Econsultancy: Please describe your job: What do you do?

Eniko Tarkany-Szucs: I work as a solutions consultant at Sprinklr, a software company that provides a complete social media management platform for enterprises. I’m essentially a product specialist and social strategist who works with the sales team to best position our solution for our client’s needs. I help clients understand that Sprinklr is unique because it gives them one single place to reach, engage and listen to their customers across Facebook, Twitter and 23+ other social channels. I help them use Sprinklr to eliminate internal silos and provide a great experience for their customers.

I’ve been with Sprinklr for three years now. I’ve been lucky enough to have the opportunity to work in a variety of roles, first as an implementation specialist, then building our EMEA partner services organisation. The pre-sales roles is relatively new to me but I’ve been eyeing this role from the very start as it requires a certain passion for the product you’re selling, which I definitely have for Sprinklr.

Eniko

E: Whereabouts do you sit within the organisation? Who do you report to?

ET: I am part of the sales organisation and within that I am part of the pre-sales team. We work in partnership with the sales executives to grow the business.

E: What kind of skills do you need to be effective in your role?

ET: Industry and product knowledge is key for my job, however being able to present information succinctly to a variety of audiences is also essential. Additionally, the curiosity to constantly learn and keep your finger on the pulse of the industry.

Another important skill is for us to be able to quickly adapt to change and be comfortable with an always flexible schedule. Being ok to travel at a day’s notice is something most people would not be happy with but I enjoy and welcome the variety it brings to my day-to-day job.

E: Tell us about a typical working day…

ET: I usually walk to work and grab coffee on the way while listening to some kind of tech or news podcast like Recode/Decode with Kara Swisher to get a quick recap on what’s happening in the industry. If have client meetings that day, I will spend the morning prepping for them, understanding their business needs to be able to offer a Sprinklr solution for them that provides the best value. We’ll catch up with the sales reps ahead of the meetings and also debrief right after as well.

At Sprinklr, we’re very focused on having a close relationship with our customers, we usually have in-person meetings which I really enjoy. I love meeting new people and seeing how other businesses operate, then figuring out how Sprinklr can solve their biggest challenges. Later in the day, I will join calls around new product releases, do a deep dive into one of our new solutions and play around in the platform to keep myself up-to-date on the product.

After work, I’ll sometimes get a drink with colleagues to catch up on the day’s events. In a way, there’s no typical day at Sprinklr since we’re such a fast-paced company. I’ve learned to be really flexible and go with the flow, while always keeping the customer in mind.

E: What do you love about your job? What sucks?

ET: I love that my job involves understanding how various businesses operate, how they’re struggling and then problem solving.. It’s great when I get to help companies recognize the value of social and customer experience management. So many companies aren’t using social to its greatest potential, and social data should really be the foundation of everything a company does. Every day I get to help solve the challenges of some of the world’s largest companies, and that’s pretty amazing. I also get to work with super smart people who are supportive and just generally great fun.

What sucks? Well, I recently moved into this role, so honestly nothing yet! This role does require a lot of flexibility which I know will be challenging, and I’ll always have to be prepared for changes.

E: What kind of goals do you have? What are the most useful metrics and KPIs for measuring success?

ET: In my role it ultimately comes down to what deals you’ve influenced and what deals closed. The depth of your product and industry knowledge is also a key metric as that depends on the complexity of deals you will work on. My goals are to deepen my knowledge as much as possible (learn, learn, learn!), work on perfecting my presentation skills and to build out a good working relationship with each member of the sales team, who I work very closely with on a day-to-day basis.

E: What are your favourite tools to help you to get the job done?

ET: My iPhone (surprise), MacBook Pro and wireless headphones are indispensable to me and I use Slack to communicate internally. My Google calendar is my North Star. If something is not in it, it’s not happening. I also rely on Sprinklr’s social listening solution for any research and insight into industry trends and news.

E: How did you get into social tech, and where might you go from here?

ET: I started out working at a big corporate company where they were experimenting with getting into social and mainly needed someone who was creative, eager and a self-starter. I then moved to agency life and spent a couple of years managing social media campaigns for various clients. I was always drawn towards the technology industry and heard that Sprinklr was an exciting startup with a really strong product offering. So, when the opportunity to work for a growing team with a unique social media software presented itself, I was more than ready to jump on board.

Sprinklr is a global company with 20 offices around the world, so someday I may like to work in another location like San Francisco or somewhere in Asia.

E: Which brands do you think are doing social well?

ET: Brands that do social well are those who have exceptional customer experience, where their customer care team is able to turn an unhappy customer around or their community managers are able to do something special for their fans with a quick turnaround. I also look at how they target paid advertising and if there’s actual thought in it (basically, why me?). Of course, creative work is essential but knowing that there is technology out there that can help brands do social well makes me have very high expectations.

E: Do you have any advice for people who want to work in social media?

ET: Social media is a relatively young industry and it’s always changing. You need to keep on learning and testing all the new apps, and keep up with industry trends. It’s definitely one of the ‘fun’ industries to work in. Social media and customer experience management is really essential for any company that wants to survive in the future. So, I think you’d need to be able to demonstrate that you really understand social and its potential to be able to work in the industry.

If you’re looking to skill-up in social, see Econsultancy’s training courses.