Lauren Toppen, B.B.A.’19

Marvelous Mentor 

Account Executive MidMarket II, Payscale

Lauren Toppen is empowering compensation professionals to streamline their process and be competitive in the current labor market. Starting with Payscale after her graduation from WMU, she has embraced opportunities and worked her way from sales development representative to national account executive through persistence and positivity.

Using skills she honed in the sales and business marketing program at the Haworth College of Business, Toppen practiced role-plays and threw herself into learning human resources and compensation, earning an account executive role after only a year and a half with Payscale. With the encouragement of her manager and plenty of hard work and dedication, she became one of the top two executives of her team by the end of the year, exceeding her quota by 60%. 

Toppen abides by advice she was given during an internship, “Always have a mentor and always be mentoring.” She has taken that to heart and has several mentors with whom she regularly connects to gain advice and input. She uses the knowledge and experience she has gained to train others, whether it’s colleagues on her own team, new teams or at various trainings. She has also invested in the next generation of Business Broncos by speaking at a virtual alumni panel for the Sales and Business Marketing Association. 

Favorite Kalamazoo Attraction:

“Hands down it’s Crow’s Nest restaurant! It was my favorite place to go with friends, family and visitors. There is almost always a wait, but it’s worth it—highly recommend!”