Author Archives: Anna Lelashvili

The Sales Circle: Transforming Training and Recruitment in Tech Sales

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Above: Tommy French (left) and Eoin Murphy’ (right),  founders of The Sales Circle

Anna Lelashvili

While business students often hear all about the glories of working in finance, consulting or accounting, most of us have probably never considered a career in tech sales. Tech sales is becoming increasingly popular in Ireland, with the rise of multinational technology companies establishing offices in Dublin. Tech sales offers great career progression and earning opportunities with graduates earning an average salary of €60,000. 

TBR’s Chief Finance Officer Anna Lelashvili spoke with Eoin Murphy, co-founder of The Sales Circle, to learn more about a career in tech sales and how The Sales Circle can help people looking to break into the field. 

The Founders

Co-founders Eoin Murphy and Tommy French met as business development associates at Salesforce, a cloud-based CRM company. According to Eoin, the two clicked instantly due to their aligned vision and aspirations of being successful. Both Eoin, who studied Business at DCU, and Tommy, who completed a Masters in Finance at Trinity, planned to work in Finance. They both gained experience in the finance field with Eoin completing a 9 month placement in banking and Tommy working as a financial consultant.  

After a quick Indeed search for summer internships, Eoin came across the Salesforce sales development internship and applied to it, not knowing what either Salesforce or sales development was. Although Eoin started working in sales at just 15 years old, helping his father at trade shows, he didn’t know it was a career you could pursue post-graduation until he started the Salesforce internship; a great example of what is meant for you, will not pass you. 

‘When I went into college it was never even a consideration of going into sales. I had never heard of tech sales. I was always going the finance route, same with Tommy. We never envisioned going down this route but I stepped in on the first day (at Salesforce) and said ‘this is what I am doing after college’. It was a hidden gem’.

The Sales Circle Origin

It all began when Eoin started posting content on TikTok, showing viewers the behind the scenes of cold-call filled ‘Day in The Life’ videos and being transparent about the salary in tech sales. In only 9 months he has amassed over 7,000 followers on TikTok and 4,000 followers on Linkedin due to his transparency and love for tech sales.

‘I always had the itch to start posting content. Being in Ireland I always had the fear of judgement, but when I moved to Australia I said ‘look I’m away from everyone, I’m gonna go for it’.

Following Eoin’s success on TikTok, an overwhelming number of people started reaching out to him wondering how they could get into tech sales and find success. While Eoin tried to juggle content creation with working and advising others, he realised that there was an opportunity to create something. He turned to Tommy, and the two started The Sales Circle, offering two-day intensive boot camps once a month. Each bootcamp sees 10 people receiving training and one-to-one support in their journey in breaking into tech sales.

The Sales Circle is unique as it not only helps participants get a job in the industry but also provides them with the resources to excel in their new role. Tommy and Eoin were both very high performers, citing ‘what we teach, we know works’. The Sales Circle is ‘hoping to change the recruitment space, creating a model of recruitment where people are trained by high performers in the industry’. As a result, participants are not only landing jobs quickly, with an average of only 30 days, but are also excelling in hitting their sales targets.

Eoin emphasised the importance of standing out and making yourself ‘the most obvious choice for the role’. At The Sales Circle, they ensure that participants do one thing to set themselves apart at every stage of the recruitment process. As well, they have created a partner network of companies who are interested in hiring high quality talent and hopefully secure your spot at a partner company. 

The Sales Talent of Tomorrow Programme for College Students

After seeing the huge demand from college students looking to get into tech sales, The Sales Circle is launching a new programme called the Sales Talent of Tomorrow Programme, which will see small, monthly cohorts of students receiving two weeks of intensive upskilling sessions on the fundamentals of being a high performing sales and business development representatives. They will also learn how to outshine the 200+ applicants they will find themselves competing against. 

Unlike most careers that students pursue post-graduation, there aren’t many graduate programmes in the tech sales sphere. Instead, there are entry level positions that graduates can apply for. This role is typically the Sales Development Representative role but the name varies across companies. As a result, most final year students begin applying to jobs towards the end of their degree in April. But not to worry, The Sales Circle ensures that “when you get to the end of your college year and you’re looking to apply to jobs, you are so far ahead of others,” according to Eoin.

A Career in Tech Sales

For those of you who have never considered a career in tech sales before, here are some benefits of working in the sphere:

  1. Earning potential and career progression: On average, graduates can expect to earn about €60,000 in their first year as an SDR and can progress to an account executive role earning €100,000+ in 2 years. In contrast, the average graduate salary in Ireland is around €35,000. 
  2. Soft Skills: Sales helps you develop resilience, confidence and communication skills, with Eoin describing it as “the single greatest job for building resilience”. As an SDR, you speak a lot to business owners, learning about their business models and pain points, which could be very beneficial to those considering starting a business themselves. You also face a lot of rejection from prospects and learn how to handle rejection. 
  3. It’s fun!: Speaking to Eoin, you can see how much he really loves his job.

