Megan Don: A determined sales enthusiast
Gepubliceerd op 05-09-2024
When you think of a true go-getter with a passion for sales, Megan Don quickly comes to mind. A vibrant 30-year-old from Rotterdam, Megan reveals her inspiring journey from a broadly interested student to a powerful professional in the world of sales and management in this interview.
She started her journey in MAVO, studied tourism but quickly realized her true calling was elsewhere. With determination and resilience, she advanced to HBO, studying MER (Management, Economics, and Law), and specialized in business administration.
A journey of discovery
Megan’s path to success was anything but straightforward. When asked if she always knew what she wanted to be, she shakes her head. “No, absolutely not,” Megan laughs. Her broad interests led her to a tourism degree, where she could combine her love for travel with her studies. She soon realized that travel should remain a hobby and decided to change direction.
During a gap year, Megan discovered her true calling. With the help of a coach, she decided to continue her studies and enrolled in business administration. This program gave her the opportunity to travel through internships abroad. She interned in America, Suriname, and Malaysia. Megan felt right at home, thanks to the various aspects of her business studies, which not only focused on management and law but also covered many other disciplines.
Deep dive in the world of sales
While still studying, Megan decided to start her own business. Returning to hospitality was not an option for this ambitious young woman. Her internship experience introduced her to cold acquisition, and soon she decided to specialize in sales and cold acquisition, doing everything from selling ad time to generating leads for clients. Megan considers this period her “sales baptism,” but over time, she began to seek a greater purpose—one where she could truly add value to an organization.
“After a while, I began craving a greater purpose…” After two years in sales, the travel bug hit again. Megan decided to travel to Australia and New Zealand for 10 weeks. Upon her return, she sought more stability, with an eye on her future.
A new beginning at Visma
Megan found that stability at Visma, a software company. She worked for the Yuki Works entity, an accounting platform, where her sales performance quickly stood out. She was given the opportunity to help other entities improve their sales and specialized in new benchmarks, from providing training to guiding API implementations. When she started at Yukiworks, the team had 60 people, but by the time she left, it had grown to 200. The company ran like a well-oiled machine, but Megan began to miss the challenge and freedom as she became more focused on one project.
At one point, she received a message from Sabine van Knijff in her LinkedIn inbox. Sabine approached Megan in a personal and engaging way, which immediately caught her attention.
Their first phone call was scheduled, and the connection was instant. Megan expressed her dissatisfaction with her current role, and Sabine suggested that Prometheus might be a good fit. This greatly appealed to Megan, as Prometheus sold more complex software products and was a small (MVO) organization where she could take on a variety of roles. After a meeting with Prometheus, where the chemistry was evident, Megan started as an Account Manager at the company.
The transformation at Prometheus
Prometheus was undergoing internal changes at the time, as the founders were retiring, and the company had been taken over by shareholders. Megan believed that the organizational structure and culture needed modernization to compete better in the world of Software as a Service (SaaS). She applied the experience she had gained at Visma, particularly in pricing models—fixed fees and consultative selling.
Together with the management at Prometheus, Megan simplified the pricing model, making it clearer for both clients and the internal team. By December, she had already transitioned clients to the new pricing model, with almost all existing customers extending their contracts for 3 to 5 years. Internally, staff changes were also implemented to create more synergy. Megan transitioned from Account Manager to Sales Manager.
The transition was natural and smooth for Megan. Her experience as a team lead in her previous job helped her grow quickly into her new role. She is currently building her own team and has enlisted the help of ‘Women in Sales’ to support her in this.
Megan Don: Energetic and Goal-Oriented
In the workplace, Megan is known for her energy and enthusiasm. She radiates so much positive energy that even the developers on the other side of the office notice when she enters. “I’m just loud,” Megan says. She describes herself as competitive, assertive, and sometimes a bit too driven, with a typical Rotterdam mentality: “No talking, just doing.”
Megan’s directness is appreciated internally, even if her colleagues aren’t always used to it. Her openness, honesty, and persuasiveness are her strengths. She knows how to connect people and brings positive energy to her team and organization.
What Megan hears from her clients is enthusiasm. She often hears that she approaches things in a fun and engaging way. Her goal is to make customers happy and ensure they feel like they’ve had a valuable conversation rather than just a standard sales pitch. Megan sees herself as a mediator between her clients and organizations and enjoys taking them through the process.
From candidate to client
She describes it as a completely new experience being a client, where she is involved from start to finish in the process. She emphasizes the personal and transparent approach of ‘Women in Sales,’ which she also experienced during her time as a candidate. “Women in Sales pinpointed exactly what we needed, which naturally resulted in a candidate who was a perfect fit.” Megan also heard that the candidates presented were all positively impressed by the Women in Sales team.
For Megan, diversity is essential, and she sees this in many aspects. Diversity is about more than just gender or age; it encompasses different levels of experience and backgrounds. At Prometheus, she values the diverse perspectives that different people bring. She believes this ultimately leads to synergy and enrichment for the organization as a whole.
