You know that healthy relationships with your team, company, customers, and peers lead to strong short and long term outcomes. But how high do they really rank on your list of priorities?

In this episode Lupe is joined by Christina Woronchak, CRO at Deem, Inc. This episode is packed with simple, effective ways to improve business outcomes using a human-centric approach. They also cover the dynamic nature of the CRO remit, what it was like weathering COVID in the travel industry, and how moving abroad can invigorate your career.

🔗 LINKS

Connect with Christine on LinkedIn or at the Deem website.

Find Lupe on LinkedIn.

Empower your sales team transform their sales. Find out more about the Create Pipeline course from Sales IQ here.

She is now the chief revenue officer for Dean. And as a chief revenue officer, Christina leads the sales and customer experience teams. Christina started her career in Canada and relocated herself to Northern California. So we'll talk a little bit about that, but without further ado, Let me introduce Christina.

Hi, Christina, how are you?

And reporting to someone that we both know Colin temple. So I you know, I've always been one where if opportunity knocks, I feel like I need to answer the call and take a chance and try something different. And it was a great decision for me. It it really helped me advance my career and it.

Exposed me to a lot of things that I wouldn't have had the opportunity to explore. So I, I highly recommend you know, some type of an international role for anybody that is serious about taking their career to the next level.

So Colin is amazing and I'd love to get him on the podcast at some point here, but yeah you know, tell me a little bit. For our audience a little bit about your journey. You know, as we think about the CRO position, it's fairly new and there aren't that many CROs, you know, worldwide. However, they tend to be more men than women.

So one, I'm excited to have, you know, a female in a role and to have you as a guest and love to have our audience get a little bit of. Description of your, you know, career journey and how you achieved this role?

I had a lot of opportunities to grow there. I started as an individual contributor working with really large enterprise size customers. And then I had an opportunity to work in a leadership role where I was responsible to retain the. 5% of the overall customer portfolio, which was definitely interesting and a lot of pressure for sure.

That led to other opportunities to lead both sales and account management teams. And eventually I landed an incredible opportunity to lead the global multinational and the upper end of the. To large market segments within American express global business travel. So that was great experience.

And I had an interesting, you know, I feel like when you meet people along your career journey sometimes You know, there isn't an immediate opportunity, but maintaining that relationship can open some doors down the road. And we were working with Dean and we're a reseller partner to Dean. So I had a relationship with the CEO of the company and saw him at a, at a very large industry event.

And he was a little frustrated that he couldn't find the right CEO. For CRO for the organization. And one thing led to another and we had a conversation and before I knew it, I was interviewing at Dean. So it, it happened a little faster and under different circumstances than I probably would've imagined, but it was definitely very exciting.

And I feel like all of the experience that I've gained over the years has really set me up for this role.

There is, you know, customer first and making sure the experience is positive and. Maintaining kind of your word of doing what you say you're gonna do. Yeah. And those are key things that I I think are, are helpful in furthering and retaining those relationships. Well, that's exciting. That's exciting. So how are you liking your move away from Canada?

Yeah. So, you know, my saving grace during the hot summer here is you don't have to shovel heat. You don't have to shovel heat. So I keep it top of mind. So that's exciting. Yeah. It's Northern California is near and dear to my heart. I know it really well lived there for a long time and it's a great, great place to live and work.

Lots of things happening in Northern California from a technology standpoint. Talk to me about travel and. Kind of the impact that has happened over the last couple of years and how you're coming out of, of that. I saw recently, some articles are saying, you know, business travel is back, it's growing, it's changing.

And so talk us, talk us through, how do you maintain a focus on revenue when things come to a screeching halt?

And the entire industry was impacted. A lot of companies put travel restrictions or limitations. So it was a very challenging time, but I have to say in retrospect it was a really good time for us as a business to continue to enhance the product. And to, you know, build our organization and to really prepare ourselves for the travel comeback.

And what's really exciting now, you know, we started to see a little bit of business travel, recover in I would say the beginning of the fourth quarter of last year, but then things contracted a little bit. We started to see some, some travel pickup in January and. In February, you know, double digit growth over the previous month.

And then all of a sudden, March, April, and now may very, very strong months. So we're at about 90% of pre pandemic levels, which is really, really exciting. We've seen that business travelers have changed a lot. So if you think about your own personal life and some of the. Changes in your daily habits as a result of the pandemic, there's a much greater use of technology, a much greater use of mobile devices.

