Datasite - Senior Sales Executive of the Year
Company: Datasite, Minneapolis, MN
Company Description: Datasite is a leading SaaS provider for the M&A industry, empowering dealmakers around the world with the tools they need to succeed across the entire deal lifecycle. For more information, visit www.datasite.com
Nomination Category: Sales Awards Individual Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Senior Sales Executive of the Year
Nomination Title: Todd Albright
Todd Albright serves as CRO and Global Head of Sales for Datasite, a leading SaaS technology provider for the M&A industry that empowers dealmakers around the world with the tools they need to succeed across the entire deal lifecycle.
Todd has held this position since joining Datasite in 2015 as part of a wider business transformation led by CEO Rusty Wiley that included several divestitures, new leadership and the company’s evolution into a high-growth SaaS business focused on optimizing and streamlining the M&A lifecycle.
Under Todd’s leadership, Datasite’s transformation involved building a world-class, global sales organization that grew 350% in five years, During Todd’s tenure, he has also grown revenue 171%. With a laser-focus on communication, coaching and purposeful investments, Todd has built a winning, team-oriented sales culture.
Datasite was named a 2021 Premiere Sales Employer by the Institute for Excellence in Sales and placed #2 on Selling Power’s 2021 list of “50 Best Companies to Sell For.” Additional achievements include Silver Stevie Award for Senior Sales Executive of the Year and Gold Stevie Award for Global Sales Team of the Year in 2020 and 2021.
Developing Datasite’s sales culture, maximizing seller performance and offering global career opportunities are key priorities under Todd’s leadership. Investments in innovative technology reduced seller admin time and uncovered insights to help sellers map key accounts. Expanded training efforts, including bringing in external industry expertise, have enhanced sales skills and product knowledge.
Todd has ensured opportunities for advancement are plentiful. Sellers who overachieve on their performance are rewarded with Datasite’s annual Accelerator Club. Todd increased Datasite’s SPIFF velocity in 2020, while maintaining financial metrics, to provide sellers extra earning opportunities during the pandemic.
Todd has played a central role in harmonizing sales, product, customer service and marketing execution to create a winning strategy for Datasite. This included preparing the sales team to bring a company rebrand to market and launch three new products in 2020. In 2021, the company exceeded its projected new product unit sales by 50%.
Amidst the pandemic, Todd pivoted Datasite’s sales strategy, focusing on new uses cases, such as restructuring, to adapt to the marketplace. Todd steadily navigated the sales team through the transition to working remote and shared weekly video updates that placed empathy at the forefront while keeping sellers engaged and connected. He also hosted regular Sales Town Halls to virtually bring together the global sales team. Additionally, Todd worked closely with HR to develop Datasite’s plan to safely reopen sales offices.
Todd’s impact on Datasite’s success has been significant. Between 2019 - 2021, the company’s revenue increased 37%.
This growth is also visible in Datasite’s new unit acquisition. In October 2020, Datasite surpassed 1,000 units in a single month for the first time. This achievement made history not only for the company but also for the industry as Datasite became the first virtual data room provider to break this barrier. The company has continued this record-breaking success by exceeding 1,000 units eight consecutive months in 2021.
Also in 2021, more than 60% of sellers qualified for Accelerator Club - the highest in the company’s history and well-beyond industry standard. Nearly 15% of those sellers joined the company during the pandemic, underscoring the robust support and training sellers are provided, even in a virtual work environment. The three-day event offers sellers the opportunity for top-level networking, business strategy, philanthropy and celebration with leadership and colleagues across the company.
Todd’s emphasis on building a people-focused, winning sales culture has had a direct impact on attracting and retaining top talent. Datasite’s salesforce retention rate is 92%, compared to the industry average of 85%. Additionally, the sales organization achieved an 84% employee engagement score in 2021, an increase of 6ppt from 2019 and above the 74% industry benchmark.
Media
Datasite Projects Growth Through COVID-19 Crisis with New Use Cases
Datasite, formerly Merrill Corp, expanding at rapid pace due to AI-powered services
Datasite Moves to Second Spot on Selling Power’s Annual ’50 Best Companies to Sell For’ List
Datasite Honored with Several Stevie Awards and Institute for Excellence in Sales Recognition
Thought Leadership
Todd is an established thought leader, recently featured on Sales Game Changers Podcast, Selling Power, The Times and MarketWatch. Specific examples include:
Datasite CRO Todd Albright Shares How His Sales Force Is Recovering Strong
How to Approach Sales Leadership in a Pandemic
Why more can mean less in a downturn
Prospect of Biden winning could spur deal making rush ahead of tax hikes
Driving Results in a Pandemic
This PDF provides a high-level overview of Datasite’s recent growth.
Selling at Datasite
In this video some of the company’s top sellers share why they choose to grow their sales careers at Datasite.