Climbing The Ladder From Recruitment, To CRO At 27

EP14. Dougie Loan - On Sales Leadership, Customer Success and Career Progression.

In this episode of the "I Used to Be Crap at Sales" Podcast, Dougie Loan, CRO of SourceWhale, sits with Mark Ackers to share his candid and inspiring rise.

Dougie explains how he went from thinking he was the “best salesman in Scotland” at 18 (then quickly finding out how much he had to learn), all the way up to leading revenue teams as a CRO at just 27 years old.

Discover how:

• Resilience in recruitment shaped his approach to customer success and leadership
• The role of mentorship in his rapid rise, and the crucial traits sales leaders need to cultivate credibility - even as young professionals.
• Learn lessons from Dougie's many roles at Odro, such as client engagement manager and business manager, where he was heavily involved in both sales and customer success, overseeing these functions as the company scaled. 
• Hear strategies for career progression, self-assessment techniques, and how to map out a promotion path by treating career growth like a sales process.

Dougie delves into the synergy between sales and customer success. He also shares humbling lessons from early leadership missteps and actionable advice for overcoming the perception barriers of age in senior roles.

Whether you’re managing SDRs or aspiring to the C-suite, this episode offers practical insights to take your career and sales team to the next level.

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Questions This Episode Will Answer:

1. “How to achieve rapid sales career progression in your 20s?”

2. “What skills are essential for transitioning from sales to leadership roles?”

3. “How to overcome credibility challenges as a young sales leader?”

4. “What questions should I ask my manager to map out my sales career progression?”

5. “What traits do successful sales professionals need to become CROs?”