Get to Know: Lesley Turner, Senior Account Executive
Joined Everbridge: 2010
Location: Nashville, TN
Tell us about your role and what it involves.
I’m a senior account executive focused on state and local governments, so I help Everbridge partner with first responders, police and fire chiefs, mayors, county and city managers, emergency management agency directors, and homeland security. Counties, municipalities, and states use our platform every day to simplify their critical communications and deploy their teams — SWAT, hazmat, search and rescue, air support, and bomb squads. We also help departments inform citizens about active shooters, weather like hurricanes and tornadoes, and terror attacks.
I get to work with the people I call “real heroes.” The people who are standing in the gap all across the country; the ones who make a difference every single day. I am privileged to help them go where they need to in order to respond a little faster, with more secure and more accurate information.
Does that mean you’re on site with these people a lot?
Depending on the prospects needs. Not every situation calls for it, but I do travel to clients quite a bit. Especially if it’s a larger project, it’s helpful to be able to look someone in the eye see their enviornment and really understand what’s happening in their world.
We hear you’ve had an interesting career path at Everbridge. Can you tell us about it?
When I first started, I had a background in sales, in everything from cosmetics to real estate. I had a good friend, Patrick Stuver, who happened to be one of the founders of Everbridge, and he told to be a part of Everbridge, I would need to study and learn government sales before I could interview for a position. So, I started as a personal assistant for him. I called people and worked to identify decision-makers, finding out their needs and the most difficult situations they faced. It was kind of research to get me in the door. I would listen to Patrick’s presentations and learn about the company and what the product functionality does. I also learned from listening to clients and finding out how we could meet their needs.
After a year of training and working under him, Patrick set up an interview with management, and they gave me a chance to work on the account executive team. Within a year and a half, I was promoted to senior account executive, and I’ve been there ever since. I’ve been one of the top three salespeople in the company for the last three or four years.
Wow! Congratulations.
Thanks! I actually made it to number one this year, which was pretty exciting. I learned everything from Patrick & the Government team with incredible coaching from management. I followed the team around, especially Patrick, and listened to him, traveled with him, watched and learned. He’s as good a person as he is a salesperson. And it’s a great culture at Everbridge.
Speaking of culture, what attracted you to this position?
There are a lot of things out there that are gratifying to sell, but this is different because it really changes people’s lives. The lives of responders, their families, our communities, our friends, our families. And it’s cost effective for both our taxpayers and the people who use it. Our product is the core of who we are. I was always entrepreneurial and didn’t really want to work for a corporation, Everbridge is not what I thought working for a corporation would be. I am pleasantly surprised the cut throat environment is non-existent at Everbridge. Every time I turn around, someone is helping a colleague to be successful, and improving the product better, too.
It seems like you’re really enthusiastic about the work you’re doing. What’s most exciting about Everbridge right now?
It’s kind of embarrassing; they call me “the cheerleader” here! But it’s a very exciting time in our company. We get to see stories in the newspapers about how the people we’ve helped are saving lives, or about the suspects we’ve helped catch or missing persons, etc. We get to be a part of something so much greater than the product we sell.
I’m in the government arena. But there’s also the healthcare arena, the higher education arena, the corporate arena. When people go to work, you want them to be safe, and Everbridge helps make that happen. When your loved ones go to the hospital, we help the nurses and doctors and first responders get where they need to be at the right time. When your kids go to school they get safety notices, teams deploy to respond fast, citizens are warned of imminent danger, employees are accounted for and safe. There’s a long list.
How have your prior skills and knowledge been helpful at Everbridge?
I joke that I went from working on weddings to working on disasters! I’ve always liked working with people, whether I’m selling homes, or cosmetics, or wedding events, emotions can run high. The relationships are key; honing my people skills and listening a lot.
You also learn so much from watching different salespeople do their jobs. We have a culture at Everbridge where everybody is exposed to everyone else’s sales and the techniques they use. The team around me is stellar, and their integrity is as impressive as their sales skills. I watch and I learn from them.
What have you learned since joining Everbridge that’s changed how you approach your job?
I would say pretty much everything. When you meet people who go through disasters and you hear their stories, your priorities change completely.
I’ve learned how to better work with people, and that you don’t always have to be right. There’s a team here, so you don’t have to make every decision on your own.
What have you accomplished at Everbridge that you’re particularly proud of?
The entire state of Florida is the biggest, most impactful sale I’ve made. It allowed all the counties in the state work together in an emergency. I’m also proud of sales to major cities like New Orleans, Charleston, Birmingham, and Atlanta. I am always very gratified that even the rural areas in the US are covered and those that need to get out of harm’s way anywhere are helped.
Tell us about how your product has helped those cities.
It helps responders be more effective and help each other out — everything from a regional weather event like Hurricane Matthew to finding a lost child. During severe flooding in Louisiana, the parishes had our system and it helped them know where to go and what to do. When you’re going through a hellish experience like that, what’s most important is finding your shelter or knowing when FEMA is coming. We give people one less thing to think about. And that gives me peace.
Wow. What does it take to make a sale like Florida happen?
That one took four years. It was an amazing experience; the team in Florida did a lot of listening to learn how government, responders, appropriations committees, and the legislature operate. We had to show why our system is number one. This was a just and fair competition, and when we were awarded, was so gratifying to have experts validate us as the best system on the market. The only one that could possibly be already proven and reliable to undertake such a project. When you compare, it’s pretty plain why we’re different. Our teams, our relationships, and the care we put into our product all set us apart.
Can you tell us more about the challenges of your job and how you and your team work through them?
My biggest challenge on a daily basis is selling to government, period. Talking to decision makers is difficult because you have to talk to about 30 other people first, so that’s a long procurement process. Patience and sticking with it is something I have to work on. My colleagues help me through it and encourage me. We work together to find a different avenue or angle to solve a problem. Working with Government takes “out of the box” thinking.
You’ve accomplished so much and are in a key position at Everbridge. What’s next?
I think there’s a lot of room to grow here. We support a lot of verticals and a range of ways to use our system. And our management is very creative. I would love to get more involved in management as well, to keep them growing. I don’t have any intention of leaving Everbridge.
Are there things in life that you’re as passionate about as Everbridge? What do you enjoy outside of work?
I love being with animals. I have a little four-pound Chihuahua. I would love to do something where I work with both people and animals. The animals are very soothing to your soul. Comforting in any situation.
What else should people to know about your experience working at Everbridge?
It’s a supportive, growing, exciting, and meaningful place to be. I found a passion for helping people here. I personally couldn’t be a cop, or a firefighter, but this way I am still part of that culture of making a difference. Everbridge is a place where I don’t have to go to work, I get to go to work.
