Meet Zoe – National Sales Manager at Barn2Door!
In this week’s episode, we are joined by Zoe, the National Sales Manager here at Barn2Door. We’re thrilled to chat with her about her career growth and what it means to serve Farmers across the country.
If you are interested in joining Barn2Door, we encourage you to visit our careers page at barn2door.com/careers
-
[00:00:00]
James Maiocco: Welcome to the Direct Farm Podcast. My name is James, and I am the Chief Operating Officer at Barn2Door. We've got a great conversation with Barn2Door's National Sales Manager, Zoe Pappas.
Today, we're going to be talking with Zoe about her career growth over the past three and a half years since she joined Barn2Door in December 2019. Starting initially as an Account Executive and then setting multiple records on closes and wins and new deals, Zoe was obviously and eventually promoted to a Lead, then a [00:01:00] Manager, And now she's the National Sales Manager responsible for the entire Barn2Door Sales Team.
It's been a pleasure to see Zoe's career flourish here over the last three and a half years. So I'm looking forward to diving into this interview with her. So let's go ahead and get started.
James Maiocco: Welcome Zoe. How are you doing today?
Zoe Pappas: I'm doing great. It's fantastic to be here. I'm actually sitting here in our Nashville office. Wonderful to be with the team.
James Maiocco: Kind of surprising to see how much the company's grown since you joined us back in December 2019.
Zoe Pappas: It really is. Yeah, I love just meeting all the folks and being able to kind of be a part of the training and see how the team is developing, especially in terms of seniority and looking at the seasonality with Farmers more specifically.
It's, it's definitely been really fun.
James Maiocco: Well, you've had a really impressive career over the last three and a half years. It's actually really hard for me to believe it's been that long because it's gone so quickly.
Zoe Pappas: [00:02:00] Me too.
James Maiocco: But let's, let's rewind a little bit and see if we can, you know dig through the cobwebs and remember a few things from a few years back.
I'd love to hear a little bit more about what you were doing before you joined Barn2Door. Where you went to school and kind of what was your first job after college?
Zoe Pappas: Oh, yeah, so, I went to UCLA, lived in Los Angeles, which is really far outside of farming, right? I didn't actually know anything about farming when I came to my interview with Barn2Door. It's kind of funny to look back, um, obviously lived in L. A. and then was living in Seattle when I originally applied for Barn2Door way back when.
My first job out of college, uh, was actually working with a company called Konica Minolta. They're a Fortune 500 company. I really mainly sold copiers. I knew I wanted to be in sales and thought I would be really good at it because I am somebody who is very internally motivated and excited about seeing myself at the top of the leaderboard.
So that really [00:03:00] felt like the right direction for me, but I'm going to be honest, I just Dove in and took a chance and tried something new, so Konica Minolta was definitely a learning opportunity for me.
James Maiocco: Well, a great brand to be working for too, first out of college, a big fortune 500 company like that. Uh, I know I used to have an old Minolta camera many, many years ago, like you said, Konica Minolta probably has a pretty good training program and taught you a lot of good things as a young salesperson, first out of college.
So you worked there for what, two or three years, and then you applied to Barn2Door. What motivated you to apply to Barn2Door and take the next stage in your sales career?
Zoe Pappas: Yeah, that's that's a good question. And I think you kind of hit the nail on the head.
There's a good training process there. I think with any Fortune 500 company, you experience, you know, a company that's been around for a little while. It already has processes just very well laid out. But it didn't necessarily have the ability to make as much change as I wanted when it [00:04:00] came to the sales process or to our pitch.
So it was really exciting for me as I looked for next roles. And I will say after Konica Minolta, I also worked for Microsoft for a little while and worked for a couple of other large companies. And at that time, I kind of realized, I wanted to be with the company that was moving quickly and that I really got to be in charge of my day to day and really that I get to be in charge of my own destiny and my own paycheck.
So when I was looking for a role at that point in time, I came across Barn2Door and noticed a couple of things. One of which, uncapped commissions. So that's always really fun for somebody who's self motivated. But the other thing was the clients that we work with, and just how interesting and exciting a position like this could be. Especially for someone who is in sales and wants to be driven by Passionate and excitement for the clientele that we get to work with on a day to day basis.
James Maiocco: [00:05:00] So, yeah, a little different aha when you know, to a Farmer who's just animated and excited about what Barn2Door can do for their business versus someone perhaps purchasing a new copier. Granted, You know, you need copiers in an office, but usually people are excited about it. Right. So it's just kind of a must have.
Right.
