Boost sales with the right people and processes: Room 8 Group hired VP of Global Business Development

I come from a small town in a small country, yet I’m involved in the most exciting industry on the planet.

Adam Keating, VP of Global Business Development

It was August 16, 2021, and Adam Keating had just accepted the keys to his new home in Dublin, Ireland, after quitting his job as Head of EMEA Game sales and signing a contract as VP of global business development at Room 8 Group, a Game Development Company. A career twist that he could not have anticipated. Especially when just a couple of months before this moment, he thought he had everything he needed from his previous company, a comfortable salary, benefits, and seniority. So, why the career change? Because he believes Room 8 Group is the company the gaming world needs and the type of company he should have started himself. 

Where It All Began

Keating’s first steps into sales were at his father’s lighting fixture shop at age 14, where he learned the fundamentals of sales; communicating, listening, and authenticity. All of which he credits to making him the sales authority he is today.

I was always a tinkerer, somebody who wanted to know how things work and then find a way, ever so subtly, to improve them. I grew up in a home where both my parents owned their businesses. The family dinner table was my first business schooling. Topics of homework and sport intersected with product development, pricing elasticity, international supply, and competition; for a child in 1970’s Ireland, that was very unusual schooling.

What’s Next

Keating dwells on the time he felt like he was starting over. Now it’s clear that he wasn’t starting over, but he was going after something that mattered to him.

Room 8 Group has already grown dramatically and continues to grow. We will triple in size as we open our Montreal office, which is the first in a series of new studios we will be opening over the course of the next two years. The attitude is all hands on deck, and the hustle comes from a transparent culture. Working in this environment is invigorating and gets you out of bed in the morning. I’m privileged to have an excellent international team of business development professionals who embrace a global view, share an idea of what tomorrow should look like and how we’ll get there. The cherry on top, we’re all avid gamers.

Commitment to culture 

Growing up in a town bordering two countries taught Keating that culture overcomes or creates challenges. “Culture eats strategy for breakfast,” quoting Peter Drucker. “When you grow up in a world full of cultures clashing, things can get lost in translation, even when you speak the same language.” So Keating emphasizes speaking with transparency and listening carefully, especially in business.

I have a bad habit of listening to every word that people use because it gives me insight into what they are not telling me, which I find crucial in sales.

Advice for those aspiring to get into sales 

Keating emphasizes finding a good leader and growing into becoming one.

I had a sales mentor when I was in my early 20’s and got my first harsh lesson as soon as I stepped foot on the job, ‘if you’re gonna represent me, you’re gonna need better clothes,’ and bought me a couple of suits the very next day.

A leader gets the sales team they deserve. It’s easy to tell people what they need to do, but showing them how to do it and demonstrating it is where the real power lies. That leader always spoke with clarity and transparency, and I learned a hell of a lot from him.

He went on to say that when you communicate your expectations with transparency and clarity, your team will learn to think like you and follow your lead.

My team might not have direct responsibility for what is happening, but I expect them to be in control of the solution, and my goal as a leader is to show them how to do it.

What does leadership mean to you?

Keating focuses on helping people find what they’re good at and molding that into something bigger. He says that relationships are not about when it is going right but when it starts to go wrong.

Learn to spot problems, find solutions, and be genuine. Game development is complex, and I love the process, and I love solving people’s strategic problems.

Relationships are the cornerstone of sales, but it’s less about vendor-client relationships and more about a solution ecosystem.

Our clients choose us because we build genuine relationships and solve their problems. So now, when an executive producer of a video game company wakes up on a Monday morning with a thousand problems running through his head. He calls Room 8 Group to take away one of these problems.

Growing up, Adam Keating witnessed his father pull himself up by his bootstraps, teaching him at a young age that anything is possible! Today, Keating doesn’t believe in luck; he believes in preparation meeting opportunities. And sometimes, it’s simply committing to yourself that you’ll take the chance, even if it seems crazy at the time.