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Today’s show featured an interview with Souror Humpton from Oracle, the 2025 Jay Nussbaum Rising Sales Star award recipient, and Jessica Scott from Carahsoft, the 2025 IES Partner of the Year. Get your tickets to the 15th Annual Sales Excellence Awards here. They will be on May 1 at the Mclean Hilton in Tysons Corner, VA.
IES Women in Sales Program Director Gina Stracuzzi conducted the interview as part of the Women in Sales series of the Sales Game Changers Podcast.
Find Souror on LinkedIn. Find Jessica on LinkedIn.
SOUROR’S TIP: “Don’t be afraid of rejection. My biggest thing is I pick up the phone and I just make the phone call. Whether it’s your management, whether it’s a customer, whether it’s something that you need from somebody to take that next step. Worst-case scenario, it’s a no, and you move on. But best-case scenario, you get what you had hoped for.”
JESSICA’S TIP: “Invest in yourself. Be proactive with getting better at your job by finding a mentor, by attending trainings. They will help with your professional development. Go to the live events, push yourself outside of the comfort zone and just build those connections. That’s how we thrive in this business – off of the connection.”
THE PODCAST BEGINS HERE
Fred Diamond: Gina, we have a special show. The IES award event is on May 1st, and we’re giving out two special awards. The Jay Nussbaum Rising Sales Star Award will go to Souror Humpton from Oracle, and the IES Partner of the Year Award is going to go to Jessica Scott from Carahsoft. You’re going to be interviewing them in a second. It’s great because they’re both graduates of the Institute for Excellence in Sales Women in Sales Leadership Forum. It’s my honor and pleasure to bring on Gina Stracuzzi, the program director for the Institute for Excellence in Sales Women in Sales Leadership Development Program. Gina, it’s great to see you. I’m so excited what you’re going to be talking to Jessica and Souror about.
Gina Stracuzzi: Thank you very much, Fred. As Fred said, Jessica and Souror have both been through the Women in Sales Leadership Forum, and so they are two of my favorite people. Welcome ladies.
I always like to invite my guests to tell the audience a little bit about themselves rather than me reading your bios. Jessica, tell us about yourself, where you work, you could tell us your title, but more than that, tell us how you got there.
Jessica Scott: I work at Carahsoft Technology. I currently am a Senior Team Lead. My role primarily involves leading our technology advocate team. What’s awesome about that, we get to collaborate with multiple internal departments like marketing and sales, our market research team to drive business development, execute marketing campaigns, and manage events, both virtual and in-person.
I also have joined helping corporate training back in 2020. Myself and Natalie Mooney built our onboarding program, which is our internal new team member training program, along with other internal trainings I help lead. It’s been fun. I started seven years ago. I just had my Carahsoft work anniversary last week, seven years. Started as a upsell and renewals rep, moved quickly to sales and business development, and then corporate training and built our technology advocate team and here we are today.
Gina Stracuzzi: Wow, that’s a great journey. I love hearing growth in what people are doing, and people who take advantage of opportunities and really grow their careers from that. That’s wonderful, Jess. Thank you. Souror, how about you?
Souror Humpton: I am an account executive with the Oracle Government Defense and Intel team. I’m in sales specifically, but our team helps the enterprises with their modernization efforts for their back-office business systems with implementing emerging technologies. I started about nine years ago in sales as an Adobe reseller Mythics Emergent Group. I became team lead. I went over to Adobe for a little short stint, and then I came over and joined the Oracle team about five years ago now. I say it’s one big family because everybody knows each other. I still work with the team that I was with at Emergent and they are now an Oracle reseller. It is really just a small industry and everybody knows each other. It’s fun continuing to work with people across the years.
Gina Stracuzzi: We joke, Tamara Greenspan and myself, and I know that Scott Greenspan was your boss at one point too, and they said, “Yeah, you take Souror now and we’re going to give her some opportunities.” We joke that everyone started at Oracle, or at least worked there at some point. It comes up a lot with the people you meet in the sales industry in the DC area anyway. Let’s talk a little bit about what you all studied in school and if you really thought you were going to end up in sales.
