Brett is one of our Sales Development Representatives and has been working with us for 6 months now. So, this seemed like the perfect moment to check in with him and see how it’s all going. In his spare time, Brett loves to travel and although he is now settled in Colorado, he has seen much of the world and once lived in Barcelona, Spain for 3 years.
Why were you job hunting at the time?
Brett: “I’d been working as a project manager at a family business for 10 years or so and I was getting tired of it. Second of all, I wanted to work remotely. Thirdly, I went to college for International Business, so I love the global aspect of work.
I also love technology and I love helping people to be successful and doing all we can to make that happen. So mainly, I was trying to find something that was aligned with International Business because that was not what I was doing at the time. I had a friend named Teemu Antila who works at Aexus for the Nordics team, and he went to Barcelona with me and recommended me for this job. Thankfully, Aexus have given me the chance to make my mark for the last 6 months.”
Where did you work before Aexus?
Brett: “Like I said, I was a project manager superintendent for a construction company. They build hospitals, guardianships, and a lot of commercial stuff. It’s different to my current job at Aexus, but I’m able to bring my project manager knowledge with me. This give me an advantage in terms of time management, being able to create Excel lists and being a clear communicator.”
When you chose to work for Aexus, what was so appealing about the company?
Brett: “I had an interview with Jos van der Meulen (Co-owner of Aexus) and Maaike Voeten (Managing Director at Aexus) and they were really nice people. It also looked like they were going to give me a chance even though I don’t have a sales background. What was really so appealing was that not only Chris Gerretsen (Co-owner of Aexus) and Jos, and also Teemu were saying like ‘hey, it’s a great place to work’ but just them having the confidence in me to give me an opportunity. And I liked the website of Aexus, I liked the logo, I liked everything they do. It wasn’t just one specific thing, but it seems like they could work with all kinds of different technologies. I just thought that was cool.”
How did you experience your first month at Aexus?
Brett: “The first month was pretty tough actually. I was new to sales and it’s pretty demanding. But now I’m getting the hang of it more and getting more communication with partners. So, it was tricky at first but the onboarding and the videos that Chris sends every week help a lot. Besides that, there were three trainings as well. One with Chris, one with Jos, and one with Maaike. They were all helpful on closing deals, partner communications and time management.”
What do you like most about working for Aexus?
Brett: “I like the people and I like our US-team. Working with Aexus is a good deal because it is remote. If I want to go back to Spain and be able to work from there for a while, that’s a possibility. Within the next three months I want to go to the Arnhem office in the Netherlands to get to meet everybody, like Chris, Jos, Maaike and Marieke, just to get a foundation and connect.”
When you look back at your first six months at Aexus, what do you like most about your job as an SDR?
Brett: “Basically, my favorite thing is being able to work with a bunch of different people and technologies. I like being the first one to connect with partners.”
Can you tell me something crazy that happened during you working time at Aexus?
Brett: “Yeah. I really liked a partner within about two weeks of landing them, but they weren’t a good fit with the US. It was crazy because I did all the work I possibly could, but they still weren’t happy. It made me learn that I it’s not just about what you can do as the partner also needs to be a good fit for the territory. The problem is a lot of people think they know all about the US when they get here but it’s mostly misconceptions.”
What would you like to say to people who would like to apply for a job at Aexus?
Brett: “If anybody is looking for a job at Aexus I would like to say: make sure that you have good time management skills and great communication skills, because you can never communicate too much with your partners. Also, always learn about the technology before you start trying to sell it.”
Is there anything else you would like to mention?
Brett: “I look forward to seeing how we are going to grow as a team in the US.”
Are looking for a new challenge yourself and like the idea of joining the Aexus family? Then please take a look at Aexus’ open vacancies right here. We’d love to tell you more about it and if you fill out the form, we could be having a chat this week!