Shelagh Montgomery – I Love Data Centers Podcast Episode 13
This week on the I Love Data Centers podcast: Data Center M&A, Elite Sales DNA, and Women in IT, I interview Shelagh Montgomery. When I was a fast moving young sales executive working for the national data center company QTS from 2009-2011, Shelagh was one of my favorite people because she knew how to quickly get things done within the company. She was respected by both her peers and the senior leadership within the company and was able to deliver answers quickly and accurately based on her relationships and experience watching 1000’s of deals cross her plate. By the time our paths crossed she had already been with QTS for 5 years and will soon be celebrating her 14 year anniversary there.
Our conversation covers a wide variety of topics; from our reactions to all the recent M&A activity taking place, to what she feels are the key characteristics of an elite sales executive and sales manager, to what her experience has been like specifically as a woman working within a predominately male industry. The insight and advice Shelagh provides throughout this episode is essential for anyone working in the data center industry. I was excited to even hear her share a story about what it was like managing me during our brief time together at QTS!
Episode 13 – Data Center M&A, Elite Sales DNA, and Women in IT
Episode 13 Show Notes
- 1:11 Intro
- 2:42 Episode starts
- 3:06 What were you doing before you entered the field of tech?
- 6:28 Where are you from?
- 7:18 What were computers like when you were growing up?
- 8:22 Did PSI Net offer you any training when you first started working there?
- 9:47 At that time, who was the primary audience you were selling to?
- 10:44 Were you at PSI Net in 2001?
- 11:39 Going through mergers and acquisitions
- 14:51 Advice to those in companies that face potential mergers and acquisitions
- 17:00 CEO’s not being honest about M and A.
- 19:34 QTS’s approach to acquisitions
- 21:52 Working in the technology field as a woman
- 28:26 How to politely tell a coworker he is being an asshole
- 30:55 The evolution of customer’s ask over the past 15 years
- 34:22 New things that customers are asking about
- 36:01 Two types of successful salespeople
- 41:02 Recognizing your most effective role in the company
- 42:32 What makes a good manager?
- 45:08 Important moments and conversations that helped shape Shelagh into the person she is today
- 47:37 “There are always two sides to every story”
- 49:00 The most important quality to have in this industry
- 53:51 Shelagh analyzes Sean
- 58:43 How will M and A’s affect the data center industry over the coming years?
- 1:03:49 What advice would you give your daughter if she wanted to work in this industry?
- 1:04:17 A common misconception about our industry
- 1:06:30 What about this industry blew your mind when you first entered it?
- 1:07:50 The first time Shelagh entered a data center
- 1:08:51 What is the backdrop on your laptop?
- 1:09:26 Mac or PC?
- 1:10:04 What is one thing you wish you knew when you started at PSI Net?
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