Taylor Safford
Sales & Operations Leader - Commercial/Enterprise at TaxBit- Claim this Profile
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Bio
Justin Schille
Taylor Safford is an A+ sales leader, and more importantly, he is an A+ human being. One of the best I have ever seen at maintaining a positive, focused, fun, and winning sales culture that consistently delivers above and beyond expectations.
Colt Gardner
It's so incredibly rare that you come accross a leader as genuine as Taylor. I was not fortunate enough to be directly managed by Taylor but I witnessed how he was always more than willing to step in on calls, share general advice, and attend the needs of anyone in the company, on his team or not. Despite the size of the Qualtrics organization today, everyone knows who Taylor is, what he is capable of, and the kind of person he is.
Lindsey Stevens
During my time at Qualtrics I had the pleasure of working with Taylor. He is such an incredible leader who inspires his team to work hard and blow through quota. Taylor's region was consistently the top billing region in the company as a direct result of his leadership and coaching. Although he was swamped with responsibility, Taylor would always make time to help out whenever needed and truly cared about each individual on his team, wanting them to each be successful. Taylor is the type of person who is so positive and inspiring- when you're around him you can't help feeling happy and motivated to succeed. Not only has Taylor proven to be a successful leader, but he also has a history of being a top performing individual contributor. I wish every leader was as charismatic and inspiring as Taylor- he truly is one of the best out there and an incredible asset to any organization.
Justin Schille
Taylor Safford is an A+ sales leader, and more importantly, he is an A+ human being. One of the best I have ever seen at maintaining a positive, focused, fun, and winning sales culture that consistently delivers above and beyond expectations.
Colt Gardner
It's so incredibly rare that you come accross a leader as genuine as Taylor. I was not fortunate enough to be directly managed by Taylor but I witnessed how he was always more than willing to step in on calls, share general advice, and attend the needs of anyone in the company, on his team or not. Despite the size of the Qualtrics organization today, everyone knows who Taylor is, what he is capable of, and the kind of person he is.
Lindsey Stevens
During my time at Qualtrics I had the pleasure of working with Taylor. He is such an incredible leader who inspires his team to work hard and blow through quota. Taylor's region was consistently the top billing region in the company as a direct result of his leadership and coaching. Although he was swamped with responsibility, Taylor would always make time to help out whenever needed and truly cared about each individual on his team, wanting them to each be successful. Taylor is the type of person who is so positive and inspiring- when you're around him you can't help feeling happy and motivated to succeed. Not only has Taylor proven to be a successful leader, but he also has a history of being a top performing individual contributor. I wish every leader was as charismatic and inspiring as Taylor- he truly is one of the best out there and an incredible asset to any organization.
Justin Schille
Taylor Safford is an A+ sales leader, and more importantly, he is an A+ human being. One of the best I have ever seen at maintaining a positive, focused, fun, and winning sales culture that consistently delivers above and beyond expectations.
Colt Gardner
It's so incredibly rare that you come accross a leader as genuine as Taylor. I was not fortunate enough to be directly managed by Taylor but I witnessed how he was always more than willing to step in on calls, share general advice, and attend the needs of anyone in the company, on his team or not. Despite the size of the Qualtrics organization today, everyone knows who Taylor is, what he is capable of, and the kind of person he is.
Lindsey Stevens
During my time at Qualtrics I had the pleasure of working with Taylor. He is such an incredible leader who inspires his team to work hard and blow through quota. Taylor's region was consistently the top billing region in the company as a direct result of his leadership and coaching. Although he was swamped with responsibility, Taylor would always make time to help out whenever needed and truly cared about each individual on his team, wanting them to each be successful. Taylor is the type of person who is so positive and inspiring- when you're around him you can't help feeling happy and motivated to succeed. Not only has Taylor proven to be a successful leader, but he also has a history of being a top performing individual contributor. I wish every leader was as charismatic and inspiring as Taylor- he truly is one of the best out there and an incredible asset to any organization.
Justin Schille
Taylor Safford is an A+ sales leader, and more importantly, he is an A+ human being. One of the best I have ever seen at maintaining a positive, focused, fun, and winning sales culture that consistently delivers above and beyond expectations.
Colt Gardner
It's so incredibly rare that you come accross a leader as genuine as Taylor. I was not fortunate enough to be directly managed by Taylor but I witnessed how he was always more than willing to step in on calls, share general advice, and attend the needs of anyone in the company, on his team or not. Despite the size of the Qualtrics organization today, everyone knows who Taylor is, what he is capable of, and the kind of person he is.