So travelers are coming back and they're wanting to book their business, travel on a mobile device instead of on a computer. There's a big focus on. You know, managing risk and ensuring traveler safety. So we came up with some solutions to address that that basically presents information to travelers in the Palm of their hands, so they can assess if there's, you know, what is a COVID risk of traveling to any particular location, because as you know, unfortunately we see.

You know, ebbs and flows as, as far as you know the different infection rates across different destinations. And what we've seen is a really big focus on sustainability. And again, this was an area that. You know, we, we identified as, as being of of great significance as travelers got back on the road again.

So we were able to develop our product you know, and offer recommendations to travelers that align with some of the eco goals that the company might have. But also I think we're all trying to do the right thing and make the right choices that are environmentally friendly. From an overall revenue standpoint, you know, we never lost focus on, you know, what we needed to do.

And, and we had incredible growth throughout the pandemic. So a lot of companies were taking advantage of that lull and in business travel to actually revisit their program and whether it would meet the needs of their travelers in the new normal post pandemic. You know, we just continued forging ahead. We continued to build channel partnerships and strengthening those channel partnerships and, you know, targeting very large enterprise size customers. We, we had a lot of success over the pandemic.

Some companies have marketing as part of the CRO remit. It all depends on, you know, different companies have different needs and different goals. So sometimes that makes sense for a company and other times it makes sense to keep the two functions separate. But I would say that the alignment between marketing and sales is a critical importance.

You have to be, I'd like to say singing off the same song sheet, or you have to be on the same page in terms of strategy.

Yes. And making, you know, some, getting some insight from them. And, and I think that's probably helpful in. A lot of companies. So. Don't talk to their customers. So what, what are your thoughts about that and how do you manage your existing customer base?

What are some of the trends that they're seeing as travel recovers for their. Respective companies just getting their validation, that the things that we're working on will resonate with them and with their travelers. So I think that's really important. I try to, to speak to our customers and partners as often as I can.

I think sometimes things get lost in translation. You know, if there's an intermediaries. So I I'm very hands on and I definitely like to hear directly from the customer, but we also look very closely at any of the customer feedback that comes in. And I'm very, very much involved in you know, assessing the different issues that our, our customers might have and resolving those issues for them and ensuring that we have, you know, the best possible customer experience.

So I think that communication is absolutely critical and there's just so many different priorities to juggle as a CRO. But I would say that, you know, listening to your customers, oftentimes they have really great ideas in terms of how you can further enhance your product. So you can't overlook that.

So they might have more of an operations focus or from a tech company perspective, usually a very strong technical background. So I think oftentimes CEOs are looking for someone super. Expressive. They're looking for somebody that is really great at pitching the product. And I think they overlook some of the key skills, which in my opinion, are, you know, being analytical, being strategic being really good at forging relationships, both internally and externally building a following You know, being really passionate.

So I think those are, those are some of the important attributes. So I would just say that for any CEO to really be thoughtful and just consider what are your strategic business priorities and really ensure that you interview a lot of different candidates. And that, you know, you look for those key attributes that are gonna be of critical importance for your specific company and you know, ensure that you're really hiring the best person for that role.

You know, the, the whole sales process is changing dramatically and there's so many solutions out there that can really. Drive efficiency, productivity, and results. So I would say, be curious and, you know, keep abreast of what's going on in the industry because it's evolving really, really fast. And I think if you rely on some of the traditional methods that you've used over the years, That.

I think it, it, I, I think you, you know, other competitors will surpass you. I think you, you have to leverage everything that's available to you as a resource. I think that for me, it always starts with talent having the right people in the right role. So, you know, making sure that. You know, you, you know, the people on your team that you've assessed, whether they're the right fit that you help them from a coaching and development standpoint to be all that they can be.

And then that you create a great culture because as you know, with a great resignation it's very challenging to retain top talent whether it's sales or. Customer experience, right? So I think it's really important to build a really good culture where employees feel that they can thrive and grow.

So it's creating mentorship opportunities. It's getting them excited about you know, what you're trying to achieve, having really clear goals, really good communication. And then the last thing I would say is, you know, I have really good relationships with all of. Peers across our E staff. And one of the most important relationships or two of the most important relationships are the relationships that I have with our head of product and our head of engineering.

And it's really, you know, sometimes, you know, there are members of my team that are. Hearing certain things from customers and we can identify something that is going to be a trend. And it's really important for me to align with a VP of product, for example, and kind of share some of those things that we're hearing from our customers.

