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Celonaut Spotlight: Torbjörn Svensson, Vice President Global Inside Sales, Stockholm
What makes working in the Sales Department at Celonis such a unique experience?
The first thing that comes to mind is of course WHAT we sell. In my 10 years at Gartner working with vendors and end users I had never come across a product with such unique capability to transform how a business can improve their execution capacity and process efficiency. It never gets old when a prospect's jaw drops seeing their own data on our platform for the first time. As you can imagine, revealing gaps and inefficiencies comes with tremendous value if they can be fixed in real time as they happen, which is another reason why it’s such a unique place to work, the customer value we absolutely obsess about driving.
The second thing is the opportunity to grow your career and be part of a company that truly embodies the values we live by to make sure we are taking care of our people, customers and owners. This will be a generational company, I have no doubt about it. To be part of shaping that and build out the organization that will be the first line to help businesses start their journey with us is truly inspiring, challenging and extremely rewarding. My team specifically has a very cool remit, being responsible for constantly pushing the boundaries of how every step of the sales process can be executed and at the same time make it as easy as possible for organizations to join the Celonis family.
What makes you proud?
My 6 year old son Ethan, he’s a wonderful little human being that amazes me every day and he’s the reason why I push myself to do and be better in all facets of life.
Which advice would you give to less experienced talents who are just starting their career?
It all starts and ends with a growth mindset. The ability to always believe you can get better and that you will never stop learning. Learn from other people's mistakes and successes. Genuinely celebrate when others achieve and use that as another opportunity to learn and a new bar that can be reached.
Pick the right company to work for, do you want to build something or administer something?
Pick the right manager, people rarely leave companies… they leave managers.
Expect to put in more work when you are learning and starting out. Don’t expect everything to be fair every day, every week. In the long run it tends to even itself out, so focus on what you can control and that’s the attitude and effort you bring every day.
To sum it up “The greatest danger is not that our aim is too high, and we miss it, but that is too low and we reach it.” - Michelangelo.
Which key qualifications should applicants have to join the Sales Department?
Since we right now are looking for people that quickly can grow into team leads I want to focus on some of those skills and traits :-)
Competitive nature. You’re driven to be the best. You challenge yourself by setting goals, crushing them, and helping your teammates do the same.
Exceptionally motivated and highly accountable for personal and team success.
Exceptional prioritization and time management skills.
Exemplary negotiation and closing skills.
Natural leader who supports and mentors’ peers.
Motivated to inspire and coach others.
Even keeled with high emotional intelligence.
What challenges do you face every day and how do you deal with them?
I believe the biggest challenge is time management, constantly prioritizing which 20% that will drive 80% of the outcome. Since we are still in the building phase there are never enough hours in a day and the day does not have a clear end when you have teams in Raleigh and Madrid. To balance patience with urgency is also important and it will never go away even when we can consider we built out all the infrastructure, best practices and operational models to just focus on execution. In my 20+ years in sales there has never been a single day when I didn’t find something we can improve….then patience comes in :-)
Describe your team at Celonis in three words.
Together is better.
Which of the Celonis values matters most to you and why?
I was actually nominated for the “Best team wins” award and I’m absolutely obsessed with building an environment and culture where everyone can succeed. For me success is not hitting and overachieving the plan for the team, for me success is when everyone on the team hits and overachieves their plan and goals. It has actually come to the point when I don’t look at my number or goals anymore, but at all the individual goals of every team member….that’s what I focus on, that’s what I plan for, that’s what I obsess about and measure myself my against.
Torbjörn joined Celonis in July 2020 and is based out of Stockholm. With an Economics and Mathematics background, Torbjörn gained 10+ years of Sales experience at Gartner and within the Telco industry. Besides work, he is a proud husband and father, an avid reader and practicioner of mindfulness and a huge soccer and UFC fan.
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