Toast Careers

Sam started at Toast in 2016 because she truly believed in the product and vision of our leadership team. She’s held several sales roles during her time at Toast but the one thing that she is always impressed and excited about is the quality of people she gets to work with every day -- she believes Toasters are passionate, thoughtful, and incredibly inspiring.

Hear more from Sam on how she’s looking to take the Toast sales team global:

What led you to a career in sales?

I went to school for broadcast journalism and originally had no plans on getting into sales but life has a funny way of pointing you where you should go. I was working at a media company on the production side and saw the earnings potential and work life blend that the sales team had and ultimately went and got my MBA and transitioned over. It took me a while to get hired -- not having previous sales experience was tough to overcome – but I finally got hired as a Sales Development Rep and grew my career by working hard and always trying to learn as much as I could. My Dad is also in sales so when I transitioned, I leaned on him a lot and called him daily for advice -- and he still shares tips and tricks to this day. The best advice he gave me was “sell yourself first, your company second, and your product third.” He meant that you need to build a relationship with your prospect and gain trust before you try to sell anything. You also need to get them to buy into the vision and mission of the company. Once you’ve earned both of those, you can sell your product.

What excites you about leading and growing our international sales team? 

I’ve always been so grateful for how thoughtful Toast is about our customers. We truly have our customers’ needs and challenges in mind and are always working hard to help them operate their business more efficiently. I’m especially passionate about our SMB (Small/Medium Business) segment because many times these restaurant owners depend on the success of their restaurant to feed their family and pay their bills. We take ownership of helping make them as successful as they can be and I'm excited to be able to bring this opportunity to new international markets.

What are key characteristics that we look for in our founding sales team members in these new regions?

We are so excited to be hiring founding members of our sales team in new regions. We are an incredibly scrappy team and in many ways consider ourselves a start-up within Toast. In order to be successful, international founding Account Executives have to be problem solvers and comfortable navigating ambiguity. They also need to be passionate and work with urgency. This job is not easy but it’s so incredibly rewarding and a ton of fun. We're constantly learning more about our industry and prospects and pivoting as needed to help restaurants thrive.
 

How does your team partner with the international Customer Success teams to provide an exceptional experience to these new markets?

The International team is small but mighty right now.  Our sales and marketing team, onboarding, product, and customer success teams all partner really closely together and are in communication on a daily basis to make sure we are aligned and have our customers' best interests in mind. It’s a bit of a challenge because we're based in different geographies but we’re intentional about getting everyone together at least quarterly and then country specific teams get together more often. 

What is something you’d want people to know if they’re considering Toast as a place to work?

I’ve had two kids since being at Toast and the flexibility and support I’ve gotten is amazing. Being a working parent is tough, especially with my travel schedule, but my team is always checking in and willing to accommodate schedules. Many people ask me how I can be a mom of two young ones and a VP of International Sales, and I don’t know that I have the perfect answer (or any answer for that matter), but you just do what you need to do to make it work and embrace that some weeks you will have to flex and prioritize more than others. I love talking to aspiring moms or women in sales (like our SellHers group at Toast) and sharing how it is possible to grow your career and family at the same time without having to pick one instead of the other, if that’s the path you desire. From the generous parental leave policy, the flexible time off, and the kid-friendly virtual meetings, I couldn’t imagine working anywhere other than Toast.

Sam Trudo is now a member of the Toast alumni community. We greatly appreciate their many contributions to and lasting impact on Toast!