Graduate Case Study – Tom Hamilton – SDR at Hivemind

Tom Hamilton is a recent graduate from the SaaSLeads Academy who is already making his way in the SaaS sales industry at Hivemind. We sat down with Tom to talk about his experiences at the Academy.

Starting out

Hi Tom. Let’s start at the beginning. How did you first find out about the SaaSLeads Academy?

My friend from uni was one of the first people to go through the Academy and he told me it was a great opportunity. I’d never thought about sales before, but when he said he’d introduce me, I thought I’d give it a go. I had some interviews and I thought, ‘You know what? This seems exciting.’

How would you describe the Academy to someone thinking about signing up?

It’s a lot of learning – which you’d expect because no one goes into it knowing anything. For the first couple of weeks, you learn a lot about a lot of things. But then – and this is the best part – you start to apply your learnings in the real world. So you learn through actually doing it. That’s what makes it different to other training programmes. 

Skills

What was the main skill you developed at the SaaSLeads Academy?

I’d worked in hospitality before, so I always felt I was a ‘people person’. But, you need entirely different skills to outbound call the CEO or Sales Director of a company. I learned the social skills to reach people like that and connect with them.

And those skills are helpful outside of sales too. You must have experienced some real personal development?

In lots of ways – mainly by meeting everyone at the Academy – the other student, mentors and guest speakers. I got to know many of them and they’d open up about their career paths and the obstacles they overcame. It was fascinating to hear how they’ve coped with the current situation regarding Covid.

Best bits

What was your favourite part of the programme?

Some of the training sessions were brilliant. In one exercise, someone asks you a question, but you can only reply with another question. You have to find out why this prospect is talking to you like this and what they want to find out. Do they have an ulterior motive?

You must have some funny stories?

Definitely. Mainly the outbound calls. We’d get together on Zoom and share our stories to take the pressure off. I once called this guy in America. He heard me speak and started putting on a Cockney accent. I’m Scottish!

Finally, can you sum up your SaaSLeads Academy experience in three words?

Learning. A. Lot.