Sarah Classen, BDes, MBA

Questioner
DISC Type : c

Director Service and Strategy at City of Edmonton

Edmonton, Alberta, Canada

Overview

Sarah Classen is a passionate and innovative leader with over 20 years of experience in creative and strategic roles. As the Director of Service and Strategy for the City of Edmonton, she leads teams focused on delivering user-centric solutions. She holds an Executive MBA from the University of Alberta. Colleagues describe her as visionary, focused, and action-oriented.

Outside of her primary role, Sarah is deeply invested in the design and technology communities. She has taught design management at the University of Alberta and actively participates in industry events, such as speaking for the Association of Registered Graphic Designers. She is also a former board member for Digital Alberta.

She previously served as the Chair of the Board for Code for Canada, a non-profit focused on improving government services through technology and design.

Personality Overview

Not Easily Convinced

Cautious & Analytical

Systematic

They prefer to analyze every situation thoroughly.
  While they don't hesitate to ask questions, they are generally risk-averse and tend to be late adopters. They generally do not appreciate an overfriendly approach and prefer to stay to-the-point.

Topics They Care About

Service Design
Her entire career at the City of Edmonton has centered on applying service design principles to improve customer experience and innovation in public services.
Civic Technology
Demonstrated a long-term commitment by serving as the Board Chair for Code for Canada, a non-profit dedicated to improving digital public services.
Design Community
Actively engages with the professional community by speaking at events for organizations like the Association of Registered Graphic Designers and previously teaching at the University of Alberta.

Media Appearances

Sarah has no verified media appearances

Work History

10-2024
Director Service and Strategy at City of Edmonton
9-2022 - 10-2024
Director Service Design at City of Edmonton
12-2020 - 8-2022
Director, Department Strategy at City of Edmonton
4-2023
Chair of the Board of Directors at Code for Canada
9-2018 - 1-2025
Sessional Instructor at University of Alberta

Education

2016 - 2018
Executive MBA from Alberta School of Business, University of Alberta
1993 - 1997
Bachelor of Design from University of Alberta

More Information

Social Presence :

Prographics :

Exp : 26 Location : Edmonton, Alberta, Canada Job Level : Mid-senior Designation : Director Service and Strategy at City of Edmonton
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Insights For Selling To Sarah

During A Call Or A Meeting

DO's

  • If you have a lower priced product compared to the competition, call out the same
  • Tell them that you will come back if you don’t have a good answer for a question
  • Keep some extra margin in hand as they will likely negotiate the pricing

DONT's

  • Avoid phrases like ‘do not worry about’, ‘no one compares to’ etc.
  • Don’t overhype the product/pitch, keep it measured
  • Avoid rushing them, be polite and patient

When Cold Calling

When Writing An Email

While Negotiating & Closing

    The secret to closing fast with Sarah is

  • Ensuring that the product delivers ROI, cost-effective pricing and process compliance are very important for them.
  • Will you ever get a clear answer from Sarah

  • It doesn’t come naturally to them but they can say no if they are not convinced.

Insights For Deal Planning

    How fast (or slow) will Sarah move?

  • If they have the information that they need, they can move fast at making their decisions.
  • Can Sarah take some risk or not?

  • They can take risk if they are convinced that they have analyzed the circumstances well.


You And Sarah

Personality Compatibility


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