Leigh Ryan

You worked for a few years after college before starting at memoryBlue. What did you do?

I majored in political science and graduated from the University of Maryland in 2010. I went to work in retail for Best Buy, and eventually took a position there managing the mobile department.

What led you to look elsewhere and eventually take a job with memoryBlue?

After a lot of reflection, I couldn’t see myself stuck in a store 10 years from now. So I uploaded my resume to a few sites, and one of memoryBlue’s recruiters reached out to me. I hadn’t heard of memoryBlue at the time, but the recruiter and I talked for a long time. I liked how much the company valued my background in sales and technology, and the marketable skills I had learned at Best Buy. I especially liked that they were willing to train me, and trust me to build relationships with VPs of sales at small companies and startups all over the country. These were big value drivers.

You started as an Account Executive but got promoted quickly to Delivery Manager. Tell us about your current position and how you spend your day.

I had developed a great relationship with my client and was exceeding expectations as an Account Executive. The promotion happened fast, because I had previous management experience.

Initially, I actually took the job at memoryBlue thinking I would just stay until I found the right company to work for. But I found the right company here at memoryBlue and decided to stay when Marc Gonyea and Chris Corcoran, the owners, offered me my current position.

In the delivery management role, I manage two different kinds of people — my team of Account Executives on the one hand and our clients on the other. On the Account Executive side, I give one-on-one feedback, lead group discussions and critiques, and work with them on their sales game and “bedside manner.” I also work with Account Executives on communicating with the client, which is very important.

On the client side, a lot of my accounts are brand new to memoryBlue. I approach the client relationship very delicately and meticulously. The most important part of that relationship is ensuring that the client’s expectations are exceeded. I do this through constant communication. I make sure they understand what’s on the agenda for our weekly calls, discuss what’s going well or not so well, and reiterate that they can call me any time. We go through the logistics of the campaign — the leads, targets, and other essentials, and if something isn’t working well, we come up with a plan and fix it.

You mentioned the culture. Why did it influence you to stay? What’s the culture like at memoryBlue?

What I hear time and again — and what I’ve found to be true — is that we work hard and play hard. We take our work incredibly seriously, and everyone here wants to learn as much as possible. At memoryBlue, the Account Executives (and all of us, really) have access to the kind of training they won’t get anywhere else. This isn’t just a job — it’s a career, and we’re constantly evolving, whether through our group discussions, formal training sessions, or even the articles and books we read and discuss about the latest sales strategies, like the one we just finished, The Challenger Sale: Taking Control of the Customer Conversation, by Matthew Dixon and Brent Adamson.

In our off time, we go on trips together and do things to let loose and have fun. A couple of months ago, we had a fantasy inside sales competition (mimicking a fantasy football competition), and the winners got to go to Atlantic City.

It’s a blast and every day is different. No matter what, I can always rely on this team not only to have fun, but to work hard and deliver results.