In our latest employee spotlight, we caught up with Alec Vogel, BuildingLink’s first Sales Development Representative who was recently promoted to Sales Associate Team Lead. He discusses his career journey, the sales challenges and opportunities he’s experienced, and how BuildingLink’s customer-centric approach aligns with his core values. As a pioneer in proptech, BuildingLink continues to innovate and provide gold standard solutions to communities around the world, a mission that resonates deeply with Alec.
Alec’s journey to BuildingLink began in the world of real estate, where he took on different roles such as multifamily manager, leasing administrator, and licensed agent. These roles gave him a deep understanding of the industry's complexities and the unique challenges that property managers face, setting the stage for his transition to the proptech space.
“Coming from a family where my father owned a small business, I really appreciated the familial aspect with Zach Kestenbaum working for BuildingLink and then becoming CEO,” Alec shares. “Speaking with Brian Bressack, Lexie Pollock, and Zach during the interview process, I could feel they all had a genuine excitement for the past, present, and future of BuildingLink – and I wanted to be a part of that. I loved the fact that BuildingLink was an established, 20+ year old company with the mindset of a start-up.”
Alec adds that he has always enjoyed being part of a team that is working together on something greater than is achievable by oneself. This is why he feels a deep connection to BuildingLink’s core value of ‘Strength in Unity.’ “Everyone here works together and helps each other out—it's fantastic to see and live,” he says. “Challenges are better faced with others, and celebrating victories with others is more rewarding (and fun) than celebrating alone!”
Alec highlights the flexibility of BuildingLink’s platform as a major draw for prospective customers. “Every community is unique, and each one has its own specific needs and wants for how a system could help them,” he says. “We get a lot of inquiries where prospects feel like their distinct issues cannot be fixed, but the reality is that our platform is designed to solve it all. Getting to say, ‘Yes, we can do that!’ to prospects so often is incredibly rewarding because I can almost feel their relief and excitement.”
BuildingLink’s customer-first mentality is another aspect that resonates deeply with Alec. “Growing up working in a family restaurant drilled into me how important customer service is. BuildingLink has the same mindset,” he shares. “I really appreciate the fact that we seek out feedback from customers and potential customers too – because they are the ones the platform is built for, so their satisfaction is paramount.”
As the first Sales Development Representative at BuildingLink, Alec has helped drive many technological changes to enhance efficiency. He shares that his team has been given numerous opportunities to try different technologies and platforms. “I generally see change as a positive progression. We’ve dove into many trials and new platforms to see what works and what may not, which is crucial” he says. “It’s a testament to BuildingLink’s investment in its own people and I am grateful to our sales leaders that we now have a robust, best-in-class tech stack internally.”
A recent change that Alec is excited to share is the sales team’s switch to focusing on different territories. “This is an exciting change as I will get to focus on learning about the customer-base and prospective customers in a singular territory,” he says. “It should help our team focus on and better understand regional specific needs and challenges.”
Alec adds that the biggest challenge he hears from prospective customers right now is financials. “We are in some unfamiliar economic territory in recent times with high interest rates and numbers rising in most areas such as taxes, utilities, and vendor costs,” he says. “Most folks I talk with know they need a platform such as BuildingLink to help manage and track costs, or streamline expensive processes. But selling that cost-benefit, especially for board members to other residents, can be tricky.” Alec shares that an internal challenge he experiences is how to “stay persistent without being a pest.” Always putting the customer first, Alec emphasizes the importance of understanding the time limitations of busy property management professionals who wear many hats. “Phone calls and voicemails to follow-up and trying to fit into their schedules is important.”
Despite these challenges, Alec sees tremendous opportunities at BuildingLink. He loves being able to learn more about the platform from his teammates, which in turn helps him better serve prospects. “The platform is powerful, but the people behind BuildingLink are even more impressive. Each team member has their own unique relationship with the software platform and strategies for how they present it,” he says. “Being able to watch demos and follow customer journeys allows me to pick up on endless tidbits about our software, strategies, B2B relationships, and more.”
Alec shares that while most people think of sales prospecting as finding potential customers, he likes to think of it as helping them find BuildingLink. “Things like our sales executives traversing the globe to promote at tradeshows, and our marketing crew consistently disseminating our features, is the foundation for which our associate team can jump-in and help identify potential customers that we can help,” he says. “The more we can spread the word about our platform and its uses, the more we will be able to make connections with those we could serve.”
A recent customer even praised Alec for creating value during the demo and throughout the entire sales process. This customer mentioned that it took about six months from Alec initiating the conversation to closing the deal, during which Alec did a great job of staying on top of things. When asked how they found BuildingLink, the customer responded, “I don’t think I did. Alec found me.”
Outside of work, Alec is passionate about spending time with his family. With two young children out of school right now, he and his wife enjoy keeping them entertained and happy. “Trips to the community pool, day trips to beautiful Chesapeake Bay, and overnights to the beach have been incredibly fun,” Alec shares. “Nothing beats a day relaxing by a body of water capped by a family meal and cold beverage under the stars.”