WordStream has some impressive employees in its ranks: from industry influencers to marathon runners, from analysts to authors. The Employee Spotlight series aims to highlight the talented individuals who work here. Each month, we’ll be featuring an interview here on the blog and on our social accounts.
For this month’s Employee Spotlight, we spoke with Tiffany Manzi. Here at WordStream, Tiffany is a senior account executive on the sales team, and she’s the sales team lead for the Australia/New Zealand market.
On her own time, she’s almost as internationally focused. Tiffany’s travelled to more countries that you can count on, well, both hands, and she’s amassed a collection of amateur-turned-professional photos to prove it. We talked with Tiffany about the best places she’s travelled to, the best part of working on the sales team here, and more below.
Tiffany with her pup, Petey, who she rescued during a trip to Puerto Rico in 2010.
How long have you been at WordStream?
It’s going to be three years this July. Wow! I hadn’t realized that. I’ve been in my current position for about two years. I started on a different international team working UK and European markets before transitioning to the Australia/New Zealand team. I came from travel so it was a good transition to work with international customers.
Coming from a background in travel sounds like an interesting transition.
I was working in sales for a travel company. I got to go on a few of their tours while I worked there, and it sparked some serious wanderlust. I’ve been to 11 countries so far, and excited to check off my 12th in a few weeks, Switzerland!
What was your favorite place you’ve travelled to so far?
Peru or Thailand. In Peru, I hiked up to Machu Picchu, which was incredible. Really, it was incredible all around. In Thailand, I visited the Elephant Nature Park in Chiang Mai, Thailand. One elephant in particular was touching, because she came to the sanctuary with a broken paw. It was so great to see her walk and eat freely. We even got to bathe all the elephants in a creek with buckets of water! Such a cool experience.
How did you hear about WordStream? Why did you want to work here?
Working in travel was really fulfilling and awesome, but I felt I needed to set myself up for my future in a better industry. Tech isn’t going anywhere, so this is where I wanted to be. When I was job searching, I was checking LinkedIn, and I saw some posts about WordStream. I learned a bit more about online advertising, and became fascinated with how Google works. Learning about Wordstream’s mission to help SMBs leverage this digital channel more profitably felt like a great fit for me. I came in for an interview, and I’ve been here since.
What is the most challenging project you’ve worked on during your time here so far?
The biggest challenge for me was connecting with the international market. That’s involved learning how to speak across cultural norms to people with different working dynamics. There’s often a different focus than our market here in the US. Understanding what these people value so that I can provide that for them has been the biggest challenge.
What’s the most important thing you’ve learned at WordStream?
What a good question! The most important thing I’ve learned is definitely how to listen and problem solve. You can’t plan ahead too much, because everyone will need or say something different. You really have to understand and listen to what people need. You know you can’t just have a preset script. You have to really hear them out understand what their problems are and then show them how to access that solution in our tool.
A big part of learning to listen is also learning to not talk. It’s hard, especially when you’re a talker. I’m a talker so it’s really hard not to jump into gushing about our cool new features or telling someone exactly how we can help them.
What’s your favorite thing about working in sales here?
Easy, it’s fun! I think our SVP John Judge is a big part of that. He has so much energy, and he brings a lot of excitement to the floor. When you’re working under management that really values their employees, it’s easy to be motivated, because you know they want you to succeed and are willing to set you up for that success. I’ve been here for three years now, and I still feel like it’s an environment that’s building my success.
WordStream’s sales team at this year’s company holiday party.
What’s the first thing that you do when you start working every day?
I make a very strong latte. I personally like to get going early, usually, so I’ll sit down typically and go through my emails and my leads to get myself organized before the workday actually starts.
I like to timeblock my day, and I set my schedule while I’m getting organized. I set time for calls, time for emails, time for lunch. I like having my strong coffee to get going.
What’s your workspace like? Minimalist? Homey? Neat?
Super organized! If you couldn’t guess, I’m a super organized person. Everything on my desk is neat and has its place.
Do you have a go-to sound or song that you listen to when you need to just start working?
I love Dave Matthews. I’ve been to probably 15 concerts at this point. He’s my go-to, and he’s got a million songs that I can let roll in the background to keep myself amped up and in good spirits for the day.
If WordStream announced a last-minute day off for tomorrow, what would you do with your suddenly free day?
I love being outside. This time of year, I would definitely go skiing in Vermont. I just went to Killington this weekend, actually. If it was the summer or spring or fall, I’d probably be hiking in New Hampshire. I’m hoping to finally do the Presidential Traverse this coming summer. There are different mountains all named after presidents, and you can do all of the peaks in a three-day trip. It’s been on my list for a while and right here in our own backyard so no excuses!
Tiffany hiking in Torres Del Paine National Park in Patagonia, Chile, last year.
What would you do if you weren’t working at WordStream?
I think if I wasn’t in digital marketing, I would definitely be travelling the world taking pictures; that would be my dream job. Well, maybe for my dream job I’d add a bit of food critic in there. Travelling, taking pictures, and trying new foods sounds better.
Want to join a winning team here at WordStream?
We’re adding multiple account executives to this fun, fast-paced sales team, and we’re looking talented go-getters. Check out the job descriptions and apply today!
