TeleSign Is Growing Globally. What Does That Mean for Its Sales Team?

Where do you want to be in five years?

There’s a good chance your answer will change, depending on the projects you’re involved with and the people you meet. Instead of setting a far-off concrete goal of attaining a certain position, perhaps there’s a more fulfilling approach to finding professional bliss. Maybe it’s more about finding a company where employees are exposed to fresh opportunities and encouraged to change their minds as they grow as people. 

“That’s why I took this role at TeleSign,” Jenni Klos, key account manager, said. “I see so many ways to grow. I don’t think I can give a definite answer about where I want to be in five years, but by working here and having these conversations on a regular basis, I can figure it out.”

According to Andy Lines, APAC regional director, there certainly is room to figure it out at the scaling company, where new opportunities unfold frequently. TeleSign, a mobile identity authentication company, has benefitted from the increase in digital communication between consumers and businesses like TransUnion, Experian and more. 

“If we think about the way we work and how we interact with businesses, it’s mostly through our phones,” Lines said. “And that’s precisely how TeleSign designs our solutions: To be mobile-based. Anything that is optimized for digital or mobile is going to be a business you want to be in.”

With a product that’s caught on around the world, TeleSign is keen to continue its upward momentum. And a big part of doing so is ensuring its team is committed to the ride. That means nurturing talent and ensuring everyone has a runway to grow their careers — wherever their interests take them. 

“I’ve only been here for a few months, so I’m brand new,” Klos said. “But the number of opportunities available here was a key reason I joined. I see such potential in this company, which means teams will continue to grow, and with them, even more opportunities to grow in and with the company.”

What kind of growth has TeleSign’s sales team undergone in the last couple of years?

APAC Regional Director Andy Lines: The space we’re in is incredibly exciting. We’re seeing businesses use these mobile-based services more and more for mission-critical functions. Our services and solutions aren’t going away — think of how commonplace Zoom has become. Anything that is optimized for digital or mobile is going to be a business you want to be in. 

The sales team has gone through tremendous growth in the last three years, and we’re now looking at an entirely global game. Our growth story has been pretty organic: We’ve been able to find people who’ve made a tremendous impact. Pretty much all of our sales leaders have started at TeleSign as sellers, which has been amazing for our culture. 

To grow a career, it’s imperative that new hires are set up for success. That being said, what does TeleSign’s onboarding program look like?

Sales Enablement Manager Michelle Greener Goodman: Our goal with our onboarding program is to give new sellers an opportunity to come into a space, whether they have industry knowledge or not, and give them everything they need to be successful. 

The way our onboarding works is that the first couple of weeks, there’s special focus on specific areas. One is industry knowledge, another is culture — where sellers talk to their peers and leaders to make sure they get acquainted with what’s around them. They have a buddy who they’re paired up with to make sure they always have someone they can go to with questions. We also make sure new hires have access to our tech stack and thoroughly train them on product knowledge. 

We have a learning management system, which is a tool we leverage as we go through these focuses. There are key tasks everyone must complete, like being able to share a deck and understand what TeleSign does. All of that work has been supported with content that’s presented to employees, and contributes to them being able to give a really successful elevator pitch or presentation. We have a very practical approach to onboarding where we focus on what’s most important and relevant to our sales team. 
 

We have a very practical approach to onboarding where we focus on what’s most important and relevant to our sales team. ”

Key Account Manager Jenni Klos: I actually just went through the onboarding process. I want to give Michelle and her team props for the amount of information they provided in my first two weeks. Being remote, sometimes you can feel lost or like you don’t know what you should be doing. But the comprehensive onboarding and learning portals they put together had all of the information I needed. Still to this day, I go back and look at that content. At other companies, employees may have to dig for that information, but at TeleSign, it’s all documented thoroughly. Also, everyone is so welcoming and happy to help you when you have questions. I never felt lost or confused. 

What’s the sales team dynamic like?

Klos: Our whole team is very supportive. We have internal meetings where the whole team goes over their accounts and what they did to help close deals. What they have learned helps everyone. I also see a lot of people switching roles to go into sales, which I think is great because it shows how supportive our leadership is. You never feel like you’re off doing this job by yourself. We all really work together as one team to help everyone be successful. 

We do have small competitions, but at the same time, everyone helps each other with those. It’s just a really supportive team. Everyone just wants TeleSign to win, as a whole. 

Lines: The last 24 months really unfolded in ways nobody could have ever imagined. I think one of the key things that has allowed TeleSign to achieve success through it all is one of our core values, which is “TeleSign together.” That ability to stick together through the tough times has carried us. I think the best way to describe TeleSigners is ‘resilient.’ And in this day and age, that’s saying something. 

What kind of career growth do you have access to at TeleSign?

Lines: I started out as a business development associate, partnering with the sales team to help them drive meetings and get customer interest. After doing that for about a year, I was given an opportunity on the newly formed mid-market sales team. I did that for a few years and was successful, but I always knew I wanted to try something that wasn’t just sales — but I didn’t know what it was. 

I talked with different members of our marketing, product and tech team to get a good understanding of what their day-to-day life was. Just when I was about to make a total career move, I started enjoying a bit more luck in sales — and that’s when it became really fun. After that, I began looking at more opportunities within sales to grow. Leading a team was something I wanted to do, so when an opportunity came about for leading a small team in either Singapore or Brazil, I decided this would be a fun and incredibly challenging opportunity. When I think back on my career and what I’ve learned, my personal and professional growth came in areas I never could have imagined when I took this position. 
 

My personal and professional growth came in areas I never could have imagined when I took this position.”

Greener Goodman: I think there was a sales enablement person prior to me joining, but I was the first one to really formalize the role and create something out of it. I was really given the trust to do what I wanted in creating this role. There’s a lot of value in a company giving employees with an entrepreneurial spirit the keys to to take on things they normally wouldn’t have. 

There’s a feeling here that you can do what you want and create new things by yourself, which has certainly been my experience. I’ve been able to explore more avenues, really dig into my skill set and be confident in the work I’m doing. One of our values is “be entrepreneurial.” I think the ability to actually grow that way is amazing. 

Why is now an exciting time to join the team?

Lines: TeleSign employees are a great group of people who do some pretty cool stuff. Here, you have the opportunity to work anywhere and do anything. The great thing about TeleSign is its people. This company has been a way for me to build friendships, seek mentors and really find a home.