Photo of Laura BecksteadLaura Beckstead graduated from Elon in 2014 with degrees in marketing and management. She now works on Salesforce’s strategic solutions engineering team.

Majors: Management and Marketing with a focus in Sales

Current job: Senior Solutions Engineer at Salesforce

Main job responsibilities: I am a member of the Strategic Solutions Engineering Team for Marketing Cloud at Salesforce. I am a product and industry expert in Salesforce’s Marketing Cloud and I demonstrate the value our solution can bring to enterprise level companies. I work alongside of account executives to build highly customized presentations. I present our product to decision makers and end users with the goal of acquiring their business.

What do you like best about your job?

I love meeting new people, and working in sales gives me the opportunity to meet and work with lots of interesting people. I also like the challenge of putting together a presentation and pitching my product to company executives while finding ways to improve their business.

What have you been up to since graduating?

After graduating, I joined Oracle as a customer experience sales engineer and later became a cloud sales engineer. After four years, I joined Salesforce.

I work from home in Raleigh, North Carolina. When I’m not home or working from a coffee shop, you can find me taking spin or barre classes at Fly Wheel or spending time with family and friends. I’m still very close to my roommates from college, and we get together often.

How did the Love School of Business prepare you for your career?

The Elon Sales Team was instrumental in channeling me into my career in sales. Before joining the team, I was a business major but I wasn’t sure in what direction I would go. As a member of the Elon Sales Team, I attended a career fair at a sales competition and I had the opportunity to meet people from Oracle. I was offered an internship with Oracle and after graduation, I went to work for them full time as a Solutions Engineer. I joined Salesforce in August, 2019.

How did Elon’s liberal arts curriculum help strengthen your understanding of your business major and your overall educational experience?

Before college, I thought I wanted to be a teacher. Elon exposed me to a lot of different courses, which gave me a better idea of what I wanted to focus on. My freshman Global Studies class had a business spin to it and it was linked to my Economics class, so all the people in my Global Studies class were also in my Economics class. These classes sparked my interest in business.

What did you enjoy most about being a Love School of Business student?

I loved the feeling of community. I felt at home when I walked into the Love School of Business. I became really close with my classmates and professors. Joining AKPsi, the business fraternity, provided me with opportunities to expand my business knowledge and skills with other business majors who had similar interests.

What advice do you have for current Love School of Business students?

Network! You should become close to your professors, follow your passion, and get involved. If you want to get into sales, join the sales team. If you want to be an accountant, tutor accounting. Get involved in leadership activities because that is what sets you apart from others when you are applying for internships and interviewing for jobs.

Elon Activities

  • Member of Elon Sales Team
  • Member of Alpha Kappa Psi, Business Fraternity; VP of Membership, Executive Board Member, Membership Committee Member, Pledge Class Treasurer
  • Member of Pi Sigma Epsilon, Professional Sales, Marketing, and Management Fraternity; VP of Administration
  • Student Ambassador at the Porter Family Professional Development Center

Internships

  • Winston Sales Dash (Minor League Baseball Team) – sponsor services intern
  • Oracle – sales engineering intern

As of 2.23.19