Professional Development Plan – Abigail Teschke

I interviewed Maggie Schwartz, a client solutions manager at Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. for my informational interview project. Schwartz graduated from Kansas State University in December 2019 and began her career at Gallagher in August 2020. I chose to interview Maggie because she works as a young professional in Kansas City and received a degree in Business Administration. I knew I could learn a ton by having a conversation with Maggie Schwartz.

Schwartz got hired at Gallagher, an insurance company, in August of 2020. She began her professional career during a global pandemic, which meant she had to learn a great deal of brand-new information over Zoom and email. “It was really hard to feel like I was doing my best at the beginning because everything was online, but everyone was struggling with the new work environment which helped,” Maggie said. As a client solutions manager, one of Maggie’s main responsibilities is to maintain relationships with current clients. When she started, she had to learn about her clients and the insurance market. One of the biggest things I got out of speaking with Maggie is that you should learn all you can in school, but some things must be learned on the job.

Before going into the workforce, I would like to do an internship. Schwartz did not do an internship but agreed that internships are a smart decision. They give you an idea of what your future daily life might be like. Internships also show people what they like and dislike about certain careers. Like me, Maggie worked a few parttime jobs while going to school. She told me that she uses some of the skills that she gained at her parttime jobs (Dillard’s and Dick’s Sporting Goods). Side jobs can teach you the importance of being reliable and being a team player. Parttime jobs can also teach you unexpected skills like the ability to make conversation with strangers and solve customers’ problems.

When I asked Schwartz for advice on how to get into the insurance sales field, she stressed the importance of researching companies before interviewing with them. It is impressive when an interviewee knows what the company does and what they stand for. Knowledge about the company also prepares the interviewee for what is ahead of them. You should apply for jobs at companies that you find appealing and likeable. Maggie also told me to practice interviews and presentations beforehand with friends to ease nerves. By being ready for the interview, you will be able to put your best foot forward and show the company what you are truly capable of.

To get ready for the workforce, I need to research fields that I am interested in. It is hard for me to choose what career I would like to have because there are so many options within marketing and sales. Maggie told me that to narrow down her options, she investigated several different fields and thought about which roles she could picture herself in. Next semester, I am going to apply for a marketing internship. Hopefully, the internship will give me a better idea of what I can see myself doing after graduation.

Interviewing Maggie taught me about what the daily life of a client solutions manager is like. She had to pass an exam to get the job she has; she must keep up with her knowledge on the insurance field and maintain relationships with several clients. Schwartz told me that a typical day in her life looks like responding to emails, talking to clients, and finding/ researching new leads. Her path to finding a career during a pandemic was not easy, but she says so far it has been worth it. Talking to Maggie Schwartz made me feel excited for what is ahead.

A buyer persona is a detailed description of a company’s ideal customer. Some marketing firms rely heavily on demographics to define their ideal customer. This means that they use things like age and education level to create a buyer persona. It is great to define a customer by demographics, but figuring out how customers think is usually even more important. When a company understands how a customer thinks, the company can anticipate the problems they encounter during the purchase process.

I currently work for Target! The customers at Target tend to be younger according to demographic data. One of the challenges a Target customer might face is finding the right things at the right price. To solve this problem, Target  has the Target app. There are coupons on it and customers can look up products to check availability. Since Target customers are younger, they are probably busier. To solve this problem, Target offers drive-up and pick-up services.

I watched “Marketing Trends Nonprofits Need to Know (and Embrace). One of the most interesting parts of the webinar was when Kiersten Hill spoke about mobile pages. Websites viewed from a computer are much different than those viewed on a mobile device. It is important to be direct and concise with all information. When browsing on a mobile device, people skim. It is also important to use a small amount of photos. Overloading is easy on a mobile landing page. Phone screens are small. Taking up all of that space with pictures is a bad idea. Lastly, making sure there are no annoying popups is essential. Mobile browsers are likely to click off immediately if their experience is choppy and busy. If I make a website in the future, I will make sure to create a different format for mobile devices. When businesses or nonprofits try to use the same format for mobile and desktop, information tends to get lost.

1. Name of project/cause/nonprofit

ATProtect

2. Short Blurb

ATProtect is downloadable software that detects if websites are safe (free of viruses) or not to keep your computer healthy.

3. Project Description

ATProtect Prize SetCustomizable ear buds and computer case, along with a mouse pad featuring artwork from a local artist.

4. Risks and Challenges

Right now we use ATProtect Software Gen 5 to protect hundreds of computers across the country. Without the staff or capital to upgrade to Generation 6, our protection software may take a bit longer to install than other similar plans. However, we are determined to overcome this problem.

5. About you

ATProtect is an educated team dedicated to eliminating unnecessary stress from hardworking people’s lives by protecting their computers. At ATProtect, we have spent the past year designing and updating software that protects computers from deadly viruses. Our modern technology saves computers by telling the user if a website is safe or not. We won the NewTech award in 2020 and plan to continue making strides in the software industry. Computer viruses stop people from getting promotions and acing their big projects. ATProtect is here to make sure viruses will not win.

