Targets, forecasts, and stress; enterprise gross sales is commonly seen as a numbers recreation. However for Daisy Gita Santosa, it’s at all times been about one thing deeper.
As Regional Vice President of Digital Gross sales at Salesforce, Daisy works throughout Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, and Pakistan. Her days are packed — back-to-back conferences, regional journey, and massive targets to hit — however for her, the actual affect comes from the folks she helps and the tradition she shapes.
With over 20 years within the business, she’s gathered a treasure trove of hard-earned classes about management, change, and staying grounded whereas shifting ahead.
[Image credit: Daisy Santosa / Salesforce]
She’s stepped away from success at its peak (she’s a boomerang!), leaned into uncomfortable development, and embraced instruments like AI effectively earlier than they grew to become mainstream. Her story is much less about titles and extra in regards to the decisions that form you alongside the best way.
Listed here are 5 key classes Daisy has discovered in her 20+ yr journey — and the one piece of recommendation she’d give her youthful self.
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1. Belief is the actual foreign money of management
Daisy doesn’t consider in micromanaging. To her, management begins with belief — and with out it, nothing else works.
“I don’t micromanage. I belief my staff to run their enterprise like their very own,” she says.
That perception in belief and empowerment has been a continuing thread all through Daisy’s profession. She’s seen firsthand how folks rise once they know they’re trusted to personal their work and make good selections.
One second that stands out occurred years in the past, when her staff secured a significant CRM deal in Indonesia — even earlier than Salesforce had a neighborhood information heart in place. It was an enormous leap of religion on the client’s half. However they moved ahead as a result of they believed in Daisy and the staff behind her. That deal didn’t simply signify a win — it mirrored the type of belief that takes time, care, and consistency to construct.
And that belief paid off. 4 years later, Salesforce launched its Hyperforce information heart in Indonesia. However the true success story had already been written: one the place belief outpaced timelines.
2. Enjoyable and excessive efficiency aren’t opposites
At a time when many leaders equate stress with productiveness, Daisy gives a refreshing counterpoint: enjoyable will not be a distraction; it’s a catalyst.
Again in her earlier Salesforce stint, Daisy led a staff that tripled income in only one yr. She credit that efficiency not simply to technique, however to the tradition they constructed collectively. It wasn’t compelled. Individuals needed to collaborate. They felt included. Energized.
“When the staff did effectively, I took them, and everybody who supported them, on a celebration journey,” she remembers. “We grew as a result of we cared, and had enjoyable doing it.”
Daisy presenting at an Agentforce Jakarta occasion. [Image credit: Daisy Santosa / Salesforce]
3. AI gained’t change you; it’ll elevate you
When ChatGPT and Agentforce first entered the scene, Daisy observed the same old hesitation. Was it a shortcut? A gimmick? Would everybody find yourself sounding the identical?
Quite than dismissing these considerations, she addressed them head-on. “With the suitable schooling and context, AI turns into a robust complement,” she explains.
As a pacesetter, she made it clear to her staff: instruments like Agentforce for gross sales aren’t shortcuts — they’re enablers. From producing tailor-made outreach to serving to reps navigate complicated objections, Agentforce grew to become a trusted gross sales coworker — streamlining backend work so her staff may give attention to constructing actual relationships.
For Daisy, AI and brokers aren’t changing salespeople — they’re amplifying them. And Agentforce, specifically, has develop into a key driver of how her staff exhibits up smarter, sooner, and extra ready in each buyer interplay.
Daisy and the Enterprise Core staff spend time collectively at Borobudur Yogyakarta. [Image credit: Daisy Santosa / Salesforce]
4. Strolling away might be the boldest development transfer — however so can returning
5 years in the past, Daisy was promoted to Regional VP at Salesforce. It was the type of milestone most professionals dream about.
And on the exact same day, she resigned.
Why? As a result of one other alternative got here her manner — one that will take her out of her consolation zone and right into a broader operational position at a smaller firm. It was a tough determination. She beloved her staff. She was thriving. However one thing inside nudged her to develop.
“I didn’t depart as a result of issues weren’t going effectively,” she says. “I left as a result of I needed to push myself.”
That selection modified all the things. It gave her publicity to new challenges, expanded her management lens, and reaffirmed what she valued most. So when she returned to Salesforce years later, she introduced not simply expertise — however maturity, readability, and a deeper sense of function.
“I at all times knew the door was open,” she says. “Salesforce was the place I needed to return to — and when the timing and the position aligned, it felt like coming dwelling.”
Daisy with the Thailand Digital staff. Daisy shares “we like to bond over meals!” [Image credit: Daisy Santosa / Salesforce]
5. Stability isn’t a bonus — It’s a method
Daisy doesn’t fake work-life steadiness is simple. With three kids and a regional position that entails fixed journey, she’s needed to combat for it. However combat she does.
Her coping mechanisms? Dancing (Physique Jam is her favourite), baking (she as soon as volunteered to bake desserts for hospitals throughout COVID), and studying (she accomplished a diploma in a lifelong purpose to raised mentor others).
“I sneak off to a Physique Jam class after I can,” she laughs. “It retains me sane.”
That small ritual, like many others in her routine, helps her keep energized in a demanding position. And it’s not nearly her — Daisy actively encourages her staff to seek out their very own rhythms too. She reminds them it’s okay to relaxation and that downtime is a part of displaying up sturdy.
The lesson she’d inform her youthful self
Trying again, what would Daisy inform her youthful self who was simply getting began?
“Don’t keep in your consolation zone, even when issues are going effectively,” she says. “Push your self. Say sure to issues that scare you a bit. That’s the place the actual development occurs.”
It’s a message she now fashions via each determination she makes. Whether or not embracing new tech, stepping away from a task, or returning to a spot that looks like dwelling — Daisy has made a behavior of pushing ahead, even when it’s uncomfortable.
As a result of that’s the place development lives. And if her journey has taught her something, it’s that essentially the most rewarding paths are hardly ever the best ones.
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