Sales Code Leadership Podcast

Join Kevin in an enthralling episode of the Sales Code Leadership Podcast as he sits down with Joe Curtis, the accomplished VP of Sales at Okta, to delve into the secrets behind the the behaviours of successful salespeople. Joe, a lover of process and of sports, talks sales leadership and highlights the profound impact of fostering a culture that fuels team-wide motivation towards unparalleled success.

Tune in to gain invaluable insights from Kevin and Joe as they uncover the distinguishing traits of top-tier sales professionals and find out how you can continue to stand out in the ever-changing landscape of professional sales.

Joe began his career with NCSA, a Chicago based, B2C tech company that digitally connects college coaches with high school student-athletes. After being hired for $10/hour in 2002, he was able to grow with the young company, taking on a variety of sales, marketing and operations roles. In 2005, Joe took over sales and, over the next 5 years, the company grew from 20-180 sales people and from $1m to $40m in revenue.

After almost 10 years, Joe left NCSA to join Salesforce as an individual contributor, selling into the mid market space. After two years of selling, he was tapped to get back into leadership as a first line leader. Over the next 7 years, Joe led SMB to Enterprise teams, finishing his Salesforce career as a 2nd line VP in Salesforce's strategic enterprise group.

Again, after almost 10 years, Joe left Salesforce to join Okta where he took on a broader role as a 3rd line VP running commercial sales, where is currently Vice President Sales Central/East US.

Joseph lives in Dallas, TX with his wife Gina and his two young daughters, Lucy and Gwen.

Connect with Joe here.

The podcast is brought to you by Sales Code, helping revenue leaders unlock added value in B2B SaaS sales teams. Your views on our podcast are always welcome, as well as any questions you might have for our podcast guests.

Connect with host Kevin Thiele here.

How do we encourage more women to embrace a career in tech sales?

This episode marks the return of Lisa Occleshaw, an accomplished sales leader and lover of people, to the Sales Code Leadership Podcast. Kevin and Lisa delve into the transformative power of enablement within sales teams and emphasize the significance of teamwork. Lisa shares her personal journey as a sales professional, recounting experiences ranging from being the sole woman among 35 applicants vying for a sales role to eventually leading her own team, all while imparting valuable lessons she has gained along the way.

If you want to learn more about Lisa, here is what she has to say: “I began my career in IT Sales by accident and have stayed for 28 years so far! I grew up in the Midlands and graduated with a degree in Accounting from Oxford Brookes - it was the Poly when I went in. Trouble was I didn't want to be an accountant! So doing a temp job at a very small software reseller opened up my eyes to Technology and also that I quite enjoyed the sales process.

Jump forward to 2021 and after a long stint at IBM, followed by a spell at SAP I am now Head of UK Sales for a fabulous Identity vendor called Ping. I am married with a 16 year old son and I live not too far from the sea. I have all sorts of hobbies, which have become more important than ever to me since the pandemic. 9 hours a day in front of the laptop has driven all of us to things outside of work and for me those things are Interior Design (we are building our new house), weight-lifting, hiking and singing. But most of all I love people. I like watching them, listening to them, learning from them and helping them when I can. I am an only child and get my energy from being with others... especially customers!”

Connect with Lisa here. The podcast is brought to you by Sales Code, helping revenue leaders unlock added value in B2B SaaS sales teams. Your views on our podcast are always welcome, as well as any questions you might have for our podcast guests.

Connect with host Kevin Thiele here.