Zoe Pappas: Yeah. I think when you look at the product that we're selling to Farmers, I mean, we're changing not just their businesses, but we're also changing their lives. And so we oftentimes get to hear that day to day in our demos and in our follow ups, you know, sometimes you'll have a Farmer come to the follow up meeting really emotional and even in tears that something like this even exists. So you do get a lot of excitement and gratitude and even being able to sign up a Farm know that you are going to bring in some good money, but also that you're actually changing the scope of the Farm's business long term.
James Maiocco: Yeah, it's a big deal.
It's nice to be a part of the change that can help them earn more money for their family. Because this is [00:06:00] a digital transformation. Many times these Farms, it's the first time that they've ever even used technology or software to operate their business.
So let's, let's talk a little bit about your initial onboarding when you got started with Barn2Door back in December, 2019, because a lot's changed since then. So for somebody who's thinking about applying to Barn2Door, good for them to understand the evolution of the business.
So walk us back when you got started, what did onboarding look like for you?
Zoe Pappas: Yeah, that's a great question. A lot has changed in the last three and a half or so years. So, way back when I started, really, the process was pretty simple, right? You got onboard and got your toes wet and you really started to dive in and shadow your fellow AEs, um, do some role play with your manager and then start to make calls and just kind of trial by error in that you just dive right in and have the conversation with Farmers and learn as you go.
Um, fast forward to now, right, a lot has changed and that we've been able to uncover there really is a [00:07:00] process that needs to be put in place for new hires. So that way they can learn each stage of the sales cycle.
So, currently, we have a three month long training program. We have a ramp up period, obviously, for our AEs so they can look at just taking things one piece at a time. In month one, we're really focused on making sure that we can teach AEs about the industry. It's a new industry for a lot of people and about the company and how the company runs.
From there, there's a lot to learn as far as uncovering how to use the CRM that we use, which is HubSpot. So really being able to understand the intricacies of adding contacts, adding companies and feeling confident in how our team has built out and sequencing for marketing. So that's the kind of work for new hires behind the scenes.
After that, we really dive into cold calls. Cold calls are an art and so we want to make sure that AEs can understand the different Farm Types that we're focused on, you know, [00:08:00] really diving into Produce, Proteins, Dairy first, and then more niche Farms later on
James Maiocco: yeah, those are what, 90% of the Farms we sell to, primarily Proteins, Produce, and Dairy, right? So getting those three in the first three months is really critical because that's going to be the majority of our sales, right?
Zoe Pappas: Once you get those down, you're pretty much good to go when it comes to hitting quota month over month from there. You know, you can learn those more niche Farms as you go. Absolutely. So I think we've done a really good job.
If you take a step back, looking at the first 3 months and uncovering how we can train you on cold calling first and foremost using our CRM and then diving into different Farm types and how we can uncover pain points with those different farm types off the get go and then book meetings to make the sale a pretty easy experience because the Farmers understand this is where, you know, I'm going wrong in the business, or this is where I'm missing out financially.
And here's the value that Barn2Door has to offer in order for me to change the scope of the business.
James Maiocco: Yeah, it's been a [00:09:00] really fun to see, from input from you and obviously from the other folks that we've hired over time, how we could break that training down to, like you said, cold call, demo and closing.
Right. And more importantly, I think it's been really great to see over the last year. That we've added in these assessment tests, right? So we can give people very prescriptive guidance and scores on like each area of the cold call or each area of the demo. So they know how to improve, right? And get feedback from multiple folks, not just yourself, but even the other leads on your team, right?
Zoe Pappas: Yeah, the assessments are awesome because it really breaks down every stage of the sales cycle, so if you're looking at a demo or being able to assess a demo, everything from setting expectations with the farm, to the discovery component to the actual pitch itself and asking for the close. Those are really key elements to sales and so this makes it really obvious for an to uncover. Here's where I'm missing out on and here's where I can improve in terms of my [00:10:00] sales skills.
James Maiocco: That's great. Well, it's really obviously showing itself well, from a productivity standpoint, it's great to see new AEs come on board, ramp up quickly and hit their numbers so quickly. That's super exciting. I know you and I were just discussing an AE that joined us literally just a little bit over six months ago and how she ramped up so quickly. She's hit her numbers every single month since joining Barn2Door. And that's exciting because that means she's not only making a lot of money, but that also means we're serving that many more Farmers. It's success on both sides. So you were eventually promoted to a Lead and then a full time Manager. I'd love to hear from you kind of what did you learn about yourself as you took on more responsibility, um, from being an Account Executive to being a leader in the business? What did that look like?
Zoe Pappas: Yeah, I think that the room for growth here was something that was really exciting to me. I heard that it would be a possibility, but I was really excited and taken aback when I was approached at about eight or nine months to move into a [00:11:00] Lead and then a Manager role. And yeah, I learned a lot about myself.
