This summer, I had the privilege of being the Sales and Marketing Intern for Umbrella Managed Systems…their first intern in years!
I have been able to work with some really great people, and I appreciate the culture that has been built over the years at Umbrella, I felt like I was welcomed from the beginning. I have been able to be a team player and work on many exciting initiatives during my 11 weeks here as an intern. I’ve been able to meet potential and current clients and learned how Umbrella conducts day-to-day business. I have sat in and given my input in many scenarios, whether that is with marketing and how something looks, or with sales and what strategies I believe work better than others.
Tyler the Intern Picked up some great skills during his time here.
There have been many things I have liked about this internship and it’s hard to pick a favorite. One thing that stood out to me was when Trent Peters, Founder, invited me to shadow him on sales pitch to a potential client. This was very exciting as it allowed me to get out of the office, meet new people, and watch Trent do what he does and pitch our services to show them why Umbrella is a great fit. I was able to learn and see with my own eyes a way to sell the services that we provide and how to react to certain questions that the interested party may be asking.
I was also able to go to a client’s office with Zach Lakin, Proactive Operations Engineer,, who showed and informed me on all of the different tech that was in the IT room and what all the hardware did. As this is my first time in the IT industry, this was very informing and fascinating to see how each thing works together to provide the best possible IT solution for this client.
Another initiative that I was responsible for, was gathering data to calculate Umbrella’s current Net Promoter Score. To be frank I thought I wouldn’t like this task, but I actually did. This got me out of my comfort zone, as I had to call current clients and ask them a few questions. I chatted with someone from almost every current client we had and got great feedback. This initiative allowed me to grow my communication skills, discover the direction the conversation is headed, and realize how I can say things to people based on our chat to keep the conversation on the topic.
On the marketing side of things, I was able to fully manage a project and to update our website’s home page video. I brought in a team who flies drones, and the final product ended up being fantastic. The last thing I will briefly talk about is our Client Referral Program Initiative. I got to work closely with a few of my coworkers to gather all the data and information for this, and we were able to launch it this summer! This should be another great way for us to find potential clients and it also gives our clients who refer them a little gift to show our appreciation.
Finally, I was able to work closely with Jonathan DeRaps, Marketing Lead, all summer, and he showed me the best ways to interact on social media platforms, how interacting when trying to market a product or service is vastly different from just interacting, and he showed me how he creates our flyers/articles/handouts and let me give my input as well.
What's next for Tyler the Intern?
As I go into my Senior year at the University of Kansas, I know the knowledge and information I have gained will be very useful when I begin my career. I would like to go into a type of sales like pharmaceuticals or medical devices, and everything I have done and learned about sales and selling here as an intern can be reciprocated and adjusted to whom I am selling to. I now have a solid foundation on selling and pitching a product, and this should be more than helpful once I graduate college.
Overall, this internship has given me much more insight and knowledge of the business world, specifically in the IT industry regarding sales and marketing. I couldn’t be more appreciative and thankful for the opportunity I had as an intern here at Umbrella. I didn’t know what to expect the first day here, but it has been a fantastic journey and experience all around.
