Here at Codat, we are driven by our core values of being United, Useful and Unstoppable – something that we have certainly demonstrated this year in particular. In what has been a tough year for everyone, we have been very fortunate to be able to keep growing. Codat has strived for continued success, looking to improve our client offering and expanding our reach.
This could not be achieved without the dedication of our brilliant Commercial Team. We are looking to grow this team immediately, with additional opportunities becoming available in the next 12 months, both in the UK and the USA. We thought it would be great to give a small insight into the team from our Commercial Director, Matt Hicks.
What’s your role at Codat?
Commercial Director – I lead our sales and partnership teams.
What was your background before Codat?
I worked in small business financial services sales for 10 years before joining Codat. I started out at a trade credit insurer in Canary Wharf, moving to fintech firms Marketfinance and Crowdcube more recently. Throughout these 10 years I have become frustrated by the problems Codat sets out to solve with its platform. That’s one of the reasons why it’s very easy for me to empathise with Codat’s clients today!
When did you join and how much have you seen the company grow since then?
I started working with Codat part time in March 2017 and joined full time in October of the same year. At the time there were just 5 of us – the 3 Founders, Jason (our Head of Engineering) and I, so it’s amazing to see the company grow to 80 people in just 3 years. We’ve also now successfully onboarded over 65 clients, covering some of the world’s largest banks and financial institutions.
What advice would you give to someone looking to start a career in b2b sales?
You need to be an expert in your market. Make sure you follow key people and publications in the industry so that you can have informed conversations with your customers. Learning is more important than earning in the early days. If you focus on providing value to customers, the earnings will follow.
Now about the team, how is the commercial team structured?
We recently changed the structure of the team from a 360 degree approach to a much more specialised approach. This new structure involves Sales Development Representatives (SDRs) who are focused on top of funnel activity, Sales people who focus on new business and then Solutions Engineers and Customer Success who support clients in the later stages of the sales process and once they have been onboarded as clients. I also recently introduced a dedicated partnerships function.
What’s a day to day like in your team?
High energy! You should feel tired at the end of day in the Codat Sales Team.
What’s the team culture like and how would you describe the type of person that would fit into your team?
The culture is hard working, light hearted and high energy. We are very united and loyal to our team mates. This role is not for the faint hearted – a huge amount of hard work is required in order to be successful. We seek out people who don’t just want another job, they want to come and help us build something special and important and this requires ambition and lots of hunger.
Aside from generating revenue what would you say is the key thing you look for from someone in your team?
Activity is key. In order to be successful you need to be having at least 10 meaningful interactions with clients every week. Fanatical prospecting is also critical to long term success. Sales people at all levels should find time to prospect every day.
What are you most proud of either with your role or your team as a whole (or both)?
I’m most proud of the progress my team has made. They have very diverse career backgrounds but have worked hard to become subject matter experts and are now capable of advising C-level executives on how they can use open data technology to improve their business. I am also a little biased and immensely proud of a team that has helped Codat generate 10’s of millions in revenue and sign up some of the world’s most well known financial institutions.
Finally, what does the next 12 months look like for the Commercial team and what are you most excited about?
We are entering the mass adoption phase of open data technology and Codat is well placed to capitalise on this opportunity as the best-in-class provider of open data for small businesses. I expect the Sales Team to grow from 12 people today to over 30 in one year’s time. I am super excited about Codat’s expansion to the USA!
With Codat looking to more than double our Sales Team over the next 12 months, we are always keen to speak to Sales professionals thinking about their next opportunity. For live roles please visit our Careers page or contact Zak Forbes, Talent Acquisition Manager at [email protected] to find out more about future opportunities.