Her Story
About Christina
I've been in the tech industry since 2011, coming up on 15 years now, and I've been at Salesforce for over 12 years. Before tech, I was in pharmaceutical sales since my early 20s, working as an outside field rep for companies like J&J and Sanofi in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. In 2010, I moved to San Francisco and during my job search, I came upon a company called Demandforce. I didn't know what cloud technology meant, but my gut told me this was something new and exciting, so I went to the interview. It was a startup moving so fast into so many different industries, and taking that role was probably one of the best decisions I've ever made for my career. I was there for about a year and a half, then moved to another startup, and eventually to Salesforce, where my career really took off. Salesforce offers so much opportunity to move up and learn, and the technology moves so fast. I was a first-line leader at Salesforce for over 8 years, managing teams of anywhere between 7 to 10 account executives focused on healthcare and life sciences, from small business to medium to some GB accounts. Last year, I made a strategic career move to an individual contributor role in enterprise sales. My role every day is interfacing with customers and internal teams, working with some of the largest healthcare and life sciences companies in med device, payer space, and med tech, helping them think about what they could be doing with Salesforce technology for incentive comp, sales planning, routing, and sales performance acceleration. My deals now take over a year to two years to close, but the role is truly rewarding. I love having these big conversations with high-level customers at truly innovative big companies doing amazing things with pacemakers and diagnostics, and seeing how our technology supports what they want to do for their customers. Out of my 12 years at Salesforce, I've hit over 100% of my number numerous times and made Peak Performers, which is our President's Club, six times. I hit Chairman's Club back in 2023, which means you're one of the top 100 globally out of all 37,000 sellers at Salesforce. Last year, after making the switch to enterprise, I was number one in the EBOU for FY26 and hit 600% of my number.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Christina
01What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I received was from my former manager a couple years ago when I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do next. She told me that sometimes your career is not just climbing the stairs, climbing the stairs, climbing the stairs, like Salesforce and a lot of tech companies tell you. Sometimes you do a move that's maybe not going up a huge flight of stairs, but a sidestep to a different flight of stairs to achieve more. Instead of waiting for the RVP role, I took an enterprise role that was opening up, and now I have not only my manager experience, but enterprise experience, making me more well-rounded. It was tough because when I made the switch to IC and Enterprise, a lot of people said, 'Wait, what are you doing? Why aren't you waiting for an RVP role?' There was a lot of self-doubt in the first 3 months, and everyone was questioning me, but I listened to my gut and my old manager's advice. I finished the year with 600% and went to Peak Performers Club. Sometimes you make a sidestep so that you can jump forward and ahead of maybe two flights of stairs instead of that one flight of stairs.
02What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
I'd say there are times as a woman where you may self-doubt, you may think, 'Oh, well, I'm not ready for the role, I'm gonna wait, and I'm gonna do all these things before I actually put my name in.' I remember reading articles where, compared to men, women want to work on the role and do things in the role before they actually apply for themselves, and men see themselves in the role and just go for it and learn on their own. As a woman, you have to know that you're gonna do a good job, you're gonna excel. Just the fact that you're thinking about the role means you're already going to be two steps ahead of it, and you should just go for it. I learned I was a month pregnant with my son when I got a promotion to be a manager, and I remember thinking I shouldn't take this role because in 8 months I'd have to tell my AVP I have to go out on mat leave. I asked myself, 'Would I take this role if I wasn't pregnant?' And I said, 'Heck yeah, I will do it.' So I stepped into the role, and when I was 5 months pregnant, I told my boss Aaron, and he said he already knew. I ended the year at 105% of my number, and all my AEs were ramped and ready to go, and they all achieved over 90% of their year. So I'd say to anyone, whether you're expecting or there are any changes, if you think you're gonna take that role, just take it. Don't wait trying to coach yourself to do the skills - you're just gonna be able to do it.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I think one of the biggest opportunities is that a lot of healthcare and life sciences companies are expanding their footprint to bring in AI to accelerate field sellers. They're thinking there's so much more that they could be doing in technology. The challenges are that there are so many competitors out there, and budgets are tight - companies don't have a lot of money, so you just have to think creatively on a day-to-day about how can I get this deal done and how can I get to more people. Back when I first started in sales, I used to pick up the phone and call, and people would pick up and respond to emails, and they'd be like, 'Great, let's have a meeting, that sounds perfect!' Now nobody really responds - you have to think creatively. But at the same time, people buy from companies where the technology's proven, and as a salesperson, they buy from people that understand their goals and understand how I can help. At the end of the day, I'm very genuine, my customers know who I am, I build relationships, I take my time. Not everyone's gonna buy Salesforce and buy technology, but I focus on who can buy, who do I want to spend my time with, and who do I enjoy working with.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I think integrity is most important - doing things the right way the first time. I'd say it's a combination of working hard and doing things the right way. Being early instead of on time - it's all centered around work ethic. That type of way that I run my personal life bleeds into my professional life. I have an intensity when it comes to work. Staying focused every day, finishing what you're gonna say you're gonna do - that helps with your day-to-day.
Join Influential Women and start making an impact. Register now.