Influential Woman · HVAC Controls

Briana Hopper

HVAC Controls, --

Denver, CO

3Years experience

Certifications · Degrees · Memberships

Degree Bachelor's in Marketing Degree Ferris State University Degree 2016 Degree Associate's in Applied Science Degree MBA Degree Ferris State University (online) Cert LEAP Program Graduate Cert Leadership Program Graduate Member ASHRAE

Her Story

About Briana

I grew up in a construction family as one of seven children, working for my dad doing construction from a young age. My father was an entrepreneur who also owned a kitchen cabinet store that he had me running when I was young. I started my career path in the science field, pursuing respiratory therapy, but with one month left of clinicals I realized there wasn't much upward growth movement. Sales had always been my backup plan since I'd taken management and sales classes, so I switched paths and graduated with a bachelor's in marketing in 2016 and an associate's in Applied Science. I later went back to Ferris State University online to get my MBA through Siemens' tuition reimbursement program. At Siemens, I was young and single without kids, so I said yes to a lot of opportunities like travel, college recruiting, and side projects. The CEO and CFO would ask me to take on special projects, and I ran the Ready to Sell the LEAD program for fire security and automation, as well as the Young Employees Resource Group for Chicago. My VP of Sales, Rich Sillison, along with the CEO and CFO, encouraged me to be well-rounded if I wanted to eventually become a sales manager or VP of sales. That's why I moved into fire and security sales with Johnson Controls during COVID, and then into HVAC controls to hit all the points. I've always been passionate about sales enablement, sales excellence, and training, because I love helping people achieve their potential and saving them from having to learn things the hard way. I recently left Johnson Controls two weeks ago to take a corporate break after having my son Navy, who is six months old and has some upcoming surgery. The commute was an hour and a half each way, and even though they let me bring Navy to work, it just wasn't going to work long-term. I plan to re-enter the field in a few years, possibly doing consulting or finding a fully remote position.

Her Interview

Ten minutes with Briana

01What do you attribute your success to?

I think it'd have to just be from the Lord, putting me in the right places and working with the right people. He's given me the drive, the energy, the willingness and dedication to just show up every day and do my best. That's really what I attribute my success to.

02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?

The best career advice I ever received was probably from my dad, who told me to always be networking. I think that's what got me to where I was. I've always stayed open to opportunities and said yes to things, and that's really led me to where I've been. I've gotten to travel and live in different places and work for different types of management. That's really been the coolest part, I think, seeing the different types of management out there and learning from them. You get to learn what to do and what not to do. I've had some phenomenal managers, even recently at Johnson Controls, just amazing managers, and I have so much respect for them. I think that's important in the world of sales because it helps you thrive. You can just tell from the growth and development of the people. It makes it fun to work, too.

03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?

There have been a few different nuggets people have given me over time. When I was in college, somebody told me to just act like I was older, and I thought it was kind of interesting, but I did that at Siemens. I just took work very seriously, acted like I was older walking into a room, and I felt like people respected me there. That's what allowed me to have the opportunities that I had. Just be reliable, show up, take notes, ask good questions, and try to learn. Be open-minded to the people around you.

04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?

I would say for both opportunities and challenges, it's being a female in the industry, especially in sales. It opens doors for you, but there's also doors where you have to work ten times as hard as a male. I think it's always going to be like that. It's definitely getting better, but there were unique opportunities where I could get into doors that other people had never been able to get into before. People would be shocked because I would get into doors that others couldn't. Then there were other situations where people were very stuck in their ways, especially in Tennessee. You'd have to really work to meet with some of your customers. Like, I had one who was a chicken farmer, and I had to meet him at a chicken farm. It took a long time of just being persistent to actually get in touch with him, so that was kind of a fun win. After that, he was happy to meet with me.

05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?

I think character and integrity would be number one. Those are the values that are most important to me in both my work and personal life.

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