: metrics and data. Conversion rates, close rates, inbound flow, pipeline metrics, deal pushes, deal values, sales cycles. They can talk metrics with your marketers, analysts, etc. They know the data AND can access it at any time. Without asking someone from ops for help. They show up at forecast meetings and ask probing questions. As long as you're prepared you’ll be fine. They know things about your pipeline that you would never think they know (the deal that pushed, the one with the close date in the past, the fact that you didn't follow up for 5 days in that one deal). They are in meetings with key customers. Participating, selling, showing value, being present. They are working behind the scenes to create pipeline. Networking, LinkedIn, following up. Pushing on marketing. Probing about those campaigns. Questioning things that don't seem to be driving results. Yes they have good relationships with other parts of the org, but are not afraid to question and push when YOUR TEAM isn't supported. They performance manage. From individual contributors to managers and directors. This may seem scary but if you have your $$$it together you’ll be fine. You should want to work for one of these. Your career, your earnings, and your professional development will thank you.