2023-AotY-Finalist-Abigail-Whidden.pdf Presentatino

2023-AotY-Finalist-Abigail-Whidden.pdf

1. 2023 Alumni of the Year
FINALIST - ABIGAIL WHIDDEN

2. ABIGAILWHIDDEN
Director, Enterprise Sales East, GreyNoise Intelligence
memoryBlue Exit Year: 2015
Sales Highlight:
Abigail's success has included the following metrics -
Closed $1.6M in ARR = 134% of quota + an additional
$557k in out-year ARR with a total revenue
contribution of $2.8M

3. ABIGAIL WHIDDEN |
Finalist Application
#1: Explain why you deserve to be memoryBlue's 2023 Alumni of the Year.
Prospective mB employees and clients look to the alumni network to gauge if mB is the right fit- Alumni of the Year are front and center for them. I believe I embody
what mB strives to produce for its clients and its employees, specifically in the following characteristics:
●Competency- Throughout my career, I’ve shown that I can quickly learn new tech and adapt to selling a variety of services and products across a range of buyers. In
all these capacities, I’ve consistently produced positive outcomes for my start-ups, including multiple rounds of funding (Series A and B rounds totaling $37M) and one
acquisition. Prospects are surprised to learn I just moved into Cyber two years ago and I can act as my own sales engineer if needed to get the job done.
●Tenacity- Working exclusively with tech start-ups, I’ve had both times of plenty and (often) times of scarcity. With the skills mB instilled, I know how to effectively
work leads in those times of plenty, and hunt for leads in times of scarcity – to build scalable processes, grow teams, and drive pipelines. You can drop me in at a
conference to lobby-con solo, and I’ll come out with two handfuls of leads: one for me, and one for my colleagues.

4. ABIGAIL WHIDDEN |
Finalist Application
#1: Explain why you deserve to be memoryBlue's 2023 Alumni of the Year. (Cont.)
●Team Player Mentality- I pride myself on being a leader across my companies – whether it be for colleagues and helping
them improve their own skills or a pinch hitter where the company needs support. My flexibility, honest feedback, attention
to detail, and following through on my commitments, award me the trust of others.
●Compassion- I believe my colleagues, prospects, and customers know I will always be honest, advocate for them, and
that I truly have their best interests in mind. I also believe the way I spend my time outside of work is proof: whether it be
Special Olympics, my work as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA), mentoring others, and beyond.

5. ABIGAIL WHIDDEN |
Finalist Application
#2: What is one thing you do that differentiates you from other sales professionals?
I once read a book called Question-Based Selling. In the opening, he talks about a life experience that led him to no longer be intimidated by the threat of losing a sale,
and how his numbers over doubled. I really took that lesson to heart, and it shows in how I carry myself professionally; I’m not scared to ask hard questions or dig into
the potential barriers to a sale that I wish would disappear. Conversely, I’m not scared to lose a deal because I don’t think the purchase is in the best interest of my
customer. I know I can hunt for my next meal.
In addition to my honest, direct approach to sales, my highly personable nature sets me apart. I simply love meeting new people and learning about what makes them
tick- I’m not preoccupied with ‘closing a deal.’ I’m very proud of my ability to connect with professionals of all roles, industries, and walks of life on a personal level. I
always leave conferences smarter and more knowledgeable about my buyer(s) and those connections have proven to organically pay off.

6. ABIGAIL WHIDDEN |
Finalist Application
#3: What key things did you do to develop professionally in 2022?
2022 was challenging – we lost a VP of sales, then had a 6-month gap between the next, during which time I had to effectively work my pipeline PLUS manage and effectively lead
the Enterprise sales function.
After onboarding my current boss and adapting to his vision for the team, I made a commitment to myself to take a serious, honest audit of where my strengths, weaknesses, and
areas for improvement were.
In response to this personal assessment, I’ve dedicated a lot of my time and energy to lean on my VP’s knowledge and those of mentors and other available resources to improve
in the areas I identified that I could do better. To name a few:
●Interviewing and evaluating sales candidates based on the stage of a start-up.
●Managing my career progression, especially as it pertains to the requirements of VCs and my long-term goals.
●Perfecting the art of leading through uncertainty and change.