Souror Humpton: I had no idea I was going to be in sales. I studied at the University of Maryland College Park. At the time I decided to major in criminology and criminal justice and double major with Persian studies. I really thought I was going to be FBI, CIA, some sort of translator operative. I watched way too many shows in college and I thought that’s what I wanted to be.
One of the summers while I was in college, I got through the process of becoming an intern at the FBI, and I completely just miserably failed that process. They put me through a polygraph exam and I sat in the room and it just felt like I was in one of those movies, just all the lights on me. They put me through the most basic questionnaire of just tell us about yourself and I panicked. I was like, “I’m not meant for this.”
Gina Stracuzzi: “I’m guilty. I did it.”
Souror Humpton: “I did it.” Absolutely. I was like, “I am not built for this.” I ended up connecting with someone and ended up at Emergent not knowing even what software sales was about, and I ended up absolutely falling in love with it. Did not have the plan at all, but it ended up working out because I don’t know if I would be a very good FBI agent at this point.
Gina Stracuzzi: I love it. That’s a great story. Jessica, how about you?
Jessica Scott: Fun fact, my background actually was in marketing. I did University of Phoenix because I did work in the restaurant industry. A lot of what I did was event planning. I went and opened restaurants for the owner of my company. I became his right hand and go-to girl for opening, training, anything he actually needed for events around launching anything with the launch of the new restaurants, to big events where we were trying to pull in people from all aspects of the business.
I don’t think I realized that I was in sales, but pretty much everything we do is tied to sales. I had to track our revenue year over year, see where we were going, how we could host more events that would help us grow. I transferred out of that restaurant industry to a wine shop manager, which then I quickly learned was all about sales. “Okay, how are we going to get more foot traffic? How are we going to get more of the wine shop club people signing up?” Everything we did was marketing and sales intertwined.
How I got into Carahsoft was actually a referral by my sister, and she said, “You have to come here. You would do so well.”
I said, “I don’t know, I don’t know. This has been my whole background, my whole life.”
She said, “You would do amazing.”
I said, “I’m going to take your advice.” Interviewed, met with my boss, Harrison, and never looked back and jumped in to the deep end and just continued to want to help the business grow, help our partnerships, and bring just the value that Carahsoft brings to the community.
Gina Stracuzzi: That’s great. Both of them are great stories. I love that. Now we’ll shift gears a little bit, and I want to talk about some of the challenges that you face or have faced in your roles or your careers. Then let’s talk a little bit about the advice that you would give other people coming up from those learning opportunities.
Jessica Scott: I would say some of the biggest challenges is just how technology continues to evolve. What you learn this year is going to be completely different from next year. I think all of us being able to keep up with the scale of the rapid growth of the needs of technology, I think it’s always going to be a challenge. But I have to say with the partners we do partner with and what Carahsoft does, we’re able to have a lot of events that educate on what the market trends are to how the business is growing in a specific area, going to these live events. We’ve evolved how they may have been difficult for us in the past, but we’re still evolving those challenges, and we’re always going to run into those challenges. That’s just being in this industry.
Souror Humpton: I would say one of my biggest challenges, coming into the Oracle role at least, was being one of the youngest in the group that I’m in. Although it’s been a challenge, it’s also been the be biggest blessing for me because I’ve had a chance to learn from my team members around me and from my management team and from really anyone that I have met within the role. Everyone is so tenured and everyone is so seasoned, which is intimidating coming into it, but for me, that’s what drives me and pushes me to learn and grow.
Some advice that I would give anyone is just jump right into it. If you’re not uncomfortable, you’re not growing. If you’re comfortable, you’re just going to continue to stay in the same role and you’re not going to push yourself outside of your boundaries. Although it’s a challenge, it’s also been the best decision I’ve ever made.
