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How Navan Has Created a Culture of Sales Success

How Navan Has Created a Culture of Sales Success

author two

Karlie Souris

2 Aug 2022
4 minute read
members of the Enterprise Sales team

What makes Navan so enticing for star sales reps and leaders from across the globe? It comes down to three key things: a massive market, a best-in-category product, and a proven leadership team.

“There are very few companies with a total addressable market like Navan,” said Paul Giske, enterprise account executive. He joined in February 2022 after fulfilling his quest to find a company with a clear product market fit that delighted its growing customer base. “Pair that with the best product in the market, and it makes us unstoppable.”

Navan has combined business travel, expense management, and corporate cards into an all-in-one powerhouse product offering that Giske and other sales team members take pride in selling. And working with a proven executive team makes joining the company a very appealing choice to many sales professionals, including those on the fast-growing Enterprise Sales team.

“We are just getting started, so come get on the rocketship and learn the industry, product, and sales playbook,” said Giske.

Two leaders who have helped shape the team’s success are Jessica Roman, regional director, enterprise sales, and Ken Lawshe, vice president, enterprise sales North America. Below, they both share how unique the team, company, and opportunity are at Navan—and why top sellers from around the world are interested in joining their teams.

Why did you want to join the Navan sales team?

Roman was at her last company for eight years and successfully built out new functions and regions for the company. When it came to looking for her next opportunity, she was very selective.

“I wanted to sell to finance teams—there is no more powerful book of business than selling to a CFO,” she said. Roman wanted to be behind a product that she could personally align with, and one that impacted every department and employee within a company.

“Navan was that perfect combination for me,” she said. “The quality of the product was great, and the total addressable market is massive. The company can keep growing organically for many years to come.”

Roman joined Navans about 1.5 years ago with the understanding that the Enterprise Sales team was new for the sales organization. She enjoys being a part of the building stages of a company within an organization that focuses on defined sales enablement and robust recruiting processes.

“We are hiring top performers and also people that can be leaders and help build this team,” she said.

What is the culture like on the Navan sales team?

Lawshe shared that the team is highly collaborative and cross-functional.

“From a revenue operations perspective, we’re constantly investing in the latest tools and analytics to help the team maximize productivity,” he said. The team’s methods include champion-building formulas and proven frameworks that have helped the world’s most successful organizations scale.

“On the enablement side, we host weekly sessions informed by the field on the latest product, industry, and competitive insights,” he said. “Lastly, we have a culture of ownership and meritocracy. Everyone is inspired by how early we still are and how empowered we are to help innovate every aspect of our go-to-market. Those who come in and perform get rewarded and promoted very quickly.”

Roman shared that team members are always willing to help one another.

“There is a healthy balance of more tenured and newer reps, and they all demonstrate strong resilience and grit,” she said. The company also has a proven leadership team, including Grant McGrail, chief revenue officer, who has experience in scaling very successful global sales organizations.

Why would someone want to join the Navan Enterprise Sales team now?

“We’re in a unique place where we have thousands of companies to go after and have the luxury of ruthlessly prioritizing which accounts we target,” said Roman. “The space we’re competing in is not overly saturated, we have only a few large competitors, and we’ve obsessed over how to differentiate from a product and value perspective.”

Roman said that the team has exceeded expectations so far this year. They hit 285% of their goal in Q1, followed by an astonishing 557% of their goal in Q2.

Lawshe said that the COVID-19 pandemic was “the hardest test we could face,” yet the company responded by accelerating its pace of innovation and launching new hypergrowth products. In the end, they had the best sales months in company history.

“At the Enterprise Sales level, we have a unique combination of a massive untapped market, referenceable clients, macro tailwinds, and a highly differentiated product,” he said. “We also have a playbook inspired by the world’s best companies that lays out a repeatable framework for creating pipeline, building champions, and qualifying opportunities.”

He also said that now is an ideal time to join the team, and new hires can expect world-class enablement from onboarding to continuing education. “Anyone looking to make great money, enhance their skills, work with the best, and grow their career should absolutely reach out,” he said.


The Navan Enterprise Sales team is hiring across the globe; check out open positions now at navan.com/careers.

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