Meet Elizabeth Mears,
Sales Development Rep (SDR) at Terminus

Elizabeth Mears hasn’t always been in sales. The first job she ever had was as a lifeguard, where she taught kids how to swim and kayak. She went on to study psychology at East Carolina University before eventually ending up in technology sales. Elizabeth joined the Terminus team in April 2016, and she’s been killin’ it ever since.

As a sales development rep (SDR), Elizabeth spends her day making phone calls, prospecting, and connecting with potential clients — and, of course, playing some Mario Kart when she gets the chance.

To give you an inside peek at what it’s like to work at 2016’s Best Place to Work in Atlanta, we’re excited to introduce a monthly series featuring incredible team members from each of Terminus’ departments. We’ll get a look at their daily schedules and learn more about them and their roles at the company.

Before we get started, let’s get to know Elizabeth a little better with some fun facts.

What are your hobbies outside of work?

“I like to run, ski — anything outdoorsy. I also like to explore new places to eat.”

What’s your favorite restaurant in Atlanta?

“Superica, hands down!”

Where did you work prior to Terminus?

“I worked at a company called BrightLink in Roswell, Georgia. I was their first ever salesperson, so I worked directly under the CEO. From there, once we started selling, then we needed to hire people. So then I started doing HR, and I did some accounting, and I did office management. I wore a bunch of different hats, and that was a really cool opportunity for me because I got to see what my passion was, and I realized I really liked sales.”

“Elizabeth has a tenacity and unbelievable drive to get through any challenge placed in front of her.”

– Lucas Ulloque, Director of Sales Development at Terminus (in other words, Elizabeth’s boss)

A Day in the Life of a Terminus Sales Development Rep

When you’re an SDR at a fast-growing startup, no two days look exactly alike. In general, though, here’s what Elizabeth can expect from a typical day at Terminus, in her own words:

8:30 a.m. – 8:50 a.m. — I arrive for work, get settled in at my desk, and sort through my new emails.

8:50 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. — The SDR team’s daily check-in.  This is a meeting where we go over any objections the team faced on the phones or through email, recognize and congratulate our top demo-setters of the day, and discuss any new policies or procedures being put into place.

9:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. — I send out the first batch of emails to 30 new prospects, then call and email the remainder of my East Coast, Central, and Mountain Time prospects that are in my cadence.

12:00 p.m. – 12:30 p.m. — Now that it’s 9 a.m. out west, I send emails to my new prospects on the West Coast.

12:30 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. — Lunchtime! The SDR team eats together every day. It’s also a good opportunity to mingle with people from other departments. The team usually goes out on a team lunch every Friday because we have so many good restaurants right by the office.

1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. — After lunch, I call and email my Pacific Time prospects that are in my cadence. If I have time, I try to squeeze in a Mario Kart session in the game room. (But let’s be real; there’s always time for Mario Kart.)

4:00 p.m. – 4:05 p.m. — Daily SDR theme song time! I send out a cal invite with a catchy title — in December it was 4 O’Clock Holiday Happiness — and each member on the team is assigned a day to pick out their favorite song and play it for the team. January’s theme is Disney, so yesterday we played “Do You Want to Build a Snowman?” from Frozen in preparation for the snowstorm coming this weekend.

4:05 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. — Before I head out, my final task is to source 30 prospects for the next day.

Terminus SDRs Elizabeth Mears & Tom Edgeworth, featuring the Terminus COO — Chief Oven Officer, that is

Livin’ the Dream at Terminus

What was your interview process with Terminus like?

“I applied online and then I received a call from Kipp [Ramsey, Terminus’ Employee Success Manager]. He went through some basic HR questions to get a feel for my speaking skills in general and my phone etiquette.

“From there, he brought me in to interview with Lucas and Tonni [Bennett, VP of Sales at Terminus], and then they gave me a tour of the office, which was really cool. I really enjoyed getting to see the people I’d be working with.

“Then the second portion, I came in and I met with Lucas and Tonni again, and I met with two other SDRs and Sangram [Vajre, CMO of Terminus]. After I left — I interviewed at like 8 a.m. — they gave me a call within thirty minutes and they said, ‘We’d like to offer you the job.'”

As an SDR, who are you working with on a day-to-day basis?

“The SDR team all works really closely together. If we have any questions about objection handling, it’s normal to ask another SDR, ‘How would you say this?’ or ‘How would you write that email?’

“Plus, Lucas is the man. Having someone that you really respect — and he was an SDR before — is huge, so I really like working for him.”

What are your favorite things about working at Terminus?

“The people! I have never worked for a company where I laugh really hard multiple times a day. I work with a lot of class clowns, and they’re always making me crack up.”

[Tweet “Best part of working at @Terminus? “The people! I laugh really hard multiple times a day.””]

“I also love that we have unlimited vacation. My family lives in Virginia, and now I can see them a little bit more. We also have really awesome benefits. Having full health, dental, and vision for a smaller company is pretty unheard of.”

What’s your proudest accomplishment at Terminus?

“Being part of a company that has grown from around $2 million in revenue to $5 million in nine months.”

What’s your favorite office snack?

“Pirate’s Booty!”

The dynamic duo: account-based marketing + Pirate’s Booty

What is the biggest lesson you’ve learned while working as an SDR?

“I’ve learned how to find a fine balance between being persistent but not annoying.”

What advice would you give to someone who wants to work in sales?

“To practice your communication skills and understand the importance of persistence.”

Join the Terminus Team in Atlanta

Are you interested in joining the Terminus team? We’re always looking for positive, supportive, and self-starting people to add more fuel to our fire. If you think you’d be a good fit for our team, check out our careers page. We’d love to hear from you!