In late September our team had the pleasure of sitting down with Margarita Crespo, a talented account manager here at Xcellent ATL. Xcellent ATL is a marketing and sales firm headquartered in Atlanta, with a focus on exactly that- excellence. Margarita Crespo has been with the company since July of 2018 and has made huge strides in success in the months following her first day.
Margarita Crespo was born and raised in Chicago, until moving out of the city at the age of 25. As a child, Crespo walked the line between outgoing and social, and shy and reserved. It wasn’t until her sophomore year of high school that the account manager fully found the outgoing personality we all see today. “Before high school, I was very shy,” says Crespo, “but after getting involved in so many sports teams I became much more outgoing.” The young athlete could be found on a basketball court, a softball field, or a swimming pool at any moment of the day. “Swimming was definitely my favorite sport,” says Crespo, “I love the water, I’m a fish.” The successful businesswoman credits much of her professional confidence to those days on high school sports teams. “Being on a team at that age teaches you that you can’t do anything alone,” says Crespo, “Even as a swimmer, I would swim in that lane alone, but I couldn’t do it without my team.” Crespo also credits her professional coaching ability to those days as a young athlete.
After high school graduation, Crespo headed to Northeastern Illinois University where she would study pre-law. “After I graduated college I completely changed what I wanted with my future,” says Crespo, “I spent time working with criminal lawyers at the Chicago Bar Association, and what I saw was not what I wanted to do with my life. So I decided to get an MBA from DeVry with a focus in information systems technology.” Crespo’s next stop in her career was the classroom. The account manager spent multiple years teaching high school students and still remembers those days fondly. “I fell in love with teaching,” says Crespo, “but I wanted to get into technology, so I moved onto IT management.” Crespo has packed her years in the professional world with ample experience in multiple sectors, the businesswoman would even go on to manage a small home health company before joining the Xcellent ATL team.
Crespo started with Xcellent on July 3rd, 2018. “The team mentality of the company is what pushed me to start,” says Crespo, “there was just a true opportunity to grow. Other jobs it was more of choosing your position and where you start is where you’ll be 20 years from now, I didn’t want that. I wanted a future and I wanted growth- I knew I could find that here.” For Crespo, the cherry on top was the strong team mentality she found at Xcellent ATL. “When you have a great team there’s no reason why you won’t be successful,” says Crespo.
As for the culture at Xcellent ATL, Crespo fit in immediately. “The company revolves around the team,” says Crespo, “being part of this team makes you grow and develop as an individual, so much of what we learn in the office can be applied to our lives.” Crespo has no shortage of positive words for her team and the development culture of Xcellent ATL.
Despite Crespo’s dense and diverse professional history, her experience with the Xcellent team has not lacked lessons. “I’ve learned how to address different customer needs and different types of individuals,” says Crespo, “with everything you do you come across people, and before this job, I don’t think I knew how to have effective conversations with others. My focus now is teaching people to work at the best of their ability and learning to satisfy everyone.” As for her daily responsibilities, Crespo has harnessed her teaching ability in the office and in the field. “On a daily basis I am teaching,” says Crespo, “It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been here, it matters how fast you learn, so I am constantly teaching others in the office. I am responsible for team building and helping others grow, that is my favorite thing.”
The past three months have been a whirlwind for Crespo, but she shows no signs of slowing down. “My goals are to continue helping others grow,” says Crespo, “I hope to be promoted to assistant management and beyond- if I can teach people to be better than me, I love that.” With a work ethic and determination like Margarita Crespo’s, there is no limit to success.