I think anyone can say when they move into a leadership role in sales, it's a whole different game. So, um, initially, I was able to take on just 1 or 2 AEs and really start to work into the role and understand what my day to day would look like and how that would change. All of a sudden, instead of being in charge of just your own pipeline, you're really responsible for making sure other AEs have good hygiene using, you know, the appropriate CRM, they're using HubSpot well, making sure that they have healthy pipelines, shadowing their calls and helping to give feedback and really become more of a coach. So that was my, I think, initial experience. The first six months was figuring out, what am I good at as a leader?
And how can I harness that to help new AEs become better salespeople? Because that's what was the goal.
James Maiocco: I know you've certainly done that. I know AEs who've been under your tutelage in the [00:12:00] past have really blossomed and it's been fantastic to see them not only grow their careers at Barn2Door, but grow their careers long term, right?
I know some of them have been plucked, you know, from us and recruited by other companies to go work at big companies like Amazon or Tableau and, and we're happy for them as their careers progress, but it just goes to show, you know, what great training and investment you've made. and coaching and building great sales executives. That's fantastic.
Now, more recently, obviously this past spring, you were promoted again. You are now the National Sales Manager responsible for the entire Sales Team. So now managers roll into you. Uh, we'd love to hear from you. I know you're smiling. That's great. It's a promotion. Well earned well deserved, but I'd love to hear from you kind of what you've learned about yourself and particularly like how your responsibilities have evolved again.
Zoe Pappas: Well, so now what that looks like as a National Sales Manager is managing all of the managers who are then running their teams. And so, it really gives me the opportunity to continue being a coach, which I really enjoy. [00:13:00] The process is one piece of it, but I love being able to help ease fine tune their overall sales skills.
So I think first and foremost, it's given me an opportunity to actually take a step back from the day to day and look at how the entire Sales Team can continue to improve and also how we can help grow the entire Sales Team and really get the right people in place that are excited and have that momentum and motivation and want to make a lot of money.
So between the leadership team, some of the things that we've been focusing on is making sure that we can really fine tune the training program that we have in place. One of the very first things that I implemented was actually our follow up assessment or follow up scoring system to make sure that AEs felt really competent going into a closing call.
Oftentimes, you know, for any folks out there that are doing closing calls right now, sort of feel like you're, you're showing up and you're hoping that the answer is going to be a yes, but [00:14:00] there's an art to the close. And I think that's something that our team has really gotten good at over the past couple of months due to that follow up scorecard.
James Maiocco: Yeah, certainly, by the way, for the listeners here, this is coming from the top closer all time at Barn2Door. Zoe has a close rate that that literally approaches 50%. So pretty impressive. Zoe you are a closer and it's great that you know, you bring your skills and your coaching, like you said, to the entire team now, right, really helping refining help People reach their potential, which is awesome.
So as you look to grow your Sales Team, cause I know, geez, you have at least a dozen headcount. You have to hire just in the next six months alone. What do you look for in interviewing potential Account Executives? I think you've got three or four interviews today, right? So like there's a lot of talent that's applying here, but we don't hire everyone.
Like we're really looking for some specific people who, you know, can be, and have the potential to be highly successful here long term. What, what are the two or three things that, you know, you look for in the interview process?[00:15:00]
Zoe Pappas: Yeah, I think that's the first thing is really coachability. I know this being a different industry than most people are used to working in, it's so important to be able to take feedback from others.
I mean, our higher AEs, folks that are AE2s and upwards, they want to give our new hires feedback. Same thing with the managers, same things with myself. So we're all really leaning in as a very collaborative team to help folks continue to rise up in this position and make the money that they want to be making.
So that's the first biggest thing is, can you listen to feedback even throughout the beginning processes in the first couple of months as we're training on cold calling, take that feedback and use it on your next call. There's a lot to learn there.
James Maiocco: So coach abilities, number one, that's the first thing you're looking for.
What else? Is there other kind of skills or, you know, things you're looking for intrinsically in the individual?
Zoe Pappas: Yeah. I think having an internal motivation [00:16:00] might sound like a funny one, right? But sometimes people want a job, they want to go to work every day just to do it, kind of go through the motions and you know, make a set amount of money. The folks that are the best in this role are people that have that fire inside of them and want to be the best salesperson that they can be.
So coming to work every day, excited about the folks that we work with, with the thought in mind that they're going to be better than they were last month or 1% better than they were yesterday.
So I love those folks who come into me and they just always want to be learning. They always want to batter themselves as salespeople.
