As part of our Aiming High series, we want to give you a peek behind the curtain to see what life at Lokalise is like and introduce you to some of our incredible team. Our Sales Development Representative (SDR) Team is essential to our growth. They’re the ones reaching out to interested companies and educating them on the benefits of Lokalise. This week, we’re speaking to one of our superstar SDRs, Ahmed Faraz, about how he’s helped Lokalise and how Lokalise has helped him.
At Lokalise, we see our people grow and we recognize and celebrate success. I got all the motivation, help, and support I needed to grow and become the best version of myself. I now have the opportunity to help my team reach new heights.
Ahmed Faraz, Senior Sales Development Representative
Could you tell us about your role at Lokalise?
As a Sales Development Representative, I help SMB, mid-market, and enterprise companies to reach a wider audience through localization. I help prospects to see how Lokalise can increase their productivity, bring down costs, and shorten their time to market.
It’s exciting work. Most of my days are spent talking to some of the most interesting companies in the tech sector about challenges they’re facing in their localization processes. Luckily, they’re usually completely bowled over when we explain how Lokalise can help.
How did you get started in your sales career?
After I graduated from university, I made the decision to stay in Spain, where I’d moved from my home in Pakistan, but I was still undecided about my career path. I took my first job in a customer service role with a digital publishing company where I was also doing some inbound sales. I soon found that it was the sales part of that role that I was really passionate about. After almost a year and a half, I decided to work completely in sales and moved to another company as an SDR. I joined Lokalise in 2021, and my career really took off from there.
Tell us about your journey at Lokalise
Before I started at Lokalise, I was already familiar with the company. They kept popping up on my LinkedIn feed with impressive stories of their growth and their team posting messages about the benefits of remote work. So, I kept an eye out for open roles. Once I started the recruitment process, I immediately liked the people, and the ways in which the company encouraged and developed growth-minded people like me. I’ve not been disappointed, Lokalise is a great company to work for.
The onboarding process was the best I’ve ever experienced. Everything was very well organized, from the delivery of my laptop and home office equipment, to support from the onboarding team. Help was always forthcoming, and I was given plenty of time to adjust. I started as a sales development representative, and my self-motivated and curious personality was quickly recognized by my manager. She gave me all the motivation, help, and support I needed to grow and become the best version of myself.
I aspired to contribute my knowledge toward achieving the goals set for the growth of our business as well as my personal development, while also improving my skill set and expertise on the go. At Lokalise, we see our people grow, and we recognize and celebrate it. So after 8 months, I got promoted to Senior SDR and now have the opportunity to help my team reach new heights. In my new role, I get to assist and advise new SDRs, which is something I find really rewarding.
What is your favorite thing about Lokalise?
Everyone is working toward the same goal. Our mission is to turn localization into an element of every company’s strategy. As a sales team, this is what we do every day, convincing companies of the benefits of localization. It’s the same with the marketing and product teams, we’re all driving toward this goal. We also don’t shy away from celebrating success, and recognizing progress and achievement. So I’m honored and humbled to be part of such a great remote team and organization!
Our people are among the main drivers of our success. We’re all pushed to grow in our roles and an environment is created in which we can do so effectively. Trust is also an important part of our culture.
Lokalise provides us with the resources and learning opportunities to become the best versions of ourselves. After just 8 months, the company recognized my contributions and promoted me. Being the top performer consistently and getting promoted to the Senior SDR role has been my career highlight so far.
Why do you think you’ve adapted so well to your role?
I’m super competitive. Growing up, I loved sports, I played cricket and soccer, but what I really wanted to be was a racing driver. One of my hobbies was racing against my friends on our bicycles, later on go-karts, and eventually on motorbikes. Nowadays, I am still very interested in sports, especially motor racing and soccer, and I try to play whenever I can.
I’m also curious about things and people in general, which helps a lot in sales. I love to listen to customers’ problems and be able to offer solutions. In life, I’m also results-oriented, so I think sales is the perfect career for me.
What’s the next step on your career ladder?
I want to keep building my competencies, keep growing, keep improving. I’m committed to continuous improvement. My goal is to continue to learn and use my time as a Senior SDR to prepare myself for my next step up to a sales executive role within the coming months.
What advice would you give to others who want to follow a similar path to yours?
All I can suggest is that you work hard and always be learning. Take ownership of your life and find something you love doing, it really helps. Lokalise will definitely reward you for your hard work!
Sound like the type of place where you’d like to grow? Check out our open roles: lokalise.com/careers
