Take a virtual trip down to Austin, Texas, to spend the day with Jordan Maneval, Director of Sales Engineering at Unqork.
As our Director of Sales Engineering, Jordan Maneval’s job involves so much more than singing the praises of the Unqork platform. He performs introductory platform demos to help new prospects understand what Unqork can do, discovers and builds each prospect’s unique use case, ensures our sales team is properly resourced, recruits new employees, and investigates new sales opportunities—and that’s all before noon!
For this entry in our Unqork @ Work series, we take a virtual trip down to Austin, Texas, to find out how Jordan spends his days.
7:00 AM: Before I start the workday, I walk our four-year-old Boston Terrier-Pug mix, Axle, along Lady Bird Lake in Austin. As part of my route, I’ll stop by a coffee shop called Flat Track, where I’ll get a coffee or cold brew with a shot of espresso to prepare for a long day.
8:00 AM: I conduct an internal checkpoint on a proof of concept we’ve been working on. With a proof of concept, we can demonstrate the capabilities of the Unqork platform that are specific to the client’s needs, match their success criteria, and confirm that this solution is right for their future state as we’ve defined it. We’re always trying to tailor solutions to clients’ desired future states, but clients often don’t know what they want until they see it.
With a proof of concept, we can demonstrate the capabilities of the Unqork platform that are specific to the client’s needs, match their success criteria, and confirm that this solution is right for their future state as we’ve defined it. We’re always trying to tailor solutions to clients’ desired future states, but clients often don’t know what they want until they see it.
To make sure we get it right, we ask clients a lot of questions as we develop their proof of concept: “Does this workflow reflect how you would normally do your job? Will this solve your pain points? If not, how can we change it?” Speed to delivery is a key proof point. With Unqork, we can build and update the proof of concept without delay. We’re closing the gap between what companies want and what they are ultimately delivered. For Unqork, there is no difference—the platform can meet a wide range of use cases to match a customer’s strategic and operational goals faster than any product.
After I check the proof of concept, I have a quick sync with my team to discuss ways to incorporate new prospect feedback into our proofs of concept to better demonstrate our unmatched speed to delivery.
8:30 AM: For another potential opportunity, I’m preparing to present our solution to the prospect’s architecture board. This is the final gate check before the prospect makes a purchasing decision, and presenting is a trial by fire because I’m largely walking into a meeting without knowing what the questions will be. It’s a lot of thinking on your feet. In addition to answering questions on the spot, the sales team will prepare a series of diagrams that demonstrate how Unqork fits into the prospect’s existing architecture.
Jordan with his co-worker “Axle”
9:30 AM: I shift gears a bit and interview a new candidate for a sales position. I’m looking for someone who is a really good listener, has a strong sales background and creative problem-solving skills. This is a difficult position to fill because it requires technical and relationship-building skills. They’ll have to be sharp and likeable in a variety of situations. If I ask, “What are your typical sales activities?” they should be able to speak about each step in a sales cycle at length.
I’m also interested in finding out what kinds of technologies they’re used to or interested in. Unqork has a great product, and I think the best salespeople really believe in what they’re selling and the company they’re representing. In these interviews, I want a candidate to have a passion for what our technology does and the impact it has.
10:00 AM: I have a Zoom meeting with a new C-suite audience. They haven’t seen Unqork yet, so I use this opportunity to blow their minds by building out something complex without using code. Sales engineers must think on their feet during these meetings and show parts of the platform that will resonate with the audience based on their questions, but we also focus on our workflows, business rules, module builders, and integrations. I try to make a point of creating a full-fledged workflow in 10-to-15 minutes so the prospect can see how quickly they can build sophisticated applications, even on the fly. I ask the customer, “What could you change about your company if you could deliver an application in minutes?”
12:00 PM: I head out to one of my favorite food trucks for lunch and catch up on emails and Slack messages while I eat. BBQ or breakfast tacos are Austin staples. Today, I’m heading to La Barbecue. You can’t go wrong with the brisket, but I’d also recommend the beef ribs. The meal falls off the bone, and you have the added benefit of feeling like Fred Flinstone tearing into a dinosaur rib.
Of course, Unqork already has a number of different types of grids: One that’s read-only, one that allows you to add additional records by pushing a button, and another that’s a big pop-up with a form. Now, we also have in-line edit grids that allow you to update any record-level data seamlessly. This is especially impactful when we can bring in data from disparate sources, process the information into a common structure, and present it to the end-user for easy manipulation using components without any code.
4:00 PM: The team has just received new artifacts from a prospect, so now we can start asking questions about specific requirements. We want to make their strategic digital goals a reality in a matter of weeks. Sales Engineering activities are quick—we’re often jumping from one opportunity to the next per week, per day, or even per hour.
During the recent multi-day power outages in Texas, the pizza oven was our main source of sustenance, but it was also a comfort. Cooking has always provided me with a nice creative break and something to look forward to after a long day.
5:00 PM: Next, I have our weekly sales pod meeting with industry leads, account executives, sales engineers, and business development reps to go over upcoming meetings and next steps for our strategic accounts. The next steps vary, but they’re always specific to the opportunity the client is asking for.
6:00 PM: I fire up the Ooni pizza oven as the sun sets. During the recent multi-day power outages in Texas, the pizza oven was our main source of sustenance, but it was also a comfort. Cooking has always provided me with a nice creative break and something to look forward to after a long day.
We like to try different pizza recipes and search locally for ingredients. There’s a cheese shop near us where we get handmade ricotta. My new favorite recipe includes Italian sausage, ricotta, onion, and red pepper on a pesto base. Thanks to the oven’s extremely high heat, the pizza bakes in seconds, and dinner is ready in record time.
To hear more perspectives from other Unqorkers, check out the other entries in our Unqork @ Work series and our Creator Spotlights.
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