Gina Stracuzzi: Going on what you’ve learned through your own journeys and the challenges you’ve had, and thinking along the advice you would give younger people, let’s talk a little bit about what advice would you give employers for attracting younger people? How do you think companies could really do better at onboarding and then supporting?
Souror Humpton: The advice I would give companies is A, give people a chance, because I think what you see on paper doesn’t necessarily always translate to what somebody can actually achieve given the chance. A lot of people will see the younger generation and say, “Okay, they don’t have X amount of years of experience for this specific role.” But I think the best way to learn is to actually dive right into it and immerse yourself. That’s really the only way you have a chance to get that experience. I would say give them a chance. Worst-case scenario, they fail. But best-case scenario, you have somebody who’s super driven and super hungry and super wanting to prove themselves. At least that’s how I was. I’m like, “Yes, I’m the youngest in the group, or one of the younger people within the group, but that drives me to want to prove myself and show that I can really exceed in this role.”
Attracting them, I would say give them a position in which they can grow into. It’s like the labeling theory. If you tell somebody that there’s something, then they’ll rise to that occasion. If you say, “I’m giving you this role. You might need more experience, but I think you can do it,” a lot of people will live up to that expectation.
Jessica Scott: I have to agree. I think taking a gamble on some people that have maybe different experience, such as myself, I had no background in this industry, but I can tell you that the work ethic carried over. Just diving in and really investing in yourself, but also they invest in you. It starts with the companies investing in your employee’s development from day one. This needs to be something that is a constant, an ongoing training program with different programs that will help them better in their role or be able to showcase maybe what their strengths are. Maybe they’re not strong in one area, but they’re strong in another. Play those strengths to our advantage to help scale the business and help scale the community.
Gina Stracuzzi: You guys need to start leading companies right away. Let’s talk a little bit about your network, because that’s something that I hear leaders really put forth to younger people. You have to build your network. There’s been a lot of talk about how that’s fallen by the wayside with remote working, because it’s true. We’re all guilty of it. If you’re in your house too long, the last thing you want to do is go out and network. But you can network online, you can do other things. What do you all do?
Souror Humpton: That has been a challenge with the remote work, but also within our line of work where everybody is in the field doing their own thing and there’s not so much interaction with the groups. Yeah, we’ll have our touch bases, our monthly, quarterly meetings, whatever that is, and we talk online. We talk quite often, but that is definitely a challenge. I make sure that I’m communicating with people. I’m big on text message and phone calls. I’m very quick to just pick up the phone and call people versus trying to communicate via email, because I just think sometimes emails get lost.
Then also attending as many events and conferences. I know conferences aren’t ideal, especially these days. I feel like they’re so massive. You can go to a conference and get lost and it’s a sea of people. But if you are going to conferences, making sure you’re reaching out to people who you think will be there and making sure you set up either meetings or, “Hey, let’s grab a coffee while we’re there.” When you do have those chances to be in-person, really making sure that you make the most of it.
Jessica Scott: Personally, I always try to surround myself with people, internally and externally, I see as role models or maybe someone that could mentor me down the road. Something I actually took away from Women in Sales Leadership Forum was having sponsors and mentors and expanding your network. That has been a great resource for me. I also love to befriend or connect with people who are willing to just educate me in different aspects of the business maybe I don’t have enough experience in so I can learn how we can better support them.
We go to a lot of networking events and I always tell everyone, the best way to put yourself out there and to get to know people is to attend the shows if you get an opportunity. If your employer is investing in you, which it is an investment for them to pay for you to go to these events, prepare yourself. Similar to what was said before, lean on the people that have gone to these shows, ask what you should look into. We have an internal training that showcases how to prepare before you go to a trade show or a big event like that. It helps ease the anxiety and the nerves of the unknowns. There’s still going to be unknowns, but jumping in, it’s really going to help.
