Her Story
About Maranda
My career in sales has taken me through some really interesting paths over the past 8 to 10 years. I spent about 5 years in banking sales, working as a banker, associate, and eventually as a Digital Banking Champion at Chase, where my job was to transform traditional banking environments and help people trust new technology like smart ATMs and mobile banking apps. What really helped me succeed there was the patience and empathy I showed people - I completely understood their hesitation because I lived with my grandparents while going to college, so I got what they needed. After leaving banking, I didn't think I'd go back to that world, but two job positions later, here I am working directly with credit unions and banks again, just from the tech side. I spent about a year and a half as a sales specialist for an ed tech company, managing the entire sales pipeline, and now I've been in business development at eGain for over 6 months. We're an AI-powered knowledge management software company that's been in business for over 20 years, and what we do is make sure that when companies use AI, it's giving them correct information from their own approved content, not just pulling things from the internet and creating bottlenecks or customer experience issues. I really feel passionate about working for a company where I actually believe in the product - making sure people get what they actually need and want has always been important to me throughout my career. My day-to-day is a mixture of things: I manage LinkedIn content related to knowledge management and AI, prospect banks and credit unions that might be interested in our platform, conduct demos through video calls, qualify leads to make sure they actually need us, and work with my team to discover new ways we can impact people better and bring new tools into our platform. I'm always studying and looking to grow. What I'm most proud of professionally is that I don't feel like there's any department, any room, or any team that I don't belong in - if there's a place I want to get to, I can definitely get there, I have the capability, I just have to apply it and work for it.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Maranda
01What do you attribute your success to?
What I'm most proud of, and what I attribute my success to, is that I don't feel like there's any department, any room, or any team that I don't belong in. I feel that if there's a place I want to get to, I can definitely get there - I have the capability, I just have to apply it and work for it. That mindset hasn't steered me wrong. The best career advice I ever received, which really shaped my success, was to stop underestimating myself. I always felt that if I don't check all the boxes, I shouldn't even approach an opportunity or feel like I need to be perfect. But in reality, I found that most of the time, I already have everything I need - the essentials. And what I don't have, I'll learn along the way.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I've ever received was to stop underestimating myself. I always felt that if I don't check all the boxes, I shouldn't even approach an opportunity. I felt like I needed to be perfect. But in reality, I found that most of the time, I already have everything I need - the essentials. And what I don't have, I'll learn along the way. That advice completely changed how I approach opportunities and my career.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Be bold, be too much. Your problem is probably not even being enough in the first place. If you feel like you're stuck, or if you feel like you're not getting where you want to be, remember that. Don't hold back - push forward and don't underestimate yourself.
Join Influential Women and start making an impact. Register now.