The sales department is one of the most crucial departments, responsible for the success and growth of the organization. Hence, the relevant skill sets required for closing the deals are essential for the growth of the sales professional. To help organizations exceed their sales targets, Christina Tan founded Sales Symphony with a mission to upskill sales professionals of varying backgrounds. Today, the company serves clients from Fortune 500 companies, MNCs, and SMEs in multiple key sectors across education, hospitality, healthcare, government, telecommunications, and real estate.

Having completed her Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from the Nanyang Technological University Singapore, Christina started her professional career as a Sales Executive with Vanguard Interiors. After over 2 decades of rising in the ranks of various Sales Departments, she started Sales Symphony out of her passion for sales, lifelong learning, coaching, and mentorship. While her expertise lies in IT Sales, she equips sales professionals with the fundamental skills that can be adapted to each industry. Let’s read more about her in this interview snippet.

Tell us about the most valuable business lessons you have learned through your professional journey that empowers you to be a better leader today.

 Firstly, I believe that teamwork is vital for business success. Thus, Sales Symphony anchors itself on this principle, working closely with eco-partners and customers. The next is leading my team and business partners by example, demonstrating self-motivation, discipline, humility, and a lifelong learning spirit that they can apply to their own situations. I strongly believe that upskilling yourself and always being hungry to learn more is what sets you apart from the rest. Lastly, one must be adaptable in this ever-changing economy.

What motivated you to establish Sales Symphony? Tell us about the underlying idea behind the venture and its areas of specialization.

I come to notice that sales professionals work hard but are unable to achieve their full potential due to weak sales fundamentals. I can relate to the challenges of being afraid of cold calling, the awkwardness in networking, and being tongue-tied with the right questions, to name a few. As I was once in that same position, the desire to help the professional sales team sell more effectively to drive optimal success motivated me to establish Sales Symphony.

The underlying idea behind the venture is to enhance professional sales skills and growth for a more outstanding quality of life for individuals, organizations, and society. The specialization of Sales Symphony is sales training and sales career coaching to help fresh graduates, mid careerists transit into a sales career, CV and interview skills, and position to clinch their desired sales roles and career progression.

Throw some light on the most critical challenges you encounter as a sales trainer. How do you overcome the roadblocks that you face?

Different age groups and industries have diverse needs, interests, and receptiveness to sales training and coaching. Sales Symphony’s coaching programs enable sales teams to clarify sales queries, correct past sales habits, and adopt new approaches to yield greater success over a sustainable period. I overcome the diversity roadblocks by having an in-depth conversation with sales leaders and teams to truly understand their needs and situation. After which, I customize my programs according to their needs and preferences. In addition, I also proactively monitor key industry trends and movements so that my clients will also learn new insights from me.

Tell us about the top three milestones you have achieved throughout your professional journey. What has been your success mantra as a business leader?

The significant win of a deal of SGD 100 million is a milestone in my sales career that gave me great confidence to help companies and sales professionals achieve their results in complex sales. The next would be transitioning from corporate to entrepreneurship to help the sales industry instead of merely contributing to the organization where I was employed at.

"Do what you can control & turn around those you cannot"

I also consider it an unexpected major milestone to achieve breakthroughs in successful training, coaching, and mentoring Sales professionals in industries outside of Tech. My success mantra as a sales professional from day 1 is to love my career, learn with purpose, serve with professionalism and ethics, contribute to society, and celebrate both wins and losses.

Drawing from your experience, what advice would you give to other aspiring women leaders & entrepreneurs?

My greatest advice for aspiring entrepreneurs is to be persistent in turning your dreams into reality. Apart from that, never regret anything, keep learning, and move on from your mistakes.

ChristinaTan, Founder, Sales Symphony

A trainer, coach, and advisor to the sales team, leaders, and professionals, Christina Tan helps businesses to grow exponentially by using her 25 years of sales experience and Sales Success Orchestrator methodology. After gaining a profound amount of experience by working with companies like Delteq Systems, Enterprise Singapore, Nexwave Technologies, NTT, Equinix, and IBM, she started her own venture widely known as Sales Symphony.