Ben Corbett joined CommerceBear last spring, and he’s been making waves ever since. Ben’s experience in the software sales cycle and his always-learning mindset have made him a power player on the team. We snuck a few minutes into his busy schedule to ask him a few questions. Dive in!

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We’re so glad to have you on the team, Ben! What have you liked most so far?

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Leadership - In my opinion, leadership is the most critical piece of the puzzle for any company that’s early in its GTM team-building stage. At this point, there’s rarely certainty in sales processes, so having trust in leadership makes the entire process work. 

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Product-market fit - Bear addresses deep pain points, solves real problems, and helps people stay in front of the technology curve. We’re so much more than a “nice to have” solution. It feels like we’re selling a gas-powered car in the 1800s: a revolution in how things get done, especially when everyone else is in a horse and buggy. 

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Ultimately, it’s been great working in a close-knit team Sam [Vlessing, CEO], Zach [Kent, Business Development Manager], and Evan [Santa, VP of Sales] have created a great environment where everyone is supporting each other in achieving the same goal. 

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What drew you to the sales industry? What do you think makes a great salesperson?

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I played competitive baseball for 10 years and I find sales/business development almost identical to competitive sports. You can relate almost every aspect of business development to sports. In order to succeed at BD and sports you must: bring a winning attitude everyday (even on days that you don’t feel like playing), be a contributing member of the team to achieve long-term success, and most importantly not get to wrapped up in both the highs and lows from month-to-month or game-to-game. 

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A big part of it is the mentality. Having confidence in yourself, bringing positive vibes every day, reminding yourself of your ability to perform, and having a strong sense of purpose that gets you through tough calls, hard days, and rejections. It’s a lot of the same challenges and rewards as baseball - I was never good enough to play professionally, so being in sales helps me scratch that itch.

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What are your words to live by professionally? 

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First would be: The way you do anything is the way you do everything. 

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I know that if I cut corners in one area of my life, it will affect the other areas too. If I skip the gym 20% of the week, I’m far more likely to call it a day when I still have about 20% more calls or emails to do. In other words, you’re only as strong as your weakest link.

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My other words to live by are: Consistent hard work will always materialize in some shape or form. 

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I made that one up, which is why it doesn’t have a nice rhyme or flow. I know if I put in the work everyday and spend time developing my skills daily then some form of success will materialize.

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What’s been the highlight of your career so far?

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Getting the opportunity to work in a full cycle sales role at a young age in a cutthroat environment. My experience in this full-cycle role rooted me in sales, taught me how to master my mind and emotions, and prepared me to find success in any sales role. 

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In your opinion, what’s the best piece of furniture? 

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I’m a big baseball fan, and before the Jays renovated Rogers Centre they had these big Green TD chairs right behind the plate, in what they called the “Comfort Zone”. It would be pretty cool to get one of those for a future man cave, so I could feel like I’m right there at a game.

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What’s your go-to downtime activity?

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Chopping wood, reading, and more recently I’ve been spending a lot of time learning how to trade stock options.

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Call us up anytime! Go team!

✌🏼🐻

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