The Women in Sales Awards (WISA) of North America named Adobe's Patricia Viado (PV) the “Best Woman in Consumer Sales 2016.”
As eCommerce Sales Manager at Adobe, PV is accountable for $1B in revenue for Adobe.com. That entails working with at least 20 cross-functional teams, taking a daily pulse on how the business is doing, how it’s mapping to its quotas, and how Adobe might need to alter course to drive the business. With 4 million visitors per week, Adobe.com is much of the world's sole experience of Adobe’s brand.
“Digital marketing is the next big thing and it’s going to be critical for our next generation of salespeople,” says PV.
PV admits to having been afraid of sales before trying it. She felt comfortable in a technical capacity and didn’t think she had the skills needed for a sales role. But because of her willingness to give it a go, and her subsequent success, she is keen to encourage others – particularly women – to take a risk with a career in sales and e-commerce because “this is where the business is moving.”
PV’s proudest moment at Adobe was working on Project Cayenne which transformed Adobe’s e-commerce platform to make it more scaleable and service-oriented. As the business analyst lead, she led a team of 120 people for two years. Following that, a sales position opened up at the same time that she was going through a divorce. That setback in her life forced her to make a bold move and give sales a try.
Her history......
PV says that a common denominator across her journey has been persistence. She learned persistence from her parents who moved their family to the U.S. from the Philippines in the 1980s. They started out in Mississippi where she experienced first-hand racism. “Black kids sat in the back of the bus, white kids in the front.” Being Asian, PV was called “sushi eater” and was befriended for her perceived skills in math.
Her family eventually settled in Alameda, CA where six of them lived in a one-bedroom apartment. When her father lost his job, PV's mom worked 2-3 jobs at a time – McDonald’s, Rite Aid, nursing homes, to supplement their income. When PV watched how hard her family worked to create their life, she knew she wanted to contribute.
Mentors have been pivotal to PV’s success. Two key mentors include Mark Rupert, Sr. Director of Marketing, and Rob Giglio, Vice President of Consumer and Business Sales.
“Mark always said ‘Know your numbers and know your business’. When I first joined the sales team, Mark told me to focus on understanding key business metrics. Since then, my strategy has been to stay on top of our metrics on a daily, weekly, and quarterly basis. This ensures my marketing, product management, and technical enablement partners have insight on what’s driving sales.”
And of Rob Giglio she says, “Rob has a great way of being genuine but also tough. He’s so inspiring the way he talks about his journey which taught me to not be embarrassed by my own story.”
Of PV, Rob says, "She strives for excellence in everything she does and sets the bar high for those around her. One of her greatest strengths is her ability to manage through influence as she skillfully navigates Adobe's matrixed organization. She is data-driven and deeply committed to driving results by focusing on the key inputs to the business including site performance and trends. She's a rising star."
As for photography, PV's pictures were selected twice by Adobe’s own photo contest. Here are a few samples.
In terms of advice for new people joining Adobe, PV says, "Be confident but don't expect that you're going to learn things right away. Be willing to ask questions and have patience. The best thing about working at Adobe is that people are willing to help. We all have the same goal which is to grow Adobe without sacrificing its values."
PV herself tries to live by her favorite quote from Mahatma Ghandi which shows that everything has to start from oneself.
“Be the change you wish to see in the world.” – Mahatma Ghandi.