To say that Angelique is passionate about fiber is an understatement. You can hear it in her voice and if we were lucky enough to meet in person there’s no doubt her face lights up as well. Angelique didn’t start in business sales. Like many, she learned the ins and outs of AT&T while on the frontlines of our retail stores. She quickly moved up the ranks from that store in El Paso to helping small (and not-so-small) business owners with their communication needs. The skills she crafted set the stage for continued career moves many years down the line.
Growing a Career
From retail sales to management, to growing and strategizing social media, to helping launch call centers, Angelique’s development with AT&T certainly wasn’t a straight line. To add, in the middle of it all, she made time to go back to school and earn her bachelor’s degree. A goal she had pushed back to focus on career and family. Family, after all, takes priority for a single mother.
“The work was hard, but it helped develop my career – and I loved learning different areas of our business,” Angelique said, reflecting on her time with AT&T. “It was time to take the next step. After texting with my old peer about new opportunities, he led me to a fiber role. On the same day of my interview, I got a call saying they wanted me for the position.”
She was hooked from day one. Angelique once waited for customers, but now she closes deals on their turf, supporting large corporations down to small mom and pop businesses. She became an expert in fiber sales, discovering new opportunities on the road and building a professional network.
Selling as a Team
Sales comes with plenty of challenges but having a fun team to help take on those challenges can go a long way. Angelique’s sales team came from a wide variety of backgrounds and experiences. Some trained through our B2B Sales Development Program, others learned the trade from completely different specialties like medical sales or credit card services. Between the support of her teammates and sharing knowledge, Angelique gained more than enough perspective that led to her own selling style. Not to forget those friendly contests between selling groups that brought everyday camaraderie.
“The best thing you can do when coming into a new role is observing your teammates, and your leadership. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. I would sync up with each of them and see what tactics they were using. I also job shadowed. This helped me figure out my own rhythm. In this role, you see week-over-week, month-over-month progress. I felt growth each week and refined my tactics and approach. Going out into the field with my manager really helped too, I could see how tactical he was.”
Fiber sales isn’t the final stop either. From here, Angelique and her fellow sales experts have a variety of opportunities in other areas of sales, management or consulting. They can even cross into other fields such as business, tech, marketing, and entertainment.
The Road Continues
Now, ten years into her career with AT&T, she is still excited to talk to anyone about fiber sales and the journey she has taken. From El Paso to San Antonio, Austin, Chicago, Houston, and Dallas, she is still in the Lone Star state as one of our B2B Sales Managers. With a different goal on sales, she now educates the next generation of experts though our B2B Sales Development Program. A program that is designed to help college grads gain experience and knowledge to build careers in fiber and mobility.
“It’s a phenomenal program. Really eye opening to see the amount of training and how we are really amplifying these kids careers in such a short period of time. Obviously, the goal is for them to stay here with AT&T to build their own careers and we give them the tools and resources they need to succeed.”
Angelique doesn’t know exactly where her road will lead from here. She does know, however, where she wants to be and is always working on the next step to get there.
One thing is for sure, “I love sales, I will always come back to sales…”
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