LinkedIn has been another area that has really expanded my network. I think that it is underutilized. If you aren’t using LinkedIn, get on LinkedIn, connect with people that align with your morals, your work ethic, and your visions of the future for yourself and people around you.
Gina Stracuzzi: Yes, now we have the whole LinkedIn piece built into the forum and to the emerging leaders, different levels of using it, but it’s absolutely essential now. It was essential before, but even more so now.
Let’s talk about what motivates you and what it’s going to take to keep you motivated as you move forward in your career. What kinds of things do you look for and what do you do to keep yourself really energized and engaged? Because one of the things that Fred and I hear from the sales leaders we talk to is that overall, engagement is way down. The terminology we hear is that salespeople have lost the fire in their belly. It’s true of everybody I think. I don’t know if it’s post-pandemic shock or something, but we’re all a little different than we were before. Souror, how do you keep yourself energized and motivated?
Souror Humpton: One of the key things that drives me is recognition. Even if it’s something super small, like hearing a, “Good job,” it can be the smallest recognition. It doesn’t have to be some big award or some big event, but just that recognition that, “Hey, you’re doing a good job.” That drives me. Really making sure that I’m connecting with my teammates and my management. Like I said, remote work really does make that piece of it challenging because you’re not in the office and you’re not constantly getting that feedback. Making sure that you’re driving yourself and getting that feedback and communicating with your team.
One of the things is having, within my role specifically and working in supporting the Department of Defense when we work specific opportunities or we’re working to get a project up and running, it can take years and years and years. Having smaller and short-term goals to achieve and work towards, whether that’s weekly or biweekly or monthly goals, that you can really look back and say, “Okay, here’s what I achieved.” Versus working towards that one single project that can maybe take two to three years to kick off, that has really helped me as well, because when a goal is so far out, it can seem unachievable or it can be like, “Okay, what am I going to do today that will really drive that specific project that could take years?” Really setting those short-term goals and making sure that you have something to work towards on a weekly basis is really what helps me.
Jessica Scott: What motivates me, and I think it’s been my motivation my entire life, is helping people, taking feedback, doing something with it, letting someone feel heard, and including them. But also similar, just recognition even from people that have provided feedbacks or challenges and we’ve taken that challenge and turned it into something easier for them really goes a long way.
I think that also, a passion of mine is helping people in our industry, and even my friends, understand their why. That is a big thing for me why I joined Carahsoft to what I do as a mother. They go in parallel of each other and understanding your why and helping other people understand their why, it puts that fire back into the belly and then you see that they are getting more revenue, or generating more leads, or having more networking opportunities or connections with partners. I think that with COVID, people really forgot the why and they needed to just be reminded of why they’re here, how they can make an impact, and the difference they make every single day.
Gina Stracuzzi: The things that you both said made me think of some of what we talked about in the forum, and that’s keeping your brag book or your daily journal of the things that you achieved, because to your point, Souror, if you don’t get that feedback of, “That was a great job,” give it to yourself. Because when you really take note of the good things that you’ve done or the small goals that you’ve achieved, or an email you’ve got from a client or customer who said, “I really appreciated when you did this,” all of those things, you can build yourself back up if you’re feeling a little low. To your point, Jess, it can give you your why back. Because sometimes it’s hard to remember your why. Why am I here? Those little things that you’re doing, I think it’s great advice.
Jessica Scott: We actually have something that we do internally that we tell people, create a kudos folder. It could be kudos internally or from a customer or a partner. At the end of the day or say you’ve had a rough week, you can go to that kudos folder and really hype yourself back up,
Gina Stracuzzi: You can call it kudos, call it brag, call it ain’t I grand? But it’s to that point, sometimes we just need that little bit of a pat on the back, and reading those things can give it to you. I’m going to make you project a little bit. Let’s talk about where you see yourself in five years.