 ‘I was so worried coming out of college, especially when I was in my finance role, that I would hate life working and I could say with complete confidence that every single day, even if it was a tough day, I absolutely loved doing what I was doing in Salesforce, and tech sales in general. I loved the people, the job and everything that came with it. There wasn’t a day I wasn’t grateful that I went down that route.’

Tips to Break into Tech Sales

If you’ve been convinced to break into tech sales, here are some tips from Eoin to help you (as well as joining the Sales Talent of Tomorrow Programme, of course):

  1. Reaching out to people: Reach out to people on LinkedIn who are in tech sales and have conversations with them! You learn so much and also make amazing connections in the process. Eoin suggests having a conversation a week with an SDR/BDR/Account Executive. By the end of the year, that’s around 40 connections! When it comes to applying to jobs, you have a network of people who can help you whether that’s through a referral or some tips and tricks for the interview.
  2. Listen to podcasts: Recommendations from Eoin include 30 Minutes to President’s Club, Outbound Squad and Outbound Kitchen (formerly SDR Game). 
  3. Read books: Recommendations from Eoin include Gap Selling, Never Split the Difference and Problem Prospecting.

Follow Eoin, Tommy and The Sales Circle!

TikTok: @eoinmurphyyy, Linkedin: Eoin Murphy & Tommy French, Website: The Sales Circle 

Internship Spotlight: Companies Hiring Second Year Interns

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Anna Lelashvili 

Finding an internship can be difficult, especially when you are not a ‘penultimate student’.  I know this from first hand experience which is why I decided to bring to light top companies hiring non-penultimate students in Dublin, interviewing previous interns about their hiring experiences. From Finance to HR, here are 3 companies to consider applying to if you are in your second year of college.

  1. Deloitte 

Background: Deloitte is one of the Big 4 Accountancy firms with over 3,200 people providing audit, tax, consulting and corporate finance services to public and private clients in Ireland. Deloitte placed 4th in the GradIreland student survey which identified the top 100 graduate employers in Ireland. They hired over 200 summer interns in 2023!

Length of Program: All programs, except Audit & Assurance, are 12 weeks long while Audit & Assurance totals 9 weeks.

Opening Date: Now open!
Closing Date: January 26th 

Roles Available: Audit & Assurance, Consulting, Restructuring Services, Risk Advisory, Tax and Technology

David Dai – Audit Summer Intern 2023

Having an interest in the Big 4 and becoming a Chartered Accountant after graduation, David applied to Audit Summer Intern positions in all the Big 4 firms (Deloitte, EY, KPMG and PWC). Following an application process which consisted of an online application and an interview with a Senior Manager and an Assistant Manager, David received offers from Deloitte and EY. When faced with the choice of spending his summer with either firm, David decided to choose Deloitte. 

“Deloitte had more well-known clients in my area of interest, Aviation Finance, so I would have a chance to serve these clients. I also thought Deloitte was a better place to develop myself.” 

Speaking very highly of his internship experience, David shared an example to really showcase the friendliness he was met with at Deloitte. After being given a task he “had no clue” how to do, David asked the associate on his team for help. Still not 100% sure how to complete the task, David was not afraid to ask for more help and asked someone sitting next to him, whom he did not know, to explain it to him. 

“Everyone was here to help you. In Deloitte, you could go to a Senior Manager or even a Partner and ask them questions and they’ll be happy to answer. It’s a very friendly firm, very good team environment.” 

David was very determined to learn as much as he could during his time in Deloitte and took full advantage of being on a small team. 

“I was asking for a new task right after I finished a task. I was in a small team the whole Summer, with 3 – 5 people in the team, so I worked closely with my senior manager. It was a very steep learning curve but I really had great fun doing my internship in Deloitte” 

  1. Fidelity International 

Background: Fidelity International is an investment management firm, offering investment solutions and retirement expertise to institutions, individuals and their advisers around the world. With roles including Equity Research, Multi Asset, Private Credit, Sustainable Investing, and Sales and Marketing, there’s a role for anyone interested in finance!

Length of Program: 10 weeks

Opening Date: Now open! 

Closing Date: March 3rd

Roles Available: Investment Management

Jane Purcell – Summer Intern 2023

Having received an offer to study in Korea for her third year of college, Jane decided to apply to Summer Internships in order to finance her exchange, as well as to gain professional work experience. Jane described her difficulty in finding internships open to students who were not penultimate year students, until Fidelity International reached out to her, encouraging her to apply. 

“The internship at Fidelity International caught my eye as it offered a rotational programme. I thought it would be cool to get an insight into two areas of interest and find out whether I liked them.”

After filing in the application form and completing online assessments, Jane was told that her application wasn’t being considered. However, a few weeks later, she received an email from Fidelity explaining that they had accidentally rejected her and invited her to a Super Day in 2 days time!

