Meet Michael Johnson, Senior Account Executive

Michael Johnson, known as MJ here at YOTTAA, loves to develop relationships with potential customers that lead to long-term partnerships. He’s always excited to show brands how the YOTTAA acceleration platform can make a difference in site speed to positively impact their conversion rates and decrease bounce rates.  

What is your role at YOTTAA? 

I am a Senior Account Executive on the Enterprise East Team. I have been in this role for over two years. I help teams master complicated sales cycles, break into new territories and verticals, and consistently beat sales quotas.  

How do you help eCommerce brands? 

I help eCommerce brands understand the impact of improving site speed on their key performance indicators, mainly conversion and bounce rates. 

What is your favorite part about working with YOTTAA customers? 

My favorite part about working with YOTTAA customers is that we can prove out the impact of the YOTTAA solution on their business before they even sign a contract. I get to be very consultative and help them understand what YOTTAA will do for their business. I can show them that the platform is going to work and help them achieve the goals before they have to make a commitment. 

What did you do before YOTTAA that has helped you most in your current role? How is your work at YOTTAA different from your previous jobs? 

I have spent the last fifteen years selling to eCommerce executives at brands and retailers. I think the experience of talking to people in the industry about their goals, objectives, and pain has been very helpful. I know what is top of mind with most eCommerce leaders, which is super beneficial with my current role. Along with this, just knowing how unique eCommerce is has been extremely significant. eCommerce is responsible for the revenue and sales that a brand’s website delivers, along with the site’s performance and the infrastructure. While brand executives don’t own the IT decisions, they care about all the development and IT decisions that are made. This includes what platform they are on and what architecture it is. It is also fun and interesting to get IT and eCommerce in the same room and really talk about what is causing problems, what is preventing their site from loading faster, and what is driving revenue for the business. That experience from my previous job of talking and having authentic, honest conversations with both teams is key.  

What makes working at YOTTAA different is that site speed is not something that people have a budget for. Everyone wants to improve it but typically that is done with internal resources and agencies, or even with a redesign of the website. Nobody really has a budget to improve site speed the way YOTTAA does it! 

What do you like most about your job at YOTTAA? 

I love working with prospects to uncover the additional value that YOTTAA adds. We begin with a trial to prove that we can make their site faster and to show that a faster site will improve their business metrics. Along the way, there is a lot more value that the YOTTAA platform provides such as operational efficiencies and time savings which allow our customers to focus on other things like security opportunities or getting other people in the organization involved in the trial process. This is exciting because I get to have additional conversations with different people, teams, and groups. It’s my chance to truly understand the customer. At the end of a successful trial, we know so much about each other that a partnership is easy. It’s basically like we’ve been dating for a while so making it official is the natural next step. 

Having experience at other companies, what about YOTTAA makes it a great place to work? 

There is a lot of trust that the sales team will do what is right for the business. I like the fact that I am left with the responsibility to run my own book of business, generate my own meetings, and run deals the way I see fit. There is a lot of support and help, but at the end of the day, there is confidence in me to do what is right to win the deal. 

This gives me opportunities to try new things. We are not a company that is afraid to develop new solutions, hence the new security offerings. We are also not afraid to try new ways to get engaged with accounts through partners, marketing efforts, or events. I think it is extremely exciting that everyone is pulling in the same direction, but we are doing it in our own way and trying new things.  

What brands do you work with at YOTTAA? 

• Pandora Jewelry- one of our top customers: Proved out 32% speed improvement and 1.3% conversion lift during a trial before holiday in 2020.  They’ve since partnered with us for even more speed, operational efficiencies, and security offerings. 
• Floor & Decor– one of our top home improvement customers: Proved out a 14% speed improvement and 4% conversion lift during a Rapid trial last summer. Improving online conversion also led to more buy online and pick up in store (BOPIS). 
• Eastman Automotive- Auto customer who was struggling with a Magento implementation: They proved out the value with RAPID CTRL and have since upgraded to Super Accelerator. 
• David Yurman– A small, luxury jewelry brand: Their trial last summer proved that speed equals conversion no matter the price point. 
• Ardene– A Canadian online apparel retailer gaining traction in the US: Their trial last fall proved that the YOTTAA solution is the best way to make your SFCC site faster, period. 
• Marks & Spencer– 9th largest retailer in the UK: Successful trial over the 2021 holiday season has led to a great relationship and potential for future growth.

What brief advice do you have for others wanting to enter this profession? 

I will keep it short and simple: If you want to be in sales, have thick skin. 

What do you like to do when you’re not at the office?  

When I’m not in the office, I spend most of my time with my kids. We love to hike or go to the beach and walk the dog. My son is eighteen and my daughter is fifteen so every moment I get with them is special. I also enjoy going to the gym. I like to wake up and start my day right! I’m definitely more of a lifting guy. Additionally, I enjoy working on projects at my house. For me, being successful in a sales career is about having balance. I evenly divide my time between work, myself, and my family. I find when you have three things to focus on, you’re balanced. The analogy is that your life should be a stool, not a ladder. If you focus on the three legs, you will be balanced. That suggestion came from an old boss of mine about ten years ago, and it was great advice! 

If you’d like to talk to a YOTTAA expert like Michael and learn what our eCommerce acceleration technology could do for your brand, let us know!