Women In Sales

Who Didn't Wait for Permission

Every March, Women’s History Month invites us to look back at the women who broke ground so others could walk freely. But at SalesPipeline, we wanted to look forward.

We reached out to four accomplished women in sales, leaders who have navigated international markets, built high-performing teams, and climbed to the top of their fields, and asked them three questions. About starting out. About leading. And about the stories the industry still tells about women that simply aren’t true.

Their answers are candid, hard-earned, and worth reading slowly.

Our Respondents

Lila Karlsen McNutt I Global Director of Sales & Marketing, NantBioRenewables LLC

Catherine Olivier I Senior Director of Business Development & Inside Sales, Strategy

Jennifer Krueger I Founder of The Curious Salesperson program

Rebecca Pearse I Sales Leader, 30+ years of international B2B SaaS leadership

Q1 What is the most important piece of advice you would give to women starting a career in sales?

Four women. Four very different answers. And yet a single thread runs through all of them: show up as yourself, and show up prepared.

Lila Karlsen McNutt

Global Director of Sales & Marketing · NantBioRenewables LLC

Treat sales like a discipline, not a personality test. Build a repeatable system for preparation, follow-through, and relationship management, so your success is grounded in skill, not circumstance. Seek out mentors early: top sales colleagues, strong managers, even trusted customers. Their perspective will accelerate your growth faster than almost anything else. And don’t hesitate to take up space. Go after the bigger accounts and advocate for your value from day one.

Catherine Olivier

Senior Director of Business Development & Inside Sales · Strategy

Stay true to yourself. Don’t emulate what ‘the boys’ do. Lean on your strengths, follow what feels natural, and bet on yourself. Get a good mentor or two who can guide you when needed, but don’t force things. Show you can do the job before you have it, and the rest will follow.4

Jennifer Krueger

Founder of The Curious Salesperson program

When you first get started, listen to everyone and everything about Sales...and then find your own way to communicate and connect. I had great mentors and sales coaches, but I only started selling way above my target when I took all that great advice and created my own voice, my own humour, my own questions to understand the prospects and customers. Don't be afraid to say things the way you want to say them. You are unique, so that gives you leverage. As cheesy as it sounds, use what makes you...YOU. The hard part is figuring out what that is...

Rebecca Pearse

Sales Leader · 30+ years, International B2B SaaS

Never assume you know it all. Treat every day like a school day and learn from the people around you, there will always be someone with more experience and more perspective. Don’t be afraid to ask for help, or to simply say, ‘I don’t understand.’ That honesty is a strength, not a weakness.

Q2  What has helped you most in advancing into sales leadership?

Leadership in sales is earned twice: once by the numbers, and once by the people you bring with you. Here’s how these four women got there.

Lila Karlsen McNutt

Operational rigor has been the foundation, understanding how sales connects to marketing, operations, and finance. I also focused on developing people, not just pipelines. Leaders aren’t chosen because they hit quota, they’re chosen because they elevate the people around them. And consistently owning the numbers, knowing exactly how I achieved results, built the trust and credibility that opened doors.

Catherine Olivier

Following what comes naturally, where my genuine interests and strong points overlap. I didn’t try to force things. I showed I could do the job before I had the title. And I kept good mentors close for the moments when I needed a perspective I couldn’t find on my own.

Jennifer Krueger

You can't advance without two things: organization and empathy. Both have to work in conjunction for salespeople to be truly great. You need to know your numbers, your statistics, your calendar and the next step in a sale when you're at your desk. However, when you're in front of a customer, you have to focus on understanding what's going on in their business and in their head and heart. Sales is difficult because most people lean towards one or the other: organization and too much task-focus, which can create a selfish salesperson, or towards the empathy side of the customer, which can create a lenient and overly-accommodating salespeople who might give too much power to the customer. Balancing both takes practice.

Rebecca Pearse

Constantly learning from others, and taking leaps of faith. When you find a great manager, study how they operate. Watch how they navigate complexity and conflict. I’ve taken more than a few leaps in my career, new roles, new industries, new countries, and every single one taught me something I couldn’t have learned any other way.

Q3 What is one misconception about women in sales that you’d like to challenge?

Ask a woman in sales what myth she’s tired of, and she won’t hesitate:

Lila Karlsen McNutt

That women succeed in sales because of their looks. It’s a myth that minimises the real drivers of performance: strategy, discipline, and consistent execution. Yes, professional appearance matters, but it matters for everyone. Being well-presented shows respect and readiness. Women succeed in sales because they deliver results, lead with intelligence, and build lasting customer trust. Full stop.

Catherine Olivier

That we’re too soft, or too afraid to make the hard calls. Having empathy doesn’t make us weak, and being kind doesn’t stop us from running a business well. Oh, and being a mother doesn’t disqualify us from doing our job brilliantly, either.

Jennifer Krueger

One misconception I still hear about Women in Sales is that they don't care about chasing the high-value deals with the same passion and focus as men. It's nonsense. Women care about the money, and they care about the win. In fact, it could be argued that women care more because they have more to historically prove. I'd love to see the research on this. In my experience, it's not always true that women lean more towards the "empathy" side of selling.  I've seen a woman sign a $200 million dollar deal and still laugh at the client's pet story in the same conversation. It was magic.

Rebecca Pearse

That a woman with a family will come back part-time, if she comes back at all. It’s been my biggest frustration throughout my career. Just because a woman has a child doesn’t mean you cast her aside. Help women have the best of both worlds, because it is absolutely possible. I’m living proof. Mother of three, and still very much here.

A final Word

Lila, Catherine, Rebecca and Jennifer carved their own paths. They mastered the systems, stayed sharp, and kept their seats at the table by being exactly who they are. For any woman in sales, whether you’re just starting out or already leading, their story proves a simple point. You bring the most value when you stop trying to fit a standard mold and start leaning into your own perspective.