GALA Champion Gergana Toleva

In this series of interviews, GALA members share their insights on the pursuit of globalization & localization brilliance.

Gergana Toleva, Global Marketing Manager at 1-StopAsia.

[The transcript has been edited for length]

What’s in a Job Title

I work as a global marketing manager at 1-StopAsia. I've been doing this for three years already. And I can say that I'm still fascinated with the work that I do. My regular work involves all the marketing activities and planning them for the company that I work for. And this means content marketing strategies, lead generation etcetera. In addition to that, I also work with our software development department, which works with CRM implementations and processes optimization.

Starting Out in Localization

Until three years ago I didn't even know that the localization industry existed. I have a very strong sales background. First, I was in real estate. And then for three to five years, I was a salesperson for a very big automotive brand. And afterwards, I needed a change. So I just saw an advertisement for sales and marketing. And I decided to apply. So, here I am.

Things You Like about the Localization Industry

It's a long list, but to sum it up, it's a very dynamic and very interesting industry. And it's very different from anything that I've seen so far. It's also very difficult with regards to imagining how you have to sell the services, when you are a salesperson. So that's a challenge. And the same goes for marketing, and add that the different B2B strategies, B2C companies and everything. And it's a mix that you don't want to miss in general.

Marketing in Asia: Recommendations

To be honest, there are two different points in this spot. And one is that my work as a marketing person is more to learn about the Asian stuff and to deliver it to the rest of the audience. But then it's the other way around for the companies that we, for example, work with, to show them how to do their own marketing in the Asian region. So, you need to learn these two things in order to be able to first market properly and then to help your clients. So, there are three main points. And the first one is for anyone who goes there, or wants to go there, it's to do their research. Even if we take only one country, there is no such thing like one target audience in Asia; the countries are so big and so diverse in the main, like, for example, China or India. They have so many different target groups that you really need to designate your target groups before you even attempt to go there. Then you have to tackle the legislation with regards to the research. And then you have to face the language barrier, which is logical because the top five or six countries that come to mind, in Asia, they have completely different languages, they look different, they also read different. And the thing is that language in its way in its written form, and its spoken form, it changes your mindset. The third thing that I recommend is to properly tackle the cultural difference. And for this, we, people who are from the west, to change our mindset means to change our way of thinking. It's like, there are so many different things, two ways to ask a question in Asia, and the perception will be completely different from what you are thinking that you're asking.

Accomplishments

I do have a few that I'm very proud of. And the first one can be easily seen it since I started: We had to build up a brand new website for 1-StopAsia. So but we had to do this internally. Because it's such a niche segment that we are dealing with, you can't just freelance to someone, you need a proper understanding of the business. So, basically we did everything ourselves from the start. It's really a thing that I love. And also, when you see it come to life, and also start to come to fruition, when you start gaining from it, it's really a very fulfilling thing you accomplish. And then the second thing that I never believed it was actually going to happen: my team managed to create the book. We've been working on it for almost two years now. It takes many people to do a book. The book is, I believe, interesting, because it tackles Asian languages translation, but it's related to the translation industry. So basically, it's meant to learn how to work with these languages in order to provide a proper translation for your clients.

Where GALA Fits In

When I started, one of the organization that made a strong impression for me was GALA. And it took us a long time to actually achieve being able to collaborate with Gala. Because in order to do it, you need to walk certain steps, make certain things happen. And then you have to learn and I'm very happy that we recently had the chance to work together to publish content. This means a lot for us because this means that the content is good enough to be read from everyone, not just on our blog.

Career-building Tips

It is a principle I learned from our CEO, Don Shin: It is better to make a decision that is wrong rather than not making a decision at all and waiting for something to happen or someone to decide on your behalf.

Networking Tips & Techniques

For me, it's very easy to make a difference between just selling a product or being in the industry. And the one thing that I'd say is that, at the networking events, you never have to directly sell to the people that you're working with. It's just like you are there to network not to advertise your products.

What I Learned in This Last Year...

I'll keep on working, and I'll take more work. It's just who I am. I just have to do it. If I tackle one thing, then I will take on the next task, and then I'll take on another one. And this is what I do.

Finding Inspiration

For me, inspiration is almost everywhere. I like nature. I like going outside. I've I love taking extra inspiration from nature, but also from people who do good things, something that makes me make me want to be a better person myself.

My Brilliant Second Career

I would probably be a jewelry maker. I actually, I love doing this as a hobby. The thing is that eventually, in the end, I'll end up doing again marketing, even if it's jewelry, it's just who I am. And I like creating. But then I want to know what makes people click...

Life Beyond Localization

My hobby is flying (I do paragliding in my free time and outside of family obligations). There is nothing that can compare to free-flying, mountains, starry skies, friends, and family moments all in one. I've got plenty of fun moments to share but oops... I landed in a tree once ;)