Beyond The Books: From Teaching to Passing Both Aspireship’s Customer Success and SaaS Sales Foundations Programs
Meet Aspireship Unlimited Member Christine Lillie
We’ve been witnessing something extraordinary lately. On any given day, as our team logs on to our Slack community and Linkedin, we’ve noticed more and more of our community sharing that they are now “double grads.”
A double grad is defined as someone who has passed BOTH SaaS Sales Foundations AND our Customer Success Foundations programs.
While this is not required to work in SaaS, we especially love how prepared, knowledgeable and well rounded this dual exposure to both aspects of these client facing departments will help when ramping up in a new SaaS role.
“How does one become a double grad”, you might be thinking to yourself. In order to access the assessments for both programs, you must be an Aspireship Unlimited member. Unlimited members also get access to once per month office hours, interview training and partner perks!
For this Unlimited member spotlight, we sat down with Christine Lillie to hear more about her learning–and double passing experience–while transitioning from a 14 year education career into the Software as a Service industry.
Some Background on Christine Leading Up To Aspireship
Aspireship: How did you come across Aspireship?
Chirstine: Aspireship has a huge following from people transitioning from different industries. I came across it through my network when I made the decision to pivot from teaching to tech.
Aspireship: Prior to the Aspireship course, what was your background in SaaS sales?
Christine: I’ve worked in education for the past 14 years as a teacher and a reading specialist in various school districts around the Greater Phoenix Area. I was the teacher who integrated lots of technology into my classroom.
Aspireship: How were you spending your time prior to finding the course?
Christine: Learning and growing is my passion. As a teacher I spend my summers learning new skills to grow personally and professionally. Reading books, listening to podcasts, and meeting new people is a great way to expand my horizons.
On Learning SaaS (Software as a Service) Sales
Aspireship: What surprised you the most about the course and content?
Christine: It’s very engaging. Instead of flipping through a slide deck, each lesson consists of a video interview with an expert in the industry. Real people that I could connect with was key. The Aspireship team is also made up of very special people. They are bright, innovative, and see the potential in Aspireship students.
Aspireship: What was your favorite take away from the course?
Christine: Aspireship has a very supportive community on LinkedIn and Slack channel. The positivity is simply contagious. I also love that with my Aspireship Unlimited membership, I will have forever access to all of the lessons and career guidance resources such as Aspireship Live! videos and helpful articles.
Learn more about Aspireship Live! and get to know some of our guest speakers.
On Becoming An Aspireship Unlimited Member And How To Succeed As A Learner
Aspireship: What else inspired you to become an Unlimited member?
“I originally signed up for Aspireship at the beginning of May and upgraded to Unlimited by the end of the month. I saw it as investing in myself.”
– 2022 Aspireship Grad Christine Lillie
Aspireship: What tips do you have for individuals enrolled in the course?
Christine: Personally, I set a goal for myself and then worked backwards to set myself up for success. I mapped out a schedule of when I would have uninterrupted time to focus on the content and soak up the information. I did this for both Sales Foundations as well as the Customer Success Foundations course.
“The video library is great for interview prep as well as learning more about Sales and Customer Success.”
– 2022 Aspireship Grad Christine Lillie
On Other Interests Outside of SaaS
Aspireship: Outside of work, what hobbies do you enjoy?
Christine: I love to travel with my family. Every summer we visit a place we have never been. Recently, we visited the inside passage of Alaska. It was beautiful and will be memorable for a lifetime.
Aspireship: Is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
Christine: Aspireship brings out the potential and capability of those who are willing to learn things and brave enough to step out of their comfort zone. Your experience counts even if it is from a different industry.
“This is from our Alaska trip in July.”
– 2022 Aspireship Grad Christine Lillie