James Maiocco: Yeah, I completely agree. I know a lot of times in my interviews, you'll find people who are just looking for a job, right? We don't need to hire somebody who's just looking for a job.
We want to find somebody who wants to invest in their career, right? Somebody who wants to really grow professionally. And I know for me, the other thing I'm really keen on is people who are aligned with our mission. People who really care about the Farms we serve, because this is a market and an industry where the Farmers [00:17:00] we serve are often highly underappreciated in their community. Most people can't even name five Farmers yet. We all eat three times a day. And so people who can show up every day, sure, we want them to be money motivated and hungry to become better, but we also want them to understand our mission of helping improve access to local food from Farmers.
Zoe Pappas: Yeah, I think that's the third quality would be just genuine, right?
There's a lot of good sales folks out there that just have a sales cycle down. But if they genuinely care about the conversation that they're having, then they're genuinely going to be able to talk to the right types of qualified Farms and make sure that they're actually fixing a pain point, fixing something with the business and making their business run smoother.
So I love that quality in a person.
James Maiocco: Yeah. Genuine and authenticity often say same concept. So let's talk a little bit about, you know, somebody who's listening to this podcast who might be a potential candidate who's going to have an upcoming interview with you.
It's harder to get a job [00:18:00] here than it is to get into Harvard I think we're at about a 3% applicant to acceptance rate, very, very difficult. So we put people through an assessment test, videos, multiple rounds of interviews, role plays, you know, it's. It's, it's, there's a lot of, a lot of things that jump over, right? But you know, we're obviously trying to make a good investment for them and for us.
What would be your recommendations to somebody who's listening to this who might have an upcoming interview? How can they prepare for an interview with you?
Zoe Pappas: Yeah, I would say know your whys. Know why you've come to the interview. Know why you want to work with Farms specifically. Know why you would like to change Farmers businesses uniquely.
I always like to hear the story behind the answer. I think anyone can come with an answer, but if you really are showing up with some intentionality and have an idea of Why you want to hit your quota on a month to month basis, or what it is about farming or ag that you love, those are [00:19:00] things that always get me really excited about a candidate after a first interview.
James Maiocco: I completely agree. Like, you can make money selling anything, but do you really want to make money doing something you care about, right? Absolutely. Absolutely. It just, it just makes. You know, the entire experience, not quote unquote a job, not to say parts aren't tedious, but actually enjoyable, right? It's enjoyable to show up to work and actually make a difference in these lives of Farmers we get to support.
So um, lastly, I'd love to just ask you, I know at Barn2Door core values are a big deal here and we have six core values. I'm curious, which of our core values do you feel you align with most?
Zoe Pappas: I'm hungry. I think I show up to work every day wanting to be better and for candidates I want those folks that always want to be 1% better every single day.
So, I just love having the ability to learn something new, talk to someone new and create something new and feel like I've left [00:20:00] work having been a better person and a better salesperson than I was the previous day.
James Maiocco: Well, I will say your contributions, Zoe, have helped us become a better business, better support Farmers, and continue to improve our onboarding, training, and support of sales professionals at the company.
So thank you for your ongoing contributions and investment in the company, it really is paying dividends. Uh, before we sign off, I'd love to hear any final words or feedback you'd like to share about your experience at Barn2Door.
Zoe Pappas: Yeah. I mean. I can't believe it's already been three and a half years. I know we said that in the beginning, but it has been really the quickest years of my life, kind of strangely enough, really to be able to see my own career development and also change as a person because of the opportunity for growth. So really being able to go from an Account Executive to a lead and understand how to build a team from 2 to 6 and then to now [00:21:00] being, you know, the National Sales Manager, I feel like it's just given me a lot of opportunity to continue to learn and to continue to grow as a person.
James Maiocco: Well, I'm excited to see your career continue to flourish and soar. So your contributions are important to the business and I know Barn2Door has big ambitions to beyond just the national borders of the United States near term. Long term, we're hoping to go global. So I'm excited for your contributions as we continue to look to make an impact.
James Maiocco: I want to thank you so much for joining me today for an interview with me and barn2Door's National Sales Manager, Zoe Pappas.
Here at Barn2Door. We are humbled to support thousands of Farms all across the country, and we're always seeking people to join Barn2Door who are aligned with our mission of making food more accessible from local Farmers.
If you are someone who is aligned with our mission and curious about growing your career at Barn2Door, I'd encourage you to go visit the [00:22:00] Barn2Door website and navigate to careers where you can view a variety of current job opportunities. And if you're interested. Click apply. Submit your application, your resume, complete the videos.
We'd like to learn more about your background and your why. Thank you so much for tuning in and I look forward to seeing you next time. Cheers.