Lindsey Stevens
During my time at Qualtrics I had the pleasure of working with Taylor. He is such an incredible leader who inspires his team to work hard and blow through quota. Taylor's region was consistently the top billing region in the company as a direct result of his leadership and coaching. Although he was swamped with responsibility, Taylor would always make time to help out whenever needed and truly cared about each individual on his team, wanting them to each be successful. Taylor is the type of person who is so positive and inspiring- when you're around him you can't help feeling happy and motivated to succeed. Not only has Taylor proven to be a successful leader, but he also has a history of being a top performing individual contributor. I wish every leader was as charismatic and inspiring as Taylor- he truly is one of the best out there and an incredible asset to any organization.
Experience
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TaxBit
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United States
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Software Development
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100 - 200 Employee
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Sales & Operations Leader - Commercial/Enterprise
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Oct 2021 - Present
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Stealth Mode
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700 & Above Employee
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Advisor
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Jan 2021 - Present
On an advisory board for one company and advising two additional startups. More details will be shared soon! On an advisory board for one company and advising two additional startups. More details will be shared soon!
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Louisiana State University
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United States
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Higher Education
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700 & Above Employee
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Guest Lecturer
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Mar 2017 - Present
I was initially invited to guest lecture an upper-division Marketing and Marketing Research course. Since then, I have participated in several different classes including MBA courses. I was initially invited to guest lecture an upper-division Marketing and Marketing Research course. Since then, I have participated in several different classes including MBA courses.
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Halosight
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United States
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Software Development
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1 - 100 Employee
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Chief Revenue Officer
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Apr 2020 - Oct 2021
If you’re a product manager tired of making pivotal product decisions using data from a few clients, or a senior support leader still relying on the squeakiest wheel strategy, or an analytics leader betting on yet another external tool requiring reps to leave Salesforce for key insights - Halosight is solving these issues and many more. Companies betting on Salesforce are now choosing Halosight to turn their CRM into the most valuable and interactive platform leveraging 100% of your data. Areas of Focus:- Built GTM strategy, growth and compensation plan, revenue/expense models, and projections- Created 30, 60, 90-day enablement/onboarding strategy- Secured one of the largest seed rounds from a VC they have made in the history of their portfolio- Sold first few deals - driving initial revenue post product launch- Currently scaling Sales Team
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Qualtrics
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United States
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Software Development
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700 & Above Employee
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Head of EX Sales - North America
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Jul 2019 - Apr 2020
Team Achievements - all credit goes to the leadership team of Brandon Homer, Preston Butler, Giff Nielsen, and Dave Foote.+ Exceeded annual quota for 2019 - 145%+ of goal+ Grew new annual revenue/ARR by 200%+ from 2018 + 60%+ of IC's exceeded their 2019 annual quota - over 20% higher than other software groups within Qualtrics+ Closed fourth-largest deal in company history ($2.2M) in Q3+ In Q4 of '19, close to 65% of IC's exceeded quota, which was the highest % of IC's on any team in the company - and the highest % in the history of the EX Sales Team+ Almost doubled the EX Team size within 6 months, Sidney Hauser and Natalie Cass on the Recruiting Team and the Sales Leadership Team were responsible for this result. + Instituted a new onboarding program and training curriculum specifically for EX (previously there was not an onboarding program for EX new hires - IC's and leaders). Chris Thielet, Areebah Ajani, and Laura Russell were great partners.+ Preston Butler and the Dallas EX Team have now hit 6 quarters in a row, and have never missed quota since team inception+ Bolstered EX Sales Ecosystem - improved SDR to AE coverage from 1:15 to 1:8 and 1:3 for specific AE EX levels (John Hanks and Maria Sideris helped tremendously on this change)+ At the conclusion of 2019, 50% of the direct EX Leadership Team took on larger roles within the broader EX Sales Team+ Solidified a relationship with the SuccessFactors (SF) Leadership Team, and helped generate/close roughly $4M in SF influenced pipeline in the second half of 2019 - previously we had closed less than $100k in SF influenced pipeline
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SVP - Dallas, Chicago and Toronto Offices
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Jan 2018 - Jun 2019
