Being part of a growing sales team at a tech company can be a pretty competitive arena.

Not only are you at the front lines of your business, trying to find and secure revenue-generating opportunities, but you’re also tasked with understanding the complexities of the particular technologies and products your company offers.

While many tech startups encourage healthy rivalry through inside competitions and prizes, digital performance analytics company Catchpoint emphasizes something else entirely — teamwork.

For Chris Scutti (pictured below), who works in Business Development at Catchpoint, this takes the form of working with marketing and technical services teams to think outside the box, be agile and have the ability to build personal relationships with prospects. 

Founded in 2008 by four DoubleClick/Google alum, Catchpoint is a leading digital experience intelligence company that offers a platform for holistic insight into customer-critical services. Though the company is headquartered in New York, they maintain an office at Copley Square in Boston, as well as one in Los Angeles and three internationally.

Scutti shared with Built In Boston how this type of support changes the dynamic of his tech startup’s sales culture and makes him a better salesperson.

How did you land your job in sales at Catchpoint?

After hearing great things about Catchpoint from acquaintances at the time, Robert Ranaldi and Kevin Cotter, I decided that the move to tech sales from financial services made sense. I came in for a few interviews and found myself hitting the ground running in late Spring 2016. I’ve been very fortunate to have Robert as a manager and mentor and Kevin as an esteemed colleague during my tenure here of just under a year to date.

What is the first thing you do when you come into the office every day?

Planning activities for the following day prior to leaving the office at night helps me keep the workflow on track throughout the week. My first move upon arrival at the office is to review those priorities and get to work. I will only check email after completing two to three of those tasks.

On a day to day basis, what are your responsibilities and priorities?

As a business development person covering Enterprise sales, my day-to-day consists of liaising with field salespeople and our regional Vice President to develop effective strategies for prospecting into key accounts. I also work on learning account-specific use cases among our major customers to find potential synergies for new business efforts in similar verticals.

What is the sales team culture like at Catchpoint? Any traditions?

Supportive, competitive, and ambitious are a few adjectives that come to mind. We’re a disciplined crew feeding off each other’s energy. Our executive team is tremendous, their ability to lead from the front, as well as provide us with advice and guidance to help us continue to advance our careers is unparalleled.

How does the sales team collaborate with other teams in the company?

We work with Marketing to ensure we’re ramped up on the latest content to assist with our prospecting efforts. We also work with the Technical Services team to ensure that required technical capabilities are met among the opportunities we’ve generated through both inbound and outbound efforts.

Any big projects or goals you're working on?

I’m currently working on an account-based marketing initiative. We are piloting the program by developing content specifically for three Fortune 100 companies. We will expand this program if we deem it successful in the coming months.

What's an important lesson you've learned while working at Catchpoint?

Respectful persistence is key! Establishing a relevant personal/emotional connection with prospects is also important. I’ve learned not to try to sell anything, but to simply listen and learn about a person’s challenges, and eventually earn the right to do business with that person by developing trust.

Any big personal wins while working there?

Many wins, but none personal. It’s a team-first environment here at Catchpoint. Any value I’ve added has been influenced or assisted in some form by members of the talented sales organization we have at Catchpoint, not only here in the Boston office but nationwide.

How do you unwind from work?

I enjoy CrossFit, running, and anything generally outdoors. I also very much enjoy sharing good food and drink with friends. Happy to have amazing colleagues working alongside me here who I enjoy spending time with as well, whether it be intramural sports or at happy hour.

What qualities do you think a salesperson needs to be successful there?

To be successful in this business you need to check your ego at the door and take ownership and accountability of your process and your actions. You also need grit, an unrelenting desire to succeed and a great sense of humor!