Female Disruptors: Annie Raygoza of WebEnertia On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your Industry
An Interview With Candice Georgiadis
Women tend to have the classic case of “imposter syndrome.” This can be a tremendous barrier when trying to voice opinions, bring up ideas, or even challenge specific situations. Being able to maintain a level of confidence is key to showing your worth and making your voice heard.
As a part of our series about “Why We Need More Women Founders”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Annie Raygoza.
Annie Raygoza serves as the Director of Client Services at WebEnertia. Throughout her career, she has specialized in building strong, responsive relationships with clients by delivering strategic account and project management. Her deep insights into effective processes and powerful connection to the needs of their clients ensures her teams deliver on deadlines, stick to budgets, and always meet the client’s demands. It’s her expertise that helps ensure that projects achieve the clients’ business objectives. Annie has a master’s degree in Mass Communications from San Jose State University.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit more. Can you tell us a bit about your “backstory”? What led you to this particular career path?
I’ve always had a passion for working in the creative industry, specifically within the tech space. I love how everything is continuously evolving, and I love being at the forefront of new trends. Beginning my career in search engine marketing, then moving into media planning, buying, operations, and eventually into account management — I was able to pinpoint my passion around the work I do.
Building relationships with clients and creating long-term business opportunities together is a personal driver in my career. Every person wants to feel heard and understood, and they seek an agency partner to support their goals and initiatives. Including that human element into our partnership is key to success — and what’s incredibly valuable to me in a Client Services Leadership role.
Can you tell our readers what it is about the work you’re doing that’s disruptive?
In my role, I’m always communicating with the client through various touchpoints. Although that may not be seen as “disruptive,” the actions taken from these touchpoints make the work unique and beneficial for clients. When a strong relationship is understood, having these conversations becomes seamless. We understand pain points and create actionable plans to address and rectify the situations further, which enhances the relationship between the agency partner and client.
I proactively approach clients about current projects, capture feedback on crucial team members, address timelines and quality of work, and touch base on future goals and initiatives, so we can continue to brainstorm together. Realigning expectations both internally and with our clients strengthens our relationships. Being able to juggle both conversations equally creates strong morale between both the internal team and the client.
Adaptability is vital within the tech space. Things are constantly evolving, and the way we approach clients should also evolve. Consistently looking at new tools, technology, and approaches allows our client service team to always provide top-notch support for all of our clients. Taking on new technology or requests from clients is another way we’re competitive in the space. We’re always open to utilizing new tools to provide a seamless and straightforward experience for our clients.
Encouraging our team to participate in educational opportunities or conferences allows them to understand other new customer service and account management trends. By proactively addressing these trends, we’re setting up the team to manage these relationships and strengthen our partnership with clients.
Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
Early in my career, I worked for a tech company with clients in various countries, including Japan. I was instructed to send out emails to a few clients across different locations. I, unfortunately, was unaware of the etiquette required for addressing a client appropriately and professionally in Japan. It was a cringe worthy conversation with my boss, but also a moment I’ve never forgotten. Of course, it was a critical lesson on understanding different cultures and taking a step back — to ensure the message has little room to be misconstrued. I can confidently say that I always ask (or Google!) each time I address people within different countries.
We all need a little help along the journey. Who have been some of your mentors? Can you share a story about how they made an impact?
The desire to move into a management role was due to the mentors I have had through the different roles in my career. With the variety of leaders in my life, I captured those that resonated the most with me. Those that exuded patience and time to provide education and coaching were instrumental in my success. People that showed care and desire to teach made me feel valued. Additionally, it gave me the confidence to tackle new opportunities and challenges.
I took opportunities to share knowledge and coach and train people early on because I understood what it was like to be on the other side of things. Some of my most incredible mentors are those that I can be vulnerable around. Being open and honest about concerns isn’t a weakness. It’s an opportunity for your mentor to support and provide guidance. I’m so proud of the mentorship I have today because I know that I can capture honest opinions from my colleagues and view situations from different perspectives. It has also allowed me to be open to receiving feedback, further expanding my management skillset, making me a better manager for my team.
On the flip side, not all managers are great mentors. Taking those specific situations and personalities into account is essential. I must remember these situations and individuals to ensure I always approach things with humility and honesty.
In today’s parlance, being disruptive is usually a positive adjective. But is disrupting always good? When do we say the converse, that a system or structure has ‘withstood the test of time’? Can you articulate to our readers when disrupting an industry is positive, and when disrupting an industry is ‘not so positive’? Can you share some examples of what you mean?
I’m a big advocate for evaluating processes and people often. Although what we may do may be normal or “what we’ve always done,” it doesn’t mean it’s the best approach. As people, clients, services are expanding and evolving — we must expand and evolve as well. Staying on top of trends, evaluating things from another lens, participating in educational courses or conferences to network and gain different perspectives are ways to disrupt these old or stale processes. Although something may not be a problem, we must ask if it is the most efficient process. Is it preventing growth or causing a decline in morale with the team? Could this be done better? These are good questions to ask. I also think that “disruption” must be done strategically and thoughtfully. It shouldn’t be rushed through, and it should be evaluated thoroughly before rolling out.
Can you share 3 of the best words of advice you’ve gotten along your journey? Please give a story or example for each.
- Always remember what it was like to be new (in an organization or in your career).
- If you have a problem, be prepared to throw out some solutions.
- Always remain professional. You never know when you’ll cross paths with that individual again in your career.
How are you going to shake things up next?
Attending new conferences and networking gives me opportunities to not only gather new ideas in the industry but also the confidence to roll them out with our team and clients.
In your opinion, what are the biggest challenges faced by ‘women disruptors’ that aren’t typically faced by their male counterparts?
Women tend to have the classic case of “imposter syndrome.” This can be a tremendous barrier when trying to voice opinions, bring up ideas, or even challenge specific situations. Being able to maintain a level of confidence is key to showing your worth and making your voice heard.
Do you have a book/podcast/talk that’s had a deep impact on your thinking? Can you share a story with us?
- Radical Candor: Be a Kick-Ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity (Kim Scott)
- The 5 Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace: Empowering Organizations by Encouraging People (Gary Chapman & Paul White)
- It’s Been a Minute with Sam Sanders (NPR Podcast). Yes, this is not business-related, but I really enjoy taking a step back to understand different perspectives on things that are happening in our world. I love the different outlooks from various cultures, listening to people’s stories, and listening to uncomfortable situations and how they’re approached. I think these are important soft skills for anyone in client services.
If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?
Remember that, at the end of the day, we’re human. When we talk to people internally or with clients, we can become frustrated with mistakes or issues that come up. At the end of the day, we’re all faced with challenges and goals in front of us. We’re all trying to do the best we can. If we encourage people to become more “human,” it helps arrive at solutions as a partnership.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
“If you want to be a true professional, do something outside yourself.” — Ruth Bader Ginsberg
“Don’t confuse having a career with having a life.” — Hillary Clinton
Women in the professional world are oftentimes challenged with the ability to pick and choose things in their lives. Women are resilient, and I’m proud to support other women in becoming professionals — especially within the tech and digital spaces.
How can our readers follow you online?
Annie Raygoza, M.S. Mass Communications – Director Of Client Services – WebEnertia | LinkedIn
Thank you for these fantastic insights. We greatly appreciate the time you spent on this!
Female Disruptors: Annie Raygoza of WebEnertia On The Three Things You Need To Shake Up Your… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.