And, you know, aligning with our engineering team as well, so that we can build something that's really great. So I, I, I would say it's really, you know, having those relationships and having really strong communication. I think those are all really important attributes that I would coach somebody on.

I would say really understanding where the company is. You know, in terms of the, you know, financial health in terms of competitive landscape you know, cuz if you don't know those things, you're not gonna be really prepared to, to effectively compete in the market or, you know, you, you need to know what you're getting yourself into.

So, you know, I would talk to the CFO, I would talk to the CEO, try. You know, try to meet as many senior members of the organization as you possibly can. And I think it's important to do that as well, so that you can, you know, make a determination as to whether you feel that there's a really good cultural fit.

Because at the end of the day, we spend a lot of our time, you know, working with our colleagues, right. And when I interviewed a theme, they made me go through. Seven different interviews. So I, I, I entered you viewed everyone from HR to the CFO, to the, the person who was in the role of chief revenue officer at the time.

And that was really great because by the time I started my job, I knew everybody and I already felt comfortable with them. And it just, it just allowed me to hit the ground running a little bit faster.

You know, usually the. The best ideas that, that have been successful for me are things that a member of my team or one of my colleagues came up with, but I knew I knew how to make something of it or do something with it. So you know, that's my advice.

To hear not to respond. And so often we're so eager to just have the next, you know, talking point in there that we forget to listen and absorb and digest. And I think that's, that's really important. And then O obviously it sounds like you have a great working relationship with your team, that they feel comfortable to come up and bring up any any tips or any issues or any challenges that they're encountering in the marketplace?

And at the end of the day, we might not agree, but we move. And that creates a really healthy environment and, and I don't profess to have all of the answers and I'm not embarrassed by that. I think being vulnerable in that way is I think it's a great leadership skill. And I think a lot more people are embracing that you know, as you look at.

At, at different leaders, posting different things through social media. I think that vulnerability is, is now considered to be a strength. And you know, that's, that's kind of my compass, I guess, is as it relates to how I interact with my team.

And you mentioned the great resignation, which is, you know, very near and dear to my heart. I've never seen anything like this in my entire career. And you know, where companies are, some companies are being paralyzed by their lack of being able to find talent and, and culture has become so important and that communication and that component of going to work somewhere that you feel engaged, supported and respected is more meaningful than ever.

So I think that for me, continues to be a resounding comment that I hear from everybody. So that's good to know. The interview process, it sounds like you were being interviewed, but you also interviewed in that process and that takes a lot of confidence to make sure that you're asking questions and not just, you know, showing up to delight. How do you prepare for that?

And so a lot of my questions just. Start there, you know, I really wanna understand what, what was the history of the company? How far are they along, you know, the ultimate goals that they have set for themselves, et cetera, you know, what is the vision moving forward in the direction? And that that's where everything starts really.

And then, you know, a lot about culture and you know, how the, how the company feels about culture and who owns culture, because, you know, what's interesting sometimes. I've interviewed some potential leaders to join my team and I'll ask them who owns culture. And if they say HR, that's the wrong answer because, you know, I feel like every leader owns a culture for their respective team and they have a responsibility to ensure that that culture is thriving. So things like that.

And you're accountable for that in sharing that in your exchanges with everybody. So that's, that's really an important component of being successful. So one of the things that you know, we talk about too, is, you know, working on office or working remote. You know, with, with that. Do you find any any balance of that that's has been interesting or more?

Well obviously during the pandemic, I think we were all remote, but ha has things kind of leveled off and, and become. Any kind of percentage

And I've never had any issue with it, cuz again, it's all about communication, right? And trust and transparency. But you know, I personally enjoy working from home. It. It, I actually end up being more productive, I think, because, you know, I can plan my day and, and pretty much follow that plan. And I feel like the time that I'm not spending commuting is time that I can also allocate to, you know, some projects or, you know, things like that.

So I personally like it, but I know. And I know a lot of my CRO peers out there are struggling a little bit with that because it's completely new territory and they haven't had the opportunity before to either be remote or to lead teams remotely. So I think it's a little bit of an adjustment.

There's definitely a learning curve. But I, I think today, You know, employees expect a pretty high degree of flexibility and they pretty much dictate, you know, whether they wanna be in an office environment or not, or, you know, whether they, you know, prefer some kind of a hybrid or not. So, you know, it's, it's a different time. And I think in order to accommodate, you know, great talent, you need to be flexible.

