Employee Spotlight: Con O’Donnell, Sales Engineer EMEA

On a regular basis, we talk with our team members about their experience working at Canoe, and their future goals and aspirations. This week, we spoke with Con O’Donnell, Sales Engineer EMEA.

Tell us about your journey to Canoe. What inspired you to join the team, and what attracted you to the role of a sales engineer?

Canoe had been on my radar for a while. I’ve been fortunate to work in the Alts space for the best part of a decade and manual data entry & excel templates have been around for far too long. Canoe really caught my attention as it was a tech-first approach. It really was one of those aha moments and the progress the company has made in the short time I’ve been here has been phenomenal.

I have been a Sales Engineer for several years already and I really enjoy the role. To be the lead Sales Engineer in EMEA and play a role in the expansion effort was very compelling for me.

Working remotely can be both rewarding and challenging. How have you adapted to the remote work environment, and what are some of your favorite aspects of working for Canoe from Dublin?

Working from Dublin provides great accessibility to Europe’s main financial hubs and being just 15 minutes away from the airport makes quick travel and impromptu prospect meetings easy. Since transitioning to full-time remote work in December 2018, establishing a solid routine has been key. Whether it’s a morning coffee walk or a quick home workout, having a daily anchor like that helps me maintain a nice balance. I like to say that exercise is like medicine!

Sales engineering requires a deep understanding of our product and the ability to communicate its value effectively. What strategies and tactics have you found most effective in helping clients understand and embrace Canoe’s solutions?

For me it boils down to communication and getting to the point as soon as possible. I always try to speak in the client or prospect’s own language. We have our own internal lingo like every other company but to really hit the mark you must translate that to the client’s world. It helps to build rapport and credibility, ensuring that the value of Canoe’s solutions is crystal clear.

Also the Team at Canoe is exceptional and super experienced – being able to tap into that knowledge bank is vital, especially in more complex client interactions. 

Can you share a memorable success story or a challenging project you’ve worked on as a sales engineer at Canoe? What valuable lessons did you learn from that experience?

It’s been super exciting working on Canoe’s new Asset Data offering – I’m very fired up by it because the industry needs a scalable, tech-enabled approach to get to this level of granularity. It’s fast becoming a must-have for our clients and Canoe’s Data Innovation Hub ensures that we’re building the right product in a thoughtful way. It’s amazed me how much our clients want to help us on our journey and their support has been invaluable.

What advice would you give to someone aspiring to become a successful sales engineer?

Jump in and give it a shot! Sales Engineering combines the best aspects of a sales role—constant interaction with prospects and being on the front lines—with the opportunity to delve deep into product use cases. Sales Engineering is unique in that you get to pair up and form strong partnerships with Sales Executives. Think Lennon & McCartney, Cagney & Lacey, or Maverick & Goose – it can also be loads of fun!