#LifeAtUdemy Spotlight: Meet Our Global Commercial Sales Team
Our sales team helps companies solve their critical skills gap and improve millions of learners’ lives. As our team continues to grow worldwide, we sat down with five teammates in our commercial sales segment to talk about their roles, the impact they make, and the opportunities to grow their careers at Udemy.
About our commercial sales segment
The commercial segment is a great opportunity for both early and mid-careerists. This team focuses on outbound sales, manages a full sales cycle, and offers solutions for customers with 999 employees or fewer.
Those working in commercial sales can broaden their experience and build their expertise to eventually grow their career to our mid-market or enterprise sales segments.
Meet Camila Kahriman, an emerging account executive (LATAM) in San Francisco, California
What excites you about supporting the Latin America (LATAM) market?
I’m from Colombia. Even before working here, I remember wishing we had a platform like Udemy available in my country.
Access to education in LATAM is missing for many people. Not everyone has the means or opportunity to go to college or take expensive classes. I love knowing that our customers are offering a benefit for their employees who probably wouldn’t have had this access if it wasn’t for Udemy. People are improving their lives through learning because of us. This motivates me every day.
What’s it like to sell into this market?
Compared to other places I’ve worked, Udemy’s product is very easy to sell. I’d say people already know about us about ninety-eight percent of the time. A lot of our business comes from referrals. For example, maybe a friend or coworker had an interaction with us and recommended Udemy to their leadership team. Because of this, the CEOs and CFOs we talk to really like our product and trust us.
We also have the consumer marketplace, so individuals can try our product before they invest in it for their company’s initiatives. It makes the sales cycle pretty fast, sometimes to the point where we can close deals within a week. The momentum keeps me constantly engaged.
Meet Kevin Shirley, a commercial sales manager (EMEA) in Madrid, Spain
What’s the most exciting challenge or opportunity of growing Udemy’s reach in EMEA?
Since I joined in 2020, we’ve had incredible growth in EMEA, and the most exciting challenge to me is the fact that we’re just getting started. There are tens of thousands of businesses in EMEA that will become Udemy customers over the next couple of years. With that kind of continued growth, there’s an amazing opportunity for many people to fast track their careers in sales at Udemy.
What are the most important skills someone on your team needs to have to be successful in this market?
Despite cultural differences across the EMEA region, it’s the same skill set that makes salespeople successful anywhere in the world: curiosity, active listening, effective communication, resilience, time management, and business acumen.
Curiosity and resilience may be the two that are most difficult to teach, so if you can develop those muscles over time, you’ll naturally be more successful in a sales career.
Meet Alex Fenn, an emerging account executive (US) in Denver, Colorado
What do you enjoy most about your role?
It’s one hundred percent true that we’re always learning here. Every day, there’s something new to learn. I think this mentality helps me be better at my job and helps me be more strategic.
If you have a learning mindset, you’re inherently curious. When I speak to prospective customers, I try to be more holistic in understanding their pain points. Sure, we’re here to sell, but what we’re really trying to do is solve problems. To do that well, you need to be willing to ask thoughtful questions and identify good resources that will let you be experimental so you can discover the best solution for their specific needs. This challenge means I’m always building new skills.
What’s the culture like on your team?
We don’t just talk about our values; we live by them. I’ve been in other sales cultures that were more pressure-oriented. I believe the fact that we’re a mission-based company contributes to the overall vibe of the team. The company and our managers want everyone to do well, so it naturally creates a supportive place where everyone is willing to help and work towards the common mission.
My coworkers are also great, which just adds to the culture. They’re relatable, easy to get along with, always willing to help, and inspiring. I’m constantly learning something from them. It makes going to work each day enjoyable.
Meet Muriel Medrano, an emerging sales director (EMEA) in Dublin, Ireland
How do you support your team’s career growth?
When it comes to growing your career at Udemy, anything’s possible. We have the structure and learning paths to support you. If we don’t have them yet, we’ll work to create them.
Whether you want to continue growing your career in sales or choose to pivot to something different, like customer success, marketing, or operations, we’ll identify which competencies you need to grow to get to your next play, work together on them, and set you up for success.
Learning is an integral part of your journey at Udemy. Remember, it literally IS what we do for a living!
What’s the team culture like in the Dublin office?
One of the many reasons I joined Udemy was our company’s values. We recently added a new one – courageously experimental – which ties all our values together.
Our values are our guiding principles. They create a strong sense of community in an environment that’s transparent, safe, trusting, and also a lot of fun as you get to bring your authentic self to work every day.
We’re also highly committed to belonging, equity, diversity, and inclusion. Our EMEA office is effectively a broad patchwork of backgrounds, cultures, languages, and so on, but we push this further. We see diversity as an asset. Each teammate brings unique experiences, so it’s critical for us to ensure people feel included and that they belong in Udemy.
Meet Annie McNamara, a senior account executive (APAC) in Melbourne, Australia
How did you grow your career before and at Udemy?
Although my career journey has been non-linear, I wouldn’t change anything because every experience has contributed to my success at Udemy. Having studied a double degree in law and politics, I started my career in the courtroom, advocating for insurance clients. Looking back now, I realize that speaking in court and the negotiation element was what I loved most about being a lawyer. Along the way, I tried my hand with a few other roles before I fell into the world of B2B SaaS sales. I can confidently say I’ve never looked back.
I joined Udemy Business at the height of the 2020 pandemic lockdowns. I was inspired to take the leap of faith because of the strong leadership in APAC and the wider team and the opportunity to sell a world-class product with a mission of improving lives through learning. The pandemic was challenging and scary, but our teammates’ vulnerability, connection, and support laid the foundation for an exceptional, collaborative team that still holds us in good stead to this day.
Joining Udemy has proved to be the right move for my career, helping me develop and hone my skills. I’m humbled by my success here, having overachieved every quarter to become the #1 account executive in my segment for two and a half years. I attribute my success to being a strategic advisor to my customers rather than just another salesperson. Hustle, heart, honesty, and being authentically myself is my secret sauce, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
What’s interesting about selling in the APAC region?
The APAC region is never boring! We’re a huge, diverse area, and selling into so many countries has been both challenging and rewarding. The region has a lot of cultural nuances that may be intimidating at first. Still, I’ve enjoyed understanding what’s most important to one country versus another and flexing my approach to add the most value to each business.
Within the region, we have both exciting, fast-growing businesses and heritage brands that recognize the need to evolve or risk future growth and stagnation. I love looking under the hood at what makes a business tick, acting as a strategic advisor, and tying learning to key business goals. My customers are so inspiring, and I feel humbled to contribute a small part to their achievements.
Let’s revolutionize learning. Check out our open sales roles worldwide here and apply today!