#23 Sales Hiring for Diversity, Inclusion, and Effectiveness

ABOUT THE GUEST - RAKHI VORIA, DIRECTOR, IBM GLOBAL DIGITAL SALES DEVELOPMENT 

As the Director of IBM Global Digital Sales Development, Rakhi Voria manages a team that is responsible for the strategy, implementation, and revenue of the Digital Sales Development (DSD) function globally. Within the DSD sales force, there are ~350 Digital Development Representatives and Business Development Representatives responsible for driving client engagement, deal progression, and closure of select deals. Rakhi previously worked at Microsoft and most recently served as the Chief of Staff to the Corporate Vice President of WW Inside Sales, where she played a key role in building a new digital sales force for Microsoft, growing the team to 2,000 digital sellers globally and the business to over $5B in under 3 years. 

Rakhi has a strong passion for advancing women in sales and millennials in business and regularly shares her thoughts on these topics by speaking at conferences and writing publications in Forbes as a member of the Forbes Business Development Council. She currently serves as Executive Co-Chair of Women@IBM NYC, which is focused on attracting, retaining, and advancing women. 

Rakhi has been featured in Geekwire, The Seattle Times, Career Contessa, and other publications. She was named a Top Sales Woman to Watch in 2019 and a Top Woman in Sales Keynote Speaker in 2020. She earned her M.Sc. from the University of Oxford and her B.A. from Colorado College. Rakhi is based in New York City. 

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rakhivoria/ 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/rakhivoria 
Forbes articles: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbesbusinessdevelopmentcouncil/people/rakhivoria/#48e2218175a1 
Women in sales documentary feature: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHAnPbQJSHQ  

 
ABOUT THE EPISODE  

In this episode, Rakhi and David focus their conversation on hiring salespeople and issues around women in sales.  

0:35 - What is the best piece of sales advice that Rakhi ever received?  

3:25 - What’s the worst piece of advice that Rakhi ever heard?  

6:00 - Rakhi shares some thoughts about why hiring salespeople is different from other kinds of hires and why a generic approach to hiring salespeople isn’t the best approach.  

8:50 - How can you identify the best potential salespeople, specifically those who have the grit it takes to succeed in modern sales roles?  

10:40 - How can you identify whether a prospective candidate for a sales role CAN sell and WILL sell?  

12:40 - What are some of the things that have surprised Rakhi when hiring for sales roles?  

15:15 - Should there be a different approach to hiring women into sales roles than men?  

18:21 - Is non-diversity bias always deliberate or is it at least sometimes a blind spot?  

20:24 - Why does it matter if there are more women in sales or not?  

22:47 - What are some of the unique challenges that women face in sales?  

25:59 - How can an organization get started to move in the direction of increased diversity and decreased internal bias?  

27:54 - What is one thing that Rakhi learned during her professional journey that she wishes she knew at the start of her career?  

30:35 - Where to learn more about and connect with Rakhi