Her Story
About Valkyrie
Valkyrie Harrison serves as Senior District Sales Manager at Affinitiv, where she has applied her nearly 26 years of automotive industry experience to excel in sales and leadership. She specializes in reading people and transforming underperformers into overachievers while mastering sales and developing strong leadership skills. Harrison is a certified health coach who runs Harrison Health and Wellness on the side, helping clients address underlying health conditions. She is an active member of the Women in Automotive Network. Harrison attributes her success to her mother, who rose through the education industry to become Director of Special Services. She values strong morals in both her professional and personal life and advises young women entering the male-dominated automotive field to stand out, remain competitive, and overachieve rather than making themselves smaller. Her best career advice, received from her husband, is to communicate effectively by simplifying complex ideas for all audiences.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Valkyrie
01What do you attribute your success to?
My success came from my mother. She worked her way up in the education industry, taught every grade from kindergarten through college, and became Director of Special Services. She molded me in my youth.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice I received was to dumb it down. Not everyone can comprehend things that come naturally to me, so learn to communicate on every level. This advice came from my husband.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Don't make yourself smaller in a male-dominated industry. Stand out, be competitive, and overachieve because you have to do more than everyone else around you.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
The biggest challenge is being female in a male-dominated industry. Attractive women may get ahead in sales due to first impressions but it can hinder on the business side. You need to create balance and have a mind to back it up.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Morals are the most important. It's very hard to trust people in business as some will step on you to get ahead, but staying grounded in your morals regardless of success is a huge gift.
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