Employee Spotlight is a Dynamic Yield blog series meant to surface stories of the amazing individuals behind our AI-powered Personalization Anywhere™ platform. From developers and engineers to marketers, those dedicated to customer success, sales leaders, HR representatives and beyond, every month, we’ll get to the heart of our team so you can get to know us a little bit better and find out what makes us tick.

Meet Matthew Kelly. Matthew has been with us for about a year now and is based out of our office in New York City. He started as a Sales Development Representative (SDR), making his way up to Head ofMarket Development, where he is now responsible for coaching and leading the global SDR Team.

Let’s learn more about him…

What’s your role at Dynamic Yield?

I’m the Head of Market Development at Dynamic Yield. In addition to the normal SDR function, which includes prospecting, research, sales director support, and more, I also serve as a coach for my team. I create new prospecting content, formalize processes, take on operational tasks, and offer new ideas and perspectives on how to better reach and communicate with our target prospects.

You started at Dynamic Yield as an SDR very recently and you’re also a team lead. How’d you make that happen?

I can attribute my recent role change to a few things.

First and foremost, I think I possess deep knowledge and skills that lend themselves well to a leadership position. These include the ability to communicate well, the know-how for creating universal processes, a willingness to help others when the opportunity arises, and a hunger to continuously learn from my team and colleagues.

In addition, I recognized there was a vital gap in our team; we didn’t have a Team Lead to serve as a support system for the SDRs, and I made a point to flag this and be seriously considered for this role. Taking on new and challenging tasks is something that keeps me motivated and excited to come to work every single day, and this opportunity was something I felt prepared for.

What does your day-to-day look like, and how has your role evolved since becoming a Team Lead?

I believe staying organized and on top of tasks is crucial to my role. As a team leader, I’m constantly playing a balancing game of my individual responsibilities with those that come with being in a leadership position. I try to structure my day meticulously, allowing enough time for those I support, as well as enough personal time for my own, individual responsibilities.

I still take on some of the traditional tasks of an SDR, which include account and market research, prospecting, outreach, and booking new meetings. However, my new role has come with new managerial responsibilities. I lead daily stand-up meetings, where I set the pace and collaborate with my team for goal-setting. I host weekly one-on-one meetings with each of my team members. During these meetings, we review our existing processes and the outcomes of particular tasks, and I try to foster an environment where my team can express and voice both their successes and frustrations with what they are working on so I can be a beacon of support.

I am constantly working on new campaigns and identifying opportunities to focus my team’s outreach efforts. I also make an effort to collaborate with other teams at Dynamic Yield, especially Sales and Marketing, to ensure our messaging is consistent and aligned with our company’s tone and vision. As a team leader, I connect with management on a weekly basis and highlight my team’s progress.

Part of your role as a U.S. Team Lead includes collaboratively working with other teams at Dynamic Yield. What does that look like on daily basis, and what’s the most exciting part about working cross-functionally?

I think working across teams is my favorite part of my position at Dynamic Yield. I am young in my career, and I enjoy working in the startup tech space. It’s exciting to have the opportunity to gain exposure and insight into different facets of the business.

I sync with Chris Feroli, the VP of Sales in North America, regularly to discuss anything and everything, from sales numbers to messaging and point-of-delivery alignment.

Yaniv Navot, the VP of Marketing, and Raj Jain, the Marketing Operations Manager, are two other team members I frequently connect and collaborate with. The Marketing Team has a wealth of valuable insight into the prospecting experience, which they frequently share with my team. This cross-team collaboration helps us manage our internal process and think critically in order to help us generate more opportunities. In addition, I want to ensure our existing practices (ie. the way we attribute and label fields in Salesforce) give Marketing the ability to extract meaningful information for attribution and internal reporting.

Our CMO, Mukund Ramachandran, is another person that has been a source of support during my transition into a leadership role. As the head of marketing, his ideas for process and leadership advice have been extremely helpful. As someone who has a record of successfully leading teams, his insight has been invaluable.

And of course, whenever I have a question about our product or capabilities, I can tap someone on our amazing Customer Success team, who are always a source of knowledge and support.

What are your hobbies outside of Dynamic Yield?

I love playing music – I play guitar, bass, banjo, mandolin, and the ukulele. I recently started playing ukelele in a two-piece band with a buddy of mine. We tend to play a lot of classic country songs with a modern alternative spin. From time to time, we’ll play a set at a bar around town, but usually, I just mess around and get creative in the comfort of my home.

I also love to hike. I once hiked all 46 high peaks in the Adirondacks while in snowshoes. My dad was a big hiker growing up and it was something that he exposed all six of his children to early on in our lives. Most weekends, between the ages of 6 and 13, usually included an early morning hike with my dad and at least one of my five brothers and sisters. There’s unfortunately not a lot of hiking to do in New York City. I live in Williamsburg, so I often walk over the Williamsburg Bridge to compensate.

I also love trying out different craft beer. I went to the University of Vermont and got absorbed in the eclectic beer culture that exists in the region. Don’t worry, though; it didn’t turn me into a beer snob.

What are the rules you prescribe to or follow in life that help you form more meaningful relationships with potential customers?

I think too often in sales (not necessarily at our company specifically), people want to rush into the pitch or value proposition. They don’t take the time to fully grasp an understanding of the prospect’s objectives or take time to hear a prospect’s pain points with their existing processes.

Once you set up an initial call or meeting, it’s important to demonstrate empathy and gather knowledge. The prospect is already interested if they have agreed to meet; now, it’s important to keep them engaged and invested. I believe the best way to do this is by gaining a full understanding of the prospect’s goals, long-term aspirations, and more in order to better support their journey through the sale cycle, as well as our own internal sales team.

I think this is something I also try to live by in my personal life, as well. When I meet someone new or go out on a first date, I always try to be engaging and learn more about the other person before sharing a superfluous amount of information about myself. Part of being self-aware is avoiding self-absorption, and I think that’s crucial in my working and personal life.

What’s your next step, or a few goals you’d like to accomplish in life or while with Dynamic Yield?

Eventually, I would like to transition into a marketing role at Dynamic Yield. I think I am a creative thinker, especially when it comes to highlighting different ways that a product can add value to an organization. I love the idea of rolling out new collateral and resources, especially as the product evolves, and I’d love to work on breaking out our product into new markets.

One day, I’d like to open a pizza parlor/bar. I have been making pizza since I was 14. After my last semester of college, I worked at a bar in my hometown for close to five years. I was promoted to manager after two years in and I gained exposure into several different aspects of running the business. After a successful career, I’d love to spend my retirement running a pizza shop in the middle of nowhere, making pizza all day, every day.

I’d also like to run the New York City Marathon one day. Running is actually something that I am really bad at, but after watching some friends run the Marathon last year really energized me and planted the idea in my head. While a lofty goal, it’s something that I hope to accomplish one day, even if it requires some lifestyle changes and an intense training regiment. We’ll wait and see!

If you want to learn more about Matt or ask him any questions about what it’s like to work on the sales team here at Dynamic Yield, connect with him on LinkedIn. And make sure to check out our open roles!