GIS Cloud Sales team takes care of our user accounts and does an irreplaceable job of consulting and advising organizations and individuals in making the most of our solutions. Therefore we decided to talk with Antonija Netolicki, a Senior Sales Manager.
Tell us a few words about yourself: why did you choose geography as your field of study in the first place and how did you end up as a Sales Manager at GIS Cloud?
As long as I can remember, I’ve been a Scout. You can say they helped to make me the person I am today. Nature, orientation and reading maps were always present in my early days. I learned to read maps even before I knew how to write. Maps have always fascinated me as well as traveling, learning about other cultures and really understanding historical and geographical background of the place I am visiting. So, geography as a field of study really came natural to me, and I knew from the start that GIS would be my major. I fell in love with GIS because it gives that additional, missing data component to mapping and I wanted to learn about it as much as I could, since this is a field that is constantly growing and developing.
The great thing about GIS Cloud was that this environment enabled the team to grow and gave us a chance to decide for ourselves what we wanted to do. So I took a try at everything, but I really found myself in sales. I still remember my first call with a user, I was terrified that I’ll say something wrong but at the same time it was really exciting. I’m a real people’s person and I love to chat with our users. To hear about their stories, use cases, how they are using our solutions, it’s really exciting to me. I don’t think of myself as a sales person. A more fitting word would be consultant, because I listen to all those stories from different industries and sometimes it can be quite demanding to find the best fit for their needs. But this is what makes it so interesting and fun.
How do you feel being a part of GIS Cloud’s team?
From the moment I saw the job opening at GIS Cloud, I knew that this was something different from everything else out there. At the time GIS Cloud was just a small team, but the ad really caught my eye, especially the part about cooking in the office and how the team enjoys to prepare meals every day. I liked the idea of a casual lunch with fellow coworkers, an opportunity to catch up and hang out. They were like a small family. The only logical thing for me to do was to bake a cake for my interview. Obviously they loved it 🙂
So what can I say, even though the team has tripled in numbers from then, the spirit from the beginning is still present and that is what makes working at GIS Cloud different than working anywhere else.
How does a regular working day in life of a Sales Manager look like?
A regular day in Sales starts with making coffee and chilling out on the balcony.
Then I evaluate emails that have arrived and prioritize. We always try to respond to a query as fast as we can. There are also many requests for live demos, so I’m booked with calls as well. I love having calls with our users when I get to show them how to implement our solutions in their work. Every day is special and different from the day before. And I love it.
Name the biggest challenges you are confronted with in a day-to-day work?
The biggest challenge is a time difference. Sometimes, due to different time zones our users come from, arranging phone calls in a middle of the night can be challenging. Like I said, we try to accommodate our users as much as we can. It is a great opportunity to chat with somebody from the other part of the world. This is what makes it worthwhile.
What do you consider the best part of your job?
The best part is a chance to hear about all those great use cases from our users. The things they do with our solutions are amazing and just to be a part of that is really rewarding. To listen to them, provide them with the best solution and to see the results is just awesome. In that way, I consider myself to play a small part in their projects as well.
Do you have any favorite projects you were doing as a part of GIS Cloud’s team?
Each story is special in its own way so it’s really hard to single out just one of them. I can say that I really love and appreciate NGOs and environmental stories. I love nature and before GIS Cloud, I was working in the Nature Park so this is something I can really relate to.
How do you like to spend your free time?
I love to spend my free time in the nature. For example, I enjoy riding a bike, hiking, taking care of my garden, relaxing on the lake, reading books, listening to music… But it must be in the nature. I’m still a member of my scout unit and we have gatherings each month so I try to join them as often as possible. This really charges my batteries.
What are your main professional interests in geography/GIS?
My main interest is environmental protection. Couple of years ago I had a publication on the topic of fire risk management in Croatia and now I have all sorts of great ideas regarding implementation of GIS Cloud in the protection of natural treasures.
