Behind the Scenes with our Salesforce Dublin Sales Team

Since the very beginning, Ireland has been a part of Salesforce’s success story. It was the first Salesforce office to open outside of the U.S. – nearly 25 years ago, back in 2000 – and its presence as our European hub has only continued to grow. (No, literally – just take a look at our new Salesforce Tower Dublin.)

So, what’s been the secret to our Ireland success? (No luck of the Irish involved.) Plain and simple, it’s our people; their commitment to our customers’ success makes us succeed. We recently sat down with four members of our Dublin Sales team – from recent grads to tenured leaders – to learn more about their career journeys, Dublin relocation stories, and more.

So, let’s start at the beginning. Why’d you initially want to join Salesforce – and what’s kept you here?

Franziska Zimmer, Senior Business Development Representative: I was living in Stuttgart, Germany, where I was born and raised. I fell in love with the company when I was [completing] my master's in Milan in 2019. I decided to come here and I don’t have a day where I regret it, because you can learn so much.

Mark O’Sullivan, Senior Business Development Representative: I actually [saw] a tweet from [CEO] Marc Benioff about the growth that Salesforce has experienced over the last couple of years and the projected growth. So I knew that's a company I wanted to work for. It’s a really great company because you're exposed to so many different environments, so many different industries. You're speaking with C-level decision makers and different companies every day. And Salesforce provides you with the tools, and the systems, and structures to actually thrive in that environment.

Chris Lynam, Director, Sales Development: One of the things I get asked – as I have been in the company for over ten years now – is why I've been here for so long. And one of the reasons I always say is that the learning never stops. In the last ten and a half years, there's always been something to learn and to grow into your role.

Marta Klimisina, Director, Sales Development: People. I’ve been here ten years and really I think that's the reason why I'm still here. We have talent from all over the EMEA here; different backgrounds, different nationalities, and it really is the place to learn. And sales development is the cradle of talent. We are here to hire very talented graduates and make sure that we invest their progression in their development for them.

If you could describe Salesforce in one word, what would that be?

Mark: For me, it is the people in Salesforce. From the minute you join Salesforce, the team is so welcoming. Coming to work every day and dealing with ambitious, hardworking people across so many different backgrounds; it really is incredible and it makes every day different.

Chris: If I were to think of the one word that really sticks out for me, it’s innovation, because of the innovation that we provide to our customers with our products. Our solutions really work and we can stand behind them and we know that they're tried and tested. Also, the innovation that we do from within our business.

Tell me more about that – how is Salesforce Dublin driving innovation?

Marta: I think there's a lot of freedom to try and fail, and it's a really safe environment for it. That's innovation for me. We're allowed to try something new and if it doesn't work out, we just move on and learn from our failures. I think that's great.

Chris: [In our Dublin Sales org] we created this framework where teams of four or five people submitted ideas on how we can improve how we operate as a sales development function within Salesforce. It’s called our Sales Innovation Project. We were blown away by the response and how many people were submitting really good ideas. And, when we brought it to leadership, they said, “Yeah, go for it,” and they just supported us financially and whatever we needed to do to make it happen.

Mark: I was lucky enough to be part of the Sales Innovation Project last year. It was an incredible experience and the main thing that stood out for me was the fact that I got to present in front of senior leadership within Salesforce. Two years ago when I joined Salesforce, I would have never thought that I would be standing in front of the Ireland Country Leader and the COO of EMEA.

That’s amazing. So, looking ahead – how do you see Salesforce continuing to innovate and grow?

Franziska: I think a big part [of the future] is AI, which we already have integrated in to our daily work. It helps us to improve, to be more efficient, and to optimise our daily structure and our outreach to the customers.

Mark: AI is changing how I work … for the better. AI is improving efficiencies massively around how we deal with customers, how we provide solutions around our products, and is most definitely changing sales, but for the better. Salesforce is a leader in the AI space. And the fact that I'm working for a company that is so passionate about AI, and we are putting measures in place internally here and from an AI perspective, it is motivating in the job.

Marta: Funny enough, I think people think of AI as something that's going to take away the human connection, but it's the opposite. It's giving you more time back from admin tasks, more time to be proactive and not reactive. So that's more time for me as a Director spent actually talking to people, coaching, connecting to customers.

Chris: AI is nothing without the data behind it, and Salesforce has the technology that allows customers to capture so much data to be able to use that, and then use AI on top of that. But also behind all of that, we always need to have the trust of our customers.

Love that. But coming into such a large, forward-looking company could be intimidating. How does Salesforce Dublin set up new hires for success?

Chris: When we hire people, we've got a really robust onboarding structure and system. And really that helps them get set up for success and ramp quicker and hit the ground running. And it's really been refined over the years to be really efficient.

Mark: I actually had to pinch myself during the onboarding. I thought, "I'm actually working here!” Sales Development really is a well-oiled machine from a training perspective. Salesforce has the structures and the measures in place for you to get in and hit the ground running.

My background was in an entirely different industry to tech, but, because of that onboarding, I was quite successful in my targets in my first couple of months. And I think that shows you don't need a tech background to come work with Salesforce. It's about relationship building.

Marta: There is so much training coming your way, there's so much coaching coming your way. It's really down to every single sales rep or employee to own that career and own that learning journey. And I always say, are you ready? Because it's going to be really fast it's going to be really enjoyable and fun.

What’s a moment that has stood out on your own Salesforce career journey?

Franziska: I had a mentor who was amazing and was really life changing for me. I had weekly sessions with him, where he brought me outside my comfort zone to grow and see things from a different perspective, and otherwise I wouldn't be here now. I think this is really one key differentiator from Salesforce from any other company.

Mark: One of my favorite things about working with Salesforce is the fact that we get Volunteer Time Off every year to give back to local communities and charities of our choice to work with. In November 2023, I went to Cape Town to a township and built a school. Salesforce gave me five days off to go and do this work and give back. And it was an incredible experience and life changing, actually. And all of the money I raised, Salesforce actually matched as well.

Last question: Why do you think Salesforce Ireland is the place to accelerate your sales career?

Franziska: Because of the sales academy here, you really learn sales from scratch. I had so many peers around me, who supported me and always thought outside of the box, which helped me improve myself and also to grow and improve my sales skills.

Mark: Working for a company like Salesforce – when you're speaking with a customer, you know the that we have works. It instills a level of confidence in you that’s hard to explain, and it really allows you to thrive as a salesperson.

And on top of that, there is a substantial amount of resources available both internally and externally. From a coaching perspective, the support is just unbelievable. Whatever you need, Salesforce is there to help you and support you.

Are you interested in joining the number one AI CRM company? Check out open sales roles in Dublin and apply today!