Sales requires a huge variety of skills. To be a great salesperson, you have to understand customers problems and spend time solving them. Each customer is different, so it is important to listen carefully and provide unique assistance to each and every one of your leads. Salespeople often struggle with coming on too strong or being dishonest. I think I need to remember that customers and salespeople have a lot more in common than they think. Both are working toward a goal and salespeople should look out for the customers best interests before, during, and after the sale.

I watched “2021 Playbook for New Sales Managers”. There was a large section dedicated to unpacking why new leaders tend to fail. To succeed, you must be open to change. You also have to love your job and want more than the money involved with it.

One of the key takeaways I noticed in the Salespower webinar is that doubling your clientele will double your opportunities. But, if you do not dedicate enough time to each client, you will lose most of the opportunities. It is important to allow yourself enough time with each lead. Customers need full attention.

The Marketing Fundamentals course included a ton of good information. It stood out to me that without the involvement of marketing, products and services have little value. Marketers and salespeople add value by knowing what kinds of products/services have the potential to solve customers problems. I also learned that since marketing can come with a lot of risk, it is important to have an organized marketing plan. The plan should include specific goals and objectives. To keep track of how your marketing strategy is doing, some of your goals should always quantifiable because numbers are measurable.

While browsing LinkedIn Learning, and “Effective Listening” course caught my eye. When I took Professional Sales last semester, it was stressed that listening is the key to turning a lead into a long term customer. I think I am an okay listener, but I catch myself getting ready for my turn to talk while listening. Becoming a better listener would help me notice what people need and improve my conversation skills. I think I should check out this course when I have some free time this week!

I relate to the town of Wabash because it reminds me of my hometown. Every time a new business opens in my hometown, people always get excited and show the business lots of love during its first few weeks. After the first weeks, business usually dies down a ton which sometimes leads to the business closing. There are few people in my hometown that have enough money to shop for leisure which is why business fades so quickly. Ellen’s Bridal shop interests me the most because I think people would be willing to travel to shop there. The store could create an Instagram account and feature happy soon-to-be brides.

I chose to attend “The Power of Social Listening at The Body Shop”. Jennifer Rice, the director of customer strategy and analytics at The Body Shop, was one of the presenters. Rice described how it is hard to track how companies are doing in terms of buzz. It gets expensive to run a brand tracker monthly or quarterly. Social listening is a method of tracking buzz and popularity. By tracking metrics and data on social media, a company can learn tons about how their brand is doing.

The Body Shop seeks to know what is being said about them online and tracks this by looking at their earned mentions. An earned mention differs from a paid mention because earned mentions are everyday people discussing the brand online. On the contrary, paid mentions are mentions that are paid for by the brand to generate brand awareness. Jennifer Rice and her team stress the importance of knowing how people are positively or negatively reacting to The Body Shop online.

Social listening can also be used in specific circumstances. Jennifer Rice spoke on how The Body Shop relaunched body butters in 2021. This was a huge campaign for the company, so the team at The Body Shop set up a different dashboard to specifically track the social media metrics on body butters. By looking at these metrics, the team was able to gather an understanding of how customers felt about the change in the body butters. In situations like these, social listening can help companies to better understand what customers want.

Jennifer Rice’s presentation was dedicated to answering how The Body Shop is growing as a mature brand. The Body Shop’s methods have changed, but their core values have stayed the same. Social listening is a relatively new concept, but it can do wonders for companies that want to get to know their audiences directly.

Since Coca-Cola is a top employer for new graduates, I would like to interview someone that works at Coca-Cola. Quinton Ferris is a JCCC alumni that works as an accountant at Coca-Cola.

I would ask:

How did you get in touch with Coca-Cola?

I see that you graduated from JCCC and KSU, how did these schools prepare you for your career?

What internships/ volunteer-work did you do to prepare yourself for the professional world?

As an accountant, what do you do at Coca-Cola?

What makes your job differ from an accountant job at another company?

In high school, I ran social media accounts for my school newspaper. I would like to expand social media skills by doing something similar and running social media for a business. I also gained experience with Photoshop and InDesign while I was involved in newspaper. I am really interested in internships that involve similar technology. An analytics class or something similar might help me improve my confidence. Small business owners like Wade Radina, who owns coffeeshops in Manhattan, would be interesting to speak with. NaKia Watermeier is another small business owner that I could learn a lot from.

It is important to have a professional looking LinkedIn profile because it gives a good first impression. Many aspects of life are online nowadays. In order to “wow” people digitally, you must go the extra mile on platforms like LinkedIn. Accounts that are professional, concise, and descriptive will attract great contacts. I requested to join a digital marketing group and a social media marketing group. I chose these groups because I would like to learn about marketing in today’s tech-savvy world.  Social media marketer and influencer stood out to me because they are two relatively new careers. I understand many platforms, but I need to work on my research and public speaking skills.