Q: What do you do at Jumio?
I’m the SDR Manager for EMEA. SDRs operate at the frontline of the company ensuring inbound leads are qualified – i.e they meet certain company criteria like budget, risk and size of opportunity. It also involves us prospecting externally and finding the right businesses that can benefit from the value we provide.
Q: What was Jumio’s selling point for you – What made you say “I wanna work there!”?
A: The extent of success that could be achieved both personally and career-wise. In my first interview Anies (Anies Kahn, Director of Sales EMEA) explained that there were people who had joined just a year ago and were already buying new cars and houses – I wanted to be part of that success. It was also the people I met throughout the process who gave me a really good reflection of the culture at Jumio. I met with Robert Prigge, who was CRO at the time (and is now Jumio’s CEO), as well as Simon and Anies and knew I’d enjoy working with them.
Q: Before Jumio, did you have similar experiences at previous companies or was this fairly new to you when you started?
A: This is my first ever sales role – I had telephone experience and some customer service but never one where I had to pitch value. My first time doing this was at Jumio. I used to work in Accounts Payable in a company in Bristol but I wanted a more dynamic role that was different each day. I wanted a role where I could progress without a lot more study and exams!
Q: How does your work environment differ from other companies you’ve worked for in the past?
It’s an agile, young, diverse demographic where everyone seems to be an expert in what they do. It’s a work hard, play hard environment.
It’s a warm, social culture and I essentially look forward to being in the office each day.
Q: What’s the best thing you’ve done since joining Jumio?
A: I never, ever thought I’d have the chance to go to Asia and thanks to Jumio, I got to travel to Thailand and experience real pad thai. This was for SKO in 2019. I’d lived in Africa and Europe but got to experience an entirely new environment in Asia. I was also able to buy my dad a car for his birthday last year.
Q: What do most people get wrong about the role?
A: That it’s another telesales role where you’re just spamming phones and e-mails all day. With Jumio’s tool set thanks to our marketing and Sales Ops teams – it allows each SDR to have a dynamic outreach approach. It truly gives you a chance to exhibit your creativity and personality in the way that you prospect.
It’s more strategic and sophisticated than people realise – it’s not the stereotypical boiler-room environment some people expect.
Q: What didn’t you expect about the role?
A: The feeling you get when a qualified deal closes. Also how closely we work with the other stakeholders – marketing and the account execs and account managers. We’re not just a number, we’re part of a larger team.
Q: What challenges did you face and what did you learn from that?
A: For me, personally, it was about getting on the phone, pitching and asking questions – I was keen to sound like I knew what I was talking about straight away. I learned that people here would give you good feedback and help instil confidence – I’m happy to take a call anytime, anywhere with anyone listening now – knowing they’ll be supportive.
Q: What would you say to potential employees wanting to work at Jumio? What qualities should they have?
A: You need to be a team player. At every level of Jumio people exhibit this trait.
You also need to be accountable and take ownership of what you’re doing. What questions you ask, what actions you take. The willingness to learn is also key – no-one knows everything.