And, you know, as you think about a CRO that might be struggling, you know, now being remote full-time or part-time, or. or what have you, what, what advice would you give, how do you engage your team in a remote way and, and how do, how do you deliver. meaningful coaching, meaningful direction and get that level of engagement that you would face to face.

Any questions for me to check in with them. And one of the things I learned as a leader over the course of the last two years was just to be a little bit more sensitive to the, the different struggles that people are having in their personal lives as a result of the pandemic and the aftermath.

Right? So, you know, it's checking in and asking people first and foremost, how they're doing and then getting down to business. So I think that's important and I think it signals to your team that you care about them. And I think that that goes a long way towards building a relationship. I think the other thing that's really critical is I always want to.

Get to know every last person in my organization. So I'll do a skip level with absolutely everybody. And one of the questions I always ask them is, you know, what are some of your career aspirations? And you'd be amazed at how how many people have told me that they've never had a, a senior leader like me ask them that question.

So I'm, I'm genuinely interested in their career development and sometimes I might have someone absolutely fantastic that reports into one of my leaders and they have the potential to be in another role. And just having that, you know, one on one with them gives me an opportunity to really plan my entire organization.

So I think, you know, I think that that outreach, because, you know, in, in, in a virtual environment, I think sometimes people can feel lost and they can feel that. They don't have the same opportunities for career advancement because they're just not as visible. And as you know, being visible is really important to, to get those career advancement opportunities.

Right. So, you know, I don't wait for people to try to get onto my radar. I actively seek people in the organization so that I can put them on my radar.

So it's great to see you. Yeah. And I'm sure you did as well. So it's great to see you kind of paying that back to you're paying it forward. now. We we obviously wanna hear what's new and exciting with Dean with you and the company. So I'm gonna give you a few minutes to kind of brag about yourself. Anything that's exciting in, in the company?

So this week we're launching eco check, which is an incredible solution that will inform travelers when they're booking their different travel options on the The impacts to the environment and it, it does it in a very simple to understand way. So, you know, by making this choice, it's the equivalent of X number of plastic bags, for example.

So I think that's gonna be really, really popular and really well received. You know, I, I know you've traveled a lot for work. Over the years, I've traveled a lot for work over the. You know, the environment for road warriors is really different right now. And, and I was traveling last week to Dallas and I had a, a great reminder of that, but you know, airfares have gone up significantly.

Hotel rates have gone up significantly, so, you know, we're definitely seeing the inflationary. Some business travel and based on some of the data that I've been following the travel categories like air hotel, even car rental are among some of the leading categories that are you know, most notable in terms of Higher cost right to consumers.

The other thing is that, you know, there are fewer flight options. And you know, before I would, you know, walk into a hotel restaurant 30 minutes before my meeting and I could have a full breakfast. Whereas now there just isn't enough staff for that, right? So it might take an hour or even an hour and 15 minutes to have that exact same experience.

So what I've noticed is that business travelers are a little frustrated and, you know, I've, I've seen a few examples of. You know what not to do when you're traveling and interacting with people in the service industry. But I think we all have to readjust our expectations, at least in the short term.

And, and you know, perhaps have a little bit of an appreciation for the people who, who have stayed dedicated to You know, the service and hospitality industry.

You know, I used to have my go bag ready to go with everything that you needed. And then you just literally threw a piece of, you know, a few pieces of clothing and you're out the door. And now it seems to be, you know, the labor of love, so to speak, and then just the whole process of traveling has changed.

So I'm so excited about your platform, your kind of dedication to making the experience better for travelers, you know, business travel needs to continue. I mean, obviously it's zoom and. Other platforms that allow you to have, you know, face to face meetings virtually are great. Yeah. But there's there nothing will ever replace meeting face to face with a prospect.

And I think any company that allows people to do that and being mindful on, you know, the all aspects of travel, the comfort, the ecosystem of, you know, The experience of travel and the expense of travel and everything. I think that's good work and much needed in, in today's economy anyways.

Yeah. Where, when you've never met somebody kind of building up that level of trust. and experience with them is a little bit challenge, more challenging.

I'm so excited that business travel is, is kind of getting back into the positive and exciting growth numbers expect to see it, you know, boom significantly. I think people are pent up and ready to travel. Eager to travel both personally and professionally. It's it's it's high time that, you know, restrictions got a little bit, you know, looser and people were able to be on the move.

So this is exciting. So thank you.

This episode was digitally transcribed.