Navigating leadership as a sales professional

Aliyah Morphis, Kristen Kathan

Navigating leadership as a sales professional

The jump from individual contributor to manager is challenging in any position, but it can be incredibly complicated in sales. High-performing sales professionals don’t automatically make successful leaders. Not to mention, it can be tricky to highlight the impact you’ve created beyond your...

Samsara’s Kristen Kathan (Director of Inside Sales) and Aliyah Morphis (Manager, Mid Market Account Development) will share their journeys navigating sales leadership, from seizing opportunities as they arose to skillfully networking to communicating their goals with passion and purpose.

Aliyah and Kristen will peel back the layers beyond the numbers so you can enjoy the most fulfilling career trajectory possible.

Get ready to hear:

A high-level overview of what leadership looks like in sales — and how to decide if it’s right for you
Ways to set effective (and measurable!) goals
How to become comfortable with self-advocacy as a tool for growth
Strategies to build your network map and leverage connections
Why a successful career path doesn’t need to be linear
Common pitfalls you might experience when transitioning into leadership

Meet The Speakers

Aliyah Morphis

Manager, Mid Market Account Development, Samsara

Aliyah Is a Sales Manager at Samsara. She built her career in technology and media sales at industry leading companies like HubSpot and LinkedIn (Microsoft), where she had the opportunity to consult a variety of businesses on their fundraising, go-to-market, and operations strategies.

Aliyah holds a Bachelors of Science in Psychology and Public Health. Her science background allows her to interpret data, and thread it into powerful storytelling, which has been a key pillar throughout her career. Having held positions across sales development, inside sales, and strategic partnerships departments, Aliyah has a strong grasp on sales strategy and is using her knowledge to nurture and develop future sales leaders at Samsara.

She is also a DEI advocate, passionate about making access to jobs more equitable for under-resourced communities and people of color. To influence DEI initiatives at Samsara, Aliyah sits on the company's DEI steering committee and the leadership team for Blaccsara, Samsara's employee resource group devoted to supporting Black employees and allies. Outside of work, Aliyah sits on the Advisory Board for the LEAD Scholars Program which provides educational, vocational, and financial resources to first generation college students at Santa Clara University.

Kristen Kathan

Director of Inside Sales, Samsara

Kristen Kathan is Samsara’s Director of Inside Sales. While Kristen has been with Samsara for six years, her background in Sales has been plentiful. After receiving her Bachelor’s Degree from UC Berkeley where she also served as Team Captain on the Women’s Volleyball Team, she started her career in Sports Marketing and transitioned to Tech where she fell in love with the fast paced and competitive environment.

Over the past ten years she has worked at several tech startups in San Francisco and has navigated seven promotions in that time. Kristen has built and managed teams from the ground up, successfully mentored new & veteran managers, and has instilled high performing cultures across her teams.