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A day in the life of an account executive at Guesty

Clients don’t just appear out of thin air and automatically adopt the Guesty platform. It takes a lot of strategic and meticulous work from the sales team to run pitches and demos to clients before they adopt and embrace the Guesty platform. 

The sales process is not as simple as it sounds. We heard from Account Executive, Caio Campos, to learn more about the hard work he puts into Guesty demos and the relationship between potential clients and sales representatives.

How did your career in sales begin?

I started working at a small CRM company in Brazil in 2015. I worked as an account executive, doing customer success and onboarding. As the company grew, I moved to the sales department. I joined Guesty two years ago after they reached out to me on Linkedin. I had never been to Israel before and came to the Guesty headquarters in Tel Aviv for the training, and now I work as an Account Executive in the Portugal office.

What’s a typical day for you as an Account Executive at Guesty? 

On a typical day, I conduct four to five one-on-one demos with large leads. I also do group demos with SMB leads. After the demos, I send follow-up emails and phone calls. I usually attend company internal meetings with product education, HR, sales meetings, and the Portugal office. 

What are some of the key tasks on your to-do list?

I make sure I reach out to every lead I plan to reach that day. Once the demo is over, I always write demo notes to refer back to what was said during the call. I also prepare details for commercial proposals. It’s vital that I always keep up with product updates (new features) released by the Product team to be as knowledgeable as possible when selling Guesty to clients. 

What are some of the most important touchpoints in the sales cycle? 

It’s essential to understand the client’s intention to buy the product. This allows me to match the demo to the client’s needs. Are they already committed to another software? Are they migrating from one software to another? Do they need to wait to buy Guesty until they expire their old contract with another software? I need to know what budget is allocated to the project. Knowing when to send follow-ups is essential. For example, if a client isn’t going to buy the product until the end of the year, I will spend less time with follow-ups and dedicate more time to clients looking to adopt Guesty now. Of course, lead size, persona, blockers, and deal-breakers are all critical touchpoints as well. 

What does a typical demo look like?

One-on-one demo calls with significant leads of 10 plus listings are usually 1 hour long. During the first 15 minutes, we go over the validation process where I take the information provided by SDR and determine the correct course of action for the particular client. I then share my screen and go over the features that the client is interested in. We talk about the client’s pain points within their business and how Guesty can be a solution. I share commercial terms and come to an understanding of the time frame for the client’s decision. The time frame helps me decide when to send follow-ups. Then I explain the 4-week onboarding process. At this point, I can tell how committed the client is to the product. At the end of the call, we will discuss pricing and the contracts. 

Clients with 5-10 listings are directed to group demos. The group demo follows a similar structure to the one-on-one demo. Clients with less than five listings receive a series of emails sent by the exec of sales that share commercial terms.

How many clients do you work with? 

I conduct about 60 demos per month and about 15 lead follow-ups daily. I have a 100-150 leads pipeline size. This pipeline size includes all leads I’ve done demos with in the past month that are under my “ownership” before they move on to the onboarding team. I try to maintain an active pipeline, meaning that clients with intentions to buy in the coming months get a cadence of 4-5 follow-up emails and phone calls. If I don’t hear from a customer during this time frame, I send the lead back to marketing and update the marketing team on why the client didn’t move forward with the demo.

What’s one thing you do to establish strong relationships with your customers from the start?

I show customers that I already know their business to prove my dedication. Also, I make sure that I’m always available to answer any questions.

How do you measure success in your job?

I measure success using this conversion rate: number of leads demoed vs. number of leads closed. I also find success by tracking the average number of listings per new account, MMR (monthly recurring revenue), and commercial terms closed in a negotiation. But, I feel most successful when I hear positive feedback from my customers. 

What is the most important skill in your role?

The most important skill as an account executive is being in a customer’s shoes and coming up with solutions to their problems. It’s also essential to process large volumes of information in short periods of time and turn it into valuable insights for our team.

How do you navigate difficult conversations with clients?

I always keep the tone of the conversation professional. I try to understand why the customer has that perspective and if we can do something to help them going forward. I respectfully point out the best direction if they’re no longer interested in discussing the project. 

What is your favorite solution to sell at Guesty? Why?

The Unified Inbox! Because it’s such a game-changer for property management companies/owners who need to find a solution to one of the most critical and time-consuming aspects of their business, which is guest communication. During demos, I push hard for the unified inbox to show customers how easy it can be to keep up with such a crucial part of running their business using Guesty.

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