Nick Winter ’21 — First, I want to thank the Dill Grant through Wabash College for funding my summer internship and making it a reality. The past two summers, I’ve had the privilege of interning with Adorant Group out of Chicago, IL. Adorant Group is a fintech company that delivers client and advisor-facing tools. They help financial advisors nurture, plan, and manage their clients to financial success and growth. My role as the Business Development Associate focused on sales, marketing, and business operations. 80% of my time focused on reaching out to potential advisors and firms that may be a terrific fit for their platform. Since my experience last summer, I was able to shake off some of the expected green in a new sales role. I felt calm and direct when speaking to prospects. Knowing their platform, inside and out, has given me greater confidence in my professional and sales abilities.
Furthermore, it’s imperative to understand the prospect’s pain and how tools and widgets can solve those pains. Finding the prospect’s pain is one of the mist important lessons that I have learned. A good salesperson needs to locate and reveal the prospect’s pain. Once the salesperson notices the pain, they can jump into questions that further reveal the issue. What could be working better at the office? Why is it important? What would be different if you could fix X’s pain? Would that increase your revenue? These questions help focus on the needs, wants, and desires that the prospect is trying to attain.
Overall, I am very grateful for the opportunities that I have had over the past three summers. Again, I want to thank Adorant Group, the Dill Grant, and the Center for Innovation, Business & Entrepreneurship (CIBE) at Wabash College for granting me real-world experience and application in the field of sales. I feel both prepared and excited for interviews and new experiences that will arise in my coming senior year. My Wabash liberal arts education has allowed me to traverse the topics of sales, marketing, and technology. Through trial and tribulation, Wabash has pushed me to learn on my feet. The power of learning is the most valuable tool that I have gained from my Wabash experience.
