I've worked in software as a service (SaaS) for over five years, supporting small, medium and enterprise businesses build better processes through the use of technology. In 2013 I joined a field service company called 'FieldAware'. They are a US-based organisation supporting the service industry; optimising engineers' efficiency and digitising paper-based workflow in the field.

That was my introduction to the SaaS selling world. I started there as a Business Development Executive, not knowing a huge amount about software sales. I spent the first 12 months learning the ropes; understanding how to sell remotely, how to approach clients and customers in the right manner to help deliver a consultative sale when we were reviewing the business and processes, and how we made recommendations to improve their organisation through implementing technology.

The first 12 months were tough as I set about learning the software intrinsically; the sectors we looked to serve, the people we are engaging with, and what makes businesses tick! Software selling is like an art form to me and these early stages were vital for my future growth.

After working for FieldAware for a year I moved into an Account Executive sales role which enabled me to start talking to businesses at a much deeper level, along with demonstrating the solution to hundreds of companies; building great relationships and seeing the benefits first hand. I thrived at it from the moment I started. I had the opportunity to travel and to engage with some really interesting organisations, and felt like I was really making a difference by improving these businesses. So from there, I wanted to expand my knowledge base and improve my skills. That's when I came across Magenta.

It was a nice introduction, Magenta approached me through LinkedIN. At that time I was looking for new roles. I found something very appealing about the approach that Magenta had to software sales and their openness to finding young candidates who would be able to influence, build and improve on the existing processes.

At the time of joining over two years ago, I was the first UK outbound sales representative and was hired to start a new sales arm to the business. I started working from home, which offered a great work-life balance.

Stuart Brunger was my first interviewer. We had a nice, relaxed conversation; I told him what I knew about software sales, what I found exciting and my vision for growing a sales team. I knew from the moment Stuart and I started talking that there was something exciting going on in Magenta and it was a real opportunity to make a difference, share some of the knowledge and best practice gained over my last working years, and drive that into a new industry which is Maxoptra Home Delivery.

After three months selling from home, I was able to demonstrate that the solution could sell in high-volumes. This is when the process began to develop; we needed a sales engine and to grow a sales team. So I reached out to Antonio, someone who I have worked with previously. We sat down and built a sales process from scratch; we chose CRM systems, we developed a data analysis program and a data hunting program, and from there we started to push the software to clients who had never heard of us before. It was a great experience as all the companies that we approached hadn't experienced software like Maxoptra. This enabled us to show them the revolutionary equipment that could really improve efficiencies and can be implemented with little disruption to their business.

As Magenta didn't have many people in the UK, and didn't have much of a sales process, it was an opportunity to help the company with growth. Magenta obviously held employees' values very high, which was something I was really excited to be part of. Another thing that excites me at Magenta is our continued commitment to the environment; we all know that vehicles cause very high Co2 emissions which are impacting our planet and we are on a crusade to reduce the number of vehicles on UK roads through smarter planning.

The challenges we experience in the UK at the moment are nice ones to have; growth. We have significantly expanded the team; currently we have a sales team of eight people. In fact, we are running out of space and have to find new premises that would enable the team to grow and develop.

We've got very aspirational targets so we need to make sure we are bringing in the right people who share the same values that we have, both with the Brighton office and also with Magenta as a business. We look for people who would seek out opportunities to improve business processes through software. Finding these individuals is challenging; we must search for candidates who share our mindset, then placing them in suitable roles while developing them is our mantra and our future.

Ideally, we want energetic, intelligent people who are passionate about making a difference. Further move, they don't take themselves too seriously, but like to enjoy the relaxed office environment and are ready to work as a team. We are constantly sharing best practices as a business; working collaboratively on projects and in other areas of the business. Also, we look for people who have an aspiration for growth; we are happy to bring individuals into the business who have never sold software in their life, afterall, we can teach them so that they can become extraordinary salespeople.

In 2019 we want to get to £2.6 million annual turnover; it is very aspirational. When we get there it would ensure significant business growth and help us move on to even higher heights than we are looking to at the moment.

First and foremost we've got a fantastic product. It is a reliable, user-friendly, intelligent platform that suits different industries; from small to large. That's a great platform to start with. We've got a structured sales process; everybody understands their roles and requirements within that process. It's about learning from experiences, understanding where we've been successful and where we've not. We are a young team, we are learning all the time.

This is my first visit to Russia and I have to say I am very impressed! It's a beautiful place, with lots of wonderful, intelligent people working incredibly hard for the business. It's a pleasure to be here and work side by side with the colleagues that I've gotten to know for two years only over emails and Skype. It's great to sit down and meet these people face to face.

Of course, I wish all the best to the Samara and Togliatti team. I hope we'll make them proud of the UK and put their hard work to good use by selling lots of the software. Maxoptra is just one of the products of Magenta and I wish all the best to other teams working on their products.

Collaboration is the key; coming together to share best practices. The week I've had in Samara and Togliatti has been incredibly beneficial for me and this will impact our UK operations. Being able to sit down with people and discuss better workflows, smarter improvements to the website, engage with development on future releases, listen to our support team's experiences and to help our international sales team, has been just awesome. We need more communications and interaction; this is how we will grow and make Magenta a leading name in logistics software.