WeLearn: Mastering the Art of Sales with Caitlin Tittl
Every position you ever take will benefit from being good at sales.
— Caitlin Tittl
This WeLearn workshop featured Northeastern alum, Caitlin Tittl. After graduating from university in 2012 with a degree in Business Marketing and a minor in Communication Studies, Caitlin leveraged her learnings to dive into sales and management in the Marketing SaaS space. Her journey began in a PR/Marketing software firm called Meltwater. Her accomplishments spoke for themselves, and one year later after starting as a Sales Consultant, Caitlin leveled her way up to Sales Manager. But she didn’t stop there; she was later promoted to run the entire Client Acquisition Boston Office.
Six fulfilling years at Meltwater encouraged her to look for change and experiment within the field. This is where NetBase, a social media listening software firm, came in. As the VP of Sales for the West Coast, she had the opportunity to work with and learn from well-established clients such as Lenovo and Audible. Caitlin’s experiences confirm the fact that you are never too young to make strides in an industry, as she is now the VP of Sales of Glew — an e-commerce analytics software.
Interestingly, to give attendees a hands-on understanding of the importance of sales, Caitlin presented a client case study of Starkist Tuna. This was a company that struggled to determine why its sales were decreasing. After consulting NetBase, the analysis revealed that consumers were facing difficulties with eating the product on-the-go. Therefore, by using social listening, the company transformed its current packaging into pouches, and successfully increased sales. Similarly, the case of Lean Cuisine was dissected — all to highlight the significance of uncovering sales insights through data.
After setting the scene, Caitlin jumped right into the common mistakes one should avoid in the sales industry. Find her takeaways below:
1. Speaking to the person that isn’t the ultimate decision-maker
2. Not asking enough questions to identify the pain points
3. Letting too much time pass throughout each step of the process
4. Pushing deadlines that aren’t mutually agreed upon
5. Not asking questions from the top performers
Finally, Caitlin rounded off the session by sharing her words of wisdom. With nine years of experience in the industry, Caitlin advised attendees on how they can be the best salesperson in their venture.
If you’re interested to learn more about the strategies that Caitlin absolutely abides by, make sure to check out our resource guide!
We hope to see you at our next WeLearn event coming very soon! 💚
