Meet Nadia: Sharing a Day in the Life of a Workday Account Executive
I’m Nadia, an Account Executive (AE) based in the UK who has been with Workday for more than five years. Joining Workday as an AE has been the best decision of my career to date. I’m supported from all sides by a caring company and talented colleagues who make my life easier every day, and I love our products. I have to admit, selling a product that’s already well-known and highly regarded in the market is half the battle!
With an award-winning culture, competitive employee perks and benefits, and great work-life balance, you’ll find that your work days are brighter here. I’m sharing what drew me to Workday, a typical day in the life of an AE, and getting candid when it comes to realistic challenges one will face in this role. And I hope, by the end of this read, you too will be excited at the opportunity to become a Workmate.
What Drew Me to Workday
I joined Workday five years ago. Before that I was working in software sales at another tech company, but selling a very different product and technology.
I didn’t know much about Workday other than that the products were well-regarded in the industry and that the company had a great reputation for looking after their employees. After approaching Workday’s booth at a technology event, I got chatting with a London-based Workmate and learned more about the products, what it was like to work here, and the available career opportunities.
I started my role as an Account Executive in the London office shortly after that encounter and I’m still based here today. I spend several days of the month working from the office, and the rest of the time I’m out visiting customers or working from home. I’m grateful for our flex work policy that allows me to find the right balance of in-office time and time away, allowing me the autonomy to work in the way that works best for me.
A Day in the Life
As an Account Executive on the Education and Government team, I am responsible for selling into net-new education and government accounts, which means organisations who are not currently Workday customers. I educate prospects about our technology and familiarise them with everything we can offer. I love sharing my success stories and case studies from over the years with new customers. It really helps to tell the Workday story to companies who are at the beginning of their buying journey with us.
I work with a network of colleagues from all over the business — solution consulting, value consulting, product marketing and many more. I like to think of my role as the ‘orchestrator’ because I ensure that a large team of people works together in the best way possible to achieve the best result — a brighter work day for a new customer!
There’s certainly no monotony. My days are different depending on where I am on a particular sales cycle. The average week involves a fair bit of liaising and account planning with my extended team to grow opportunities that are in their very early days, and relationship building with ‘warmer’ accounts. I also spend a bit of time each day prospecting to organisations who are ‘cold’ and haven’t yet entered the market for a solution.
Challenges and Highlights
My job is made easier by having a product that is already recognised as a leader in the market. One of our greatest challenges, albeit a fun one, is articulating to buyers why Workday is the best solution for them. While our offering is unique for many reasons, the one I love to talk about the most is the way we partner with customers. We are truly a company who cares about every customer and this is reflected in our customer satisfaction score of 97%.
A quality one must have to be a successful AE at Workday is being a successful sleuth! Organisational decision-makers in my assigned territory tend to move around often. When you spend a lot of time trying to educate the right contact(s) on why they should consider Workday and then they move to a new organisation, it can be disheartening. But for me, those moments are far outweighed by the excitement that comes when I’ve been working with an organisation for many months, built a strong relationship, and ultimately close the deal.
We invest a lot of time and resources into our prospects to win their business. Finding out we have proven our capability is a great feeling. I particularly love telling colleagues involved with the project that we have been selected — there’s no other feeling like it!
We’re Growing in the UK
To be successful as an AE at Workday, you must have perseverance, be able to think outside the box, and have an ability to work collaboratively and flexibly with many stakeholders. I’d also say you need to be adaptable; the ability to pivot is a key skill, from start to finish within the sales cycle.
We are growing and hiring across all sales roles in the UK right now, so it’s a great time to join us. We have a new country leader, Dan Pell, who’s been making positive changes since he began earlier this year, and our great product and company just seem to be getting better and better! Ready for a brighter work day? The next move in your sales career is on the horizon.
A brighter work day is just around the corner☀️. Explore career opportunities here. For more #WDAYLife content, follow us on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