Souror Humpton: In the next five years, I hope to continue to do what I’m doing today. As Jessica mentioned earlier, the technology that we’re supporting today is rapidly changing and who knows what’s going to come out tomorrow. I think it’s super exciting to be a part of this industry where you can continue to grow with the technology and continue to support the latest emerging technology that’s out there. But for me, I think really where I want to be is, like I said, when I look around the group that I am a part of, the GDI group, everyone is so tenured. When you go around the room and everyone is introducing themselves, a lot of people have been here 20, 25, 30 years. That’s where I hope to be.
I know I’m looking past the five years, but I really like the idea of sticking within the group and supporting and really having that experience within the Oracle team. Who knows what’s going to happen tomorrow, but a lot of people like to maybe move to different companies. To me, hearing people be within one role for that many years, really drives me. I think continuing to support the Department of Defense and being a part of the Oracle team.
Gina Stracuzzi: There’s a lot of change happening anyway, so it’s not like it’s the same job day in and day out.
Souror Humpton: I think that’s probably what has kept the team members within the team for so long, is because when they started, they were implementing and supporting the on-premise technology, so when you look at Oracle E-Business Suite or Oracle PeopleSoft. Then within the technology evolution, they have continued to support the same customer base, but just with new technology. It’s different. It’s not like they’ve been doing the same thing for 25 years. That’s what keeps it super exciting.
Gina Stracuzzi: Jess, what about you?
Jessica Scott: In five years, I definitely could see myself continuing to evolve the position I’m in, contribute in meaningful ways to just every aspect of what strengthens our community, one that we are definitely very proud of. As we grow, I will remain focused on just supporting the ongoing evolution of business development, marketing, customer success. Beyond that, we’re going to continue to learn as the business evolves. Just building that confidence year over year. Am I confident in everything that the company can do? No. Am I leaning on leadership and role models, mentors, sponsors to help educate me? Yes. I am.
Five years, I hope maybe one day someone looks at me as a mentor or a sponsor so I can be that catalyst that inspires others to push past their limits, to dream bigger and to just work for their goals, but not just their goals, just goals that they want to do that could help them, but not just them, but people around them. I just see a legacy built, not just on business success, but the lasting impact we can make in the lives of everyone we work with.
Gina Stracuzzi: I’m sure you’ll do it, knowing you. Now we’re at that fun part of the conversation where we wrap up. We want to hear from you one final action piece, piece of advice that listeners can put into place today to help their career, help their selling. What would you advise, Jess?
Jessica Scott: Invest in yourself. Be proactive with getting better at your job by finding a mentor, by attending those trainings. They will help with your professional development. Go to the live events, push yourself outside of the comfort zone and just build those connections. That’s how we thrive in this business, is based off of the connection. Just always invest in yourself and remind yourself of that why and build upon it.
Gina Stracuzzi: That’s great advice. Come to the IES programs. Souror.
Souror Humpton: My advice would be worst they can say is no. Don’t be afraid of rejection. My biggest thing is I pick up the phone and I just make the phone call. Whether it’s your management, whether it’s a customer, whether it’s something that you need from somebody to take that next step. Worst-case scenario, it’s a no, and you move on. But best-case scenario, you get what you had hoped for. I think planning is absolutely key within the roles that we support, but over planning can stump you. Don’t overthink the next step. I’m known for being in the middle of a conversation and somebody’s like, “I think we should-” and I’m already on the phone walking away from the conversation and making that phone call. Versus sitting at a computer and planning what I’m going to say or thinking about the next step. Instead of thinking about it, just do it. I don’t know if that’s the best advice. I’m not saying don’t plan, but just don’t over plan and don’t be afraid of rejection.
Gina Stracuzzi: Just do it. Great conversation. I really appreciate your time. It’s been a joy knowing you through the forum and I love that we’ve stayed in touch. Congratulations both of you on your awards. I can’t wait for the award event. It’ll be pretty spectacular. Thank you both and thank you everyone for listening. We’ll catch you next time.
Transcribed by Mariana Badillo