Ep. 41: Networking, Mentoring, & Getting the Deal with Bijay Mathew

In this episode of "How the Deal Was Done," Andrew Kappel and Bijay Alex Mathew discuss a major deal with a leading athleisure retailer facilitated through a key partnership. They explore the challenges faced with outdated software and how over-servicing and strong partnerships played a role in closing the deal. Background: Bijay has 20 years of experience leading sales teams and currently serves as the CRO at Art of Mentoring. The deal involved Art of Mentoring's mentoring software platform and was initiated through a referral by a key partner, targeting a large athleisure retailer with a thousand participants across two programs. Challenges: Demonstrating the capabilities of a new platform while providing access to an outdated sandbox environment. Managing complex use cases and ensuring the reassurance needed for a large-scale implementation. Key learnings: Delivering above and beyond service can differentiate and build trust with clients. Warm introductions and strong partnerships significantly ease the go-to-market challenges. Timestamps: (03:48) Bijay's background leading sellers at big orgs and now international startups plus journey to Austin (07:09) Beginning of the deal: initial contact and importance of the strategic 'thought leader' partner (08:48) Challenges faced with the sandbox environment and platform transition (10:28) Over-servicing to win the deal (13:42) Importance of reassurance and client confidence Resources: Bijay Matthew on LinkedIn Questions, comments, ideas - reach out to: [**https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewkappel/**](https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewkappel/)