CAREERS
‘Make your Mark’: Mentor Moments Brings Sales Teams Together
Cox Business Sales Manager Margarita Purvis embarked on her career at Cox after seeing a job posting on LinkedIn. Today she’s nearly 7 years in at the company, now leading her own Sales team. In a recent “virtual” interview, Margarita shares the importance of supporting each other in the workplace and her career journey at Cox.
What interested you about the opportunity at Cox?
As a Cox customer for over 10 years, I was already a fan of Cox Communications. After 18 years with the same small local company, I found there was no opportunity for growth or advancement, and I was hungry for both. That’s when I saw a position at Cox Business posted on LinkedIn and responded. A few weeks later, I was hired as an Account Executive in Central Florida and I knew that this opportunity was more than just a job, this was an opportunity to build a career.
What’s the secret to your success?
I’m a first generation American, and the first from my family to have a college degree. Both of my parents were legal immigrants. I have worked for several companies in my career and many of them had poor, if not toxic cultures. I was determined that my next career would be in place that cared about their employees.
At Cox, my first Sales Manager, Darrell, was not only my manager but a mentor. Although I was an industry veteran, I had very little corporate experience. He consistently guided and mentored me. I only wish I had taken pictures of his “white board drawings”. He’s brilliant!
The Cox Culture is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. I cherish the relationships I have with my Cox family. Now that I have my own team, it is something we keep at the forefront of our actions daily. We support each other, help each other and mentor each other. There is no tolerance for unethical behavior. The Cox Core Values are taken seriously, and we all appreciate knowing our company believes so strongly in them. This allows us to have an inclusive, diverse, fun, safe place for people to not just work, but to shine
How do you support your team and be a mentor to them, especially in our new virtual workplace?
I recently hired two new employees and to help them be successful they were both partnered up with a seasoned representative from the team for a week to help them build strong relationships between the teams.
I make time to mentor them and talk with them regularly. I set up team huddles every morning and wrap up calls every evening. On these virtual calls we share wins, challenges, objections, tips, funny stories, sometimes personal stories. We also have a weekly team meeting and I set up at least one formal 1:1 meeting weekly.
My team also has monthly “LETS TALK” sessions. This is a safe place for our team to talk about anything that is weighing on them. We started with Social Injustice discussions and that conversation has evolved into community involvement, COVID concerns, working from home and how to protect our mental health. This time together has been very helpful in building a caring culture in a virtual workplace.
What should a job seeker expect if they are interested in a role like yours?
Do your homework. Research the company. Research the position. This isn’t just a job; this is a career. The level of talent within this company is exceptional.
Every day on the job is different and there’s always something new to learn and conquer! I have a lot of meetings to attend, with all different teams, such as engineering, order management, project managers, my peers, and my leaders. We discuss sales strategies, product solutions, engineering efforts to build-out our network, product training, sales training, systems training. It’s a lot of fun.
Career advancement and growth opportunites are definitely available at Cox. Within 6 years, I was promoted twice, and also received the Top Sales Producer of the year award twice. If you put the work in, you will be rewarded!
Also, Cox empowers our employees to be involved in the community. We have numerous committees we can join internally, and the company sponsors community events or associations locally. I have been a member of various local associations, and received the “Heart of Gainesville Fierce Award” that recognizes women in the community for their success and community involvement. It is truly up to the employee to decide where in the community they want to be involved, and the company will support you.
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Margarita continues to mentor others as a 2x award-winning sales manager for the Georgia/Florida region. She believes that her success is rooted in helping others be successful.
Want to read more stories like this or discover a day in the life of our technology teams at Cox? Check out our employee blog or search for open roles to learn more.