Identified the new office location (One University, Toronto), created the initial growth plan/strategy, recruited and interviewed leaders, and scaled the team.Beginning of 2019, I was also asked to start a new sales group/focus within the Chicago Office.Team Achievements:- The combined Dallas and Toronto Offices hit 99% of quota in 2018, over 150% revenue growth from 2017- Overall quota attainment across 4+ years was 91% - with the last year having all direct reports at quota or above (trailing three-quarter trend) except one- Highest engagement of Offices (Dallas/Toronto) in NA - 5 of the top 10 highest rated leaders in NA Software Sales- Started six new sales teams, built out the Training Team, and assisted with the creation of the SDR and Customer Success Teams in Dallas- Grew total headcount from 70 to over 150 - Revenue growth had exceeded ~$60M in total ARR - began the office with ~$1M in ARR four years prior. End of 2019, total revenue had exceeded $80M.- 7 different business functions were created and staffed out of the Dallas/Toronto Offices
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VP - Regional Headquarters - Dallas Office
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Apr 2015 - Jan 2018
With a new office being opened in Dallas, the team is tasked with recruiting across all departments, scaling the current sales team and ramping successfully, and achieving aggressive growth goals over the next 3-5+ years. The Dallas office will be a primary hub, supporting functions across all departments and teams (excluding engineering and finance).Team Achievements:- Hit first seven quarters in a row - Grew team from a total headcount of 4 to over 70 in less than 2.5 years- Highest engagement within sales in 2015 and 2016- Highest % of reps exceeding quota in 2015 and 2016 amongst all NA Software Sales Teams- Hit 90% of goal during this time period (2015 - 127%, 2016 - 98%, 2017 - 76%) while growing 100%+ in YoY ARR. Over 35% better performance than other remote offices over first three year period.- Fastest remote office in company history to profitability
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VP of Sales - US (Central/West Regions) & Canada
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Jul 2013 - Mar 2015
In late 2013, I joined a team to help expand the West, Central and Canada geographical regions, the corresponding sales teams and customer coverage model. Team Achievements:- Exceeded annual numbers - 2013 (120%) & 2014 (117%)- Highest % of annual quota attainment YoY, and largest % of sales executives achieving quota (50%+ quarter-over-quarter, over 10%+ higher than company avg) two consecutive years- Highest number of promotions, and cross-departmental promotions amongst sales teams. - Highest number of Q-Club/President Club attendees.- Started with 17 individuals, and grew team size to over 45 employees on direct team, 7+ additional on Sales Development and grew YoY revenue by over $30M- Maintained a 89%+ renewal rate across 6 different teams- As a team, we implemented a new training curriculum and process that was implemented across the rest of the sales floor. - Had the highest average deal size, by almost double, of company averageOverall responsibilities included: - Drive new customer acquisition in specified geographical areas, through Customer Research, VoC, Employee Feedback and other data/research implementations - Involved with the hiring/interviewing process for multiple teams including: Opportunity Development, US Inside Sales Team, Enterprise Mid-Market, Enterprise, Finance, Sales Operations, Client Success and other teams. Also participated on the hiring committee for all international sales-related hires.- Training and development of new sales hires to pod leads, team leads and senior team leads- Create, plan and execute quarterly and annual plans (quota attainment, training/development, forecasting, recruiting, etc...)
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Sr. Manager - Sales
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Jan 2010 - Jul 2013
Team Accomplishments:- Grew from a team of 3 to a team of 17 individuals in a 3+ year period, and handling a $100k personal quota as well (player/coach)- Closed the largest deal in company history three different times- The team achieved 6 quarters in a row of exceeding quota and excellent customer retention (one of the top 3 highest teams in the company)- Three consecutive years of 100%+ quota attainmentIndividual Accomplishments - as a player/coach:- 2010 #3 sales rep- 2011 #7 sales repOverall Responsibilities:- Create, plan and execute quarterly and annual plans (hiring, quota attainment, training/development, forecasting, etc...)
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Sales Manager
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Jan 2009 - Dec 2009
Continued with my responsibilities as being a Account Executive and also took on responsibilities in working with 2-3 additional individuals each of the four quarters in 2009.- Average deal size was over 4 times higher than the company average during first 36 months- Top 3 reps in Renewal/Retention Rates for clients (over 95%)- Only Pod/Team that successfully exceeded first quarterly quota - Pod exceeded 3 of 4 quarterly quotas, and exceeded annual number - 115% of target- Fastest AE from hiring class to exceed $1M in new ARR
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Account Executive
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May 2008 - Dec 2009
- Fastest individual to $1M in new revenue sales- Average deal size was 10x of the company average- Closed 15+ Fortune 500 accounts
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Ascend Alliance Humanitarian
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Philanthropic Fundraising Services
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1 - 100 Employee
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Intern
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May 2007 - Jul 2007
Led all responsibilities in the growth of the program by meeting with high-ranking government officials, interviewing and hiring a local presence in remote villages and establishing a working NGO for Ascend in Debre Zeit and Addis Ababa.Helped establish and organize medical expeditions, microcredit opportunities, new business ventures for local villagers, facilitating new sanitation and hygiene standards, the construction of new schools promoting education and various other programs that could benefit the wonderful people of Ethiopia.
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Education
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2007 - 2009
University of Utah
BS, Finance -
2006 - 2006
The University of Texas at Austin
BS, Finance
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