Q&A with Percipient’s Sales Team:
Aidan Joyce & Laurie Stanwick
So we’re almost at the end of another successful year at Percipient. Aidan, you’re a relative newbie to the fold, having joined just a few months ago, how is it going?
Aidan: It’s going well! I joined from another ERP company so knowing the industry has helped, and the Percipient team has been amazing. So, while it’s only been a few months, it does feel like it’s been much longer.
Sage Intacct as a product is genuinely best-in-class which obviously helps when you’re in sales. While the ERP/financial software market is fairly saturated, few products out there compare.
When it comes to its ability to integrate easily, flexibility to adapt to business needs and scope, and its cloud-native architecture with intuitive and flexible dashboards to underpin superior levels of insights and intelligence which inform decisions and supercharge strategy, it really is in a league of its own.
Going back to my role, I suppose that means that (and I probably shouldn’t say this) it’s a pretty easy platform to sell, and in fact, once customers see what it can do, it pretty much sells itself.
What is the best bit of your job?
It sounds cliché but it’s a fact: being able to genuinely make a difference to our customers is a truly great feeling. By harnessing Sage Intacct to truly help customers support their digital transformation initiatives, boost performance, and optimise their operations to be the best they can be, it means I have done my job well.
What about the worst part?
I suppose the downside of any sales role is that you can never rest. You always must keep one eye on the next prospect or deal, and can never afford to be complacent, even for a second.
What is the secret of a successful team?
I think there are many factors, but I’ll perhaps defer to Laurie for this one. Laurie?
Laurie: Knowledge and experience are clearly up there. And by that, I don’t just mean software or project experience. Industry experience is absolutely crucial in order to be able to have empathy for the specific challenges and nuances our customers are facing.
In parallel, and this is certainly an important one at Percipient, our culture is, while focused on delivering for our customers, very much about having a laugh and enjoying the journey, not taking ourselves too seriously. Openness and honesty are also important, as this means people will ask for help and advice when they need to, and knowledge sharing is key to growth.
Industry experience is absolutely crucial in order to be able to have empathy for the specific challenges and nuances our customers are facing. In parallel, and this is certainly an important one at Percipient, our culture is, while focused on delivering for our customers, very much about having a laugh and enjoying the journey, not taking ourselves too seriously.
What makes a good salesperson?
Laurie: I suppose salespeople are synonymous with talking, but in fact the ability to listen, process and understand is everything. Intuition and emotional intelligence combined with knowledge is probably the magic formula. Often customers don’t know what they want, or perhaps face stumbling blocks from other stakeholders from across the business and having the insight to navigate agendas and help in the most pragmatic, effective way, is huge.
What does a typical day look like for you?
Aidan: They’re all different of course, but typically involve reviewing prospects or evaluating new markets, delivering demos, usually virtually but sometimes face to face.
We’re here to serve the customer to the very best of our ability while building friendships and having some fun along the way. I suppose that’s not a bad ethos for life generally, and I am looking forward to whatever challenges 2024 brings.
What does 2024 have in store?
Generally speaking, in the face of a more volatile, uncertain and ambiguous economy, organisations are increasingly focused on resilience, agility and future-proofing. The cloud-centric scale which Sage Intacct facilitates is exceptionally well-aligned with this mindset, as modules can be added or removed, new entities can be added easily, and growth can be accommodated.
For me personally, next year is about building on Percipient’s success in the hospitality sector and taking this to new verticals. We constantly review and evaluate what is working well, and learn new things, so hopefully 2024 will bring with it lots more customer successes.
We’re here to serve the customer to the very best of our ability while building friendships and having some fun along the way. I suppose that’s not a bad ethos for life generally, and I am looking forward to whatever challenges 2024 brings.
Talk to the Percipient Sales Team
If you’re looking to upgrade your financial management solution or would like to discuss switching your Sage Intacct support to Percipient, get in touch or call us on 01606 871332.