Meet Fiona! As a Customer Success Manager, she ensures our customers receive account assistance and answers to all of their questions about how to best utilize our product. A transplant to Atlanta from New York City, Fiona talks with us about how working in fashion led her to a career in tech at CallRail.
How long have you worked at CallRail? What interested you about the job and the culture here?
It’s been about seven months now, I started in October 2016, and the culture is what drew me to the job. Client relations or account management is a versatile role that you can take to almost any type of company, and I had a background in digital so I wanted to stay in the industry. CallRail’s reputation in Atlanta is also part of what drew me here. At the time I was hired I knew a few people who already worked here, and from them, I knew the culture was very open and the product was top-notch. When you have multiple people telling you it’s an awesome place to work, it’s exciting to join the team.
What prompted you to pursue a career in customer success?
When I lived in New York City I started off in the fashion industry, which I loved, but which also made me realize you can love something as a passion and not have to make that your day job. So when I was burnt out from several years of working in New York City, the role of customer success itself became more important and the industry it was in didn’t matter as much. I wanted a company and a boss I could believe in, and a good culture fit. I left my role as an e-commerce buyer, and it gave me the opportunity to do some analysis on what I liked and didn’t like about that job. I discovered that what I enjoyed the most over the course of my career was building out relationships, and using that to influence strategy, but keeping an empathetic touch to build relationships. CallRail was especially appealing to me because startups come and go and get acquired, but CallRail’s product was strong enough to stand out in the marketplace. It’s easier to confidently build relationships with customers when you believe in the product.
What motivates you to do your best work? How do you motivate yourself and those you work with?
What motivates me is seeing how my work with our customers directly impacts their day-to-day, whether that’s increasing revenue or providing additional insight into tracking and analytics. Having that opportunity to impact their business and make their job easier is really what motivates me. On the success team, humor is key. We’re very open and collaborative. It’s something I had never experienced at any previous role in my career. As a new person, you’re expecting to be thrown in and told “good luck”. It’s usually a lot more competitive. But here we all help each other. Maintaining that open, helpful environment is what keeps things going.
Do you have a specific philosophy behind how you cultivate relationships with customers?
I would say provide value and show empathy. I think both are equally important. If a customer is working with me, it’s because they need something. Everyone on the other side of the screen is just another human trying to figure out the world of call tracking. Putting yourself in their shoes makes it a real relationship and helps ensure you never forget the customer’s perspective.
What do you spend the most time doing outside of work?
Eating my way through Atlanta! I moved here from NYC a few years ago and one of the reasons I was sold on Atlanta so quickly was because I’m such a foodie. And by that, I mean good, down-home cooking, not just the fancy stuff. My personal favorite is fried chicken with Duke’s mayo. On that note, to enable my foodie lifestyle, I also spend a lot of my time going to barre classes.
If you weren’t working in customer success, what would you be doing?
I would be a makeup artist! I’ve always been into cosmetics and fashion since I was very little. I enjoy seeing how with just a little eyeliner or lipstick you can completely change the way someone feels about themselves. It’s similar to why I like this job – with a little effort you can really impact someone’s life. My dream for retirement is to be a makeup artist for pageants – sparkle for everyone!
Who has inspired you in your life, and why?
Definitely my mom. Back in the day, and it was unorthodox to do this, she moved out on her own and went to college for math at a time when your only options as a girl out of high school were to be a nurse, teacher, secretary or wife. She was extremely smart and very independent, and that’s exactly how she raised my sister and I. She carved her own path and is a constant inspiration to me. Shout out to Margaret!
If you were a fictional character, who would you be, and why?
My go-to fictional character is Scarlett O’Hara from Gone With the Wind. She was strong, she overcame obstacles and navigated the system to her advantage.
What was the last thing you were really curious about that you took the time to learn more about?
Apparently, in the old south, the best cookbooks to have were from churches because all the church ladies would contribute their best recipes. I love antiquing in general, so I always look to see if there are any good old cookbooks. I also love to cook, so as a transplant from the North, I find it fun to learn about southern cooking.
To learn more about open positions at CallRail, visit www.callrail.com/about/careers.