Breakdancer Turned Sales Leader
As a self-proclaimed retired breakdancer turned HR tech nerd, Jarron Tate seems like a perfect match to head up sales at Roots. The company builds HR plugins right inside one of the biggest workplace communication apps most of us know – Slack. He’s in charge of generating revenue and scaling a sales function for the future. But the startup bug bit Jarron while working at a much more established enterprise.
I worked at a large company and started at the bottom and cut my teeth. I was there for almost 10 years. In that time, I worked with private equity firms to source deals and became drawn to the start-up world, and I have been on that path ever since.
Working for a smaller organization allows him to appreciate the journey a lot more and forces him to stay hyper-focused every day. He likes the balance. When it comes to leadership, you could argue Tate is a natural, and his experience started early:
I have a background in sports and played baseball through college. I started in Junior College and was eventually named captain. Once I went to my four-year college, I was named captain again, so I guess leadership has always felt natural.
What he enjoys most about leadership is the “feeling that comes over you when someone from your team has put in the work to reach an almost impossible milestone.” Tate gets an energy boost from seeing others achieve those next-level goals. He also knows leadership comes back to coaching. Constantly working on the little things leads to significant results in his mind.
His advice to aspiring sales leaders? Set the tone for the team every day by bringing energy and positivity. He also believes future leaders should be comfortable putting people first above all else. If you do that with authenticity, then leading becomes easier. "People will want to work for you." No doubt, if those around you replace "have" with "want," then you're well on your way to leadership.
Jarron doled out more wisdom for The Weekly Pitch.
Your favorite metric to track after revenue is: Pipeline. Without it, there will be no sales.
Shower some praise on a couple of rising stars in the sales world: LJ McIntosh and Elena Pietro are doing great things and will soon be in leadership positions. Their athletic backgrounds and work ethic allow them to consistently overachieve while supporting their teams in any way they can.
If you don’t have this in your sales tech stack, you need to add: Crystal.
This sales or leadership book is a must-read for aspiring leaders: The Energy Bus.
You’re our first leader to choose the “wild card” topic. What else is on your mind? Clubhouse. I think it's a hidden gem. People have conversations daily around issues that have a direct correlation to what you sell.
Feel free to connect with Jarron on LinkedIn. If you need inspiration, check out his one-minute "windshield and rearview mirror" video.
