Holly Holt was a nurse for 17 years before she got into B2B sales. But what do these two very different careers have in common? For Holly, it’s all about taking care of people.
Ever since she was a little girl, Holly Holt would say she would be a nurse when she grew up. And for 17 years, she did just that.
As much as she loved her job as a cardiac ICU nurse, she realized it was a career path that would always take important time away from her family. The ’aha’ moment came to her when her youngest son burst into tears when she was called away during his kindergarten graduation.
“I was like, ’Oh my God, my kids mean more to me than this,’” she said. “He will never have another kindergarten graduation, and it’s just not worth it for me.”
At the time, she had no idea what her next move would be. A friend from CrossFit offered her a part-time business sales role at her company. Holly decided to give sales a shot, and never looked back.
“I absolutely loved it,” she said. “I was really good at it, and I could make a lot more money than what I was making as a nurse and work a lot less hours.”
At the end of 2023, Holly joined Cox as a client relationship executive for Cox Business — and she’s already making her mark as a rookie on the sales team.
I recently chatted with Holly about her experience as a new hire at Cox and why working with customers has become a rewarding second career.
Holly’s rookie accomplishments at Cox
Holly had already established herself as a top sales performer before she came to Cox. But she was still pleasantly surprised when she was given a shoutout as Rookie of the Month during a national sales team call for exceeding her sales goal while she was still in training.
“We were in the conference room having breakfast, and they called my name and I’m like, sitting there with a mouthful of eggs and biscuit,” she said. “That’s not something you would ever expect to get called out on, especially being brand-spanking new.”
She was also named valedictorian of her training class at graduation.
Holly says she’s glad that her team in Baton Rouge, LA, follows a hybrid schedule because the few days they have together in the office each week have helped her as a new hire.
“As a new person, it’s really nice to have that in-person support,” she said. “And I love the fact that I’m getting closer with my teammates.”
Since she completed training, Holly’s winning streak at Cox continues. She recently made her first sales for cloud services.
“That was a big deal, because I’m also the first on our team to get a cloud sale this year,” she said. “So, I’m really proud of that sale,” she said.
What’s even more impressive is that this sale started out as a phone call from an unhappy customer, Holly explained. She was able to turn the customer’s experience around, and they upgraded to use cloud services and fiber at two of their locations.
“The customer called me to disconnect, and I always make a point to get out there that day, face to face to just learn more about what’s going,” she said. “It’s a big deal to like change telecommunication companies with a business, so if I can prevent that headache for a customer, that’s my goal.”
It’s all about taking care of people
As a longtime nurse and a mother of three, Holly found that her purpose was taking care of people. And as a client relationship executive, she’s able to channel that passion for helping others by supporting them in their business needs.
“I’m naturally a take a caretaker,” she said. “Whether I’m taking care of their health or taking care of their business, I thrive off knowing that I’m taking care of somebody.”
The focus on customer service and relating to the customer’s experience is what sets Holly apart: “I tell people all the time, ‘You don’t have to be the smartest person in the room, you don’t have to have all the product knowledge; if you really focus on that customer service piece, that will go further than anything.”
Looking ahead, Holly has her sights set on winning this year’s sales recognition trip to Hawaii as a rookie.
“I really want to go to Hawaii, I’ve never been,” she said. “So that’s my goal this year.”