A Customer Success Manager at Equity Residential, Karen Kelly isn’t afraid to try something new and knows that dreaming big gets you BIG results.
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Trying Something New
My background is in business development and marketing. I actually got started in the property management business because of my recruiter. She encouraged me to go for the position at Equity Residential. Property management as an industry is really growing and there are so many opportunities.
As a Customer Success Manager, I work closely with our clients, getting to know them personally so I can better understand what they need and what they are looking for from our company. I want their experience to be positive from the start. My goal is to always maintain a good working relationship with our customers and to make them feel comfortable coming to me with any issues.
Learning from the Past
To accomplish all of this, I use the skills I have honed throughout my professional career, including business development, sales strategy, project management, market analysis, client relations, software development, data analytics, customer engagement and social media best practices. I’m a firm believer in the importance of taking whatever skillset I’ve used in the past, and then sharpen those techniques and expand upon what I’ve learned so I can apply it to my next endeavor for even more success.
Stress Relief Tips
What I find most challenging is keeping it all together. When you assume a more leadership role with responsibilities, you need to stay calm and focused. Always keeping the objective goal in mind for the cause. I believe the most rewarding thing about my job is the endless opportunities that await me. My advice to other women is to never give up. Stay the course no matter what happens and dream BIG!
Looking Toward the Future
My future goals are to keep growing and learning to be a better person both personally and professionally. One way I plan to do that is to make the most of my IAW membership by actively joining a local chapter and communicating my goals and aspirations—I would give the same exact advice to other IAW members. Although I’m new to the organization, I’m so excited to meet more cool women in the IAW network!
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