I discovered DISCO after a recruiter reached out to me on LinkedIn about a regional sales executive (RSE) opportunity. In previous roles, I sold hardware (servers, networking gear and support), but as the world continued to transition towards the cloud and SaaS given the multitude of benefits over on-premise tech solutions, I knew I needed to make the same change in my next career opportunity.
DISCO really stood out amongst the many other opportunities for two reasons. First, my research easily uncovered that DISCO was disrupting the legal tech industry. The legal industry has lagged far behind others when it comes to using software and AI to increase efficiency and improve outcomes. Between DISCO’s industry leading AI and its intuitive and user-friendly interface, I came to my own conclusion that DISCO was the leader to reshape the market. I even stumbled upon some screenshots of the DISCO Ediscovery UI and saw firsthand how it was much cleaner and more user-friendly than the competition out there. Additionally, DISCO emphasized work life balance, which was important to me because I have four children – two girls (20 and 14 years old) and two boys (7 and 6 years old).
After six months at DISCO, I can confidently say that my favorite thing about this company is the people. Everyone I have encountered in the organization is razor sharp. From sales development representatives, product engineers, to our executive leadership, the team is working together to improve software and services for the legal industry. It takes great people to build, market, sell, support, and continuously improve these products. I’ve also had the opportunity to participate in enriching activities like working with the DEI team to host a panel for Black History Month and working with DISCO Cares to put together a Make-A-Wish event.
A regional sales executive is a consultant as well as an evangelist. You are tasked with building relationships in an assigned territory and within the business. This typically involves leveraging your networks to connect with the right people, getting to know legal professionals to understand their challenges, educating them on what DISCO can help with, and working together to find a solution. Conversely, you also have to know when you or your product are not a good fit and offer suggestions or connect people to the right solutions, even if they are outside your organization.
As an RSE at DISCO, I have the ability to leverage my unique skill set to develop meaningful relationships with law firms and corporations alike, and then collaborate to improve inefficiencies in their legal hold, discovery, and case management processes. One of the most exciting parts of my job is when I get to arm attorneys with cutting-edge technology to locate evidence quickly and develop the best outcomes for their company and clients - it’s very exciting to watch them realize just how different and better DISCO products and services are!
There are a couple skills that I developed early on in my sales career that were instrumental in getting to where I am today. Active listening is probably the most important in my position. You can't begin offering solutions before understanding the problem and I try to apply that to my life in and out of work. As I’ve heard many times throughout my sales career, “prescription without diagnosis is malpractice.” You have to understand the full picture before you offer suggestions or help.
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Constant curiosity is also high on the set of skills that have helped me along the way. I noticed early on in my sales career that the most successful reps are usually the ones who know the product portfolio well. To our advantage at DISCO, there are many learning and development opportunities available. From ad-hoc learning sessions on product enhancements to product marketing support, sales professionals are always equipped with the right information. Things are constantly evolving, and staying sharp means knowing what you have to offer, keeping up with changes, and at times challenging the status quo.
Lastly, resourcefulness might be one of the most underrated skill sets. You have to know who to rope in at the appropriate times. You can't always be the hero and try to take down the giant alone. We win as a team when we all contribute based on our diverse strengths and skill sets, and our customers are winning with our top of the line technology. I regularly bounce ideas off of my teammates and we often work as a team when talking with firms that span multiple regions. We will plan for these meetings together with an internal subject matter expert to be sure we are covering all of the potential customer’s concerns.
In my free time, I enjoy playing pickup basketball so I want to share with you this story from one of my favorite games:
Game 6 of the 1997 NBA finals, Chicago Bulls vs Utah Jazz. The game is tied with 10 seconds left on the clock. Michael Jordan drove to the left side of the court and found himself double-teamed by the Jazz. Jordan then passed to an open Steve Kerr who hit the game-winning shot giving the Bulls their fifth championship ring. While I aspire to be in the discussions of GOATs in sales I constantly remind myself the importance of leveraging teammates to win. The best part is when we win, we win together.
To close, I would like to tell anyone interested in joining DISCO to reach out and start the conversation! Based on my observations, career progression opportunities come often here. I have spoken to several RSEs who started as SDRs – and even managers and VPs who started as sales representatives. DISCO is a place where people come to build their long term careers. The energy is contagious, the people are sharp, and DISCO is reshaping the legal tech industry!
