Speaker: Kate Higgins, Strategic Account Executive - Financial Services, Celonis
Please introduce yourself and your role.
Kate Higgins: Hi, my name is Kate Higgins. I work at Salon as a strategic account executive for the financial services and insurance vertical.
What are the biggest challenges you face in your role?
Kate Higgins: So one of the biggest challenges that I face personally, in my role is the software that I sell is relatively new or a lot of people don't understand it at the core is, is process mining. Um It has kind of machine learning in there and A I and the ability to ask, task, add, task mining to it and some workflow. So it's, it's very um complicated to some people that don't understand that world. And so there's a lot of education to be had when I'm meeting with prospects and then also just being in the financial services and insurance vertical, which is what I've been used to and what I've been in for so long. But uh all my accounts are Greenfield. So landing and, and getting into some of those large corporations with, you know, top 10 banks or top 10 insurers um in the country. Obviously, it's a long, long sales process.
How has Databook helped you overcome those challenges?
Kate Higgins: So data book has helped a lot of those challenges just by really aligning to the my company's my accounts strategic priorities, making sure that I am I'm aligned with what they need from their strategic priorities. Whether that's growth, seeing where, where they are from a financial perspective, how to, how we can best optimize that because we can help um with cutting costs or improving better customer service. So really, you know, bringing down bringing in all of the earnings and all of the calls and, and events that, that these accounts have and putting it to like a financial measure and being able to um leverage a lot of that and leverage. What what the CEO is saying in earnings calls and leverage where they are from a profits and margins perspective is, is huge um around, you know, all the management intent and kind of the key words that surface to the top is also um it's very beneficial and it saves me a ton of time.
In what specific situations do you find Databook to be most useful?
Kate Higgins: So data book also helps a lot from just an internal perspective at salon. Obviously, we have a lot of internal qbrs as well as qbrs with um with our clients. But that account planning, making sure that, you know, every quarter, I'm still aligning to what my accounts um strategic priority. These are as well as just a a after every earnings call, you know, jumping in there making sure if I'm not listening. Uh I often listen to it but then being able to go back into data book and see kind of what some of those keywords that stuck out using some of those quotes, maybe as a title or um a headline in some of the presentations that I might have and referencing back to, you know, who said this when um and how it aligns to the core value of salons.
Can you share an example of how Databook helped close or progress a deal with a specific customer?
Kate Higgins: So data book has definitely helped as helped me progress deals within my accounts. Um We have a super long sales cycle, especially for the financial service um companies as it takes, you know, a minimum, probably around 18 months of the sales cycle. So constantly making sure that I'm aligned, it's, it's the long game with financial services and especially um selling salon is there's a lot of education that goes along with it, but just it's continuously making sure that as the economy changes, as strategic priorities change within my accounts or acquisitions happen that I'm still on par with my messaging in all these meetings, whether or not it's at the discovery phase or if it's in the negotiations. Um even in negotiations, making sure that our strategic priorities are aligned in our messaging. Um So there's no hiccups as we close that deal.
What measurable results has Databook helped you achieve?
Kate Higgins: So I would say data book definitely has helped impact my pipeline just from that knowledge base. Like knowing from a financial where companies are struggling, being able to get into data book. You know, even sometimes when I'm on a meeting and and reference some of those um key, you know, management intents where they are from a PNL perspective, how do, how salon can help? And then even from, you know, our our data book um instance is very customized. So I'm able to go into data book directly from my opportunities within sales force as well as see a lot of um similar customer stories that I might not have um thought of or come across, you know, in that instance. So I'm able to definitely um progress that deal probably a lot faster than I would normally because I'd be fumbling around looking at the, the my account's websites to try to take all of this information and and look at all those financials and try to bring it into one cohesive place and something where I can actually understand it. So data books not only has saved time, but I think it's definitely been able to help me progress through that sales cycle at a much faster pace.
If you didn’t have Databook, how much would it impact what you’re currently doing?
Kate Higgins: Yeah, without data book, I would be spending way too much time as an A E, um, you know, researching and going into a bunch of different sites. I'd probably be spending, you know, additional dollars as well on several different sites and having to expense that myself. Um, because I need, I need that information in order to do good at my job and in order to find all of that, it would take me a lot more time. Um, and a lot more frustration as well.
