
Sales is often seen as a numbers game — closing deals, hitting quotas, driving revenue.
But ask anyone who’s built a lasting career in sales, and they’ll tell you it’s about the people: from the customers you connect with to the leaders who inspire you. Leaders like Jacqueline Estrella, a director of sales at Cox.
With 15 years at the company, Jacqueline has a proven track record of building high-performing sales teams in Las Vegas.
“I want people to grow in their careers, and I want to make people way better than I ever was in my own role,” she said. “For me, the money doesn’t drive me; it’s the success of my people.”
Here, Jacqueline shares what sets Cox’s sales culture apart and how the company supports new employees.
What can new hires expect to help them succeed in sales at Cox?
Jacqueline: To help new team members achieve success, we provide comprehensive onboarding and training. Our holistic approach helps new hires integrate smoothly and thrive here at Cox:
- Training: At Cox, we invest in thorough onboarding and continuous training throughout people’s careers. We’re always looking to help upskill our sales teams in technology, from learning about new products to diving into sales techniques.
- Tools: Cox also invests in providing the right tools, from Salesforce to AI software, so our sales teams are set up to win.
- Mentorship: We pair new employees with experienced mentors and try to match people with complementary personalities and working styles.
- Quality time with leaders: Everyone has weekly one-on-ones with their managers, and I have monthly skip-level meetings with each of them. We also have an open-door policy, so anyone can schedule time with me and bounce ideas off of me anytime.
- Access to a robust support system: We partner our salespeople with sales engineers and cloud solutions consultants, so you're not alone in your journey. From the very start, you have a team supporting you and your customers, so you can feel confident in what you’re selling.
What can new hires expect from Cox leaders like yourself?
Jacqueline: My goal as a leader is to create a positive and supportive environment where everyone feels valued and motivated. Here’s more on what new hires can expect from me and my team leaders:
- Clear expectations and communication: We set clear expectations and goals from day one. A mentor once told me that ‘being unclear is being unkind,’ so I like to set clear goals and expectations right out of the gate, and we start that in our interview process and continue throughout their time at Cox.
- A values-based approach: We prioritize building strong, lasting relationships with our customers and community, which makes our work meaningful and impactful. We emphasize keeping your word, being authentic and being honest. I lead by example and so do my leaders.
- Personalized career coaching: We encourage a culture of continuous learning, and we regularly update our training programs. I don’t coach and develop everybody the same way: I look at what matches their personality. Some people are didactic learners; others are experiential learners. So, we meet people where they’re at.
- Rewards and recognition: We’re always looking to make sure that the salespeople themselves and their support staff are being recognized and acknowledged for their work in addition to sales commissions. We have contests, quarterly dinners with our VP, monthly awards for high achievers and more. Sales can be very competitive, but we try to make it fun.
How does hybrid work benefit the sales team culture? What kinds of interactions or opportunities happen during those in-office days?
Jacqueline: I love our hybrid environment, and working in the office three days a week offers numerous benefits for team collaboration and growth, such as:
- Quick collaboration and decision making: We can have spontaneous interactions and casual conversations, which also allows us to be innovative and creative; and people feel valued and heard, especially when you’re looking at them face to face. Team members can easily discuss ideas, solve problems and we can make quick decisions.
- Building stronger relationships at work: I think that building community is so important after COVID, when people felt isolated. It has been the most important thing for our teams.
- Easy access to resources: Working in the office provides immediate access to meeting rooms, office equipment and support from our business partners or colleagues, engineers and support staff.
- Development opportunities: We can do team-building activities, have in-room training and role-playing exercises, all that kind of stuff. Junior team members can also benefit from direct mentorship and listening to their colleagues who are successful. It’s helped us build a really high-performance culture here in Las Vegas.
- Work-life balance: We balance office days with remote work, offering the best of both worlds. Team members can enjoy the benefits of in-person collaboration, while they also can have dedicated time for focused work and personal commitments during their remote days.
What makes Cox a great place to work in sales right now?
Jacqueline: I’ve always said that working at Cox is an exceptional career opportunity because of the dedicated and talented people you get to work with. But what’s added to that is our cutting-edge solutions and technology that we’re selling.
Our leaders are also committed to fostering a great work environment, and we offer competitive pay and benefits. And we offer all kinds of things along with health coverage and all of those normal benefits. For example, we support every individual’s financial health with substantial 401(k) plans and financial planning resources; we also have wellness resources and prioritize work-life balance.
At Cox, you can grow your career, you can make a difference and you can be part of a community that really cares. I think it’s just that starts from our chairman and CEO Alex Taylor down to everybody. If you want to make an impact in the community, we have a million places where you can volunteer. There’s no lack of opportunities.
Ready to take your sales career to the next level? Apply for a job at Cox and stay up to date on opportunities through our Talent Community.