7. ABIGAIL WHIDDEN |
Finalist Application
#3: What key things did you do to develop professionally in 2022? (Cont.)
I would also be remiss to not mention how I leaned on the memoryBlue network during this demanding time. Julianne (Sweat)
Thompson and Michael Mishler provided advice on sales enablement tech stack; Sohale Razmjou not only consulted me when
transitioning to cyber but also provided guidance on how to develop a parental leave plan that would attract top talent; Matt
Bright was a critical sounding board for me in determining territories; Frank Taylor was (and is always) there to remind me I am
capable when I doubted myself; and Kristen Wisdorf and Stefanie Mueller provide my professional advice through every stage
of life (not just in 2022.) I appreciate the mB network above all else and am so proud to be a part of it.

8. ABIGAIL WHIDDEN |
Finalist Application
#4: How are you serving as an ambassador for memoryBlue?
●Mentorship: Since exiting in 2022, I’ve referred 10+ SDR candidates to mB, prepped or given feedback to numerous in-progress candidates, and met with many current or former mB employees
trying to decide their next move. I’m also doing a fireside chat with Nimit’s team on the 29th! I think everyone at mB knows I keep an open-door policy and genuinely enjoy helping.
●Bringing in new business: Not only have both of my company's post-mB outsourced to mB and used their placement services, but I frequently put on my old mB sales hat and consult potential
customers. Just within the past month:
In discussing how a vendor could scale their sales program, I suggested mB- turns out he was already talking to Marc! Serendipitous plug.
I referred a former colleague (who now works at a new tech company) to look at the mB placement program and they hired mB alumni for their growing SDR program.
●Hiring & mentoring alumni: During my career post-mB I have been influential in the hiring and mentorship of 5+ alumni. I am proud of the tight relationships I’ve kept with many of these colleagues;
I benefit from the close bonds just as much as I hope they do.
●Leaving a lasting impact: I’m proud to see that the inaugural DC Boat Cruise I planned back in 2014 is still going strong- although I think they’ve had to move to a bigger boat!

9. ABIGAIL WHIDDEN |
Finalist Application
#5: What one piece of advice would you give to someone that is brand new to sales?
I normally say to be patient & humble (AKA don’t become entitled at the first taste of success.) But I think that quote
from me is on the mB website already. So I’d go with this:
When looking for your first (or any) sales role (but especially full cycle), make sure what you are selling is solid and that
you truly believe in its mission and value. Nothing sells better than authenticity. I landed the jackpot with GreyNoise
on this front – which I was referred to by a contact made at mB, so also… Network!!!

10. ABIGAIL WHIDDEN |
Finalist Application
#6: Give an example of how you exhibited mentorship or leadership in 2022
I believe a quote from my VP of Sales, Paul Murphy, on my annual performance review is more meaningful:
“You have the rare quality of being a natural leader. People instinctively look to you for guidance and direction. Even those with more
domain/industry experience than you follow your lead and gravitate toward you when they need counsel.”
But from a more tactical perspective in 2022, I built out a robust Sales Handbook and led our Sales Onboarding program which I am exceedingly
proud of. All folks that have onboarded with me have stated that GreyNoise has the most thorough and robust sales documentation to aid in a fast
and efficient onboarding. Many of these folks came from companies with 5-10x the resources I had at my disposal.

11. ABIGAIL WHIDDEN |
Finalist Application
#6: Give an example of how you exhibited mentorship or leadership in 2022 (cont.)

I also was the primary sales driver on a new pricing and packaging initiative which started in 2022 (www.greynoise.io/pricing.) My company
culture is aggressive transparency, but we really needed to revamp our pricing to make public pricing a feasible reality. One thing I had a
love/hate relationship with in selling mB was the absolute refusal to negotiate pricing- mB knew the value- and the cost was the cost. But I pulled
a lot of that mentality into this exercise; at GreyNoise, we do not dole out huge discounts. We spent months reviewing usage data, historical
discounting structures, and chasing down buyer interviews SO that we could create a better buying experience and cut the haggling.

12. ABIGAIL WHIDDEN |
Finalist Application
#7: Share a specific example of how you exhibited HUSTLE in 2022.
●In a scrappy, seed/series A environment I managed to close over $1,619,000 in revenue against a $1,200,000 quota
(134%+) and closed an additional $557,000 in out-year ARR. These numbers bring my total revenue contribution to
GreyNoise up to over $3,050,000 since joining the team in March of 2021. My revenue and logo contributions aided our
Series A round ($15M) to be closed on extremely favorable terms in June of 2022.
●I cannot share the specific logos for security reasons, but the 35+ large logos I landed in 2022 include many
household name companies that span the retail, cloud computing, CRM, financial services, pharma, electronics, media,
and utility markets.