Employee Spotlight: Abby, Account Executive
In this episode of the Direct Farm Podcast, we're excited to host Abby. One of Barn2Door's very own Sales Account Executives. Listen as she shares how she came to join the team and and how she was able to grow with Barn2Door.
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Sebastian: 0:26
Hey everybody. Welcome to the Direct Farm Podcast My name is Sebastian. And today we have an employee spotlight. Featuring One of Barn2Door's very own sales executives, Abby. Hi, Abby.
Abby: 0:37
Hey, how's it going?
Sebastian: 0:38
Doing well. Could you give us a little intro about what who you are and what you do here at Barn2Door?
Abby: 0:42
Yes. My name is Abby. I am a Sales Account Executive like you said, I've been working for Barn2Door for two years now. And I have the pleasure of working with Alabama farmers, Georgia farmers, and farms now in Washington.
Sebastian: 0:55
Well, I know we're probably going to break some hearts, but if you had to choose a favorite state, would you say you have one?
Abby: 1:01
Um, I don't know. They're all so different. I feel like I. Actually, I got a story for you. It's really, really sweet. So like fresh January 2020 Abby, like just gets like hired onto Barn2Door. The first farm that I actually ever spoken with. Roy. It was like a strawberry farmer with produce, but he specializes in his strawberries and I called him and I booked a demo with him and we gave him the information and signed him up. That was the first farm I ever signed up. And fast forward two years, right. I am at the Alabama Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association Conference in Mobile, Alabama. And I get to meet this farmer that I signed up, like my first ever farm, which was absolutely incredible. so Roy from Jones farms. Yeah, he was awesome. So I think I'm kind of partial to Alabama right now. It's just because it's again the fresh on the mind.
Sebastian: 1:50
Yeah. Dang. Well, do you know how Roy is doing now? Did he, did you guys get to talk at all about how his farm is doing?
Abby: 1:55
Yeah, we did. Yeah. He's he's doing really well. His wife joined our session that we had down in Alabama. And after we presented on it, she stood up like unannounced and kind of gave her own testimonial about how well it's worked for them and how they've been able to take pre-orders and just how it's changed their game, especially during COVID right. Cause he signed on right before COVID. hit. And she was just so grateful to say like, Hey, it was awesome that we had this online platform where people could actually get our produce. So yeah, it was really cool.
Sebastian: 2:25
That's crazy. Thank God.
Abby: 2:27
I know. I know. Yeah. Yeah. That was really cool.
Sebastian: 2:32
I want to take it back a little bit and ask you around that same, timeframe, January 2020. Do you remember, What it was like back then and when you applied or I guess the question is, why did you apply at Barn2Door?
Abby: 2:44
So I always knew that I kinda wanted to get into the food industry in some way or another. I grew up eating really, really good food like me and my siblings are completely spoiled. And as we grew up, you know, my family put a really big emphasis on food, where your food comes from gathering the special times that come from food. So, as a recent graduate looking at. Tech and looking at food, Barn2Door just seemed like the natural next step. I have learned so much since my two year stint. Not only about the food industry and where our food is coming from, but honestly just like salesin in general.
Sebastian: 3:20
Can you kind of describe a little bit more about what your day to day responsibilities kind of look like?
Abby: 3:24
Totally. What's really cool about the Barn2Door sales executive position, right? Is that you are involved in the entire sales process, which doesn't necessarily happen at other companies. Right? You could be an SDR and you're just cold calling or you're an AAE and you're actually making the closes, right. It's all about being curious and learning more about that farm and understanding. Okay. What is working really well for them now? And how can I help them achieve more growth or help them save time or help them maybe build their customer base.
Sebastian: 3:57
We get to bring our farmers all the way through.
Abby: 3:59
All the way through the process. Yeah.
Sebastian: 4:01
By the time it's done, they'll definitely know you for sure.
Abby: 4:03
Exactly. Yeah. They know your name, they know your story. Yeah.
Sebastian: 4:08
Awesome. You've kind of touched on this earlier Abby, but I guess what would you say is different working at Barn2Door versus like any other company?
Abby: 4:16
Yeah. I mean, like changing the food system a little bit. Right. You know, at the end of the day, like you have these big corporations that are taking out small family farms, and it's neat that we're giving them the tools to actually like efficiently run their business and thrive. So, yeah, I mean, we're changing the food system. That's pretty damn cool.
Sebastian: 4:35
I guess with our core values, what would you say is the one that you aligned with the most?
Abby: 4:40
Today? I feel like it changes. Honestly, you know, I'd say today is heart. I mean, having a heart for the Farmers. Honestly, I've had the pleasure of signing up some really good farms this past month. And one of them that's just made it really easy to, to have heart for farmers is Moms Micro Garden. They're based in Washington, they deliver micro greens. It's absolutely wonderful. But I actually met Patrick over the summer at the farmer's market. So I started buying from Patrick and then I saw that he had an online store and I wasn't working in Washington at that point. And he asked me, you know, what do you do for a living? And I was like, I worked for Barn2Door. he was like, oh, I know Grace. Cause grace was working Washington before. Right. So I was like, oh, I'm sure you do! He goes, oh yeah, she's reached out to me. But I've had this relationship with Patrick. So dropped off greens, you know, at my house I've said, hello, we've chatted and everything. And then I moved over to Washington and started working with Washington Farmers and he calls me up on my 2 0 6 number and he goes, all right, let's chat. So we sat down, and honestly, he's just a width it guy. He has so much passion for what he does. He's so business forward, he wants to grow. And he wants to provide for his family. Right? Like at the end of the day, he really, really wants to give like just family and his community, like a good life and like great. Microgreens so got him signed up and it's just, it's really, really easy to have heart for farmers when you work with people like Patrick.
Sebastian: 6:01
Awesome. So just to wrap up if someone is looking to apply at Barn2Door is there anything you want to say to them?
Abby: 6:07
Yeah, I would say, go for it. And we know if you are passionate about food, if you are passionate about changing the way that food is presented in our community right now, go for it. You're going to be joining a really dedicated, hardworking team that is diving into this industry as well.
Sebastian: 6:25
Awesome. And how about for our farmers?
Abby: 6:27
And for our farmers, oh, you guys rock. A message for our farmers is just, thank you. Just, thank you so much for feeding us.
Sebastian: 6:36
Well, thank you so much, Abby, for coming onto the podcast and sharing your experience working at Barn2Door if you're interested in joining the team, we would highly encourage you to apply head on over to Barn2Door.com/careers. If you are a farmer and would like some free resources that will help you grow your farm business, please visit Barn2Door.com/resources, where you can find everything from videos, podcasts, eBooks, and more. Thank you again for tuning in and we'll see you next week.