“The Super Day consisted of several interviews, a case study within a group and then an individual synopsis of the case study. It honestly flew by and I found out I had been successful within a few days.”

One of Jane’s highlights was her ability to arrange ‘one on one chats’ with people such as the Head of Product and Head of Currency Management. 

“I really enjoyed my time at Fidelity. There were only 8 other interns so it was nice to have a close team. We all worked on different teams and were given the opportunity to shadow different teams too if we so wished. Overall, it was a great experience to work at Fidelity and to get my first taste of the corporate world.” 

  1. Autodesk 

Background: Autodesk is a global leader in software for architects, builders, engineers, designers, manufacturers, 3D artists and production teams. According to an analysis of reviews on Glassdoor by resume.io, Autodesk ranks 3rd in tech companies to intern with, which was ranked by the percentage of interns that would recommend it to a friend, totalling 97.44% of interns recommending the firm. 

Length of Program: 3 months 

Opening Date: Now Open!
Closing Date: Closing date not advertised

Roles Available: Digital Sales, Software Engineer

Aanya Narang – HR Summer Intern 2023

“Providing a glimpse into my internship journey, I interned at Autodesk Ireland during the summer of 2023 in the capacity of a Human Resources Intern. The internship, overall, turned out to be one of the most enriching experiences of my life. Apart from acquiring invaluable skills in the field of Human Resources, I also made lifelong connections. The commendable company culture left a strong impression on me, with the people being exceptionally welcoming and supportive. I would definitely recommend Autodesk to students seeking internships. For those navigating the application process, I would advise researching the company and the role beforehand and simply presenting your authentic self during the interview process.”

Links to Internship Applications: 

Deloitte: Apply Here! 

Fidelity International: Apply Here! 

Autodesk: Apply Here!

Meta faced with €390 million fine for breaching EU privacy rules

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Meta, the parent company of Facebook, as well as owner of Instagram and WhatsApp, is the largest social media company in the world. With such power, comes great responsibility. However, Meta is failing to be responsible regarding compliance of their data and privacy policies with GDPR rules. From data breaches to forced consent, Meta has faced many investigations since the establishment of the GDPR in 2018.

Most recently, Meta has been fined €390 million for breaching EU privacy rules. This is the result of two investigations which began in 2018, one regarding Facebook and the other Instagram. Both investigations were prompted by Meta’s terms and conditions for the use of both Facebook and Instagram. Essentially, the complainants claimed that Meta was forcing users to accept and consent to the processing of their data, as users would otherwise be unable to use its services. It was argued that this ‘forced’ consent breached GDPR. 

The result was a €210 million and €180 million fine for both Facebook and Instagram respectively, due to a lack of transparency and contravention of Article 6 of the GDPR which states that processing is lawful if the data subject consented to the processing of their data and if the processing is necessary under certain grounds. As well as that, Meta was given a three-month period to ensure its data processing operations were compliant with EU GDPR laws. Unsurprisingly, Meta plans to appeal the decision and argue that their approach to consent respects GDPR. 

This is not the first fine imposed on Meta by the Irish Data Protection Commission. In November 2022, Meta was fined €265 million for a data breach in which 533 million users’ names, phone numbers and email addresses were published online, of which 1.3 million were from Ireland. The continuous fines that Meta is facing from the Irish Data Protection Commission, which have now accumulated to over €1 billion, will likely prompt users to reflect about the data and ‘consent’ they provide on social media platforms. 

Big Four: Potential Audit and Advisory Split 

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The Big Four accounting firm EY are only one step away from restructuring the firm. Their audit and advisory services would be separated as a result of the restructure. All that remains is for the 13,000 EY partners throughout the world to vote in favour of or against the split. It would be the biggest change in the accounting industry in decades. 

First of all, in case you’re unfamiliar, the Big Four accounting firms are PWC, KPMG, EY, and Deloitte. They are the top accounting firms worldwide, providing tax, consulting and auditing services in over 150 countries. In 2021, they earned a combined worldwide revenue of $167.2 billion. 

EY managers have finally accepted a plan to split their audit and advising businesses after months of discussion about a split in the audit and advisory services. The plan would potentially see the audit division retaining the EY name and the advisory division becoming its own company with a new name. However, it will not be as easy as it may sound. The distribution of the tax division, which is essential to both the audit and consultancy services, is one of the key concerns of the split.

So why are they splitting? The primary goal of the division is to prevent conflicts of interest from limiting the growth of the audit and advisory divisions. This stems from when one division is not allowed to work with the clients of the other division. The split would open up many more potential clients to the new advisory company and would help the advisory sector’s expansion.

A statement released by EY on the 8th of September states: 

“EY leaders have reached the decision to move forward with partner votes to separate into two distinct, multidisciplinary organizations. We expect this phase to continue through the end of the year, with voting expected to begin on a country-by-country basis in late 2022 and conclude in early 2023.”